BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – From working in a small shed in Seattle to selling his products around the world, Dan DeMay has merged his love for guitar tones and artistic creativity to create Spun Loud Effects.

DeMay makes guitar pedals, which consist of electronic parts in a metal housing for guitar players to use to change the sound of their guitar. A niche product to many, but in a world with millions of guitar players, the market can be broader than what first meets the eye.

DeMay started Spun Loud Effects in 2018 after messing around with different pedal parts in a shed in Seattle. With a background in welding, soldering and electric motors, he was able to combine his knowledge of guitar sounds and handywork to create his first pedal, “Blister and Peel”.

Upon moving to Bellingham in 2020, DeMay continued to build these pedals by hand with the intention of bringing something new and interesting to guitar and bass players everywhere.

“Shuksan Fuzz” and “The Litigator” are two pedals built by DeMay for Spun Loud Effects. Photo by Sam Kristofferson

For every pedal that is released by Spun Loud Effects, DeMay spends hundreds of hours on both the inside and outside of the pedal. The brains of the pedal, consisting of a mix of electronics and wires, is all hand selected and put together in his workspace in Bellingham.

Recently, DeMay has collaborated with Structures Brewing in Bellingham for his newest pedal called Structures FVZZ. In 2022, he began working with Structures to create this limited-run pedal, using the artwork made by Structures for their flagship FVZZ IPA.

“I saw the beer and just thought it needed a guitar pedal, right?” DeMay said.

DeMay holds the new FVZZ pedal, featuring artwork from the Structures flagship FVZZ IPA. Photo by Sam Kristofferson

He put together a prototype and presented it to Structures, including some of the employees at the brewery who play guitar and have an interested in guitar gear. By working together on not only the design but the actual sounds created from the pedal, DeMay debuted the new fuzz pedal at an event at Structures on July 11.

Since 2020, DeMay has been shipping Spun Loud Effects pedals around the globe. He currently has dealers selling his pedals in Washington, Minnesota, Hawaii, Australia and in the UK.

“There’s great word of mouth. I’ve sold a few units in Australia, the UK and Japan,” DeMay said. “I sold my first pedal to Ukraine in 2022. The guy sent me a few pictures of him holding it up in Kyiv.”

DeMay says he is currently working on a few more collaborations for the future that he hopes to have wrapped up sometime later this year. As someone who looks at these guitar pedals as not just a piece of gear but as artwork, he takes his time with each pedal to ensure quality over quantity while providing a unique tone and look to each guitarist.