Forrest Whitesides
Function f(x)
Elk Grove Village, IL
www.function-fx.com
We have five partners: Dave F., Brian, Dave B., Jerry, and Forrest. Three of us are just outside of Chicago, one guy is a breath away from Nashville, and one is in NJ about 50 miles west of NYC. (Forrest has provided the answers below)
How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place?
I first started playing guitar in 1989. Just seemed like a fun thing for a middle school guy to do, and my mom and dad were long-time musicians. I got a really crappy acoustic at first. I mean really crappy. The finish on the fretboard was black paint, and the fret marker dots were very poorly painted on with what looked like silver spray paint and a stencil. After that, I cut lawns all summer and used the money to buy a 1991 Fender American Standard Stratocaster. Much better.
Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present?
Starting out it was Iron Maiden, Slayer, Megadeth, and The Sex Pistols, but also NWA and Public Enemy. Then later, Faith No More, Alice in Chains, Pantera, and Rage Against the Machine. Lately I’ve been into Pink Floyd, Gov’t Mule, Fleet Foxes, This Will Destroy You, The Sword, Ancient Warlocks, Electric Moon, Plini, and Mastodon.
What led to the start of Function f(x)? How long have you been in business?
Dave F. had the original idea and recruited the rest of the team. Forrest and Brian had been tearing apart pedals and figuring out how they tick for a few years and had collaborated on several projects. Brian is also the owner/operator of Madbean Pedals, a business that designs and sells effects PCBs for DIY pedal enthusiasts. Dave B. brings a lot of sales experience to the team, as well as a very impressive collection of vintage guitars and amps. Jerry is the engineering brains of the operation and he and Dave F. take our ideas from prototypes to production-ready products.
We sold our first pedal in the final weeks of 2014, so 2015 was the real first year of business.
We don’t have any employees at this point, just five partners in the LLC. It’s all sweat equity right now.
Did you have formal schooling, or are you self-taught? Take us through that story:
I have an English degree from NC State (go Pack!). Everything related to electronics I learned from books, web sites, hobbyist forums, and the school of hard knocks. A lot of people contributed to helping me get to where I am, and I am very thankful for that. The other guys in the company have taught me a lot about all of the work it takes to go from a concept to a manufactured product. There is a LOT going on between those two points in the process.
What drives you as far as new pedal creation is concerned? How long does it typically take for an idea to come full circle and become a demo pedal? What’s the process behind new gear, and the eventual release of it to the public?
This won’t surprise anyone, but our general approach for product development is predicated on simply developing circuits that we think sound great with a lot of different setups. That’s pretty much every pedal company’s main goal. But more than that, we want to make sure each product has as much tonal functionality as we can cram into one box. And we strive to be as creative and original as possible with each product. Because of this, it often takes us quite a long time to go from concept to finished product ready for sale.
What are some of the biggest concerns facing your profession today?
Market saturation is always an issue, but in the medium to long term, that sort of thing sorts itself out. I’m not sure what the biggest concern is, but a major ongoing issue is retail price erosion caused by perpetual coupon codes. It’s hard to maintain consistent MAP (minimum advertised price) across all dealers when a small subset of dealers has a 15% or 20% discount coupon code almost always available. It’s sort of like the “Wal-Mart effect” but in the boutique pedal market. I’ve heard the phrase “race to the bottom” used by other pedal builders regarding this trend.
Where do you see pedal building going in the future?
Obviously, digital is a rising force in the medium and smaller companies, and has been gaining steam for quite some time. It used to be the domain of only large companies like Boss or Ibanez, but now even very small companies can develop fully digital products. I think that’s where most of the really innovative developments will come in the near term. But there is still always room for creative tinkerers to come up with new takes on analog favorites. And of course, there will always be a market for “historical reproduction” pedals. It seems that nostalgia is always part of the wave of the future.
Who are some of your favorite builders in the industry right now?
Too many to mention them all, so here are just a few: Barber Electronics, Catalinbread, Subdecay, Black Arts Toneworks, Dr. Scientist, Jack Deville, Neunaber Audio, Walrus Audio, ToneFreak, Smallsound/Bigsound and Blackout Effectors. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Electro-Harmonix continues to put out fantastic stuff. Oh, and TC Electronic blows my mind from an engineering and product development standpoint. I met Tore Mogensen from TC at last year’s Summer NAMM, and he was such a nice guy (and super tall!).
Name the last 5 records you listened to:
1. Sky Blue Sky – Wilco
2. Pet Sounds – Beach Boys
3. Introduce Yourself – Faith No More
4. Enema of the State – Blink 182
5. Ancient Warlocks II – Ancient Warlocks
Klon hype: Love it or Hate it?
I used to enjoy the drama, but I think it’s a dead horse(y) at this point. Cool product, great tones, but the party is over.
Any last comments, or anything you’d like to talk about?
Follow us on Instagram for sneak peeks at new products, promo giveaways, and general shenanigans: https://www.instagram.com/function_fx/
We do sell direct for those customers who want the personal connection, but we recommend buying from our network of excellent dealers which can be found on our web site: http://function-fx.com/dealers.html
Thanks so much to Forrest for taking the time to answer some questions!
Make sure to go check out www.function-fx.com, cheers!
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