So after owning an AxeFxIIXL for 4 years, I finally picked up a MFC101 and 2 Dunlop expression pedals. My Behringer FCB1010 was working just fine with the UnO chip, but I got a sweet deal on the MFC I couldn't pass up.
Short story long, it seems that ZenRigs is the only company still active when it comes to making custom labels for MIDI devices, especially Fractal pedals. No offense to Sukh, his stuff looks good, but I like to have options. It seems the "Stomplabels" and "GIGWRX" guys are now defunct, with the Stomplabel account not logging in within the past 4 weeks, and GIGWRX 11 weeks ago. I haven't visited the MFC thread much because I didn't have one until recently.
Anything I missed? Is Sukh the only one out there still pursuing this market?
Hey mate, how's it going? No offence taken!!!
Choices are, indeed good! And the reason I started this entire crazy journey was in the pursuit of choice .. there was nothing out there that gave the flexibility I wanted or looked the way I wanted, so I chose to work out how to make exactly what I needed. It took a lot of time, experimentation, reinvestment and failed attempts to get KickTags to the point they are now - however, I started out with something that you could easily do for yourself, if you want to give yourself some choice. My early versions of KickTags were simple printed magnetic labels which, although they evolved over time, were still just simple printed magnetic labels. Making those is not particularly difficult (unless you're trying to scale it up as a business, use machinery instead of hand-cutting with blades, pay for software for design and cutting, get professional printing, and make the labels thicker/more durable etc), so if you're looking for 'options', I would suggest having a crack at making your own. It's actually quite good fun! (But I guess that's subjective).
You can get magnetic inkjet photo paper for $cheap online (exactly what my first attempts were made of) - just print what you need, cut with an exacto knife and you'll be able to make your own magnetic labels, as plain or as colourful and detailed as you like. There are plenty of graphics out there you can use - all you need to do is work out an outline for the switches, put your designs on something like powerpoint, print directly onto the photo paper, cut out your shapes (the mag photo paper is thin and can be very easily cut) and that's it.
If you're going this route, I'd recommend Kodak Injket photo paper. I'd also recommend that you laminate your prints, AFTER you cut them (so the exposed ends are also sealed) or they'll fade/ wear out really fast. You can get easy to use spray laminate to do this (it comes in a can) specially designed for photos (amazon has a bunch). Unless you have some kind of computer controlled cutter, then cutting will need to be by knife. Easiest way to achieve this by hand is to cut straight edges of the labels with a ruler and knife and then 'round' the corners withs scissors (round corners are less prone to fraying). Although an exacto will do the job, for tidier cuts and more precision, I'd recommend a surgical knife and blades (again - this is how I started tinkering and was how I ended up developing ideas that ultimately resulted in the Modular system of KickTags).
Not entirely sure if a potential option for you was to make your own, but I hope the above helps if you want to give it a bash. Shout any time if I can be of any help.
Cheers!
Sukh
