Products of Music

Welcome to Products of Music, a podcast sharing inside stories and expert insights on product innovation in music technology.In this episode:Host Adam Wakeling speaks with Terry Burton and Angelo Mazzocco, two of the co-founders of Meris.The two met during their early days in Line 6, with Terry later launching Strymon, and then joining forces with Angelo to launch Meris. In the show, we discuss their founder stories, their approach to product development, insights into the challenges of hardware and DSP, the state of the market and the challenges of being a music gear company in the US right now.To learn more about Meris, visit: https://meris.us/ Chapters:00:00 Preview01:05 Intro 02:15 Terry and Angelo's backgrounds04:30 Line 6 days08:27 How Angelo and Terry work together11:00 How ideas are developed14:07 Chase Bliss sponsor segment15:00 How DSP algorithms are created17:50 Building the hardware for Angelo21:40 Same hardware repurposed (Empress example)23:25 Story of the CXM197824:56 Prism algorithm in the Mercury X26:11 Coming up with factory presets28:50 prEDITOR software development31:00 Not wasting prototypes (Ottobit X)31:30 New product ideas33:14 Designing products that last a long time34:30 Current challenges in the US38:40 Angelo's tips for learning DSP development43:20 Mercury 7 development issues44:48 Spin FV-1 chip overview46:44 What most concerns Terry and Angelo48:00 Friends with 'competitor' pedal brands49:04 Favorite Meris pedals50:55 Most underrated Meris pedals52:05 Top three effects pedals of all time54:20 Community questions🌐Subscribe for free on Substack🌐Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts🎧 Listen on Spotify🌐 Follow the host on LinkedIn🌐 Follow the host on Instagram

Welcome to Products of Music, a podcast sharing inside stories and expert insights on product innovation in music technology.In this episode:Host Adam Wakeling speaks with Oliver Ackermann, founder of Death By Audio.We chat about Oliver's founder story, his approach to both analog and digital pedal design, his thoughts on the current state of affairs, from social issues to the rise and impact of AI, and he answers some quick-fire questions, and questions from you too. Chapters:00:00 Preview01:12 Intro02:32 Oliver's founder story04:30 25th anniversary of DBA07:15 Inspiration and ideas creation09:10 Digital DSP in Death By Audio pedals12:26 Early stages of development insights15:05 How Oliver makes pedals better19:40 Sponsor segment (+ me playing)20:46 Experimentation versus intention25:00 DSP process at Death By Audio28:50 "There are no new effects pedals"29:20 Speed Tripper30:16 New pedal - Amp Crash33:10 Chaos versus order36:00 Graphic design insights37:37 Oliver's favourite DBA designs39:31 What Oliver is most concerned about40:37 AI is potentially terrifying47:25 Thoughts on Death By Audio clones51:33 Olivers favourite DBA pedal51:51 Most underrated DBA pedal53:45 Top 3 pedals of all time55:49 Community questions01:03:30 Outro🌐Subscribe for free on Substack🌐Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts🎧 Listen on Spotify🌐 Follow the host on LinkedIn🌐 Follow the host on Instagram

John Snyder, founder of Electronic Audio Experiments and pedal designer known for the Longsword and Prismatic Wall. He traces EAE’s growth from bedroom tinkering to scaled production. Conversation covers signature pedal DNA, where ideas come from, prototyping choices, balancing engineering with musicality, noise and layout trade-offs, and a sneak peek at a new stereo reverb and preamp.

Welcome to Products of Music, a podcast sharing inside stories and expert insights on product innovation in music technology.In this episode:Host Adam Wakeling speaks with Steve Bragg, founder of Empress Effects, about his founder story, approach to product development, the secrets behind the pristine sounds of Empress pedals, thoughts about the state of the market and much more.Chapters:00:00 Preview01:21 Intro02:25 Pedal pricing02:20 Steve's founder story05:45 Art versus science in design07:45 Why surface-mount tech is best11:25 Why Empress pedals sound 'pristine'15:37 Chase Bliss Big Time sponsor16:41 How the business is run (Lean)19:18 How ideas come20:55 Key product milestones24:51 How features are chosen26:18 Beta testing27:32 What's surprising behind the scenes31:50 What concerns Steve34:00 Thoughts on AI36:03 Challenge of starting a business now38:04 Favorite Empress pedal38:23 New pedal soon?39:53 Most underrated Empress pedal40:28 Steve's top 3 pedals of all time42:45 Thoughts on future collaborations44:04 Philosophy question45:40 Surprising thing that impacts tone46:40 An Empress pedal Steve would redesign48:13 What makes an idea reach production49:49 Smaller Reverb and Echosystems?51:30 What makes the Para EQ pedal so good52:37 Swapping Reverb & Echosystem firmware55:18 Advice to aspiring founders57:00 Outro🌐Subscribe for free on Substack🌐Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts🎧 Listen on Spotify🌐 Follow the host on LinkedIn🌐 Follow the host on Instagram

