Z-Vex finish and shiny stomp buttons

[Mark Hammer]

Had the opportunity to to see a squadron of Z-Vex pedals yesterday in a local store I don't get out to much.  Other stores in town carry them but this store had them a bunch of them under very favourable lighting.  I have to say that the gleam on those finishes was absolutely gorgeous.  Had never noticed it before and certainly had no sense of it from pictures on the net.  Also not sure if I had simply never noticed it before or whether it was a recent thing, but Jason Myrold now has a date beside his name on the finish.  Nice touch.  Kudos to both Jason and Zach for such an aesthetically pleasing package.

Finally, the top buttons on the stompswitches are also beautifully mirror finished.  Made me take a closer look at the stompswitches on a bunch of boutique and semi-boutique pedals at lunch today.  I'm so used to looking up the pants/sirts of these things that I never look them in the face.  There is certainly a very broad spectrum of stompswitches out there that never seems to reach hobbyists.  Are these shiny top buttons a result of a different product line or simply some thoughtful after-market buffing by the pedal-makers?

[gez]

I saw some in the flesh at an exhibition last year.  What impressed me was how dinky they all were.  I went away feeling slightly inadequate - how does he cram it all in (ooh er missus)?!

[MartyMart]

I've seen a few up close too, they do look fantastic !
Er as too the "shiney" stomp button, two words "Chrome Polish" !!
Oh and two more, "Elbow Grease" :wink:

Marty

[Paul Marossy]

I was noticing the beautiful finish on some of those pedals on the Z. Vex videos. I've watched 'em all. I'm sure they look even better in real life...

[runmikeyrun]

get a dremel with a mini buffing wheel and a stick of buffing compound... it'll come out like a mirror.  I think chrome polish will only take you so far.

[mojotron]

get a dremel with a mini buffing wheel and a stick of buffing compound... it'll come out like a mirror.  I think chrome polish will only take you so far.

I have issues with the sound/usability of these pedals for what I like to do, but I did notice the shine and did like that. I used chrome polish for the final phase when I did a nitro finish on my guitar neck and it should work for getting that shine. What I would suggest would be to use like 4 coats of clear buff lightly with like 1500 grt sandpaper w/water, then buff that out with the polish using an old t-shirt. You have to be really cearful with powered buffing as it is way too easy to take too much off too fast - although it may be the way to go with some experience.

[MartyMart]

get a dremel with a mini buffing wheel and a stick of buffing compound... it'll come out like a mirror.  I think chrome polish will only take you so far.

I have issues with the sound/usability of these pedals for what I like to do, but I did notice the shine and did like that. I used chrome polish for the final phase when I did a nitro finish on my guitar neck and it should work for getting that shine. What I would suggest would be to use like 4 coats of clear buff lightly with like 1500 grt sandpaper w/water, then buff that out with the polish using an old t-shirt. You have to be really cearful with powered buffing as it is way too easy to take too much off too fast - although it may be the way to go with some experience.

Confusion ! I think were talking about polishing the chrome stompswitch button, rather than the whole pedal, but nice idea anyways !

Marty.

[mojotron]

.....

Confusion ! I think were talking about polishing the chrome stompswitch button, rather than the whole pedal, but nice idea anyways !
.....

Sorry, your right, in that case the dremel would work really well I think, skip the sandpaper idea, but still watch the edges when using a buffer - it's probably easy to buff the chrome off of some (cheap) switches.

I really like the way Z-Vex does the whole paint thing on those tiny boxes - it looks very custom and done well. Paint is the last thing I would buy a box for, but theirs is impressive. I wonder what kind of volume Z-Vex does on their boxes? Each one seems to be done quite well - quality wise.

[Paul Marossy]

When you consider everything that goes into a Z. Vex effect, they really are very reasonably priced.  

