FUZZ- SPIRAL ELECTRIC Demhe Fuzz ... reinvent the wheel ???

SPIRAL ELECTRIC

SPIRAL ELECTRIC DEMHE FUZZ

$150.00 USD

Tom Cram was the designer and operator who personally ran the whole of DOD  hands on with a one to one with all those making pedals and running the shop. However the company was just a small branch of a bigger company that bought out small companies like JBL speakers etc. It including home entertainment brands etc. They were bought out by the even bigger Samsung. Samsung saw DOD and pedals in general as too small time to invest in. So they closed it down and put it on the back burner as they still own the name and the designs of the DOD and Digitech gear. After nearly 3 years Samsung sold the company but I will not go down that rabbit hole, lol.

SPIRAL

Tom decided after checking around for a job with other pedal makers that 

it was crazy to join someone else's mad house. why not make your own?

Spiral 'is' Tom Cram. The Demhe is a unusually modified DOD Caracosa 

which was designed by him in the first place. You might call this the V.2 Caracosa. 

Nanalog a Canadian company tried to reinvent the wheel. They wanted something to replace a transistor but designed not like a transistor in that it is actually designed for 

a vast amount of both audio and non audio applications For example garage door openers, lol. 

Nanalog succeeded in coming up with 2 different chips that can work together or separate to do something incomprehensible to all but an engineer. Chips made specifically for audio. 

They made their own pedals to both offset endless research and to show other  pedal makers what can be done with the tech. The chips are cool but bug ridden. The company shut down making pedals and just get by with guys like Tom who want to make something that really is NOT same old sh@t.

Tom makes 8 pedals but they tend to be 'way out there' This how ever totally Rock & Roll not mostly for 'Star Wars' soundtracks.

DEMHE FUZZ

The layout is gain, level and BIAS. A toggle and a knob labelled 'detail' are not explained in any meaningful terms. I suspect they are application of the Nanalog tech. It does still however use some Silicon transistors and diodes. 

 

CONCLUSION

If it sounds good it is good. It certainly sounds like my kind of Fuzz . Massive, 

balzy, lots of sustain, zero mud and as tight as great OD.