Check out my custom true bypass looper

[jzerza]

My friend is in the early stages of building true bypass loopers. The cool thing is that he's building them out of hardwood boxes. So if anyone is gonna like them, it's gotta be PRS and Boogie fans. We all love wood right?
Anyway, it's getting some finishing touches and I'll be plugging it in to my board. This is prototype #3 that I'm getting. Maple and cherry wood. Were getting to the more exotic stuff soon.
This one has 7 loops, true bypass switch, and a footswith built in for my Mesa EQ and lead channel.
It also has a matching little brother for my effects loop pedals with a tap tempo built in. He's wiring that one up now.
What do ya think?

 

[lyman]

Looks nice. I've never seen those in a wood enclosure. Is he thinking of putting them on the market?

 

[jzerza]

He would like to sell them at some point. Still trying to figure out the best designs. He's got some nice cocobolo for the next one. It does take a bit of time right now to build since he is making the enclosures from scratch and still learning. Not sure on the pricepoint either... Nice wood is expensive and so are all those switches and jacks since were buying good quality stuff. I'll keep updates posted as we progress.

 

[boogieman60]

They should come with a custom pair of suede slippers so you don't scratch them....Black please.....

 

[lyman]

They should come with a custom pair of suede slippers so you don't scratch them....Black please.....

Yeah, I was thinking along similar lines. How easy will they scuff, will the structure stand up to years of stompin, etc. A clear lacquer might keep them from getting too scuffed. But then again, if you're the type to shell out for lovely exotic wood loopers then you might not be a "slugging it out in the trenches" working musician gigging twice a week. Maybe somebody with a bit more disposable income and a finished basement to store their 1960's les pauls and their mullard-loaded tweed fender amps. But that's a big segment of the buyers these days. It all depends on how he markets them I suppose....

 

[jzerza]

Very good points! Yeah, if your a serious gigging musician or tough on gear, I'm sure they will get scuffed up. We have tried some different laquers and oils to protect them, and I think maple is the choice for the main portion due to it's hardness. His first one was metal. Looked a lot like the loopmaster's, but sourcing enclosures the right size is difficult if not impossible without going bulk and custom, so he decided to try wood. He can get the exact size and maximize pedalboard space by making them as
small as possible to accommodate the number of switches.
Needless to say though, they aren't going to be as strong as metal enclosures but they are quite sturdy and they sure are good looking. I guess we will see if there are enough slipper wearin folk out there with cash to spend to make it worth selling, if not, at least I'll have some cool looking loopers to play with and now that he's got some good friends who do professional woodwork and like doing this stuff, The next fun thing will be making hardwood cabinets for my Boogies