Durham Electronics

Durham Electronics

Unclaimed

Durham Electronics is a boutique effects pedal and amplifier company founded by Alan Durham. Durham grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his father — an IBM engineer — taught him the fundamentals of electronics. After studying music at Texas Tech University and working as an electronics technician for the University of Texas on defense contracts, he left to pursue amplifier repair and peda...

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Durham Electronics is a boutique effects pedal and amplifier company founded by Alan Durham. Durham grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his father — an IBM engineer — taught him the fundamentals of electronics. After studying music at Texas Tech University and working as an electronics technician for the University of Texas on defense contracts, he left to pursue amplifier repair and pedal building full-time. He set up shop at the Austin Rehearsal Complex (ARC), where a chance meeting with Grammy-winning guitarist Charlie Sexton led to the creation of the Sex Drive clean boost pedal in 2000 — the product that launched the company.

The Sex Drive was designed to add bottom end and sustain without coloring the amplifier's natural tone, and it quickly gained a following among professional guitarists. Eric Johnson has praised its transparency, and other noted players including Larry Campbell, Earl Slick, Jimmy Vivino, Craig Ross, Little Steven Van Zandt, and Ron Wood have used Durham pedals. The company's lineup includes the Crazy Horse fuzz, Zia Drive overdrive, Reddverb reverb, and the Quatro Plex — a multi-effects unit combining clean boost, overdrive, voltage-controlled fuzz, and reverb in a single enclosure. Durham also builds amplifiers, including the SiTone, SAM-15, and Continental models.

All Durham Electronics pedals are built to order and entirely hand-wired, using Switch Craft jacks and full-size Alpha potentiometers. Alan Durham's design philosophy emphasizes original circuit architecture rather than cloning existing designs, and every pedal includes a line buffer to help preserve signal integrity over long cable runs. The company also offers tube amplifier and pedal repair services.

Durham Electronics has 6 products cataloged on Equipboard, including Boost Effects Pedals, Overdrive Effects Pedals, and Fuzz Effects Pedals. Their gear is featured by 32 artists, with the strongest followings in Rock, Folk, World, & Country, and Pop. Notable users include Steven Van Zandt, "Captain" Kirk Douglas, and Miles Zuniga.

Artists Who Use Durham Electronics

Steven Van Zandt uses 4 Durham Electronics products

Steven Van Zandt

Guitarist · E Street Band

"Captain" Kirk Douglas uses 2 Durham Electronics products

"Captain" Kirk Douglas

Guitarist · The Roots

Miles Zuniga uses 2 Durham Electronics products

Miles Zuniga

Guitarist · Fastball

Redd Volkaert uses 2 Durham Electronics products

Redd Volkaert

Guitarist · The Strangers

The Edge uses 1 Durham Electronics product

The Edge

Guitarist · U2

Justin Vernon uses 1 Durham Electronics product

Justin Vernon

Singer, Guitarist · Bon Iver

Rich Robinson uses 1 Durham Electronics product

Rich Robinson

Guitarist · The Black Crowes

Mika Häkki (Monolord) uses 1 Durham Electronics product

Mika Häkki (Monolord)

Bassist · Monolord

Ken uses 1 Durham Electronics product

Ken

Guitarist, Keyboardist · L'Arc-en-Ciel

Brendan Ekstrom uses 1 Durham Electronics product

Brendan Ekstrom

Guitarist · Circa Survive

James Williamson uses 1 Durham Electronics product

James Williamson

Guitarist · The Stooges

Colin Hay uses 1 Durham Electronics product

Colin Hay

Singer, Guitarist · Men at Work

David Grissom uses 1 Durham Electronics product

David Grissom

Guitarist · Storyville

Jay Farrar uses 1 Durham Electronics product

Jay Farrar

Guitarist, Singer · Son Volt

Charlie Sexton uses 1 Durham Electronics product

Charlie Sexton

Guitarist · Arc Angels

Jake Garcia uses 1 Durham Electronics product

Jake Garcia

Guitarist, Bassist · The Black Angels

Carl Broemel uses 1 Durham Electronics product

Carl Broemel

Guitarist · My Morning Jacket

Robert McDowell uses 1 Durham Electronics product

Robert McDowell

Guitarist · Manchester Orchestra

Doug Pettibone uses 1 Durham Electronics product

Doug Pettibone

Singer, Guitarist · Burlesque

Hershel Yatovitz uses 1 Durham Electronics product

Hershel Yatovitz

Guitarist

Community setups featuring Durham Electronics

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miles_cookman

miles_cookman

Gear IQ 185

miles_cookman

miles_cookman

Gear IQ 185

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