Fender garage

[clintrubber]

FWIW...

I do like the vibe of the ad (see pic), but I find it a bit hard to believe that the head of R&D at Fender developed that new range of Fender effects pedals in his own garage.

Looks like they want to give it a bit of boutique flavour.

I also find it a bit hard to believe that he can test that breadboard by only connecting it to a supply... 
at least I can't see any audio I/O from where I stand in his garage.


Finally, those illuminated marker lines on the knobs, be it a nice gimmick or a useful feature,
curious how they do it.

Some elaborate wiper-contacts, or simply an opening in the knob and a static LED underneath ?

Bye

 

[ruffrecords]

He is obviously a proper engineer - you can tell by how untidy his workbench is.

Cheers

Ian

 

[clintrubber]

He is obviously a proper engineer - you can tell by how untidy his workbench is.

Sure thing! Felt right at home there 

Bye

 

[abbey road d enfer]

I also find it a bit hard to believe that he can test that breadboard by only connecting it to a supply... 
at least I can't see any audio I/O from where I stand in his garage.

Gotta be wireless.

Finally, those illuminated marker lines on the knobs, be it a nice gimmick or a useful feature,
curious how they do it.

Some elaborate wiper-contacts, or simply an opening in the knob and a static LED underneath ?

Well they say lightpipe, so I would think the pot's shaft is either hollow or constituted of a transparent material.

The magnetic battery compartment is nice, but who still uses batteries in their pedals?

 

[JohnRoberts]

Kind of like miller and budweiser pretending to make micro-brews.

A friend of mine owns a company making guitar efx pedals, but after years of success now he is making an amp too...(amptweaker)

Not sure the world needs more pedals or guitar amps, but James has a good ear, and decades of industry experience.

JR

PS: Another friend of mine who was working for a company owned by fender in CT just quit when they wanted him to relocate  to Boston.

 

[PRR]

> hard to believe that the head of R&D at Fender developed that new range of Fender effects pedals in his own garage.

You can't get any work done at work.

As a "Head", days are filled with underlings and overlords demanding answers. Where's that QS432 report? Why do these 1K resistors look different? The autostuffer is throwing parts across the room. Can you use your tools to un-stick the women's-room door again? And when can we setup that photo-shoot in your garage?

He has more stuff there than Leo Fender did in his prime. The work lab may be less useful for tone development, and raucous noises disturb the Mac-pushers in the promotion office (inevitably next door down).

Jim Williams defended the home lab for analog development even above the level of a fuzz-pedal, did much work in his attic. Barrie Gilbert had an attic-lab also:
https://io9.gizmodo.com/5862419/this-might-be-the-coolest-home-lab-youve-ever-seen/

Yeah, the Fender photo is a re-stage. WTF would notice it's not fully wired? And of course it is a VERY long path from a plug-board to a production board assembled at 69 cents delivered. That's why the R&D Head can't get any real work done in the office, cuz his days are about minimizing size and cost and organizational friction.

 

[clintrubber]

Kind of like miller and budweiser pretending to make micro-brews.

Right!  ;D  Must say it's actually a bit insulting the audience...

It also reminded me a bit of that ad-campaign back then (Soundcraft / Sprit) with Graham Blyth.,
as in giving a face & some (possibly created) nerdy vibe to a (more or less) big company.

But it's obviously not the same, this Fender ad doesn't properly show the face of Mr Cotey. 

Not sure the world needs more pedals or guitar amps,

One could be surprised Fender was actually able to find an available garage for this photoshoot...  8)  the amount of small boutique/garage companies offering pedals seems higher than ever...      and just an observation, it's all fine.

 

[clintrubber]

> hard to believe that the head of R&D at Fender developed that new range of Fender effects pedals in his own garage.

You can't get any work done at work.

That's a true thing!

Thanks for those homelab-pics.

Yeah, the Fender photo is a re-stage. WTF would notice it's not fully wired?

Yes, it might be saying more about 'us' spotting this, than about the rest of the world.

Still I'd say it's a bit sloppy -  with many of the worlds musicians having a boutique enterprise recycling known FX-circuits, and/or other solder-consuming types... -they could have figured out some of them would notice...

BUT it might very well have been deliberate. Some ads are made deliberately 'wrong' as we know, to get the attention & trigger discussions.
Guilty, I fully admit I wouldn't have started this thread if the picture had been convincing.

Bye

 

[mattamatta]

I also find it a bit hard to believe that he can test that breadboard by only connecting it to a supply... 
at least I can't see any audio I/O from where I stand in his garage.

This isn't a test shot.  He picked up the guitar out of stress while he's staring at the circuit thinking "why doesn't it work..... what did I miss......aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah".

 

[JohnRoberts]

> hard to believe that the head of R&D at Fender developed that new range of Fender effects pedals in his own garage.

You can't get any work done at work.

amen

As a "Head", days are filled with underlings and overlords demanding answers. Where's that QS432 report? Why do these 1K resistors look different? The autostuffer is throwing parts across the room. Can you use your tools to un-stick the women's-room door again? And when can we setup that photo-shoot in your garage?

Back when I managed an engineering group I had to mentally shift gears between "design mode" and "management mode". Two very different disciplines, requiring completely different mindset and approach.

I had a full design bench in my office and a full work desk with computer terminal. I would literally close my office door (a hint to not bother me unless the lab was on fire) and walk over to my bench to shift gears into design mode, until the phone rang dragging me back into management mode. 

He has more stuff there than Leo Fender did in his prime. The work lab may be less useful for tone development, and raucous noises disturb the Mac-pushers in the promotion office (inevitably next door down).

My office was catty-corner across from Jack Sondermeyer's and I would occasionally see flashes of light reflect off my walls, coming from his office when he spectacularly blew up some high power amp prototype du jour. 

Jim Williams defended the home lab for analog development even above the level of a fuzz-pedal, did much work in his attic. Barrie Gilbert had an attic-lab also:
https://io9.gizmodo.com/5862419/this-might-be-the-coolest-home-lab-youve-ever-seen/

Yeah, the Fender photo is a re-stage. WTF would notice it's not fully wired? And of course it is a VERY long path from a plug-board to a production board assembled at 69 cents delivered. That's why the R&D Head can't get any real work done in the office, cuz his days are about minimizing size and cost and organizational friction.

Marketing...  I've known several people who worked at Fender over the years, not much of the original DNA still around, and hasn't been for decades.

JR

 

[abbey road d enfer]

It also reminded me a bit of that ad-campaign back then (Soundcraft / Sprit) with Graham Blyth.,
as in giving a face & some (possibly created) nerdy vibe to a (more or less) big company.

Except that Graham actually worked from home (went to the factory about one a month) and considered Spirit as a revival of his previous years at Soundcraft; actually considered making Spirit a separate company.

 

[The Kid]

Maybe the I/O is hardwired under the bench, into the bottom of breadboard? 

Still, though, guess it's all in how you define "garage".  My last garage doubled as woodworking, automotive, metalwork, and storage container.  I'd love to have his setup!