[Mark Hammer]

I noticed over at MusicToyz, there were some Fuzz Factories at substantially reduced price under the "Vexter" sub-line.  I gather this is some sort of commercial experiment on Zach's part.  Smart thinking since it seems inconceivable that Jason could continue to paint them ALL, especially as the line and production grows, and the FF is the cash cow that subsidizes the other experiments for now.  Hell, I'm still amazed that Jason hasn't become arthritic at this point!

[Paul Marossy]

Heck, Jason probably has it down to five minutes a box!  :wink:
I kinda like the look of the Vexter pedals. You're may be right about the reasoning behind this new look. Only Z. Vex knows...  :lol:

I need to get one of those Fuzz Factorys, they are dang cool noise makers!

[cd]

Vexter series FX have "only" a 2 year warranty, compared to forever for the regular series.

[Mark Hammer]

Vexter series FX have "only" a 2 year warranty, compared to forever for the regular series.

A point I try to make as often as possible whenever people complain about boutique pedal prices.  These prices often include what essentially amounts to lifetime service.  That can be *extremely* important to touring/recording musicians, which is why they pay those prices with a smile.  Understandable that kids in basement or garage bands see little value in it.  The Vexter is for them, and a 2 year warranty is probably something more than you'd get with a similarly-priced commercial pedal.

[Alex C]

The Vexter FF looks amazing!  Why was there no fanfare upon its release? (or am I just not in the circle?)

Alex

[Paul Marossy]

I don't think that the price for the regular Fuzz Factory is that bad. That is a great noisemaker!

[Mark Hammer]

The Vexter FF looks amazing!  Why was there no fanfare upon its release? (or am I just not in the circle?)

Alex

Well, I suppose the last thing you want to do is create unrealistic expectations in consumers and then disappoint them.  It's not like Vex has aisle upon aisle of underpaid Indonesian assembly-line workers cranking them out like Rocktek pedals

[Samuel]

$200 at musictoyz does make that wicked tempting

[Paul Marossy]

Just buy it!  :wink:
(Speaking to myself as well...)

[zachary vex]

.....

Confusion ! I think were talking about polishing the chrome stompswitch button, rather than the whole pedal, but nice idea anyways !
.....

Sorry, your right, in that case the dremel would work really well I think, skip the sandpaper idea, but still watch the edges when using a buffer - it's probably easy to buff the chrome off of some (cheap) switches.

I really like the way Z-Vex does the whole paint thing on those tiny boxes - it looks very custom and done well. Paint is the last thing I would buy a box for, but theirs is impressive. I wonder what kind of volume Z-Vex does on their boxes? Each one seems to be done quite well - quality wise.

thanks to all of you for your nice comments.  jason's latest paint quality is absolutely astounding, i have to say.  those chrome switches are custom NKK switches i have made.  you have to buy in bulk, of course, and they're by far the most expensive switch i've used.  i will be phasing out some of the use of those as i put LED/DC jack upgrades into more of my designs.  

we made and sold about 3500 pieces last year.  it's just ridiculous trying to keep up now... we're perpetually out of stock on something.  if Jason gets sick, we're hosed!  8^|  it's grim right now, he has the flu.  this year he's going to be painting IN the NAMM booth because we are so behind.  we're setting up a glass wall/display for him to work behind, and strapping headphones on him to cut down on distraction.  it should be pretty humorous.  he plans to complete about 100 pieces in that 4 days, but he often does 60 pieces a day at home (that's the hand-painted part).  the steps are very complex...drilling with jigs to mark the holes, final hole drilling, cleaning, degreasing, chemical etch, two-part automotive epoxy primer, one or more coats of automotive 2-part epoxy color, hand-painting with enamels, baking, then clear-coating with automotive 2-part epoxy clear, and more baking.  a series of 60 pedals can be started every day or so, and it takes about 4 days to go through the process.

[Paul Marossy]

Wow! That's great Z. You're business keeps growing and growing. At this rate, you'll be moving a $1,000,000 worth of product a year!   :shock: