By Michael Matthew, Dialog Semiconductor

Amplified guitars appeared in the early 1930s. In those days, however, early recording artists strove for clean orchestra­-type sounds. By the 40s, DeArmond manufactured the world’s first standalone effect. At that time, amplifiers were valve-based and bulky.

The 40s to the 50s saw competitive individuals and bands frequently turning up their amps to overdrive status, and distortion sound became increasingly popular. In the 60s, transistor amplifiers started to be manufactured, with the Vox T-60 appearing in 1964, to further preserve the distortion sound which by then was very sought after. This is the time the first distortion effect was born!