Tagboardeffects Announcement

[IvIark]

We've been posting tagboard and vero layouts for 5 years now and with myself and Miro being quiet for a while people have expressed some concern about where the site is going.  We have no intention of giving up on DIY but sometimes personal commitments take over and talking from a personal perspective a combination of a trapped nerve, a death in the family and a new job have taken a lot out of me.  It was impossible to concentrate like I needed to when I had the trapped nerve and by the time that had cleared up to the point I could, other things came up one after another to the point when the little bit of free time I got I just wanted to relax rather than spend hours squinting at schematics.

But we have built a great community here, something that is emphasised by a quick scan in the forum where some excellent topics are discussed and new circuits developed, with a continually enthusiastic audience.  So I think the site deserves a shot in the arm and something to get it moving again, maybe in different directions.

As such myself and Miro have spoken before about having more administrators and authors on the blog and it is with pleasure that we can now introduce Javi (JaviCAP), Zach (rocket88), Travis (Travis) :o), and Alex80 (Alex) as new administrators and authors.  All have been active members for a long time now and have helped make the blog and especially the forum a great place to be.

This isn't necessarily to just add new layouts to the blog because there really isn't as many to go at now we've posted over 800 layouts, but also potentially to move in other directions to appeal to a wider audience.  So posts about general DIY, tips and tricks, and other things that will be of interest to people can help liven the place up and give people some interesting opinions to read.  There can also never be too many people to answer questions! :o)

So we have increased the numbers by 4 at this stage, but there are a number of other people on the blog and forum who have been great members of the site and contributed massively, and to be honest I am happy to increase the admin numbers more if some other people think they have something they would like to contribute.  Be that vero, perf or maybe PCB layouts.  General DIY posts?  Or what about amps?  I'm happy for us to go in whatever direction the members here want, and I'm always available on email if anyone wants a chat about it.

At the end of the day I want us to provide something for everyone interested in DIY am sure that the guys we have asked will help us do that.

Solder on dudes! :o)

[Ciaran Haslett]

4 complete legends who will no doubt carry on the tremendous work you and Miro have done here.  A pleasure to be a part of it.  Here's to the future of Tagboard Effects

PS... hope you can still find the time to live a little yourself Mark.

[Beaker]

All the very best to you Mark, and to Miro too of course. I know the site is in very safe hands now that The Fantastic Four are looking out for us.

[bogey]

Firstly I'd like to thank both Mark and Miro for their sterling work thus far. Without the great layouts they have posted I would never have got into this hobby.

And secondly....Congratulations to our new administrators. Worthy choices all four.  

[Chris60601]

Oh CRAP.... There goes the neighborhood *insert sheepish grin*

Congrats guys!!! And to all the others, let's not forget that new admins MUST buy the first 12 rounds... EACH! It's a moral imperative  

[Frank_NH]

What a great group! Congratulations guys!!

[tabbycat]

this is the perfect fumio mieda superfuzz mafia set up; four loyal transistors looking after business and an octave pair crowning the top-end and giving the beast its signature tone. it's totally shin-ei.

just taking the opportunity to say a massive thanks to mark and miro for setting the whole thing up. it's pitched really sweetly as a site and a pleasure to hang out at. a really nice place.
am sorry to hear that personal circumstances and competing demands on limited time mean you both have to juggle things differently at present, but the tone you two have set for the site from the very start seems to continue to resonate through all the threads that get posted here, even those in which you are not directly involved. there is a gfx spirit about the place.

re ideas for the site, i probably have too many wild and impractical ideas for my own good, almost certainly for a single head, but a few might be of interest, if other members want to dismiss or support according to their merits.

amps would be interesting. i think the idea has already taken root and found favour elsewhere here before i even saw this post, but that had to happen. am all for it.

'synth corner' for synth-related stuff noise boxes, drones, filters, etc, might be an interesting avenue to explore. i've been fascinated and up for it for years, but especially lately i notice drone is getting to be a thing, as they say. might be cool to have a section for all that kind of thing. may require a moment's reflection to work out how the distinction can be drawn between guitar effects and synth (maybe if it works under its own steam, or relies on a cv rather than a guitar input, it's synth) but it's an idea worthy of exploring a bit i think.

something i really think is seriously overdue is a 'newbie's library'. not to ghetto-ize or divert newbie input away from the main threads, that is the lifeblood and we were all newbies once. but to help concentrate stuff that comes up again and again in one place and under clear and easy to locate headings. offboard wiring, trouble-shooting basics, how to wire a 3pdt, what are the main components and how do they work, understanding circuit blocks, etc. (some of it is here already in mark and miros guides).

