Let's give a shout out to the best Boutique builder customer service

[MGR]

After buying tons of boutiques in the past couple years, most of which are sold off because a lot of it was experimentation in sound, I figured that it would be a helpful thing to shout out those builders who are the greatest at customer service and communication. I don't want to go the other route of naming the worst because it does nobody any good, but naming the best would be a great way to steer newbies in the right direction. So here goes, in no order or significance.

Nerd Knuckle Effects- This guy answered my emails within 10 minutes with very well written, polite and informative answers. Couple that with the beautifully neat wiring and layout and I think his company is a winner.

Tomkat pedals-This guy did the same. Extremely polite and well written emails within an hour of me writing. Another builder whose PCB work is insanely well thought out too.

Damnation Audio-Jeff was awesome in answering emails and was extremely helpful when I deciding to buy this pedal. I never had to wait too long for a response and his messages were always well written and nice.

John from EAE-I haven't yet bought the Model Fet I am currently selling many pedals to fund, but one of the reasons I will buy it is because he was very helpful with quick and polite responses.

Tom from COG-Even from across the ocean, this guy responded lightning fast with some questions about the Rogue One, which I did end up buying. Another nice dude.

S&K- Even though I decided to pass on his stuff, the guy was super nice and helpful in his very quick responses.

Ryan from Fuzzrocious-I have bought a Demon and a Feed Me brand new, and this guy was nothing but top notch thru the whole process. If I needed an answer, I never had to wait more than a few hours.

Ryan from Big Game-Ditto on all the above.

I don't think many builders out there realize that there are a zillion people making effects now, and that the one thing that separates them is their customer service. If I have to wait a week for a response that is one sentence long with bad grammar and misspelled words, well, that tells me that perhaps that same blase attitude might be reflected in their pedals.

 

[Andy westwood]

ryan and Tom are both amazing!

And Jon from Lateral Sound in the uk is a legend aswell

 

[btmpancake]

I don't know if the FEA Proton Fuzz11 qualifies as boutique but I got a rapid response from Frank E Appleton about purchasing. I highly respect these guys that stand behind their products right here on TB.

 

[DDXdesign]

Tom from Cog gets my vote too from personal dealings! But even here on the forums I can tell that Ryan R from Fuzzrocious is a good dude to work with, as are a few others which escape me right now.

 

[Planespotter]

Analog Mike belongs on this list for sure.

 

[freedomryder]

Great experience with Brian Hamilton of smallsound/bigsound.
Plus, lifetime warranty whether you are the original owner or not.

 

[taylor16]

Brian Hamilton w/ Smallsound/Bigsound. Super nice dude and was quick with his responses to my questions about his pedals. Proud to own one of his Mini's (up there with the most versatile OD pedal I own) and his Team Awesome! FuzzMachine!

 

[blindrabbit]

Josh/Broughton Audio is clearly #1 in this area. The guy simply can't be beat. He is a true gem, and we here on TB and in the bass community are extraordinarily fortunate to have him around. He does so much for us, no matter how crazy our ideas are, and pumps out perfection every time. Amazing.

Brian at ss/bs is simply outstanding as well. Fantastic guy, can't say enough good things about him and his effects.

Tom with Cog Effects, I've had nothing but great dealings with this guy.

Hamish and Bob with Southampton Effects are so great. SO great. A real up and coming team.

Frank and his team with FEA are so professional and talented. A pleasure to deal with.

Preston with Wounded Paw is a top notch fellow to deal with.

Nick at Dunwich Amplification is incredible to deal with, I've been so impressed with him to date.

Tim with Master Effects is a guy that I really like a lot. Great communication, I really hope his business can grow.

Matt at Wren & Cuff has always been prompt, respectful, and helpful in all my dealings with him.

Tavo at Nocturne is a guy that bassists don't often deal with, but he's a dedicated dude who loves what he does and makes sure that people love the pedals of his that they get. I'd love to see him do even more bass stuff.

Aen at Dwarfcraft is a real hoot. I dig what him and his missus do - the pedals they make and their philosophy. I've had good dealings with them too.

...did I mention Josh at Broughton Audio...?

I'm sure I've forgotten some, so let's call this a partial list...in general, the boutique pedal builders are all amazing guys. It is rare to find a bad apple. Yes, they definitely exist - I'll be nice and not mention the nightmares - but let's not hold them against the vast majority of hard working, dedicated, and talented builders that create these fine devices for us.

