Hi all,
Promising update from Tom on Facebook today.
For those without ‘the book’:
“TL:DR - a small batch of T-16 Octaves have been added to the webstore with more to be added ASAP, some other things are changing at Cog too
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Hello all,
First up I want to let you know there are some T-16s available at www.cogeffects.co.uk/shop
Second, I just want to confirm that Cog Effects is still a thing, I'm making pedals and plan to do so for the foreseeable, but I need to make some changes to make it sustainable both financially and for my own health.
It's no secret that I haven't added stock to the website for some time.
The main reason for this is an absolute slump in my own mental health in recent years due to a combination of factors both in and out of my control that I either hadn't or couldn't effectively deal with and, to be brutally honest, this spiralled and I almost completely shut down. This has affected my personal life, physical and mental wellbeing, relationships, and of course Cog Effects. Over recent months, and with the support of people I am grateful to have in my life, I've begun to get to grips with many of these issues so I can start moving forward again. This will have some practical changes for Cog, which I will begin to outline below. The largest issue I have faced with Cog is having too many metaphorical balls in the air, which has been detrimental both to the level of service I have been able to offer and to my own wellbeing, and the changes I plan to make will be to help limit this.
1. The product range will be more streamlined. This will mean some pedals are retired, either temporarily or permanently. When new pedals are added this may then result in older ones being retired, again either temporarily or permanently.
2. New pedals will be less focused on earlier Cog designs, and more on aspects of effects that particularly interest me - primarily octave effects, modulation and signal routing.
3. Standard pedals will be simpler and more stripped back in appearance.
4. Pedals will be available to purchase only when they are in stock and ready to post.
5. I will have dedicated times set aside when I will handle correspondence, and plan to limit contact just to email (as opposed to social media messages as well) so I can stay on top of it better.
You can get me on
[email protected]
My aim with Cog Effects is to keep it simple, and to build products that I personally find interesting or inspiring for as long as enough other people also find them appealing enough to keep this financially viable. I have no aspirations for major outsourcing or sitting in an office while other people do the work or anything like that, and while I understand that such a choice will no doubt limit what I am able to offer/achieve in the future I'm also aware that because of how my brain works these changes will allow me to keep on top of things more easily.
Finally, mental health is some proper serious stinky poo. We all need to look out for those around us and step up for each other when things go sideways. Asking for help is not always easy, even when there are people who we know would want to help. Every single one of us has the ability to be a light in the darkness for someone else, reaching out can make a difference.
Tom x“