One of the best things about EffectsBay for me is the ability to meet cool builders, musicians and dealers that are passionate at what they do. Frankly, it’s very contagious and inspirational. It pushes and motivates me to ‘do’ things.. and that’s a good thing! Recently, I stumbled across StompRomp.com and was impressed with the gear selection and the vibe of the store in general. Here we have an online presence offering some quality gear for sure, and worthy of checking out. You can learn more here at their website, or follow them on Facebook and Twitter!
I had a chance to send some questions to Zach about StompRomp.com. This is what he had to say!
– So how did the idea of StompRomp come about?
The original idea of a small guitar shop with a big attitude came together about seven years ago in one of those “what am I going to do with my life” moments. My brother and I then started Rash Gash Guitars in Tel Aviv, Israel. Stomp Romp was going to be our international online store there, but bureaucracy and export limitations killed that idea. So when we decided to move everything to the States, it seemed like the appropriate name (Rash Gash doesn’t translate well, especially if you’re an Aussie!).
– What inspired you to create an online presence to sell quality pedals, amps and guitars?
The inspiration stems from our passion for creative music, high quality manufacturing and meeting über-cool fellas who engineer such devices. The internet is the best way to reach people with similar interests all over the world.
– Where are you guys located?
Manchester, NH
– Will you be opening a physical store in the future?
Yes, in just a few short weeks we will be opening our night store in a 19th century industrial mill building here in Manchester. After 5PM we basically have it all to ourselves, which will be quite fun!
– What are some of the hottest selling pedals right now?
As of now, Devi Ever fuzzes and the brand new Greenhouse Effects Retro Sky Delayser.
– Do you see a trend on certain types of pedals? For example, overdrives are hotter than ever, etc.
Overdrives will always be favorites, but I really like how popular fuzzes are getting. Even more conservative guitarists who used to think fuzzes are useless noise makers are starting to feel compelled to try them out.
– What do you like to see from pedal builders, coming from a dealer perspective? What’s important?
I like it when pedal builders think their designs through. The jacks of their entire series should be in the same place, to allow easy chaining. The knobs should be intuitive, and the unity gain should not pass 2 O’Clock. It’s important to leave headroom to crank it! The enclosure should be as small as possible and the design must speak out to you and tell you its story before you even plug it in. The sound must be different and radical in at least one way in order to promote creativity, but standard in others, to sustain usability.
– Are you getting any new builders in the near future?
We have a whole list of builders we want to work with. Most of them we’ve worked with at some point at Rash Gash. We elected to start with a small core and develop the brands one by one.
It’s still a secret at this point, but our next builder will be one we really respect as one of the world’s best and we will be the only dealers of his in the world.
– Do you have any deals that might interest EffectsBay readers?
We have some great deals on our Market page (http://www.stompromp.com/market.html). Some display items, some old models in new packages. Great chance to get some good stuff for a lot less.
– What do you think separates you from other dealers?
Our philosophy of the personal aspect of the store. I won’t say we’re not a business, but we don’t like to see fellow musicians simply as paying customers or our friends on the manufacturing side simply as suppliers. We want to get to know as many awesome artists as possible and help them achieve their desired tone and we love hearing builders talk passionately about their newest designs and crazy plans to destroy sound (in the good sense of course). The ones buying from us, and the ones selling to us, are all dudes with similar interests. That’s why we don’t intend on working with the large mainstream companies. We don’t feel we have much in common with them, they’re too obsessed with their sales. It is magical to see and be part of the entire process of builders having a unique idea, implementing it and then helping a guitarist harness its powers to formulate a magnificent composition. To us, that is the best reason to open a guitar store.
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