 

[Matt Dean]

Add John Kallas to the list.

 

[NortyFiner]

Taylor at Iron Ether. I once owned an Oxide which had some kind of weird power supply interaction going on. Taylor was quick to reply when I posted here about it, and handled the problem for me with no issues.

 

[LSMFT6]

Can't forget the mighty PUTNAM, surely he counts

Max and [sfx] are pure class too

 

[RickyT]

Richard @ RJ's Custom Shop (The Bass Shop) in Sydney, Australia.

Great communication, constant updates and photos of the build and always happy to have a chat. Really goes the extra yard to deliver exactly what the customer wants.

Could not be happier with the 6 string he built for me.

 

[HolmeBass]

I've had great communication from Brian at SS/bs and Taylor at Iron Ether. Their pedals are also among my most favorite.

The TWA guys at Godlyke are also responsive and helpful although that was by phone rather than email or forum communication.

 

[maisbass]

Jule Potter from Jule Amps who makes the amazing Monique preamp in various formats as well as power amps and guitar amps. His customer service is second to none. He has been known to fix amps purchased used by customers and is very helpful and active here on TB.

Duke from Audiokinesis. Duke makes the amazing Thunderchild bass cabinets, Hathor cabs, etc. His cabs can take loads of power without breaking a sweat and have switches and ports to provide you with different tonal options. His customer service is top notch as well. Always looking for new ideas from players here on TB. He really listens to his customers and gives insight to his builds.

Two amazing individuals I've been blessed to work with, own their gear, and both who make my gigs way more enjoyable with their masterful creations.

Edit: I forgot to mention Vinny and Joey from Fodera. The most amazing experience of my life designing my bass with the two of them. So helpful and insightful, and really care about the bases they build. They treat their bass creations like children. truly once-in-a-lifetime experience for me with two very talented, creative and humble gentlemen.

 

[taylor16]

Jack Roan (Noble) is also a super stand-up guy. Had the chance to meet him in San Jose and he couldn't have been nicer or more sincere. We're so lucky to have people like Brian and Jack (and I'm sure there are many others). Designers like them are passionate about what they do and it shows.

 

[gregmon79]

Doug from Darkglass is the tops IME. Just unreal how good he treats his customers.
Ryan at Big game is so great to work and communicate with
Ryan at Fuzzro
John from EAE
Hammish from Southampton
Matt at Idoit Box is such a good guy
Ryan from Built by Ryan
Recently had the chance to speak to Nic of Midnight Amplification, great dude
Jose Ferro of JFerro bass’s is the man
The Dunwich dude has always been pretty great with emails and talking, I’ve just never had any of his stuff.
Matt from Stomp under foot is great too
Josh from Broughton has been super patient with me let me tell you! Haha thanks @Azure Skies
Frank at FEA Labs as well has been very nice.

I'm sure I'm forgetting someone.....dammit

I’ve had the chance to speak to many a builders in my short time into effects. And most have been without a doubt kings of customer service in a world that seems to be totally dried up of the art. So many companies nowadays seem to not care about customer service at all anymore. It’s sad. But IME, for the most part, it is very much alive and well in the pedal building world/community. And I am forever grateful to those guys who have helped me and let me help them. It’s been an amazing experience and I hope it continues for many years.


I will add that it has been very far and few between that a builder has left a bad taste in my mouth. But that isn’t what this thread is about. Just saying though.

 

[Timmy-Watts]

Josh Broughton @Azure Skies is amazing as well! My custom build should be here in days, and I'm already contemplating another!

 

[JES]

I don't know if Malekko counts as boutique anymore but they have been great.

 

[muggsy]

Nathan Navarro at Source Audio is awesome. I had an issue with my Nemesis Delay, and he patiently walked me through several potential fixes through email before asking me to ship it back for repair. They ended up sending me a new pedal, no questions asked. And Nathan spends a lot of time on TB responding to questions in the Source Audio threads. Plus, he's a tremendous player who has done some great demo videos for SA pedals, including the Nemesis.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Both Alembic, and Rick Turner have always gone over-the-top in being helpful to me. Mica (Wickersham) is absolutely a Goddess in my book, and Rick is a wood-n-wire Wizard.