The reason why I'm overwhelmed!!! (Patreon)

**DISCLAIMER**: Russ and I are SO fortunate and grateful that we're in a position to be able to receive gear for free. That being said... 

Sometimes, people can take advantage of that. I can't even explain how many companies have sent pedals to us as "gifts" with "no commitment to make any content" (I make this very clear) but then those companies reach out afterwards anyway asking where the completed featured demo video is. 

In this instance, Keeley reached out about us making a demo of their Moon Fuzz, which I declined because our schedule is too full and our pile-of-fuzz-pedals is way too big right now. But when they insisted, and wanted to send one anyway even though I said I'm too busy, I accepted because I felt like it would be rude to say no. They never said ANYTHING about the BubbleTron(?) Flanger pedal that they sent as well, but then included it in the thank you letter they wrote to us and said they hope we can do a review...?

When companies put this subtle (or sometimes not-so-subtle) pressure on us, we start to feel super overwhelmed, stressed, and most of all, guilty. We care deeply about our work, and we already have a lot of pressure that we put on ourselves coming from our paid commitments and new pedal releases, so Russ and I are considering putting a hard-stop on any gifts from companies like this just so it doesn't weigh us down. Also, it seems very nice of them to include an additional pedal, but this kind of thing has happened in similar situations. 

For example, JAM Pedals sent us their Wahcko, which we featured in our Wah Pedal video. When they sent that Wahcko, they also included a free Llama Delay Pedal, as a "GIFT". But then, last week, they emailed us asking when we'll be able to feature the Llama pedal in a video. 😭 This makes me sweaty and stressed out because it's another thing I feel guilty about that I need to add into our production schedule!! When we didn't even ask for that pedal or agree to feature it in the first place! 

I'm also conflicted because I don't want to come across as "rude" for not accepting pedals as gifts. Some pedals, like the expression controllers from Bookmark Pedals, are ones we do receive as gifts and choose to feature with no pressure, and it's truly lovely. Bookmark Pedals NEVER pressures us, and it's a wonderful thing to have that kind of relationship with a company. But other companies send us stuff with the intention and expectation of having us demo them without telling us and without them having to pay any demo production fees or worry about any payments when necessary. So, to me, it's a double-edged sword, and can sometimes come across as a little sneaky, like a sneaky way to get the end result for free... But hey. I could be wrong.

I really hope this doesn't come across as a selfish / ungrateful post; the video was mostly made in jest because I'm in a silly mood due to a combination of lack of sleep and too much coffee. But on a more serious note, Russ and I are legitimately bursting at the seams with work lately (which is wonderful to have so many opportunities and stuff to do!) but, if I'm being honest, on the flip side of it we are really burning our candles at both ends as of late...

Please let me know what your thoughts are about this! Have you ever gotten a gift where the gift-giver checked up on you about it? "Hey, how come I never see you using that spoon / sweater / neck pillow I got you 3 years ago...?"

#EmilyRant