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Wren and Cuff Fine Stompboxes It's not just a stompbox. It's part of your tone. ------------------------------------------ About... Aside from all of the attributes listed in each Wren and Cuff pedal description, I wanted to give some answers to the how and why of a Wren and Cuff stomp-box. So here goes... So why should I buy one of your pedals, there's a million other pedals out there, and most of them cost as much or less than a Wren and Cuff pedal? This is a very fair question. As a person with a relatively young stomp-box business, a search through eBay can be a little disheartening. There are hundreds of companies, from the huge corporations, to your "back yard" builders, some serious, some just having some fun. How can anyone stand out from the crowd (a lot like being in a band, huh..)? Well, first off I'll say that I don't want to try to be superior by comparison. Many of my "competitors" are builders I deeply respect, and I have no need to say, "Mine is better than....etc." In fact after all the reading and soldering I've done in my life, I learned the most from cracking open other "boutique" pedals, and studying them. I don't mean to trace the boards, I mean to neatly and logically layout components in a way that looks good, is sturdy, and will hopefully put up with years of abuse from your average musician, or full-time touring musician. This may seem silly, but component layout can be much more difficult than building a circuit board. Ever had a problem with a pedal? nine times out of ten the problem will have nothing to do with the circuit board, it's all the other guts in the pedal that usually fail, or have issues. A pot that comes loose and grounds out on the side, a battery snap that comes loose, a poorly soldered connection etc. I've tried to cover as many "little things" as I could, to guard against these potentially gig-ruining problems. You get lock-washers on the jacks, lock-washers on the pots, and the switch. Switchcraft Jacks (these are about 3 times more costly than a generic equivalent). I don't use these to brag about though, bottom line is, the cheapies strip and break. I also cement-in steel stand-offs to hold the board. When you hold a Wren and Cuff pedal, it feels solid and substantial. You will also notice that I wire everything point-to-point. All this means is that I don't use a pre-made circuit board. Each component is hand-wired directly together and mounted on a holding board (like the old Prescription pedals, old Rangemasters etc...). Since moving to silk-screened enclosures, I considered getting boards made. It's actually much easier and faster, but for some reason I just feel the need to keep doing it this way. I've been told many times that my pedals have a certain "vibe" that people have not found before. I make no claim of a sonic superiority found in P-T-P wiring, and I have plenty of pedals using "traditional" circuit boards that I love, but part of me was just afraid to fix what wasn't broken, so for as long as I can I'll keep doing it this way. It can be time consuming though, which brings me back to pricing. My prices aren't cheap, I know. So let me show you why my prices are what they are, because I know pedal prices can seem arbitrary at times. 1. Time. More than fancy parts, enclosures, and IC's that make you sound like SRV, this is the biggest expense. If one pedal cost more than another, this is 85% of the reason. My pedals take some time to create, much of it due to the P-T-P wiring mentioned above, and much of it to the attention to detail given each pedal. Every pedal gets a ton of time and focus, but I feel the end result is worth it. 2. Quality parts. Real Davies made in the USA knobs (like the old WH pedals, and many others), not the knock offs. I kind of have a thing for knobs (that sounds weird), and when you see these in person, compared to the cheapo knobs, they are truly a thing of beauty. Industry standard Alpha pots, lock-washers on pots and jacks, EH 3PDT switch for "true" bypass, Switchcraft jacks, insulated 2.1mm 9V jack (Boss-style) with fiberboard mounted connections. Great looking sturdy enclosures, hand-painted and baked, as well as hand-screened (not by me!). Shipped with a new battery. 3. Customer service. I believe a big part of what you're paying for in a boutique pedal is customer service. I always do what I can to help after your purchase, even with things like placing the pedal in your chain, battery vs. adapter, etc. Each purchase also comes with a card that has the Wren and Cuff phone # on it. If you have a problem, you can talk to a real person. You also get a real one year warranty with your pedal, and you have 7 days to return your pedal for a complete refund if you decide it's not for you. So thats why you should buy my unique pedals...thanx!