Dewtron

Last updated

Dewtron was the trade mark of Design Engineering (Wokingham) Ltd. or D. E. W. Ltd. a small British electronics manufacturer, founded by Brian H. Baily on 5 February 1964[ citation needed ]. In adverts the company address is always given as, Ringwood Road, Ferndown, Dorset, never Wokingham. [note 1]

Contents

Products

One of the earliest advertised Dewtron product was the Dewtron Wave Trap, a device to boost the reception of medium wave radio broadcasts, [1] [2] another was the Dewbox, a 2 inch by 2+12 inch plastic enclosure in variable lengths. [3]

Later on Synthesizers were advertised either pre-built or as kits of resin potted modules. [4] [5] By 1970 the company's products included oscillators, voltage controlled amplifiers, sample and hold and envelope shapers. [6] Chris Carter, later to form Throbbing Gristle, experimented with Dewtron kit-based synthesizers early in his music career, [7] as did Chris Watson of Cabaret Voltaire. [8] In 1973 Ian Craig Marsh, (a founding member of The Human League and later to form Heaven 17) built himself a Dewtron synthesiser. [9] [10]

The Dewtron Mister Bassman bass pedal synthesizer was used by Mike Rutherford on Genesis albums from Nursery Cryme (1971) onwards, before replacing it with a Moog Taurus I for the album A Trick of the Tail (1976). [11] Yes' bassist Chris Squire and frontman Jon Anderson used similar units in live performances. [12] [13] John Paul Jones plays a Mister Bassman on Since I've Been Loving You on the album Led Zeppelin III . [14]

See also

Notes

  1. The Electrical Review, Volume 176, Issues 10–18, 1965, p.94, lists a trade mark application: "Dewtron [...] portable radio receivers for improving reception of sound: transistors, valves, amplifiers and electrically controlled circuits situated in factories or buildings for use in the automatic control of industrial, commercial and other operations. Design Engineering (Wokingham) Ltd., 81 Rose Street, Wokingham, Berkshire."

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects unit</span> Electronic device that alters audio

An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vox (company)</span> Musical equipment manufacturer

Vox is a British musical equipment manufacturer founded in 1957 by Thomas Walter Jennings in Dartford, Kent, England. The company is most famous for making the Vox AC30 guitar amplifier, used by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, Queen, Dire Straits, U2, and Radiohead; the Vox Continental electric organ, the Vox wah-wah pedal used by Jimi Hendrix, and a series of innovative electric guitars and bass guitars. Since 1992, Vox has been owned by the Japanese electronics firm Korg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Analog synthesizer</span> Synthesizer that uses analog circuits

An analogsynthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instrument amplifier</span> Speaker and anplifier for use with musical instruments

An instrument amplifier is an electronic device that converts the often barely audible or purely electronic signal of a musical instrument into a larger electronic signal to feed to a loudspeaker. An instrument amplifier is used with musical instruments such as an electric guitar, an electric bass, electric organ, synthesizers and drum machine to convert the signal from the pickup or other sound source into an electronic signal that has enough power, due to being routed through a power amplifier, capable of driving one or more loudspeaker that can be heard by the performers and audience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moog Taurus</span> Foot-operated analogue synthesizer

The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music, originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981; a less popular redesign, Taurus II, followed from 1981 to 1983. Instead of a conventional keyboard, the Taurus uses an organ-style pedal board similar to the pedal keyboard of a spinet organ. This control method was chosen because the Taurus was intended to be played by foot while the player's hands played one or more keyboards, although it was often used by guitarists. While the original Taurus featured its own synthesis engine, the Taurus II was essentially the same as the Moog Rogue. In 2010, Moog issued the Moog Taurus III which closely emulates the analog circuitry of the Taurus I, in addition to adding some modern features.

Farfisa is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professional and VIP ranges, and later, a series of other keyboard instruments. They were used by a number of popular musicians including Sam the Sham, Pink Floyd, Sly Stone, Blondie, and the B-52s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass pedals</span>

Bass pedals are an electronic musical instrument with a foot-operated pedal keyboard with a range of one or more octaves. The earliest bass pedals from the 1970s consisted of a pedalboard and analog synthesizer tone generation circuitry packaged together as a unit. The bass pedals are plugged into a bass amplifier or PA system so that their sound can be heard. Since the 1990s, bass pedals are usually MIDI controllers, which have to be connected to a MIDI-compatible computer, electronic synthesizer keyboard, or synth module to produce musical tones. Some 2010s-era bass pedals have both an onboard synth module and a MIDI output.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moog Music</span> American synthesizer manufacturer

Moog Music Inc. is an American synthesizer company based in Asheville, North Carolina. It was founded in 1953 as R. A. Moog Co. by Robert Moog and his father and was renamed Moog Music in 1972. Its early instruments included the Moog synthesizer, followed by the Minimoog in 1970, two of the most influential electronic instruments of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moog synthesizer</span> Electronic musical instrument

The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer, and is credited with creating the analog synthesizer as it is known today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yamaha GX-1</span> Electronic music synthesizer

The Yamaha GX-1, first released as Electone GX-707, is an analog polyphonic synthesizer organ developed by Yamaha as a test bed for later consumer synths and Electone series organs for stage and home use. The GX-1 has four synthesizer "ranks" or three manuals, called Solo, Upper, and Lower, plus Pedal, and an analog rhythm machine. The GX-707 first appeared in 1973 as a "theatre model" for use on concert stages, before the GX-1 was publicly released in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moog Sonic Six</span> Duophonic analog synthesizer

The Moog Sonic Six is a duophonic analog synthesizer that was manufactured by Moog Music from 1972 to 1979. Because of its portable design and built-in speaker, the Sonic Six was widely used for lectures and educational purposes, often by Bob Moog himself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ace Tone</span> Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments

Ace Electronic Industries Inc., or Ace Tone was a manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, including electronic organs, analogue drum machines, and electronic drums, as well as amplifiers and effects pedals. Founded in 1960 by Ikutaro Kakehashi with an investment by Sakata Shokai, Ace Tone can be considered an early incarnation of the Roland Corporation, which was also founded by Kakehashi. Ace Tone began manufacturing amplifiers in 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mu-Tron</span>

Musitronics, often shortened to Mu-tron, was a manufacturer of electronic musical effects active in the 1970s. Founded by Mike Beigel and Aaron Newman, the company's products provided filtering and processing effects and were derived from synthesizer components. The company was known for producing high-quality products with many user-adjustable parameters, but high production costs and a failed product line, the Gizmotron, caused its downfall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bass amplifier</span> Electronic amplifier for musical instruments

A bass amplifier is a musical instrument electronic device that uses electrical power to make lower-pitched instruments such as the bass guitar or double bass loud enough to be heard by the performers and audience. Bass amps typically consist of a preamplifier, tone controls, a power amplifier and one or more loudspeakers ("drivers") in a cabinet.

The Roland GR-500 is a guitar synthesizer. Manufactured by the Roland Corporation and FujiGen in 1977, it was one of the first guitar synthesizers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synthesizer</span> Electronic musical instrument

A synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and frequency modulation synthesis. These sounds may be altered by components such as filters, which cut or boost frequencies; envelopes, which control articulation, or how notes begin and end; and low-frequency oscillators, which modulate parameters such as pitch, volume, or filter characteristics affecting timbre. Synthesizers are typically played with keyboards or controlled by sequencers, software or other instruments, and may be synchronized to other equipment via MIDI.

"Can-Utility and the Coastliners" is the fourth song on Genesis' fourth album, Foxtrot, released in 1972. "Can-Utility and the Coastliners", written mostly by guitarist Steve Hackett with bass player Mike Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks, is based on the legend of King Cnut of England, Norway, and Denmark, who supposedly ordered the seas to retreat to mock the sycophancy of his followers. Steve Hackett wrote the lyrics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuzz bass</span>

Fuzz bass is a style of playing the electric bass or modifying its signal that produces a buzzy, distorted, overdriven sound, as the name implies. Overdriving a bass signal significantly changes the timbre, adds higher overtones (harmonics), increases the sustain, and, if the gain is turned up high enough, creates a "breaking up" sound characterized by a growling, buzzy tone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vintage musical equipment</span>

Vintage musical equipment is older music gear, including instruments, amplifiers and speakers, sound recording equipment and effects pedals, sought after, maintained and used by record producers, audio engineers and musicians who are interested in historical music genres. While any piece of equipment of sufficient age can be considered vintage, in the 2010s the term is typically applied to instruments and gear from the 1970s and earlier. Guitars, amps, pedals, electric keyboards, sound recording equipment from the 1950s to 1970s are particularly sought. Musical equipment from the 1940s and prior eras is often expensive, and sought out mainly by museums or collectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital accordion</span>

A digital accordion is an electronic musical instrument that uses the control features of a traditional accordion to trigger a digital sound module that produces synthesized or digitally sampled accordion sounds or, in most instruments, a range of non-accordion sounds, such as orchestral instruments, pipe organ, piano, guitar, and so on. Digital accordions typically encode and transmit key presses and other input as Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) messages. Most digital accordions need to be plugged into a keyboard amplifier or PA system to hear their sounds.

References

  1. Practical Wireless, April 1965, p. 1201
  2. Transistor Set Inductive Amplifier, Practical Wireless, March 1965, p. 1081
  3. Practical Wireless, May 1971, p. 91
  4. Jenkins, Mark (2009). Analog Synthesizers: Understanding, Performing, Buying—From the Legacy of Moog to Software Synthesis. CRC Press. p. 110. ISBN   978-1-136-12278-1.
  5. "Defunct Musical Instrument Manufacturers - D & E". audiotools.com. olafur.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  6. "News" (PDF). Studio Sound. January 1973: 10. Retrieved 3 June 2015.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. "100 Not Out". Sound on Sound . April 1995. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  8. Life is a Cabaret by Dan Goldstein, Electronics & Music Maker, Nov. 1984
  9. Electronically Yours: Vol. I: My Autobiography by Martyn Ware, Constable, 2023, ISBN   0349135134
  10. Blind Youth: The early work of the Human League, Ex-rental.com, (archived)
  11. "Prog Pack". Hollow Sun. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
  12. Hurwitz, Matt (January 2018). "Classic Tracks : Yes". Mix. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  13. Taurus Taurus Taurus by David Etheridge], Making Music, Jun. 1987, pp. 30-31
  14. Led Zeppelin All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track by Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin, Black Dog & Leventhal, 2018.