JK: I’m definitely doing a delay relatively
soon here. I’m working on something else
right now that I’m really excited about,
hopefully I will have a prototype soon. I have
an idea for a fuzz that I’d like to tackle.
Overdrives don’t really excite me too much,
but we’ll see I suppose. I’ve got some other
ideas too for some more wacky stuff. I can’t
see myself doing a reverb because it would
probably have to be digital, and there’s so
many people doing that, I’d rather stick to
doing weird stuff in the analog realm.
TR: What has been the most surprising
thing about starting your own company
that you hadn’t expected?
JK: It’s so very hard to make money,
especially when the manufacturing costs of
your pedals are high. You really do have to
sell a bunch of pedals to make it a feasible
thing. Some people won’t bat an eyelash at
paying $200 for a fuzz, which might have 20
components at the most. My pedals have
hundreds of components and require
meticulous assembly, but that shock of $349
for a pedal is understandably difficult for
some to overcome, even though my own
margins are pretty slim. The longer I do this,
however, I get better at the business stuff
and learn how to keep the same quality for
less money.
TR: Tell our readers’ one thing about you
we might find surprising.
JK: I spend a shocking amount of time
packaging boxes. When you work for
yourself though, it seems more fun!