“Especially with what’s going on in this world, it just doesn’t seem worth it anymore”: The maker of the cult classic King of Tone pedal is thinking of hanging up his soldering iron

The founder of Analog Man pedals has revealed that he might be forced to hang up his soldering iron in the not-too-distant future.

Famous, above all, for its legendary King of Tone overdrive pedal, the Analog Man brand faces an uncertain future in the face of rising tariffs and other economic uncertainties.

“Every part we get is going to cost 50% more due to the tariffs. We pay the tariffs, and then the consumer pays the tariffs. China’s not paying the tariffs. They never have.”

“It’s even getting harder to find parts,” he develops. “A lot of companies are saying that they don’t want to deal with this – they’re saying, ‘We’re not going to ship you parts because we don’t know what’s going on.’ There’s no second source.”

Piera hasn’t kept the King of Tone recipe a secret, but while he says the pedal could have a future without him, he says other Analog Man stompboxes could fade out were he to step back from the game.

“Some of the other pedals, like the Sun Face [fuzz], need me because every time we get new transistors, I have to determine whether they can be used or not, or how to tweak the circuit to get the tones you want,” Piera details. “A lot of the knowledge is finding the parts, and knowing what to look for in the old transistors, because there are so many fakes.”

It showcases the mounting issues that gear manufacturers are facing. Indeed, Harley Benton has blamed the tariffs for its decision to close its US Reverb store, having only opened in October 2024, and Morgan Amps has said the tariffs will add $1,000 to the prices of its builds.

Others, though, are weathering the storms in innovative ways, including D’Addario and one astute Irish firm.

A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He’s also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.