DigiTech has announced a major shakeup to its structure in a move that sees four influential members of staff from the brand's past team up to lead the company into its new era.
Last April, Cor-Tek corporation announced the acquisition of DigiTech and DOD pedal brands from Harman/Samsung, with subsequent hints teasing the possibility of an all-new Whammy pedal.
Now, a new incarnation (or even a reissue of the Whammy I?) – along with reboots of numerous other DigiTech/DOD stompboxes – seems all but confirmed, with Cor-Tek announcing the recruitment of Jim Pennock, Tom Cram, Roger Johnsen and Parker Coons to lead the company’s New Product Development and Marketing division.
Where the Whammy is concerned, it’s Cram’s name that will immediately stand out. When the acquisition of DigiTech was announced, Cram – who had a hand in designing the Whammy V – stated he wasn’t in the loop regarding the brand’s latest developments, having been let go by Harman back in 2018.
That’s all changed now, with Cram joining three other former employees with equal DigiTech pedigree to manage operations.
It truly is a powerhouse pedal lineup. Pennock’s own heritage with DigiTech traces back to the mid-’80s, with the new General Manager having played a part in producing numerous guitar multi-effects and multiple DSP chips.
Johnsen and Coons, meanwhile, both have engineering experience with DigiTech. The former took over from DOD co-founder David O. DiFrancesco and assumed the reins in 1988, while the latter worked for 10 years as a hardware designer on products such as Rubberneck, Ricochet, Carcosa and JamMan Express.
If guitar fans were excited about the return of DigiTech and DOD before, this only serves to heighten anticipation. The news puts beyond all doubt that cult classic DigiTech and DOD pedals will be reissued in due course, probably with some modern upgrades to make them even better than before.
Not only that, these old favorites will be complemented by all-new stompboxes. Back in 2017, when he was sacked by Harman, Cram claimed to have planned out a “five-year roadmap to produce more DigiTech/DOD stuff in the future”.
Whether that roadmap gets revived in any form remains to be seen, but with these four minds in business together, the potential for new DigiTech pedals is something worth getting excited about.
Indeed, as a statement confirmed, “With its all-star U.S. R&D team in place, Cor-Tek is confidently moving towards its goals of revamping time-honored pedals and rolling out new innovations.”
And, apparently, this might just be the start. According to a press release, “The team gets calls daily from many previous employees wanting to help the DOD and DigiTech brands come back to life and grow.”
Is this the dawn of a new golden era for DigiTech? After spending the past few years in corporate limbo, it certainly seems so. All things considered, it’s a significant development in the pedal world, and one we imagine the industry's big guns will be keeping an eye on.
For more information, head over to DigiTech.
