ampage Tube Amps / Music Electronics	For current discussions, please visit Music Electronics Forum.

ampage archive

Vintage threads from the first ten years

legal/illegal copying stompboxes

:

12/1/2003 9:08 AM

legal/illegal copying stompboxes

Hi all,
This is a truthfull qs, please advice.
I read about fulltone and john Green, and I was thinking. Now that I can solder and make some stompboxes since about 4 months now and sucessfully traced my distcontinued branded stompbox. I might as well make the same thing like fulltone does and forget to worry about anything alse, that is to copy this stompbox with ofcourse put here and there. BTW, I am graduated in hotel management and I am no engineering. But I know I can sell and make money out of this if I want and if legal.
My questons:
Can I copy and produce fulldrive like he does to TS-808 (but offcourse put more here and there to it)? If it's illegal why can he do it? And if legal then I can do it?
OK, This is what I know about cooking and I'm good in it

. To make a garlic bread they put butter, garlic and chopped parsley. Now I make mine with the same ingredients but I think I can be more creative than others so I add little bit of brunoise cut red and yellow pepper to life up em up with the color and juice up our tongue a bit when chewing it and I boost it with a side served cottage cheese for those who love it fat, ready to scooped with my own design cotage cheese spoon! And I call it fullbread, a completely different name and sell it in my restaurant no problem. But just by smelling, or sometimes by seeing, an experienced customers knows it is just a garlic bread though and I admid it. Now, If they make the same with paysanne cut green pepper then will be different thing again (let's call it breadplus?), although it is still my kinda garlic bread!
Is this the same in electronic world?
O BTW, a five star restaurant will described the ingredients of the garlic bread on their menu list, this good for those who allergic to some type spices or food, and also the idea is to be able to know what we are about to eat before buying it.

Thx for you all, and all your explaination and information will be very valuable to me myself and hope others, thank you again.
Peace,
Ake Ong

12/3/2003 12:36 AM
Stompboxman	Like your recipe idea some pedal makers have taken existing pedal ideas and improved on them. If you just copy and don't improve OK too as long as you do not sell them. Once you copy an existing pedal and sell it under a new name saying it's better then the pedal you copied you are taking an unnecessary risk. The Pedal Business supports originality.

12/3/2003 4:11 AM

Thank you stompboxman very helpfull, and still have more here,
Now the word improve has a broad meaning to me. Even down to the simplest "improvment" (I believe so and some may) like;
A. I don't care of true bypass switch I need a silent elctronic switch (some do prefer!)
B. Get better style enclosure not a boring square box (improment to the look?)
C. Use metal film/carbon comp resistor, use silver mica for small value caps and so on isn't that all still an improvement to the sound (Upgrading the components)? What about using texas RC4558P instead of NJR JRC4558D I believe it makes different in sound too, like, I like mine better with RC4558p than JRC4558D).
D. Add a dry out.
E. Featuring wet and dry inputs with pan/mix pot?
F. Add a phasing circuit that can be bypassed
G. Add/Improve amp protection to it
H. In some other FX, replacing fixed resistor to trim pot.
I. Use different gain transistor, NPN to PNP, Si to Ge and vice versa.
J. Change Diode type, Si to Ge or mixed them or even add a selector switch
K. Series some of the resistors or Capacitors (does it make different?!) not an improvement right!

L. Add 3 band EQ
M. and so on and so forth. Now I believe to my understanding are all an improvement, although some does not change the sound but improved anyhow in some way. (not really sure though

I'm only a hospitality guy remember?).
Question; With all/some/a few or any of those simple add-on that I know of (I list it incase you need to comment on them), ppl will legally produce and market their own FX with their own brand?
Thank you and I hope this would be an educational one for others like me.
Ake Ong

12/3/2003 4:00 AM
vin	Go for it! But don't 'advertise' item as a copy/clone of existing pedal.Call it a "Jalepeno Crunch"! or similar.., and as you've already figured out,change the circuit somewhat,(or a lot!) Also,enclose it in a unique designed box with original graphics and I'll bet you''ll be able to quit your day job.

12/3/2003 6:19 AM
ake	Wow is that easy! I'm already quiting my job! BTW, the "Jalapeno Crunch" is a great Idea with off course the "cold/hot" and "fried" switches! mmmm.....

12/24/2003 9:25 AM

...after a late nite before christmas night...I check w/favorite rapper/designer of music toys...and find he is only a "player" ....but NO-no- there IS another and who is it....what is their corporate connection...(And do they have time to sell it to us..the uhhhh ..consumers) NO- they don't, they work with true SOUND people who sell 'product' at a "price to create interest and profit while not causing too many deaths in third world countries. I think that's pretty cool and uhhhh am looking forward to buying another!...(as soon as I can play an electric guitar)...in interim- It's amazing how simple/direct it is to build ones own tools/toys, and put all of them out of business.trust me on this-

9/26/2004 3:16 PM
Andrew C	Anyone care to comment about the LEGALITY issue? I am not a stompbox maker, but interest in the legal concept at play in a non-patent, electronic design clone... Any history of litigation in the industry. Andrew C

Page 1 of 2