Dewtron was the trade mark of Design Engineering (Wokingham) Ltd. or D. E. W. Ltd. a small British

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

manufacturer, founded by Brian H. Baily on 5 February 1964. In adverts the company address is always given as, Ringwood Road,

Ferndown Ferndown is a town and civil parish in Dorset in southern England, immediately to the north of Bournemouth and Poole. The parish, which until 1972 was called ''Hampreston'', includes the communities of Hampreston, Longham, Stapehill and Tri ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, never

Wokingham Wokingham is a market town in Berkshire, England, west of London, southeast of Reading, north of Camberley and west of Bracknell. History Wokingham means 'Wocca's people's home'. Wocca was apparently a Saxon chieftain who may ...

.The Electrical Review, Volume 176, Issues 10–18, 1965, p.94
lists a trade mark application: "Dewtron ..portable radio receivers for improving reception of sound: transistors, valves, amplifiers and electrically controlled circuits situated in factories or buildings for use in the automatic control of industrial, commercial and other operations. Design Engineering (Wokingham) Ltd., 81 Rose Street, Wokingham, Berkshire."

Products

One of the earliest advertised Dewtron product was the ''Dewtron Wave Trap'', a device to boost the reception of medium wave

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

broadcasts, another was the ''Dewbox'', a 2 inch by inch plastic enclosure in variable lengths. Later on

Synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s were advertised either pre-built or as kits of resin potted modules. By 1970 the company's products included oscillators,

voltage controlled amplifier A variable-gain (VGA) or voltage-controlled amplifier (VCA) is an electronic amplifier that varies its gain depending on a control voltage (often abbreviated CV). VCAs have many applications, including audio level compression, synthesizers and am ...

sample and hold In electronics, a sample and hold (also known as sample and follow) circuit is an analog device that samples (captures, takes) the voltage of a continuously varying analog signal and holds (locks, freezes) its value at a constant level for a ...

and envelope shapers. Chris Carter, later to form Throbbing Gristle, experimented with Dewtron kit-based synthesizers early in his music career, as did Chris Watson of Cabaret Voltaire. In 1973

Ian Craig Marsh Ian Craig Marsh (born 11 November 1956) is an English musician and composer. He was a founding member of the electronic band the Human League, writing and playing on their first two albums and several singles, until leaving in 1980 to form the ...

, (a founding member of

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

and later to form

Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), and ...

) built himself a Dewtron synthesiser.Blind Youth: The early work of the Human League
Ex-rental.com, (archived) The Dewtron ''Mister Bassman''

bass pedal Bass pedals are an electronic musical instrument with a foot-operated pedal keyboard with a range of one or more octaves. The earliest bass pedals from the 1970s consisted of a pedalboard and analog synthesizer tone generation circuitry packag ...

synthesizer was used by

Mike Rutherford Michael John Cloete Crawford Rutherford (born 2 October 1950) is an English guitarist, bassist and songwriter, co-founder of the rock band Genesis. Rutherford and keyboardist Tony Banks are the group's two continuous members. Initially servin ...

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

albums from ''

Nursery Cryme ''Nursery Cryme'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Genesis, released in November 1971 on Charisma Records. It was their first to feature drummer/vocalist Phil Collins and guitarist Steve Hackett. The album received a mixed respo ...

'' (1971) onwards, before replacing it with a Moog Taurus I for the album ''

A Trick of the Tail ''A Trick of the Tail'' is the seventh studio album by English progressive rock band Genesis. It was released in February 1976 on Charisma Records and was the first album to feature drummer Phil Collins as lead vocalist following the departu ...

'' (1976). Yes' frontman Jon Anderson used a similar unit in live performances.

John Paul Jones John Paul Jones (born John Paul; July 6, 1747 July 18, 1792) was a Scottish-American naval captain who was the United States' first well-known naval commander in the American Revolutionary War. He made many friends among U.S political elites ( ...

plays a Mister Bassman on ''

Since I've Been Loving You "Since I've Been Loving You" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in 1970 on the album ''Led Zeppelin III''. Overview "Since I've Been Loving You" was one of the first songs prepared for the ''Led Zeppelin III'' album. The s ...

'' on the album ''

Led Zeppelin III ''Led Zeppelin III'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 5 October 1970. It was recorded in three locations. Much of the work was done at Headley Grange, a country house, using the Rolling Stones Mobil ...

''.
Led Zeppelin All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track
' by Jean-Michel Guesdon and Philippe Margotin, Black Dog & Leventhal, 2018.

Notes

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Dewtron, or how to hide your magic (if you have it)

* ttp://www.gregonemanband.me.uk/mrbassman.html An article about Dewtron "Mister Bassman" Bass Pedal Synth
Dewtron at SynthMuseum.com

Rediscovering the Dewtron Wave Trap
Short Wave Magazine, December 1993, p. 34
Dewtron
Effects Database. Shows a Dewtron Fuzzorama and Dewtron Wah-Wah with resin potted circuitry, both fitted in Dewboxes. Synthesizer manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom

Products

See also

Notes

References

External links