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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 Preview 01:05 Intro  02:15 Terry and Angelo's backgrounds 04:30 Line 6 days 08:27 How Angelo and Terry work together 11:00 How ideas are developed 14:07 Chase Bliss sponsor segment 15:00 How DSP algorithms are created 17:50 Building the hardware for Angelo 21:40 Same hardware repurposed (Empress example) 23:25 Story of the CXM1978 24:56 Prism algorithm in the Mercury X 26:11 Coming up with factory presets 28:50 prEDITOR software development 31:00 Not wasting prototypes (Ottobit X) 31:30 New product ideas 33:14 Designing products that last a long time 34:30 Current challenges in the US 38:40 Angelo's tips for learning DSP development 43:20 Mercury 7 development issues 44:48 Spin FV-1 chip overview 46:44 What most concerns Terry and Angelo 48:00 Friends with 'competitor' pedal brands 49:04 Favorite Meris pedals 50:55 Most underrated Meris pedals 52:05 Top three effects pedals of all time 54:20 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 Preview 01:12 Intro 02:32 Oliver's founder story 04:30 25th anniversary of DBA 07:15 Inspiration and ideas creation 09:10 Digital DSP in Death By Audio pedals 12:26 Early stages of development insights 15:05 How Oliver makes pedals better 19:40 Sponsor segment (+ me playing) 20:46 Experimentation versus intention 25:00 DSP process at Death By Audio 28:50 "There are no new effects pedals" 29:20 Speed Tripper 30:16 New pedal - Amp Crash 33:10 Chaos versus order 36:00 Graphic design insights 37:37 Oliver's favourite DBA designs 39:31 What Oliver is most concerned about 40:37 AI is potentially terrifying 47:25 Thoughts on Death By Audio clones 51:33 Olivers favourite DBA pedal 51:51 Most underrated DBA pedal 53:45 Top 3 pedals of all time 55:49 Community questions 01:03:30 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

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 John Snyder, Founder of Electronic Audio Experiments (EAE), about his journey, approach to product development at the company, tips for aspiring pedal builders, as well as his new reverb pedal with a pre-amp in the works. To learn more about the company, visit: https://www.electronicaudioexperiments.com Chapters: 00:00 Preview 01:10 Intro 02:10 EAE founder story 05:35 Dude Incredible V1 06:32 Sending V1 07:00 EAE's unique value proposition 07:40 Longsword pedal 08:53 Prismatic Wall pedal 09:45 Where ideas come from 10:45 Book recommendations for pedal design 13:15 Tips for beginner pedal builders 16:07 How to find out why a pedal sounds good 18:55 Art versus engineering 20:10 Chase Bliss sponsor feat. Big Time 21:10 How the Halberd was developed 24:47 Through hole versus surface mount 25:30 Noisy pedals 29:31 Sunn O))) in concert experience 30:32 New tube amp in development 36:30 New Hypersleep successor Reverb pedal 40:40 Big Time Chase Bliss collab story 46:15 Thoughts on trends and digital modelers  51:03 Favorite EAE pedal 54:20 Most underrated EAE pedal 55:26 John's top 3 pedals of all time 58:50 New reverb pedal visual reveal 59:20 Plans on bringing back the Dude Incredible 01:01:54 Other pedal company shout-outs 01:07:02 Favorite Pile song 01:08:40 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

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 Preview 01:21 Intro 02:25 Pedal pricing 02:20 Steve's founder story 05:45 Art versus science in design 07:45 Why surface-mount tech is best 11:25 Why Empress pedals sound 'pristine' 15:37 Chase Bliss Big Time sponsor 16:41 How the business is run (Lean) 19:18 How ideas come 20:55 Key product milestones 24:51 How features are chosen 26:18 Beta testing 27:32 What's surprising behind the scenes 31:50 What concerns Steve 34:00 Thoughts on AI 36:03 Challenge of starting a business now 38:04 Favorite Empress pedal 38:23 New pedal soon? 39:53 Most underrated Empress pedal 40:28 Steve's top 3 pedals of all time 42:45 Thoughts on future collaborations 44:04 Philosophy question 45:40 Surprising thing that impacts tone 46:40 An Empress pedal Steve would redesign 48:13 What makes an idea reach production 49:49 Smaller Reverb and Echosystems? 51:30 What makes the Para EQ pedal so good 52:37 Swapping Reverb & Echosystem firmware 55:18 Advice to aspiring founders 57:00 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 Preview 01:13 Intro 02:20 Martin's musical beginnings 03:30 Modding Marshalls 05:10 How Martin learned amp design 09:06 Building the first amp 12:00 The Cornford story  13:45 Cornford ceases trading 18:00 Chase Bliss Big Time Event 19:15 Martin as Chief Designer, not CEO 22:15 Approach to product development 28:10 Product development early process 29:15 Martin's unique designs 31:58 Standing out in the amp market 34:52 Victory MKX and originality 38:25 Market concerns 42:06 Hybrid analog and digital 45:36 Victory PowerValve and digital products 47:55 Quick-fire questions 52:13 Advice to aspiring founders 55:10 Most difficult amp to design 56:13 Addressing the Lee Anderton 'drama' 58:54 The braille amps story 01:02:40 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

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 Brady Smith, co-founder of Old Blood Noise Endeavors (OBNE), about his career and founder journey, the approach to product development at Old Blood, as well as how he is reshaping business processes and operations to survive the challenges of running a small business in a niche industry. To learn more about the company, visit: https://oldbloodnoise.com/ Chapters: 00:00 Preview 01:14 Intro 02:20 Brady's founder story 07:16 Keeley Electronics job 09:00 Birth of Walrus Audio 11:30 Quitting Walrus, founding OBNE 14:40 The OBNE way of product development 18:07 Chase Bliss sponsor section 18:57 Product development process 23:07 Brady's role at OBNE 24:26 EOS business model 26:30 Split with Seth McCarroll 29:40 Thoughts on the future effects market 31:35 Empress Bass compressor love 36:25 Future pedal opportunities 42:45 Friendship with Joel Korte 46:20 Quick-fire questions 49:55 Community questions 56:40: 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

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 Francisco Cresp, co-founder and CPO at Neural DSP, about his founder journey, how the company approaches product development and inside stories from one of the leading names in digital modeling for guitar and other instruments. Chapters: 00:00 Preview 01:15 Intro 02:36 Francisco's founder story 09:00 Working with Doug Castro 11:00 Neural DSP's product development 16:03 Chase Bliss sponsor section 16:47 User feedback mechanisms 19:05 John Mayer X development 23:02 Plugin compatibility challenges 26:10 How Neural DSP prioritises 27:42 Why a vocal plugin? 31:30 Quad Cortex for vocals 33:10 Analog versus digital debate 34:48 Tom Morello JCM800 differences 37:40 Love of analog synths 38:52 Synth in the Quad Cortex 39:08 Neural DSP as a target 40:36 Latest research projects 41:21 Gen AI in the Quad Cortex? 42:50 Challenges of capturing fuzz 46:06 Noise floors in capture tech 47:33 Quick-fire questions 51:30 FX captures? 53:52 When PCOM for Petrucci? 55:22 Interface gain at 0? 58:24 Software for Nano Cortex? 59:04 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 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=productsofmusic Chapters: 00:00 Preview 01:02 Intro 02:00 Mike's founder story 03:57 Approach to product dev 10:50 Analog Man marketing 12:53 Sponsor section 13:38 Art versus science in design 15:01 Testing rigs 17:10 FX loop challenges 18:50 Pedal gain versus amp gain 20:49 Analog Man Rat pedal? 