Jānis Altmanis
Latvia
Jānis.lv
www.jānis.lv
How long have you been a musician? How did you get into it in the first place?
I have been musician for 15 years but I started to make effect pedals 9 years ago. I made my first band 2004 and haven’t stop playing since. I have played in many bands but now I’m playing in my own band “Skumjas” (translation from Latvian to English – “Sadness”) instrumental post-metal, sludge, atmosphere. There are no records out yet.
Who have been some of your major musical influences, past or present?
Cult Of Luna, Solaris (Band from Latvia), Amenra, TESA (Band from Latvia), Earth, Jakob, Year Of No Light, Reka, Rosetta, Squrl.
What led to the start of Jānis.lv? How long have you been in business? How big is your operation/how many employees do you have?
It’s hard to say how long I have been in business because at the beginning I made clones for my friends but last 4 years or so I make my own branded pedals but It’s all in small batches and I’m by myself in pedal building.
At the beginning, in 2009, I restored an old “Orfej 201” guitar amp. After that, I made a Roland Double Beat Fuzz pedal without the wah part with a friend, who new how to do basic soldering. I loved It so much that I wondered, “What else can I make?” I started to learn what is a resistor, capacitor, what transistor does and so on. At the beginning, there was only few effect schematics in google so I found some old Russian schematics from forums and tried to make them. I collected electronic parts from old music players, TVs and other electronic equipment’s and made from them guitar effects. I loved the craft so much, I was building effect pedals all day and night. And I still love making pedals and music related stuff.
Did you have formal schooling, or are you self-taught? Take us through that story:
I’m self-taught in electronics, but for music I went to music school when I was in primary school. I hated it so much, ha-ha, I couldn’t wait to save money and buy a guitar.
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?
Hmm…I just love to make music related stuff. I would love to make more custom effects pedals and not predefined pedals. I make custom tube amps, too, but yeah, free time for that is a big pain in the ass, because I make stuff only in my free time after day job. For example, my “Miesnieks” pedal from start to finish took me like 4 years, “TreTre” took 2 years, “RNGD” half a year, and now I’m working on dual tube drive that will be finished soon, so new knowledge and experience lets finish projects faster. I’m not forcing myself to make new ideas or pedals – I make them when I want and when I’m inspired. That’s my approach for music, too.
What are some of the biggest concerns facing your profession today?
There are so many effect pedal builders now, but I think that’s cool because you never know what new ideas and effects can come out next day, and I think it’s awesome! But, as a pedal builder, I don’t worry, because I’m doing this for fun, and my day job is not related to music at all, as I work in the IT field.
Where do you see pedal building going in the future?
Pedal building is blowing up right now, but I see that many small companies are disappearing because of competition. I hope we will see new ideas and new changes in effects that we couldn’t imagine would be possible. If there are so many pedal builders, there should be some new incredible effects in the future.
Who are some of your favorite builders in the industry right now?
Recovery Effects, Shift Line, Rainger FX is like from another dimension, Beetronics, Alec from Mask Audio Electronics is making cool stuff, but oh man, there are so many.
Name the last 5 records you listened to:
1. Reka – Jupiter
2. Squrl – The Dead Don’t Die
3. Rosetta – Sower Of Wind
4. Pelican – Nighttime Stories
5. Silversun Pickups – Widows Weeds
Klon hype: Love it or Hate it?
Don’t care.
Any last comments, or anything you’d like to talk about?
If you have a sound in your head what you would like to sound like a musician – go for it!
Links:
www.jānis.lv
reverb.com/shop/janisaltmanis
www.instagram.com/janisaltmanis
Thanks so much to Jānis for taking the time to answer some questions! Make sure to go check out www.jānis.lv to peruse all of his gear – Cheers!
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