Demedash Effects is a one-man company run by myself, Steve Demedash.
When you by a Demedash Effects pedal, you’re buying something I’ve designed, done PCB layout for, designed the look of (from the graphics to the manual, box, and box candy), and tested on my workbench.
A Brief History:
I come from a family of artists and creators. My parents worked in theatre and specialized in visual arts, and while I inherited some of their talent in that respect, music has always held a special place in my heart - particularly the act of composition and arrangement. I’ve been writing music since I could play my first chord.
It wasn’t until a friend loaned me some microphones in university that I began recording some of the music I’d written over the years. And that’s when my tone journey started. Rather than spend money I didn’t have buying different amps and pedals to flavour my recordings, I began trying to build them myself from schematics I found online. It took a while to get the hang of it, but I persevered. I was studying Electrical Engineering, after all, so I wasn’t allowed to fail at this. Eventually I began taking some custom orders via local marketplaces to help fund trips to the University pub and the odd weekend date.
Fast-forward to mid-2018, I’d been was working as an engineer for a few years, using my paycheck to live and pay back my student loans, and getting back into recording and effects in my spare time. Again, I was interested in expanding my sound palette, but this time I was interested in more out-there effects that weren’t possible to make using simple analog components. I had just sold a used pedal on Reverb for the first time and was surprised how easy it was. So I began selling pedals I made on Reverb, tinkering with the circuits learning what made them do what they did. I started using Illustrator to design graphics for them, putting some of my visual arts skills to use, and repurposed my old Instagram account to use for posting photos of the things I was working on.
Interest started building, and the more of a reputation I had, the freer I felt to start experimenting with innovative circuit design. This process has continued ever since.
Present day:
Now here we are, in 2022, I’m still working to develop innovative and exciting effects (though with much more creative freedom than when I began), rotating between 4 or 5 design ideas that inform and inspire one another at any given time, balancing R&D with assembly and production, and still working at the same workbench I learned to solder at.
Everything I make has been through at least 35 design revisions, at the minimum. The sound has been thoroughly tweaked to taste by ear, and the control set has been scrutinized and questioned endlessly. I’m constantly striving to improve everything, so you can rest assured that when you buy something I’ve made, I’ve personally invested in making it as exciting and high-quality as I can.
