- This topic has 7 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 2 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
BYOC is the pedal kit business that began my pedal building journey and obsession back in 2006. I built several of their kits as well as using some of their PCB’s for pedals. I am sure some on this board have built their pedals and maybe started with them, and IIRC Barry was one of them. One of their board monitors, duhvoodooman, has visited here and built at least one GPCB pedal.
It was based on a recommendation on the BYOC message board that I visit here to obtain PCB’s. I have never looked back as Barry’s boards are great, especially for DIY combo pedals. The NostalgiaTone boards I think tap a new market and hopefully will make GPCB very successful. Many guitarists are trying to emulate certain artists or styles of tones and the NostalgiaTone products hit the mark. Now that a pedal building resource is going by the wayside, it would be great if people would spread the word about GPCB. And no, I am not a paid spokesman for GPCB, I just want to keep this venture alive and not bite the dust like BYOC. I am winding down my pedal building experience, but will still build something from time to time, and also participate on this board if I can be helpful, although there are those who participate here that are way more knowledgeable than me.
I wonder if the cheap Chinese pedals of classic circuits along with the difficulty of sourcing parts, especially NOS parts is what did in BYOC. I noticed during the last couple of years more and more of their kits were unavailable and for long stretches of time, something that can be a business killer, with less and less traffic to the website. The classic circuits were their main specialty – classic pedals with “original” parts, basically providing a boutique build without the boutique price. I also suspect digital modeling improvements over the years was also a factor.
First, thank you for the kind words.
It’s always tough to see a long-standing website like BYOC close its doors after 20 years. While I can’t speak directly to their reasons, I can offer some insight based on my experience in the DIY project PCB niche.
Fifteen years ago, only a handful of us were providing PCBs and support, making the market small but manageable. Over the last decade, however, the niche has become more saturated as new websites have popped up. It’s like the first day of trout season—once everyone knows where the fish are stocked, the crowds arrive, and suddenly each person catches less, with some leaving empty-handed.
For those of us who rely on this business as our livelihood, the pressure from increased competition is significant. I’ve had to lower prices, continually reinvent my brand, and offer revolving deals just to stay in the game. I remain dedicated to delivering high-quality PCBs at prices often half that of competitors, many of whom treat their PCB business as a side project. As a result, I’ve seen five other PCB businesses close down in the last two years on the World stage. What started as maybe 5-8 PCB distributors 15 years ago erupted into 30+ not including Alibaba, eBay, and Amazon now.
The saturation of such a niche market is very real, and it creates constant challenges for those of us who depend on it. While I can’t speak for BYOC’s closure, I certainly understand the struggles that come with a crowded landscape.
In times like these, community support is more vital than ever. It’s not just about offering the best quality at the best price, but about fostering a community around the products. To keep niche businesses like mine alive, your engagement is crucial—whether it’s purchasing products, commenting on forum posts, sharing your finished builds, or helping spread the word on YouTube and Facebook. Your involvement helps us continue to create and support the projects you love.
When I started I think the only places for pedal kits I could find were GGG, BYOC and probably Madbean. Being a neophyte builder, I chose BYOC because of the detailed step by step instructions and great support forum. The other places really didn’t supply detailed instructions. After building a couple of pedals, then you could get the confidence for building pedals with less detailed instructions.
Now there are several specific sites for PCB’s and kits. However, I don’t think any of them provide the guide one along the way instructions like BYOC. I think most of these came about more recently – past 5-10 years or so, BYOC, GGG and Small Bear were sort of the OG back when I started looking in 2006. GPCB came about a couple of years after that (maybe late 2009 or early 2010). Now even the parts suppliers sell pedal kits like Stew Mac, Tayda, etc. Even kits are sold on Amazon. Now it appears the competition is fierce.
“Now even the parts suppliers sell pedal kits like Stew Mac, Tayda, etc.”
Yes, just to name a few with regards to the etc…
To put it into perspective, when I first approached Musikding in 2011 to carry my product in Europe, I was one of only three suppliers. Today, there are 23. You can imagine how just that alone has affected me personally.
Again, I have no idea why Keith is closing. He may simply be retiring, but either way it is entirely too much competition for such a small niche. It is inevitable that some will not make it.
I was a big fan of BYOC and started building their pedals around 10 years ago. One of my BYOC pedals is malfunctioning at the moment and I thought I’d check their old forum page for troubleshooting support. I was very disappointed to see that they closed up shop!
Would be ok to ask for some support from you guys here at GuitarPCB? I was pretty excited to stumble across you all!
Thanks!
Yes, you can ask.
Just keep in mind we are not all familiar with everything, schematics, or experience with them.
Create a separate support thread.
I thought they’d closed months ago? Years back, I built a BYOC Slow Gear with Aqua Teen Graphics – Quad Laser. Their Leeds Fuzz was Sweet Raucous in a box! That said, Barry makes terrific problem free PCB’s … even his V1 boards always worked for me.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.