Gecko Pedals Backstory

Gecko Pedals was born out of a bet (a dare maybe?) between two band mates back in 2007.  The first band mate, the lead guitarist, was a big fan of a 1960-1970’s era tape delay made by Maestro called the Echoplex, which is still a thing of legend and with many still in service even today.  He owned and used one in the band, and all were delighted by the jaw-dropping sounds that he created with it.  It suffered from a few problems, however.  It was a giant, heavy, electro-mechanical brick of machine, full of motors and pulleys and things that hummed and squeaked and whirred.  When something went wrong with it, replacement parts and people who were able to service one were both in short supply.

Enter band mate #2, the percussionist, who had a background in engineering.  One day while the two were talking about his Echoplex, band mate #2 mindlessly says something along the lines of, “I bet I could build you something to replace it that would fit on your pedal board and that wouldn’t break down on you.”  The first band mate replied, “Oh yeah?  Well then you definitely should do that, because I can think of more people than just me who would want one.”

Over the next decade, the chaos of life took over.  Careers happened, marriages happened, children happened, people bought houses and moved away, fortunes were won and lost… The band eventually faded away, but all members remained good friends.  Through those years, band mate #1 would occasionally say to band mate #2 something like, “Hey, where’s that pedal you were going to build?  Maybe you should get on that before we’re both dead.”

Well, perfection takes time!  Eventually, a dozen or so years later, it actually did turn from stale, lingering idea into Gecko Pedals first creation:  The Geckoplex EP-5.  

What’s With the Geckos?

Naming a business is as hard as naming a band, especially if you end up going in the “spirit animal” direction.  What mascot from the animal-kingdom really embodies all the qualities that a business might strive for?    For us, we had to look no further than the gecko.

The founder of Gecko Pedals has been intrigued with geckos ever since he first saw one in the wild in central Mexico years ago.   They are amazing animals that scurry around everywhere, seemingly performing magic as they chase insects straight up vertical walls and even upside-down across ceilings.  One interesting fact is that most lizards are mute, but the geckos can frequently be heard making distinctive chirping and clicking noises that sometimes vaguely sound like “geck-ooo”, hence its name.  On top of all that, many consider them to be good luck when they are around, and they can help leave your surroundings mostly bug-free.

At Gecko Pedals, we strive to make pedals of the highest quality, which, like a gecko: make cool noises, are bug-free, and seemingly perform magic.