TRW: You had a large dealer network for a
while, then you went direct, and now you
are back to working with dealers. What’s the
story there?
PR: It’s a long story filled with my own
mistakes while learning how to run a
business. The short of it is that the prices I
had set at the beginning of the company
were way too low to grow the company.
Because of this, we had trouble keeping up
with demand and I was working countless
hours for next to nothing. I took a six-month
break from distribution while I worked on
the business plan and made upgrades to
many of our pedals. We’ve been back to
regular distribution since the fall of 2013.
TRW: Which of your pedal designs are you
most proud of? Why?
PR: The Pale Horse will always be my
favorite because it was the first pedal where
I started experimenting with ideas that I had
never seen anyone do or even suggest
doing in all the DIY forums. It took several
prototypes to finalize the design. I think the
current one could be considering the eighth
or ninth version (I lost track).
TRW: In the vast world of guitar effects
makers, what is it that sets VFE apart from
the rest of the pack?
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INTERVIEW //
PR: Because I live and breathe VFE, I could
write several pages on the unique things
we’ve done. To keep it short, I’ll limit myself
to three things: tweakability, customization,
and transparency. It’s these three things that
I think professional players are looking for
amidst the myriad of options now available
to them.
TRW: What kind of music do you listen to
mostly? Does what you listen to impact the
circuits you design and build?
PR: My interest in music is a bit odd, as I find
myself far more interested in the creative
process than any specific band or artist. As a
designer, I am drawn much more to
expanding the sonic palette available to
players than to recreating any specific
sound.
TRW: What’s on the horizon for VFE? Any
new pedals we should keep an eye out for?
PR: We have lots of ideas we are mulling
over, but nothing coming soon beyond what
we already have on the website. Many new
products start as projects on the VonRutter
Family Effects page (vfe.guru), and
customers can go there to both see what’s
cooking and sign up to be notified in any of
the projects become available for purchase.
Inside the Head of Peter Rutter of VFE Pedals