21:24 King of Tone wait list 24:25 Analog Man without Mike? 25:31 Teaching knowledge 27:06 Thoughts on digital modelers 31:04 What not to add on pedals 34:47 Chase Bliss Brothers AM 36:42 Mike's current concerns 40:32 Challenge of limited supply 42:39 What keeps Mike motivated 44:57 How the customer has changed 50:07 Mike's advice to founders 52:52 Quick-fire questions 56:38 Community questions 01:00:30 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=productsofmusic Chapters: 00:00 Preview 01:35 Intro 02:41 Abasi Concepts Origin Story 10:16 The First 7/8 Strings 17:00 Chase Bliss Sponsor Section 18:15 Compromises in Guitar Design 20:32 Abasi Concepts Product Development 25:16 Ideation to Production 31:30 Why Tosin Loves Analog Gear 34:40 Digital and the Young Generation 35:26 Where Abasi is Looking Next 38:32 Gibson Neck Heel Issues 39:37 Abasi Concepts Bass Guitars 40:00 Abasi Nylon String Guitars 42:05 Solving Problems for Guitarists 45:30 Leveraging Industry Collaborations 47:36 Guitar Market Concerns 50:00 Abasi Guitar Quality Issues 54:39 Entrepreneurial and Musician Advice 58:54 Quick Fire Questions 01:01:54 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

Welcome to Products of Music, where you will hear inside stories and expert insights on product innovation in music technology. In this episode: In this episode host Adam Wakeling speaks with Jamie Stillman, Founder of EarthQuaker Devices about the impact of tariffs on small US businesses; why Jamie is not concerned about the current generation of digital modelers like the Quad Cortex and Helix, as well as how EarthQuaker Devices approaches product development at the company. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_O3xHoxGFw To learn more about EarthQuaker Devices, visit: https://www.earthquakerdevices.com/ Many thanks to this episode's sponsor Chase Bliss. To learn more about Chase Bliss, visit: https://www.chasebliss.com?utm_source=productsofmusic  Chapters: 00:00 Preview 01:15 Intro 02:17 EarthQuaker origin story 05:00 Catalyst for scaling 05:53 Julie's impact 06:58 Product development approach 09:24 Data-driven development 10:48 Trends in the market 14:31 Chase Bliss Sponsor 15:34 Analog versus digital 18:36 Guiding product principles 22:50 Every pedal has a song in it 24:03 Inspiration for pedal ideas 27:39 Ideas thought process 29:25 More complex EarthQuaker pedals 32:50 Hedgehog concept in business 35:19 What EarthQuaker is best at 41:45 Getting pedals to be ready 47:12 Jamie's concerns for the future 49:28 Quick-fire questions 52:55 How fans can support 55:30 Customisation capabilities 56:51 Pedals close to being scrapped 59:08 Bright pedal LEDs 01:00:03 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, where you will hear inside stories and expert insights on product innovation in music technology. In this episode: Host Adam Wakeling speaks with Joel Korte, founder of Chase Bliss, about his founder journey, the 'chase bliss way' of product development, as well as his successes, failures and market insights. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTKX8kSsQsw To learn more about Chase Bliss, visit: https://www.chasebliss.com 00:00 Preview 01:50 Intro 03:05 Joel's founder journey 09:00 Meaning of 'Follow Your Bliss' 12:25 EOS business tools 15:00 Chase Bliss way of product dev 18:30 Definition of 'best' 20:42 Biggest success story 25:36 Pedal release timing 28:36 Why Joel discontinues pedals 33:25 What makes a pedal last? 37:45 Analog versus Digital 42:52 Future innovation 45:37 Chase Bliss midi controller? 47:24 Enamel pins 48:30 Habit design 50:09 New form factor? 50:44 State of the market 57:35 Chase Bliss budget pedals 58:30 Most painful pedal implementation 01:00:01 'Quick fire' 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 Dave Friedman, founder of Friedman Amplification, about his approach to product development at the company; the analog versus digital debate; and what the future of boutique amps looks like. View on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSmHFXvpvXw To learn more about Friedman Amplification, visit: https://friedmanamplification.com/  00:00 Preview 01:24 Intro 02:25 Dave's founder journey 06:15 Developing amp building skills 08:20 The key to creating a company 13:10 Option paralysis in digital modeling 15:13 The lack of unique guitar tones today 20:23 How Dave finds new product ideas 23:16 Unsuccessful product releases 24:25 Biggest Friedman product success 29:10 The difficulty with US tariffs 33:35 Early lessons learned 38:10 Digital detoxing/experience of analog 41:45 How buyer expectations have changed 44:10 When to expand the product range 45:50 Some insights for entrepreneurs 48:40 A few quick-fire questions 51:15 Why the amp naming convention? 