Company name: DLS Effects, Inc.
Owner name : Dave Sestito
Website : www.dlseffects.com
Type of gear sold : Music instrument effects
Please tell us a little bit about your company’s history and products.
Many moons ago I was a musician who never made it big enough to just play music, so I went to school at night and started working as an engineering technician. I was so tired of the music seen I kind of dropped it all and put my heart into electronics (by the way they say musicians make the best engineers). To be honest, it all started later on around 1998 when my young daughter started playing guitar and wanted a distortion box (thanks a lot Korn). I said sure that would be fun, and I proceeded to make her one. It forced me to dust off my old gear and play a bit. Then I got to thinking, why not design an echo unit? After all my EH Memory man did not work well and I thought I could make a better one. After spending 8 months on my fist delay design, I scrapped it in frustration because it did not meet my expectations. I can remember being in the basement on Christmas morning trying to get the thing over the hump and when it did not happen, I threw the whole thing in the trash… true story. It was so close, but not good enough. Being completely stubborn, I came up with a totally new design approach and 5 months later… wow the new delay sounded great! The power of digital combined with analog circuitry never sounded warmer and with no noise. That delay was the Echomaster delay. Then I designed the Ultra Chorus which had similar design basics and it came out beautiful sounding. Those two effects allowed me to launch DLS Effects in the year 2000. Musictoyz was our 1st large customer and today we have over 18 dealers world wide and growing. A year and a half later I designed the Chorus~Vib in an effort to make a nice sounding, but versatile chorus at a price point more musicians could afford. After many requests for a Tap Tempo delay with stereo in/outs, we designed the EchoTAP in late 2003 which has become a great delay for us and seems to be pleasing to many.
What parts of your business do you handle personally?
I handle research and development for all new products from the electronics design all the way to the enclosure design, choosing the paint color, silk legend, and packaging design. I insist on final testing our effects, because I will not trust anyone else’s ear in this matter. I also provide training for building the products.
What is your biggest obstacle everyday with your business?
My biggest obstacle is time. Although I love what I do, I wish I could work 18 hours a day. Balancing family, new designs, and everyday orders is a challenge to say the least.
What are your goals for the next 5 years?
Our goals in the next 5 years are to introduce one product per year and expand the business where it makes sense. We want to be the Harley Davidson of the music industry, not the mass merchandise type of company.
Do you sell only direct or through dealers?
We primarily sell to dealers and only sell direct in very special circumstances. We also sell to distributors over seas, who in turn sell to dealers.
Whos the coolest person you have met through your business?
Actually Greg Howe who uses our Echo unit was totally cool. I was invited to the studio where Greg Howe and the sound engineer Mark Gifford were mastering his Extraction CD. It was also great going back stage with Greg Howard (great guy) to see how Aerosmith was using our effects and watching the show.
Any new products on the horizon?
YES!!! Our RotoSIM should be out any time now. The RotoSIM is a rotary simulator pedal and has been our toughest effect yet by far, but one of the most rewarding to pull off. We had to design this so every musicians interpretation of a rotary speaker simulator can be dialed in. Believe me, everyone’s interpretation is a little different.
Any sales or specials going on right now folks would want to know about?
Because we sell through dealers we try to keep the pricing level for everyone, so there are no specials, just a consistent good value for our products.
What do you do different than the rest of the folks out there?
Skimping is NOT an option! We insist on providing the highest quality in both sound and construction. We always strive to be the best we can be and focus on having our effects the way we want them as musicians at a price point that provides great value. We use extra heavy sheet metal, quality electronic components, metal pots, high quality switches, plus powder coat for a durable finish.
What are your thoughts on the state of the business and where do you see it headed?Well, there are soooo many companies making guitar pedals these days. There are some good ones, but I think the overdrive and distortion market is way over saturated. There will always be a market for the mass produced low cost stuff and a market for the high quality boutique effects like DLS Effects. I see the big multi-effects units going by the way side more and more and the musicians going back to individual chained pedals.
How can folks contact you and find info on your business?
The best way to contact us is through our contact page at www.dlseffects.com . We check that on a regular basis and are usually too busy to answer the phone.
In closing we give you a chance to address our readers and customers. Go for it.
To sum up, we at DLS Effects want to treat every customer like an upscale musician, because this is how we would expect to be treated. We have taken pains taking hours in Research and Development to bring musicians the type of effects we would personally be proud to have on our pedal boards. Our effects are all about the quality in sound and construction and a reasonable price. This is NOT just about money to us. We really want everyone who uses a DLS Effects products to like them as much as we do and for a win-win situation.
