Source Audio
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Musical instrument manufacturing |
| Founded | 2005 in Woburn, Massachusetts, United States |
| Founder | Roger Smith, Jesse Remignanti |
| Headquarters | Woburn , United States |
Key people | Roger Smith (president), Jesse Remignanti (vice president of engineering), Bob Chidlaw (chief scientist), C. Hunter Boll (COO) |
| Products | Guitar effects pedals, bass effects pedals, Hot Hand Wireless Effects Controller |
| Website | www |
Source Audio is a manufacturer specializing in guitar effects pedals, established in Woburn, Massachusetts in 2006. The company designs modular pedals for electric guitar and bass, featuring products such as the Nemesis Delay, Ventris Dual Reverb, Collider Delay+Reverb, the C4 Synth modular rack synthesizer adapted into pedal form, Aftershock Bass Distortion, and the EQ2—a 10-band parametric equalizer equipped with a desktop interface resembling a plug-in. Additionally, Source Audio created the Hot Hand Wireless Effects Controller, a wearable device worn on the finger that utilizes an accelerometer to transmit expression data to effects like envelope filters. Their technology primarily relies on DSP (Digital Signal Processing), with in-house programming of proprietary processor chips.
History
Founded in 2005 by Roger Smith (president) and Jesse Remignanti (vice president of engineering), both formerly employed at semiconductor company Analog Devices, Source Audio quickly expanded its leadership team. Chief Scientist Bob Chidlaw, who holds two digital signal processing patents from Kurzweil Music Systems, and COO C. Hunter Boll, previously managing director at Thomas H. Lee Partners, joined shortly thereafter.
The company’s first major product was the Hot Hand Motion Controlled Wah Filter. This innovative ring controller translates hand gestures into digital signals using an accelerometer—a technology developed at Analog Devices. When combined with the Motion Controlled Wah Filter pedal, it delivers effects reminiscent of the classic Dunlop Cry Baby Wah. The device offers 11 distinct wah filter modes including classic wah, low pass, band pass, multi peak, and volume swell.
Subsequently, Source Audio released the Motion Controlled Phaser/Flanger pedal designed to work with the Hot Hand Wireless Adapter. This pedal provides a variety of tonal options through both LFO and Envelope Follower filters.
In 2008, the Soundblox Series debuted—comprising four pedals compatible with Hot Hand technology such as Tri-Mod Wah, Phaser, and Flanger—offering similar sonic capabilities within a more compact design. The lineup also featured the Soundblox Multiwave Distortion pedal that integrates multi-band and single-band processing alongside 21 distortion variants ranging from traditional to synth-inspired octave and foldback effects.
At the 2010 NAMM Show, Source Audio unveiled the Soundblox Pro Series. These pedals replicate the effect types found in the Soundblox line but add six user presets, a 7-band graphic EQ, MIDI input functionality, and preset morphing controlled via expression pedal. That same year marked Source Audio’s expansion into bass effects with the introduction of Soundblox and Soundblox Pro Multiwave Bass Distortion pedals, adapting their guitar-oriented processing for bass instruments.
The Source Audio Collider merges 12 delay and reverb effects sourced from its Nemesis Delay and Ventris Dual Reverb pedals into one streamlined unit featuring straightforward controls. Its user-friendly interface enables seamless blending of any two-engine combinations of delay and reverb effects.