Welcome to Products of Music, a podcast sharing inside stories and expert insights on product innovation in music technology.In this episode:Host Adam Wakeling speaks with Martin Kidd, Chief Designer and Co-Founder of Victory Amplification. We discuss his founder journey, perspective on Cornford Amps ceasing trading, the birth of Victory Amps and his approach to product development. We also have some quick-fire questions and community questions.Chapters:00:00 Preview01:13 Intro02:20 Martin's musical beginnings03:30 Modding Marshalls05:10 How Martin learned amp design09:06 Building the first amp12:00 The Cornford story 13:45 Cornford ceases trading18:00 Chase Bliss Big Time Event19:15 Martin as Chief Designer, not CEO22:15 Approach to product development28:10 Product development early process29:15 Martin's unique designs31:58 Standing out in the amp market34:52 Victory MKX and originality38:25 Market concerns42:06 Hybrid analog and digital45:36 Victory PowerValve and digital products47:55 Quick-fire questions52:13 Advice to aspiring founders55:10 Most difficult amp to design56:13 Addressing the Lee Anderton 'drama'58:54 The braille amps story01:02:40 Outro🌐Subscribe for free on Substack🌐Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts🎧 Listen on Spotify🌐 Follow the host on LinkedIn🌐 Follow the host on Instagram

Brady Smith, co-founder of Old Blood Noise Endeavors and former Keeley/Walrus Audio engineer, discusses designing ambient and experimental guitar effects. He talks about OBNE’s approach to product development and translating sound into hardware. He also covers shifting from maker to operator, reorganizing the business with EOS, and teasing stereo, MIDI/preset, and synth-like pedal experiments.

Francisco Cresp, co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Neural DSP, leads product vision and digital modeling research. He recounts the founder journey and how the team builds and prioritizes products. He discusses signature plugin development, porting software to hardware, capturing fuzz and analog nuance, and cautious exploration of generative AI in music tech.

In this episode, host Adam Wakeling speaks with Analog Mike Piera, founder of Analog.man, about his approach to product development, the infamous waitlist for the King of Tone, the state of the guitar and pedal market and what the future looks like for the company.To learn more, visit: https://www.analogman.com/Many thanks to this episode's sponsor Chase Bliss.Check out Chase Bliss effects pedals here: https://www.chasebliss.com?utm_source=productsofmusicChapters:00:00 Preview01:02 Intro02:00 Mike's founder story03:57 Approach to product dev10:50 Analog Man marketing12:53 Sponsor section13:38 Art versus science in design15:01 Testing rigs17:10 FX loop challenges18:50 Pedal gain versus amp gain20:49 Analog Man Rat pedal?21:24 King of Tone wait list24:25 Analog Man without Mike?25:31 Teaching knowledge27:06 Thoughts on digital modelers31:04 What not to add on pedals34:47 Chase Bliss Brothers AM36:42 Mike's current concerns40:32 Challenge of limited supply42:39 What keeps Mike motivated44:57 How the customer has changed50:07 Mike's advice to founders52:52 Quick-fire questions56:38 Community questions01:00:30 Outro🌐Subscribe for free on Substack🌐Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts🎧 Listen on Spotify🌐 Follow the host on LinkedIn🌐 Follow the host on Instagram

In this episode, host Adam Wakeling speaks with Tosin Abasi (CEO and Founder of Abasi Concepts), as well as Ivan Chopik (Founder of Guitar Messenger and COO of Abasi Concepts) about their journeys; the state of the guitar and pedal market; and their approach to product development and innovation.To learn more about Abasi Concepts, visit: https://abasiconcepts.com/Many thanks to this episode's sponsor Chase Bliss.Check out Chase Bliss effects pedals here: https://www.chasebliss.com?utm_source=productsofmusicChapters:00:00 Preview01:35 Intro02:41 Abasi Concepts Origin Story10:16 The First 7/8 Strings17:00 Chase Bliss Sponsor Section18:15 Compromises in Guitar Design20:32 Abasi Concepts Product Development25:16 Ideation to Production31:30 Why Tosin Loves Analog Gear34:40 Digital and the Young Generation35:26 Where Abasi is Looking Next38:32 Gibson Neck Heel Issues39:37 Abasi Concepts Bass Guitars40:00 Abasi Nylon String Guitars42:05 Solving Problems for Guitarists45:30 Leveraging Industry Collaborations47:36 Guitar Market Concerns50:00 Abasi Guitar Quality Issues54:39 Entrepreneurial and Musician Advice58:54 Quick Fire Questions01:01:54 Reddit Community Questions🌐Subscribe for free on Substack🌐Subscribe on YouTube🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts🎧 Listen on Spotify🌐 Follow the host on LinkedIn🌐 Follow the host on Instagram

Jamie Stillman, founder of EarthQuaker Devices and pedal designer/musician, shares the brand's DIY origins and how it scaled. He discusses product development decisions, balancing analog simplicity with digital trends, and using data to steer releases. Jamie also covers tariff impacts, design principles that inspire playing, and the moments that nearly derailed new pedals.