Inside the Pedal Creation Process with Evan from OC Pedal Co.

Hey y’all!

So I’m a total pedalhead. I love guitar pedals (it’s at least ¾ of my whole personality). In my humble opinion, they’re some of the most fun and inspiring pieces of audio gear out there. They’re like tiny boxes of inspiration. I love reamping sounds through them and use them all the time in the productions I work on.

One of my most beloved pedals is the Buena Park Boost by OC Pedal Co. Beyond the extra gain, it just has a sound- it does this thing that adds character to whatever you run through it. Evan the founder is an absolute legend, and I’ve been wanting to pick his brain about his pedal creation process for a while now. 

Inside the Pedal Creation Process

I asked him: “Can you walk us through your process of bringing a new pedal to life- from the initial concept or sound idea to the final physical product? What goes into your design thinking, especially when it comes to the circuitry and tone shaping?”

He said: “I start a new design by looking around at my contemporaries, comparing my work to theirs, and feeling bad about myself for a period of a few weeks. Once I’ve learned to live with the once crippling shame and the feeling of complete ineptitude, I know it’s time to roll out to my garage and actually get something done. All joking aside I do feel like a healthy sense of competition and comparison drives my work. Best motivator? Probably not, but certainly an effective one.

Step two usually involves sitting down with a vintage schematic. At the moment I’m completely disinterested in doing a Tube Screamer, Rat clone, etc. It’s been done… A LOT. Instead I look for obscure builds that look fun or challenging. Once I’ve built the schematic on a bread board I play through my little clone and ask myself questions “What’s good about this?” “What don’t I like?” That's when the real fun begins.

I tear apart the old schematic trying new transistors, opamp’s, diodes, and capacitor values. I balance and fine tune to my ear and usually end up with something that’s a total departure from the original form. I’ll gig with a prototype of my design and refine even more. The LA HABRA for instance went through a bunch of revisions during this phase because the low end wasn’t right for a long time, something you’d never know just by playing alone in your house.

In a parallel process I’m playing with names, graphics and the like. I compare it to a well plated meal at an incredible restaurant (my personal favorite is Thomas Keller’s Bouchon) we eat with our eyes first and the aesthetics have to rock just as hard as the circuit otherwise why would you pick one up in the first place? … That has to be a run on sentence but I stand by it.

There are a few boring steps that come after the design is settled and I won’t bore you with those. Something (or someone) that is worth mentioning is Nathaniel and the great work he does over at FX4U. He takes my schematic and lays out my PCB’s. Opening the back of your OC Pedal Co. pedal technically voids your warranty however if you don’t care about such shenanigans it’s definitely worth looking at how beautifully arranged the circuit board is. Nathaniel is a total rockstar.

While often a long and painful process designing a new pedal is incredibly rewarding. I’m looking forward to sharing some new circuits with ya’ll VERY SOON.

Reflections on the Creation Process

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t mega geek out while reading Evan’s answer, hehe. It’s so cool to see such a clear breakdown of his creative process- it actually reminded me a lot of making a record. You start with an idea, maybe a rough demo or a base concept, then pick it apart and go through this dance of creation. After plenty of love, frustration, joy, and everything in between, the final product finally comes to life. I really appreciate Evan’s perseverance throughout the pedal creation process-  it’s amazing to see how all of this translates to the pedal on my board.

Thank you so much Evan for giving us a peek into your process!

Catch y’all next blog!