I have an insatiable soft spot for handmade pedals that offer a point of difference as well as killer sound. That combination is incredibly hard to resist, especially when it’s topped off by cosmetics that include glitter, a happy vibe and customer service that completes the package.
One such company offering all of the above and then some is DMB Pedals of Oklahoma.
Soon to relocate to Nashville in 2012, DMB Pedals began in Oklahoma in the summer of 2007. They are a two-man operation consisting of Michael Blakemore and Dan Minton.
From Mike Blakemore: “DMB Pedals are hand built, glittered and pieced together from scratch at the shop. DMB Pedals was formed around the need for practical, inspiring pedals for the touring and hobbyist musician.
“In a market full of clones and copies, there is a definite need to fill a creative void full of tones and textures that are not already mass-produced a hundred times over in fancy painted enclosures. We want our pedals to inspire creative minds to continue making great music, tones and sounds that touch people where they need it most, the soul.”
And inspire they most certainly do.
I have been fortunate enough to try many of their pedals (videos below) including the Lunar Echo, which is a super-awesome analog delay that features a “Take-Off” footswitch, which, when engaged, will send your signal into self-oscillated but controllable chaos.
The Lunar Echo also has a “Wrecked” switch that introduces some rather freaky and very believable tape “warble” (modulation) to your delay tails. You have to hear it to believe it; hopefully my video below will give you a reasonable idea of the fun to be had with this lunar-green box o’ fun. I should add that there is already a fast-growing waiting list for the Lunar Echo; such is its appeal to the more adventurous guitarist.
Then there is the DMB Pedals range of dirt boxes. These cover everything from sick-ass fuzz (Foxy π-rate) through to classic overdrive on steroids (Stellar Drive) and all points in between.
The point of difference with most of these is the “Clean” knob, which “uses Class A Mixer technology to split the original signal and the Stellar Drive signal, giving you the option to combine both signals. The Clean knob function is so much more than your average blend knob, because you have two knobs (Level and Clean) to dial in any mixture you want, not just the boring 50/50 ratio in traditional ‘blend knob’ pedals. The clean knob is absolutely cutting edge.”
Bass players (Yes, there is more coming for you, too!) will benefit from this facility because it allows you to reintroduce any definition and bottom end that may have been sucked up by the distortion – very cool.
Put a little sparkle in you life and have a closer look at the DMB Pedals.
Lunar Echo video:
My other DMB Pedals videos:
© 2011 Brett Kingman
Brett Kingman, aka Burgerman666 on Youtube, is Sadie’s dad. He’s also a 40-something seasoned pro/hack who continuously runs around Australia and other parts of the world with iconic singers, trying his best to make them and him sound good. Brett uses HIWATT amps and Providence cables and pedals. He is part owner and designer of Australian pedal company, Dvk Technologies.
