I finally got my hands on a demedash t-60 and I honestly haven't turned the thing off since I first plugged it into my board. If you've spent any time looking at boutique pedals, you know that the "lo-fi" aesthetic is everywhere right now. Everyone wants their guitar to sound like an old VHS tape that's been left on a dashboard in July, or a warped vinyl record spinning on a turntable with a bad motor. But while a lot of pedals try to do that "broken" sound, the T-60 feels like it actually understands the assignment on a deeper level.
Steve Demedash, the guy behind the brand, originally made waves with the T-120 Videotape Echo, which is a legendary delay for anyone into ambient or shoegaze sounds. The demedash t-60 is essentially the modulation-only sibling of that pedal, and it takes those wobbly, nostalgic textures and puts them into a dedicated chorus and vibrato unit. It's not just a "set it and forget it" pedal; it's more like an instrument you have to learn how to play.
What exactly is going on under the hood?
At its core, the demedash t-60 is a solid-state analog modulator. It uses Bucket Brigade Device (BBD) chips, which is the "old school" way of doing delay and modulation. Unlike digital pedals that can sound a bit too pristine or clinical, BBD chips have this inherent warmth and, frankly, a bit of grit. As the signal passes through the chips, it loses a little bit of high-end fidelity, which is exactly why it sounds so musical and "analog."
But the T-60 isn't just a standard clone of a Boss CE-2. It has a lot more control over the actual character of the modulation. You've got your standard Rate and Depth knobs, which do exactly what you'd expect—change how fast the wobble is and how deep the pitch bends go. But then you get into the stuff that makes this pedal special, like the Lag control.
The Lag knob is where the magic happens. It basically sets the delay time of the modulated signal. If you keep it low, you get those tight, flanger-adjacent chorus sounds. If you crank it, the delay becomes more pronounced, and you enter this territory where the pitch starts to feel like it's lagging behind your dry signal in a really dreamy, slightly disorienting way. It's one of those controls that makes the demedash t-60 feel less like a pedal and more like a piece of studio rack gear from the 70s.
Finding the sweet spot between chorus and vibrato
One of my favorite things about the demedash t-60 is the Mix knob. It sounds simple, but the way it's voiced is perfect. If you have it all the way to the left, you get a 100% wet signal, which gives you a true vibrato. This is where you get those classic pitch-shifting wobbles that make your guitar sound like it's underwater.
As you blend the dry signal back in (moving the knob toward the middle), you enter chorus territory. Because the T-60 has such a high-quality signal path, the chorus never feels cheesy or "80s hair metal" unless you really want it to. Instead, it feels thick and lush. It adds a sense of three-dimensional space to your tone that most digital emulations just can't replicate.
I've found that I usually keep the mix somewhere around 40% wet. This gives me enough of that detuned modulation to add character without losing the punch of my original guitar tone. It's great for adding some movement to clean chords or making a lead line feel a bit more "haunted."
The Chop and the Randomness
Now, if you want to get really weird, you have to look at the Chop switch and the wave shapes. The demedash t-60 allows you to choose between different LFO shapes. You've got your standard sine and triangle waves for smooth, rhythmic modulation, but then there's the random setting.
Random modulation is a bit of a gamble on most pedals, but on the T-60, it's remarkably usable. It creates these unpredictable pitch jumps and dips that mimic the way a real tape machine might crinkle or catch for a split second. When you combine this with the "Chop" feature—which adds a sort of percussive, rhythmic quality to the modulation—you can get some truly rhythmic, glitchy textures that sound like nothing else on my board.
It's almost like having a tiny, sentient ghost living inside your pedalboard who occasionally decides to tug on your virtual tape reels. It's perfect for intro parts or for adding a layer of "grit" to a recording that feels too sterile.
Why it beats the "Big Brand" pedals
I know what you're thinking: "Can't I just buy a cheap chorus pedal and call it a day?" Well, sure, you could. But there's something about the way the demedash t-60 handles the frequency response that sets it apart. A lot of cheaper modulation pedals tend to suck the life out of your low end or add a weird, tinny hiss to the top.
The T-60 has a Tone control that is incredibly well-voiced. If you find the modulation is getting a bit too bright or distracting, you can roll the tone back to darken the repeats. This makes the effect sit behind your notes rather than jumping out in front of them. It makes the pedal feel like it's part of your amp's natural breakup rather than just an effect slapped on top of it.
Also, we have to talk about the build quality. Steve builds these things to last. The enclosures are sturdy, the top-mounted jacks are a lifesaver for crowded pedalboards, and the aesthetic—with that retro-tech screen printing—just looks cool. It feels like a boutique item because it is one. There's a level of care in the circuit design that you just don't get when a company is churning out 10,000 units a month.
Integrating the T-60 into your rig
When I first got the demedash t-60, I put it right at the end of my chain, which is where most people put their modulation. It sounded great, obviously. But then I started experimenting. I tried putting it before my drive pedals, and man, that was a game-changer.
When you run a wobbly, pitch-shifting vibrato into a high-gain fuzz or overdrive, the dirt pedal "flattens" the modulation in a way that sounds incredibly aggressive and lo-fi. It stops being a pretty, shimmery effect and starts sounding like a dying radio station. If you're into the "Shoegaze" or "Post-Rock" thing, you absolutely have to try the T-60 before your dirt.
The other cool thing is how it interacts with delay. If you have a simple digital delay, running the T-60 after it can "analog-ize" your repeats. It adds that flutter and wow that makes a basic digital delay sound like an expensive vintage tape unit. It's a very versatile tool if you're willing to move it around and see how it reacts to your other gear.
Is it worth the hype?
The pedal market is pretty saturated right now, and it's easy to get "choice paralysis." But the demedash t-60 stands out because it doesn't try to do everything. It's not a multi-effect workstation with 50 hidden menus and a screen. It's a dedicated, analog-heart modulator that focuses on doing one thing—beautiful, slightly broken modulation—better than almost anyone else.
It's the kind of pedal that inspires you to write new parts. I've found myself playing riffs I never would have thought of otherwise, simply because the way the pitch warbles makes me want to lean into those "sour" notes. It's moody, it's atmospheric, and it's surprisingly easy to dial in a good sound once you understand how the Lag and Mix knobs interact.
If you're tired of the "standard" chorus sound and want something that feels a bit more alive and unpredictable, the T-60 is a solid investment. It's one of those rare pedals that stays on the board for years while others come and go. It just has a soul to it that's hard to find in the mass-produced world. Plus, let's be honest, supporting small-scale builders like Steve Demedash is always a good move. You're getting a piece of gear that someone actually put their heart into, and you can hear that every time you stomp on it.