Q n A: The answers to life's toughest questions

How do I order a pedal?

Why it couldn't be simpler.  Just head over to the Store, pick out the pedal you want and click the Add to Cart button. You can then checkout with PayPal or your preferred payment method and your pedal will ship ASAP.

You'll get an order conformation email shortly after you place your order, and a special email will be sent to you when your pedals ships out.  It will have all the tracking info as well.  JOY!

If something weird happened and you didn't get your tracking info, check your Spam or Junk Mail folder.  For some reason that none of us here at Mr. Black can explain, tracking info sometimes goes to the Spam folder.  Basically, if you're pedal shipped (and you received your order conformation email) tracking info was sent to you as well.  Check that Spam/Junk folder.

How do I know if a pedal is in stock?

Another simple one:
If you can add it to your cart, its in stock and ready to ship.

We ONLY sell in-stock pedals that we can ship immediately (any exception will have its lead-time noted on the product page).

What if a pedal is out of stock?

Sadly, there is still an active pandemic here in the U.S.A. and consequently, production is a little slower than it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and some parts have become very difficult to source/receive. As a result, sometimes pedals sell-out and are out of stock for a short time.

There is great news here:
Unless the out-of-stock pedal is a special run, it is in cue to be built and will be back in stock again soon. Check back in a day or two if what you see is sold out. It'll be back soon. I promise!

I live in Portland, can I pick up my order?

Sadly, No. We are a manufacturing facility, and as such, our insurance has specific prohibitions about retail operations and customer pick-up. I know, it sucks, but insurance is insurance and they set the rules on this one.
The good news is that if you are in Portland, shipping time is almost always 1-day. Often times, under 24 hours!

I'll be in Portland, OR. How about a shop tour or visit?

Again, No.
Just the same as in-shop order pick-up, we are a manufacturing facility, and as such, our insurance has specific prohibitions about retail operations, visits, fun and all that kind of stuff.

We also ask that you respect the privacy of our personnel and do not track us down on social media, or at our private residences/domiciles. I know this seems like common sense, but Jack has personally encountered this more times than he can remember. This type of behavior is disturbing and "creepy."

Should you see one of us out and about on the town, stopping to say "Hi" is welcomed and appreciated, but please respect our privacy and the privacy of others just as you would like your own respected. :)

So how long does shipping take then?

Well that's a pretty broad question, don't you think?  Generally, orders are processed the same day they are received and your pedal should ship out within 1 - 2 business days of your order. Sometimes, we can even get em out same day!

Most domestic (inside U.S.A.) orders arrive to their destination within 2 - 7 business days of shipping notice, and international (outside U.S.A.) orders arrive within 3 - 5 business days of shipping notification.

Wanna know more?  Check out the Shipping page.

How do you ship orders?

All domestic orders are shipped via USPS (United States Postal Service) or UPS, and your choice of USPS Express, UPS Express/Saver or DHL Express Worldwide for all international destinations.

We will always recommend selecting USPS Priority Mail for domestic orders. Priority Mail does a really good job balancing time-in-transit vs. freight-cost (Priority Mail is pretty darned fast and while it does cost more than Free, it really is quite a deal for the speed and service you receive), however if quick delivery is of no concern, nothing beats Free Shipping!

If you need signature conformation, please email us a reply to your Order Conformation email and let us know!

So, do you ship internationally?

We sure do! Countries we can currently ship to are listed to select from in a drop-down menu during the checkout process.  More info about shipping can be found on our Shipping Page.

If we can't currently ship to your country, please visit our Retailers Page to find a retailer near you, or contact your local guitar store and urge them to carry Mr. Black!

What about insurance?

Yes! Shipping insurance is a great thing to opt for and include with your order. While it is rare, things can happen during transit and losing your order to some oddball accident in transit is a real drag. Knowing you'll be fully covered in the unlikely event of damage/theft/loss is certainly worth the few bucks it costs.

We offer three basic shipping insurance options/tiers:

  • Free Shipping (no insurance)
  • Priority Mail Basic ($100.00USD insurance included)
  • Fully Insured (Available as an option with USPS Priority Mail and automatically included with any domestic UPS option)

What is your return policy?

We're a small pedal company, not a rental agency.

We are not a**holes though, and if your Mr. Black pedal just won't work for you, you can return your pedal within seven days of purchase/delivery in its original packaging for a refund.  Please read below:

  • Due to many factors: a flat $25.00 restocking fee applies to each returned item.
  • Shipping charges are non-refundable.
  • Returned items must have been purchased from directly from us and delivered within the previous seven days.
  • Returned items must be in "as-new" condition. Chips, scratches, stickers, applied velcro, missing knobs or anything that has changed since the pedal was brand new voids our return policy, but you can always flip it on the used market.
  • An RMA# will be issued and must be referenced with return paperwork.
  • All special editions, B-stock and clearance item sales are FINAL.

Please contact us within seven days of purchase/delivery using the Contact Form if you have questions or would like to coordinate your return.

PLEASE NOTE:
An RMA# must be issued to complete your return & a flat $25.00 restocking fee applies to each returned item.

Please allow up to 7 business days from the arrival date of your package to us for approval and processing of your return, although it usually only takes a day or two.
Depending on method of payment, your refund will be credited and arrive in your account within 1 - 5 business days.

Can I order a custom pedal or have modifications done to my pedal?

Sadly, no.  We don't have the bandwidth to make one-off pedals or perform modifications of any type.
Modifications to our pedals VOIDS YOUR WARRANTY.  Keep that in mind before you send your pedal off to that "internet mod guy" who will undoubtedly wreck your pedal.

