Le Son du Bout Des Pieds

Meet Jannis Anastasakis - 29/06/2014

Softness and permanent calm of Jannis Anastasakis, founder of Jam Pedals effects designed and manufactured in Greece, lively contrast with the spicy colors and especially the rich and captivating sound effects it offers.

The pedals from the first glance, don't leave insensible, with a recognizable look of all of them, with almost unique finishes for each pedal realized.

Manufacturing, design, Jannis keeps a watchful eye on the production, run on thousands of miles to show its effects, and of course has always in mind a lot of ideas for future pedals.

Enter the flamboyant universe of Jam, both noise and visual...

When did you start building effect?

I started building my own guitar effects in 2005, first from simple curiosity, and later as a hobby.

What is the first effect you have build?

I believe that was the Rooster, our frequency Booster.
It may be an easy design to start with, but to manage to make it sound right… that’s a different story.
Since then we have made more than a few improvements on this pedal.

Are you musician, electronics engineer or just handyman
mad about noise?

I try to be all of them at the same time :)

Did you study electronics engineering?

Yes, I have studied electronic engineering in the National Technical University of Athens.

Did you (or do you) play in a band?

I used to play for many years in a progressive-rock band called Intravenus. I have also done some session playing with some great songwriters from Greece.
The last 2 years, I am mostly working with my personal audio-visual project called “Elektronik Meditation” (www.elektronikmeditation.com), and I am also a member of Haig Yazdjian's group.

What is the effect you will never build?

A pedal that doesn't sound good :)

What is the next effect you will build?

We are finalizing the Delay Llama Supreme, featuring tap tempo, modulation and a filter for the repeats.

What is the last effect you've done?

The latest pedal we made, is the Big Chill, our super-tremolo !

Who do the design of your products?

I am the designer of the pedals.

How do you choose the name of your products?

I try for the name to match the sound of the pedal, and at the same time to be unique, always with a sense of humor involved.

When you started to build effect, you wanted to do vintage sound since the beginning?

Yes, as most of the music I listen to is based to that vintage sound, I couldn't help but make pedals that are inspired by vintage sounds.

Are you alone to make your products?

When I started I was making everything myself. We know are fortunate to have become a very small but strong team of people working hand in hand, to make the best vintage sounding pedals out there !

Do you do mods?

We used to do a few mods, but not anymore. No time for it, unfortunately.

And what kind?

All kinds you can think.

The Custom Shop is very generous with colors and matters: Painting, stickers, gold, wood, tissue, all is possible to make your pedal as you wish! Notice the wood box offered when buying a custom pedal...

Have you ever use effect built by others?

I am using many effects for my personal projects, some of them are made by other companies.

What is your favorite effect (in sounding)?

The Ripple !

What is the effect you very like to build?

I would like to build a good sounding Flanger one day.

Is it easy to find electronic components in Greece or do you make them come from somewhere else?

Most of the components we order them from the U.S and then Germany, but we do constantly resource from around the world. Some of them, the most common ones, we buy from Greece.

Do you work with Greek society (box, electronic circuits…)?

Yes, we work with a company that specializes in making aluminium enclosures. Our custom multi-pedals are made by this company.

Yes, we're open...

Come in at Jam Pedals is a trip out of time and of place.
The shop, located in Greece, is very clear and modern, and purpose to visitors a preview of Jam products handmade, and wherever you are in the shop, the possibility for trying anything!

Between "Chic" shop and a modern Design agency, at Jam Pedals you will be able to try all the effects in all conditions possible...

From the assembling to the finition, every step is realized in Jam by a young and passionate team.

What is the color of sound : modern, vintage?

The sound of JAM pedals is inspired by the vintage sound in addition to more current features and possibilities.

What do you think about modeling and products like Line6 for example?

Digital modelling effects like Line6 have a completely different philosophy than ours, I personally find them worlds apart.

Can we imagine your effect in a modeling program?

No :)

Is there n important community of guitarists in Greece?

Yes there is, and we are very happy and proud that almost all of them are using our pedals. You should check out the list of greek artists in our website, you will find some really great players in there ;)

Is there a lot of effect builder in Greece?

When we started making pedals, there were only 2. Nowdays there are more than a few people making pedals.

Could you build amp and are you interested in?

At the moment there is no plan for** building an amp, as time is not enough even for building new pedals :)

Could we imagine a guitar with your effect integrated?

I have integrated a Rooster into my tele, and it sounds great!

You products goes for guitars and bass. Can we use it with keyboards?

Yes of course, we do have many keyboard players using our pedals. John Medeski is using our WaterFall !

Will you build effects specially for bass and which ones?

We have made bass versions for many of our models, and have received great feedback from great bass players (Anthony Jackson, Guy Pratt, Jeff Berlin...)

Can we order a effect with special tones?

It depends on what the custom requirements are.
What we make is what we feel is the best that can be, so to alter it would go against our own taste !
That said we do keep an open mind always and we're willing to listen to suggestions and requests.

The products Jam Pedals

Presentation of "Standard" effects purposed by Jam Pedals


BOOMSTER Clean Silicon Booster	DANCOMP Vintage Compressor	DELAY LLAMA SUPREME Analog Delay with tap tempo and modulation

DELAY LLAMA Analog Lo-fi Delay	DYNA-SSOR Compressor / Sustainer	FUZZ PHRASE Germanium Fuzz

RATTLER Distortion	RED MUCK Fuzz-Distortion	RETRO VIBE Vibe pedal

ROOSTER Trebble Booster	THE BIG CHILL Ultimate Vintage Tremolo	THE CHILL Sine-vawe Tremolo

THE RIPPLE Phaser	TURE BYPASS MULTI PURPOSE BOX True Bypass / A/B Switch	TUBE DREAMER Overdrive / Double OD

WAHCHKO Wah-Wah	WATER FALL Chorus / Vibrato

For the design, it's ok, it's very personal, but what about the sound?
The best ambassadors of JAM are of course the users,
and all the players who test the effects say the same:
Sound is riche, warm, like the best vintage effects provide!
We just can advise to try this little jewels...

Will you organize clinics in next months in France? (Jannis made a demo of JAM Pedlas at Guitars Addicts in june 2014)

Maybe next year again.

At Guitars Addicts, you said that the demo was made to show what it was possible to do with your effects
(and it was successful!). Do you prefere that instead of showing how to use your pedals?

The demonstration I did in Guitar Addicts, was about to show the different possibilities that JAM pedals have, than the ones that most players can imagine, as well as some good combinations of the pedals.

> See the demo on video

Where can we find your products?

There are many dealers in France that stock JAM pedals. You can find them in our “dealers” section in our website.

Where provide in France?

> Guitars Addicts
> Guitare Village

> La Pédale
> Le Guitarium

More about Jam Pedals?