Dewtron was the trade mark of Design Engineering (Wokingham) Ltd. or D. E. W. Ltd. a small British electronics manufacturer, founded by Brian H. Baily on 5 February 1964[citation needed]. In adverts the company address is always given as, Ringwood Road, Ferndown, Dorset, never Wokingham.[note 1]
One of the earliest advertised Dewtron product was the Dewtron Wave Trap, a device to boost the reception of medium wave radio broadcasts, [1][2] another was the Dewbox, a 2 inch by 2+1⁄2 inch plastic enclosure in variable lengths.[3]
Later on Synthesizers were advertised either pre-built or as kits of resin potted modules.[4][5] By 1970 the company's products included oscillators, voltage controlled amplifiers, sample and hold and envelope shapers.[6] Chris Carter, later to form Throbbing Gristle, experimented with Dewtron kit-based synthesizers early in his music career, [7] as did Chris Watson of Cabaret Voltaire.[8] In 1973 Ian Craig Marsh, (a founding member of The Human League and later to form Heaven 17) built himself a Dewtron synthesiser.[9][10]
The Dewtron Mister Bassman bass pedal synthesizer was used by Mike Rutherford on Genesis albums from Nursery Cryme (1971) onwards, before replacing it with a Moog Taurus I for the album A Trick of the Tail (1976).[11] Yes' bassist Chris Squire and frontman Jon Anderson used similar units in live performances.[12][13] John Paul Jones plays a Mister Bassman on Since I've Been Loving You on the album Led Zeppelin III.[14]