Its a really a simple mod.  Can you just make this little change for me?

No.  Period.

While we really wish we could, we do not do mods of OF ANY TYPE to any of our production units.  It would be totally rad if we could, but we simply wouldn't be able to meet our production demands and build the pedal that you want to have modded.  If you really really just need it this certain way, and its *just a little change*, perhaps you need a different pedal.  :)

What about headroom?  Can I use Mr. Black on my synth/bass/active instrument?

While there isn't an established metric for "line level," it typically describes around a 1V peak-to-peak signal.  This means that unless your synth or guitar/bass is crazy high-output, you shouldn't have any concerns regarding the headroom of your Mr. Black pedal.

Here's a little more info and some specs for ya:

All of our compact reverb, delay, and modulation pedals, and the entire mini line (save the Mini OD-503), can handle up to a 3V peak-to-peak signal before the onset of clipping, and the FwonkBeta can comfortably handle the same 3V peak-to-peak signal and stay clean.

All of our stereo pedals easily take a 3V peak-to-peak signal and stay clean.

The ThunderClaw, JDS-50, Mini OD-503 and the fuzz pedals we make are all SUPPOSED to distort.

Again, unless your instrument is really, super-duper crazy high-output, headroom with any Mr. Black pedal will never be a concern.

How come you don't have a "V2" of any pedal?

Well basically, my friend, we do it right the first time!

While declaring a "Version X" is super neato and cool, and "must be better than the Version (X-1)," we just don't do things like that.  Instead, we design it right the first time and deliver a damned fine pedal you can count on for years rather than a pedal that will be "updated" with the "newer better-er version" a few weeks/months/years down the line, leaving you bummed you have a Version 1.

How about endorsements?

Hell yeah we do endorsements!

You endorse us with a financial "donation," equal to the cost of the product you wish to endorse, and we'll endorse you with a product!
Endorsement forms can be found by clicking the Add to Cart buttons on the product pages.

I'd like to make a pedal demo video for you!

Killer man! We love demo videos. Especially when they feature our products.
Please read on:

If you are a serious "YouTube Personality" with an established channel and a good sized following (min. 60k active channel subscribers), regularly publish guitar effect related content, average at least 5k views per video within its first week of publication, we may be interested in working with you, and we'd love to see your metrics and hear what you you're thinking.

If you aren't quite there yet, we highly encourage you to continue to build your channel by purchasing a pedal, making a demo video or two!!

What about a discount?

Ahh discounts. Everybody wants em.

The best way to keep up on the keepings ups and ups keepings is to join the Black List.  You'll be rubbing shoulders and elbows with the dignified and proud and you'll also be the first to know about exclusive deals, offers and promos. Its a good thing, really.  Oh yeah, and its free too.  How's that for a discount?

Also:  discounts are NEVER retroactive.  Ever.

My pedal doesn't work!  Is it defective? What do I do?

While it is possible something happened during shipping, it is highly unlikely that there is anything wrong with your pedal.
All pedals go through extensive checks and testing procedures during production, again during packaging and one more time before actual shipment.
Trust us here: your pedal was thoroughly tested and closely inspected before it left our shop.  It's just how we do things.

If you are having trouble with your pedal, check your battery/power supply (you'd be shocked as to how many times we've had pedals come in with bad/dead batteries), patch cables and amplifier performance.  99.98% of all concerns are related to funky patch cables.  0.019% are dead batteries, and 0.001% are actually internal electrical faults within the pedal.

Still convinced something is wrong?  Check our Warranty page first.

My pedal is noisy.  Is it broken?

No, its not broken.  There are bahgillions of reasons for noise to occur within a guitar signal chain and while our pedals boast really good signal to noise ratios, they aren't 50,000,000:1.
A little hiss is normal, especially if you are running any kind of reverb into any kind of gain. We have observed a dirty AC30 to be the worst culprit.

If your amp has an effects loop, try your pedal there and four days later, after you've recovered from three days of sleep deprivation and bloody finger-tips, we'll thank you for the gushing email.

A bought a used pedal and it is broken. How can I get it fixed?

We support and service our products, even when purchased second hand, but things get really complicated when unfamiliar hands get intimate with complex electronics.

Sadly, there are MANY people who purchase pedals, then decide that they will modify the unit, or skip contacting us about a concern that they have, and then attempt a "repair" themselves. This situation is very common and almost always ends with a really broken pedal.
To further complicate matters, we have observed a trend of people "fixing" their pedals then selling the limping unit online to someone they don't know, passing the buck as it were. If you purchased a used Mr. Black pedal and it is broken or not performing properly upon arrival, the best thing to do is to contact the party who you purchased the pedal from.

Pedals which are out of warranty can generally be serviced, repaired and brought back to life and factory service refreshes the warranty on the unit!
To have your pedal repaired, please contact us to obtain a Service Request Form and co-ordinate your repair. Typical repair turn time is 1 - 2 days.

Non-Warranty Service and Repair Costs:

 Pedal/Size Repair Cost
Doomsticks I & II $50.00*
Mini Pedal $75.00*
Compact Pedals $100.00*
Analog Chorus/Vibrato Deluxe $150.00*
Stereo Pedals $150.00*

*All non-warranty service renews our factory warranty and includes complimentary Priority return shipping in the continental USA; International return shipping carries an additional flat fee of $50.00USD.

 

Do you sell replacement parts?

Turns out we do.  Genuine Mr. Black Replacement Parts are available here.

PLEASE NOTE:  we do not offer ANY technical support for installation, application or use of replacement parts.

And your warranty?

Click here!