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Chankgeez wrote:

whoismarykelly wrote:Weird to see someone loudly complain that a company's pedals are unobtainable and then tell the builder not to make them obtainable via open-sourcing the build documentation when they offer.

Yeah, but this's jwar we're talking about. Not sure rational thought applies here.

I think it's rational given the shift in context of the topic (ie: from a rehashed "what happened" to a conversation with the builder in question).

Idealistically I lean toward open source as well, though in practice little I do is published. That is not due to secrecy, but rather a perpetual improvement/incompletion on my part. It can be argued that anything remains improvable/incomplete - and that one could sink their entire life into improving upon one thing, but this would be at the sacrifice of others. To cast a design out into the universe and invite improvement through others essentially gives the design a chance at immortality (so to speak). Granted, once it leaves the home growth is beyond your control, but that's what new designs are for.

Besides, if one wants to capitalize on a design one has only to offer it in a different way.

No, you're right, given the context, it's rational. I was speaking about jwar's thought process in general though.

Oh, well, in that case..

cloudscapes wrote: Also as a creative person I tend to bury myself with way too many creative projects I can handle, and that burns me out as well. Whether it's music, painting, drawing, pedals, modular, other stuff. (...)
Because creative motivation/drive is difficult at this specific point of my life, I have to embrace what comes to me. Rather than force it into "I gotta make pedals for people now". Maybe some of you will relate. It stresses me out, and stress is a killer.

Hopefully this isn't too much of a derail from the thread topic, but...

I can identify (but in a smaller, personally specific way) with this scenario.
If in fact I am correctly reading and comprehending what you are talking
about.

When I was growing up I just thought that I was prone to "procrastination".
But that's not totally it. To finish something is to let it go... and there is
a version of "perfectionism" that I am prone to that often prevents me from
finishing the things that I start because I want them to be... perfect.
And also I don't want to let them go. Part of this has to do with the fact
that critical judgment and creative output are never comparable. I can
imagine all kinds of great things, I can recognize great things... but when
I start to make things... often all I see are the flaws (my recent tactic
has been to reiterate to myself that creation and destruction are inextricably
intertwined, and so the "flaws" actually make what I create more "interesting"
or alive).

All of which means that often a very specific idea often metastasizes into an
unwieldy glob of "everything at once" (a song idea must be accompanied by visuals
and that specific kernel of an idea is also relevant to all the other ideas
I've been thinking about recently so each project takes on a kitchen-sink
accretion like a ball of something in a game of Katamari Damacy).


At one point I landed on the idea of making a comic about how inside my brain
there are these idea-acrobats that clamber up into elaborate, death-defying
pyramids while spinning plates and tables and bike wheels on thin poles and
then my "procrastination" or self-sabotaging "perfectionism" is like a huge
sumo wrestler who just has to unsettle the elaborate spectacle in order
to "win".

And... of course I haven't gotten around to drawing that comic.

As more and more projects clutter "the backburner", the more the self-reproach
grows, leading to paralyzing inaction.

So I try to set up arbitrary constraints and try to keep my creativity within
those bounds while allowing myself to put one thing down and pick up another
when my wheels spin out in the mud.

Seance wrote:As more and more projects clutter "the backburner", the more the self-reproach
grows, leading to paralyzing inaction.

Perfection is a myth, an endless rabbit hole. If I had a dollar for every idea I've had that has died on the vine due to striving for perfection I'd buy everyone a beer.

Learning to adjust the threshold of what constitutes "acceptable for completion" is equal parts invigorating and terrifying, I'd recommend it to anyone though I am unable to present a map that works for anyone but me. Not that I'm adept by any stretch of the imagination.

Loving this thread.

crochambeau wrote:
Learning to adjust the threshold of what constitutes "acceptable for completion" is equal parts invigorating and terrifying, I'd recommend it to anyone though I am unable to present a map that works for anyone but me. Not that I'm adept by any stretch of the imagination.

Loving this thread.

Seance bringing the contemplation yet again! Rad stuff.

Not to get too there-is-one-answer-to-this-hypothetical, and also not to get too corporate on you all, but check out the concept of lean innovation.

Actually, crochambeau's tour box is a perfect example: make prototypes (minimially viable products, or MVPs per the corpo-speak), get them into people's hands to try. Get feedback. Make changes (or don't). Repeat until you've got a pedal that's good, or scrap it.

And not that I'm good at this either, I get stuck in do-lips looking for perfection all the time.

fuzzisokiguess wrote:Actually, crochambeau's tour box is a perfect example:

It IS a good example, I am currently two months past the point I originally intended to ship it, and yes - it's almost entirely due to internal quality hang-ups and mental balderdash.

crochambeau wrote:

fuzzisokiguess wrote:Actually, crochambeau's tour box is a perfect example:

It IS a good example, I am currently two months past the point I originally intended to ship it, and yes - it's almost entirely due to internal quality hang-ups and mental balderdash.

Hard (but not impossible) to unearth the gems in the game of mental balderdash.

Chankgeez wrote:

whoismarykelly wrote:Weird to see someone loudly complain that a company's pedals are unobtainable and then tell the builder not to make them obtainable via open-sourcing the build documentation when they offer.

Yeah, but this's jwar we're talking about. Not sure rational thought applies here.

How dare you try insert any logic into my thought process. I'm appalled at the mere mention of it.


I'm crazy dude. What do you want from me? Consistency? I can't do it.

crochambeau wrote:

fuzzisokiguess wrote:Actually, crochambeau's tour box is a perfect example:

It IS a good example, I am currently two months past the point I originally intended to ship it, and yes - it's almost entirely due to internal quality hang-ups and mental balderdash.

We all still are pumped to see it. I know I am. Dat RingMod

Jesus Was a Robot wrote:
How dare you try insert any logic into my thought process. I'm appalled at the mere mention of it.


I'm crazy dude. What do you want from me? Consistency? I can't do it.

crochambeau wrote:

Seance wrote:As more and more projects clutter "the backburner", the more the self-reproach
grows, leading to paralyzing inaction.

Perfection is a myth.

Yes!

Life goes on. Everything changes, nothing remains the same.
To try to freeze things in a "perfect" moment is a form of intellectual necrophilia.

Seance wrote: intellectual necrophilia.

Now, that's a band name right there.

Better done than perfect.

As for the Sonic Crayon stuff. I'm glad it happened how it did. Cloudscapes, in his DIY escapades helped created a huge area in the pedal market. We Gassing for his creations over the years created a path for other makers to follow that was away from the rehashes of the yesteryears. Now, I'm not saying he's solely responsible, but he helped show the want. Just how the gas for Schumann pedals has finally manifested in many different flavors of PLLones.

Besides, as much as I love their pedals I would be terrified of having one, as it would be impossible to fix if broken.

crochambeau wrote: It IS a good example, I am currently two months past the point I originally intended to ship it, and yes - it's almost entirely due to internal quality hang-ups and mental balderdash.

trying to keep my excitement in check, but seriously i am so excited for you to finally send these out to us sometime soon