a lot of these subjects have already been well-documented and inputted by members here, sometimes on multiple occasions, but they often get somewhat buried (lost) all over the forum under vague headlines like 'help, i'm stuck' or 'i have a problem', which makes them difficult to search for when needed most. they end up being simultaneously ubiquitous (big words) and invisible. like a fire extinguisher disguised as a hoover.
whereas if a newbie could go to the newbie library, hit 'how to wire up an led' or 'cap orientation basics' etc, it would pop up straight away.

the library could be a mix of threads that arise (past and present) here naturally, but tidied into one area, and also links of great value to newbies (and not just newbies) that we find all over the place all the time (am thinking 'keen's law's', 'beavis stuff', links to essential electrosmash things, etc).

the support within threads for projects would continue as always, but we would better be able to refer key recurring points (the dreaded 3pdt, for example) to tried and trusted reference threads and links always close at hand in-house.

so anyway, a newbie reference library of sorts. maybe calling it that would be a bad idea since it could be taken to sound condescending or ghetto. 'gfx reference central' would do just as well.
and to be fair, we all have to refer to stuff all the time, so it's not going to be only used by newbies.

so there are three ideas for the pot. got about a million more, but three to start.

long live gfx. ten more years. ho!

[Silver Blues]

I, for one, welcome our new admin overlords. I've been enjoying this site for a few years now and it's nice to see it branch into a little community-driven operation. It's also nice to see some outstanding members of our community get recognized for their contributions.

A big thanks to Mark and Miro for all they've done and condolences for the issues in their lives. We hope you all feel better and can keep supporting this great hobby and entertaining us all.

@Tabby that library thing is a great idea.

[rocket88]

agreed. i'm on it.

[Kost1978]

Thanks Mark and Miro for the job you did since now. I remember quite weel my first steps here and your replies to my newbie questions, always kind and able to let me solve some issues...
Even if I don't have many posts under my belt I'm always surfing the blog and always finding something interesting to read in the forum and blog's comments.
So, cheers to the new admins, I'm sure it'll be fun as usual to keep on reading!
Greetings from Italy!

[giudis]

:( take care men, thanks for all!!!

[vid.sicious]

Congratulations to all of you! I'm sure this is going to be a huge improvement for the site! I'm really looking forward to some more synth layouts. And yes, a beginners corner would be a massive help to all the newbs. This is going to be so great!

[Beaker]

The "Reference Library" is a fantastic idea. It could expand on the component guide and offboard wiring pages already here, and could include step-by-step guides and photo tutorials, if users are willing to submit them. I've been meaning to document a "how-to" guide for shielded wiring for a while now, as it is something that comes up fairly often. I will get on it and submit that for starters.

It could include tips and tricks, tool recommendations etc.

As well as synths and noise makers, we could have a seperate section for all the "little helpers"- splitters, blenders, DI ciruits, cab simulators etc?


EDIT: A "Document Library" would be a good idea too - everything from resistor and capacitor colour/number code charts for the beginners, and transistor/doide comparison charts for the more experienced.

[Freppo]

This is great news! One of my favourite places on the internet just got better. :)
I wish best of luck to Mark and Miro, and also to the new gang.

/ Fredrik

PS. Would it be possible by any chance that a link to my little blog could be added to the links section?

[IvIark]

Freppo wrote

This is great news! One of my favourite places on the internet just got better. :)
I wish best of luck to Mark and Miro, and also to the new gang.

/ Fredrik

PS. Would it be possible by any chance that a link to my little blog could be added to the links section?

Yes no problem, I'll add it.  I would have loved you to be here too but thought you'd have enough on with your own blog

[jalmonsalmon]

I am excited to know tagboard is still alive and well!  

[El-even]

all the best to you guys and big respect for the job you have done here through these years

[PEPPER!]

Best wishes to you and Miro and thanks for all your work on this site and its forum.  I am mostly a lurker but it's been an invaluable resource for me - and I'm sure many others - since the day I got into this stuff, and I'm happy to see that it will continue to grow.  Congratulations to the new mods!

[Freppo]

IvIark wrote

Yes no problem, I'll add it.  I would have loved you to be here too but thought you'd have enough on with your own blog

Thanks! No problem, I do have my hands full with my own blog. :)

[Onepiece]

Great to see the site going from strength to strength!