Source Audio

Source Audio is a guitar effects pedal company based near Boston, Massachusetts. They are the creators of the Hot Hand Motion Controlled Wah Filter as well as Soundblox and Soundblox Pro effect pedals.

History

Source Audio was founded in 2005 by Roger Smith (President) and Jesse Remignanti (Vice President of Engineering), while they worked together at the semiconductor firm, Analog Devices.[1] Chief Scientist Bob Chidlaw, owner of two digital signal processing patents at Kurzweil Music Systems, and Chief Operating officer C. Hunter Boll, former Managing Director at Thomas H. Lee Partners, joined shortly thereafter.

Source Audio's initial innovation was the Hot Hand Motion Controlled Wah Filter. The Hot Hand Motion Controller Ring converts hand movement into a digital signal through the use of an accelerometer, a technology pioneered by Analog Devices. The ring combined with the Motion Controlled Wah Filter pedal produces effects similar to the Dunlop Cry Baby Wah, a pedal made famous by players like Jimmy Page and Jimi Hendrix. The unit offers 11 different wah filters including classic wah, low pass, band pass, multi peak, and volume swell which produce a wide range of wah effects.[2]

SA followed up the release of the Motion Controlled Wah Filter with the Motion Controlled Phaser/Flanger pedal. Like the Wah, the Phaser/Flanger is compatible with the Hot Hand Wireless Adapter and offers multiple tone options. The Source Audio Phaser/Flanger offers both LFO and Envelope Follower filters.

In 2008 Source Audio released the Soundblox Series, four versatile and Hot Hand compatible pedals. The Sounblox Tri-Mod Wah, Phaser, and Flanger offer effects similar to the original pedals, but package them in a smaller, easier to use format.[3]

The Soundblox Series also includes the Soundblox Multiwave Distortion, a pedal that incorporates both multi band and single band processing and produces several unique distortion tones. In total the pedal offers 21 different distortion types ranging from standard distortion to synth-like octave and foldback distortions.

At the 2010 NAMM show SA introduced the Soundblox Pro Series.[4] The Soundblox Pro Series offers the same effect types as the corresponding Soundblox pedals, but also include 6 user presets, a 7-band graphic EQ, a MIDI input and the capability to “morph” from one user preset to another with an expression pedal.[5] 2010 also marked Source Audio’s entry into the bass effects pedal market with the Soundblox and Soundblox Pro Multiwave Bass Distortion pedals. The Bass Multiwave incorporates the same signal processing method as the Soundblox Pro Multiwave Distortion for the guitar but adapts it to fit the lower frequency range of the bass guitar.

Source Audio products currently in development include envelope filter pedals for both the bass and guitar.

Product List

References

  1. ↑ http://investor.analog.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=95455&p=irol-homeprofile
  2. ↑ http://emusician.com/signalprocessors/source_audio/
  3. ↑ http://www.gearwire.com/sourceaudio-soundblox.html
  4. ↑ http://www.premierguitar.com/Video/20090120/498/Source_Audio_Soundblox_Pro_Multiwave_Distortion.aspx
  5. ↑ http://www.sourceaudio.net/products/soundblox_pro/index.php

External links