“Dr” Huw Williams

A tour tech for much of his professional life, the list of people he has worked with would take up much of this page but runs the gamut from Take That to Depeche Mode, to Massive Attack, Portishead and most-recently Robert Plant. This combination of some of the best training in the world followed by years of working under battlefield conditions has given him a remarkable skill set and level of experience, combined with a calm, unflappable approach that can only come from having to fix a Space Echo on your back, torch clamped in teeth, behind the rack on stage while the band are in full flow.

Able to turn his hand to most things from synths, to valve tech, to motors and mechanics, he has a particularly deep knowledge of tape echo tech and has been responsible for us supplying machine after machine that consistently gets the response from experienced engineers and musicians, that they are the best they’ve heard. But Huw’s most important role here has been overseeing the training of our next generation of techs and passing on his skills and knowledge.

He trained Max, who now produces better Binson Echorecs than Huw; Max trained Will, who now produces better Space Echoes than Max and Huw. It’s the circle of (tech) life and we are incredibly proud of our team and grateful to Dr Huw and James Walker for helping us train the best in the business.

His design work has lead to the creation of the Soundgas Type 636 range and the RE-402 Stereo Space Echo, among many other ingenious and mind blowing ideas. When not in the workshop he could be found cycling far and wide across the countryside, sampling the occasional real ale, and (if pressed) telling some mind-blowing stories that always seem to start with “oh, I was on tour with them for a bit…” He is a dedicated and passionate Blades supporter.

His move to Newcastle to be nearer his family lead to his role becoming almost exclusively R&D for Soundgas. We look forward to seeing what amazing products he can dream up next.