Some news stories feel technical, others feel personal. This one happens to be both.
Last week, the RhPf Tone Maps appeared on Mule, South Korea’s largest guitar forum. A respected long-time member, shared the Nerd Lab under the title “페달 성향을 알아볼 수 있는 사이트”. Which means “A site to learn pedal characteristics”. Within hours, the post had hundreds of views, up-votes, and a thread full of players dissecting frequency graphs like engineers at a late-night jam.
The author introduced RhPf Electronics as a Swiss pedal maker offering a refreshing new service, a way to compare how pedals actually behave. Members immediately jumped in, surprised by what they saw. One guitarist wrote, “I didn’t expect the DS-1 to be so flat.” Another added, “That high-end ‘rice-washing’ sound finally makes sense when you look at the chart.” Others compared the TS9 and 808, amazed that their curves were “almost identical,” which led to a detailed discussion about why identical graphs do not always mean identical tone. It was the best kind of nerdy, curious, technical, and authentically musical.
A Personal Connection
For me, this mention hits home. Years ago, while working on an engineering project with Samsung Engineering in Seoul, I spent a couple of years immersed in the city’s rhythm. There were late dinners in Itaewon, live bands at Hongdae’s FF Club, and unforgettables days exploring the Nagwon Musical Instrument Arcade, a multi-floor paradise of guitars, pedals, and tube amps stacked to the ceiling. Seeing Korean players now discovering the Tone Maps feels surreal. It is like the spark that started back then found its way back to Seoul.
A Warm Welcome from Mule
The Mule community did not just share a link. They engaged, analyzed, and welcomed the idea with genuine enthusiasm. That kind of interest means a lot to an indeoendant pedal brand from small Basel like ours. It shows that the Nerd Lab connects players across languages and continents who love understanding sound as much as creating it.
To everyone on Mule who joined the discussion, thank you for the warm welcome, the curiosity, and for making us feel at home again, this time from the other side of the world.