54:14 Friedman takes on other amps? 55:05 New Vox-style Friedman amp 56:00 How Dave adds his unique touch to vintage amps 56:55 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 Brian Wampler, Founder of Wampler Pedals. From the humble beginnings of modding pedals in his garage to producing some of the most sought-after boutique pedals in the industry, Brian Wampler’s journey is one of passion, innovation, and a relentless pursuit of the perfect guitar tone. Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/C4sYXrSJY8Y To learn more about Wampler Pedals, visit: https://www.wamplerpedals.com/ Guitar Pedal Courses: https://www.guitarpedalcourse.com/  Chapters: 00:00 Preview 01:03 Intro 02:07 Brian’s founder journey 05:44 Importance of networking 08:40 The Wampler product development process 12:39 Getting feedback and external data 15:40 Brian’s approach to hiring 20:10 When to release new products 24:14 The expectation of digital products 28:50 Wampler’s audience and expectations 30:38 The different USPs in guitar pedals 37:13 Diversification of revenue streams 40:27 Threat of digital modeling 48:00 Asking Reddit’s most upvoted questions 56:30 Quick-fire questions 01:03:30 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

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 Rodrigo J. Ibieta, Director of Product Management, Hardware Products, at Universal Audio. What to expect: 🟠 Product strategy insights for developing music hardware 🟠 Inside stories from Fender and Universal Audio 🟠 Tips on progressing in Product Management Chapters: 00:00 Preview 01:00 Intro and background 06:47 Fender Acoustasonic stories 12:00 How Fender segments its customers 15:22 Product Strategy at Universal Audio 19:59 Importance of speaking with customers 20:50 Creating a product ecosystem 24:10 Ensuring product alignment 28:39 Talking Customer Lifetime Value 31:30 Defining a few terms 34:02 Process for New Business Cases 37:32 Competitor landscapes 39:30 Product feasibility process 43:03 Lessons from product disappointments 46:20 Advice to Product Managers 49:46 A few quick-fire questions 53:57 Outro 🌐 Subscribe for free on Substack: https://www.productsofmusic.com 🎥 Subscribe to Adam Wakeling's personal YouTube channel:  @adamwakeling 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/products-of-music/id1683097403 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/07d7lJpIRYIZ0rr31xUa5X 🌐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 Rob Chapman, Founder of Chapman Guitars. Rob is an English musician, YouTube content creator, and the founder and co-owner of Chapman Guitars. He is is known for his popular instructional YouTube channel with over 725,000 subscribers and as demonstrator of guitar equipment for Andertons Music Co.  He is a lead singer and a guitarist, previously playing for the blues/Americana band Clockwork Wolf & Co, and rock band Dorje. Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnC9tEEDjNQ To learn more about Chapman Guitars, visit: https://www.chapmanguitars.com/ Rob's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@RobChappers Chapters: 00:00 Preview 01:07 Intro 02:40 The birth of Chapman Guitars 05:05 The power of customer collaboration  09:49 How to make a great guitar? 10:41 Rob's skillset that helped boost the brand 13:04 Rob's values and company values 15:12 Steering the ship in difficult times 19:57 The uniqueness of the guitar product market 23:28 Finding 'vibe' in developing products 25:12 The rise of relicing guitars 26:54 Finally talking about the café 28:36 Separating business and creative sides  33:10 The issue with YouTube product demos 36:17 Agile approach to manufacturing location  42:53 Decision to release a boutique guitar amplifier 6:10 Rob's final thoughts 48:00 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