I have nothing new to say about 2020 writ large. But if you’ll indulge me, I have some catching up to do about big picture goings-on here at EAE. What should have been regularly spaced blog content was instead atomized into little updates across our instagram feed. So, here is a look at the year we’ve had here and where things are headed.
The last six months of the Beforetimes were some of the most exciting in my life. I moved, got married, began interviewing for jobs, and entered the final phase of my PhD research. And EAE hadn’t slowed down one bit either.
I distinctly remember the last time I went out for dinner. It was my birthday in mid March, and I was excitedly telling my friends about how the new laser that my lab had installed. This was no ordinary laser, I shouted between bites of pizza, this was a custom made tunable laser that took over a year to arrive and would let me finally complete my thesis project!
Instead, one week later we shut down the laser, and I said farewell to the lab to write my thesis at home with the data I already had. The companies that had shown interest in me as a graduate-to-be suspended their hiring efforts and stopped returning my emails. Everything felt uncertain, but I hunkered down all the same and spent a solid month doing nothing but write.
By the end of April my thesis was complete, with my (at the time) seemingly meager data crafted into a coherent narrative spanning 100+ pages, and my would-be final experiment presented in a meticulous here’s what I would have done if the world hadn’t gone to hell format. (Note: my thesis may be found here if you wish to read it. Be warned, it is very dry.) Despite doing so entirely from my home office, my defense was a joyful day. And then, I was done.
Somewhere in the midst of all this we managed to release the Surveyor, Halberd, and Hypersleep. Looking back I am astonished that we pulled it off. I have nothing but gratitude for our scattered but dedicated family of assembly technicians to thank for saving these from becoming vaporware.
After my defense I had some time to actually think about my life and came to a few key realizations. First, I realized that I immensely enjoyed working from home. Second, I realized that job-hunting in a pandemic was going to suck. Third, I realized that I… basically already had a job. I had always considered EAE a hobby run amok, a perpetual afterthought relying on stolen time during early mornings, late nights, weekends. But really, I had built something special to me, something that could very possibly succeed if I gave it the space to grow. So I went for it.
Six months into devoting all my working hours to pedals, our outlook is good. With time and energy for both, I no longer have to choose between manufacturing and R&D. Thanks to you all we have been regularly selling through batches of pedals, which lets us steadily ramp up production. Indeed, my primary goal for the second half of 2020 was to shore up our manufacturing operation. While it took a few months, the current revisions of our pedals are the most reliable and manufacturable products we have ever made and will make designing new products easier.
By the end of this year, we will have returned the Model feT, Longsword, and Surveyor to regular production. After some false starts the Dagger is complete and ready to manufacture, and we’ll be transitioning the Halberd to our new format as well. As part of this effort we are also retiring a couple models. The Mu Blaster was retired a couple weeks ago, and the Beholder will be following in January. I will be uploading schematics to the DIY section of the site for anyone who wishes to make their own.
And outside our regular product line we also finally had the opportunity to collaborate with a band! Limelight, our collab with Touché Amoré, was our most successful launch to date. The experience of getting it to market was a wild ride, and I’m proud of what we were able to accomplish together. (PS - I strongly suggest listening to their new record, Lament, if you have not yet done so.)
Next year we’ll pick right up where we left off, with some new things too. The first new batches of Longswords and Surveyors are coming in January. The Hypersleep will have at least one last hurrah, provided I can find enough BBDs—we have about half of what I need for a batch to be worthwhile. More Limelights are in progress as well, with a release slated for March. The Obstructures collaboration pedal has entered production as well, and it’s my intention that it will become the first of a whole new product line.
Then what? I did not anticipate spending this much time on design revisions, so right now I am sitting on a few half-baked concepts that will hopefully benefit from everything I’ve passively learned in the background. Sending V2 is the highest priority right now. I thought it would be close to done by the end of this year, but doing things right takes a while and I’ve been bogged down by option paralysis to some extent. I’ve begun early ventures into DSP that I hope will return something of value, though it’s too soon to tell what those will be. My third-party work has transitioned from straightforward layout commissions to bigger team projects, which has been immensely enjoyable. I value collaboration above all else in this industry and am thankful for the opportunities I’ve been given.
Whatever I do, I’ll be sure to share as much as I can about the process as long as y’all keep enjoying it. And on that note, if you made it this far, thank you. I’m just happy to be here. Cheers, happy holidays, and stay safe out there folks.
John