Login | March 19, 2026
Two northeast Ohio natives receive NAMM Show award for a new guitar effect pedal
The ZEQD-Pre, a collaborative effort between EarthQuaker Devices co-founder Jamie Stillman and Dr. Z Amplification owner Michael Zaite, received a Gotta Stock It Award during the 2026 National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Show in Anaheim, California. (Photo courtesy of EarthQuaker Devices).
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: March 17, 2026
When northeast Ohio natives Jamie Stillman and Michael Zaite began working on a new guitar effect pedal in 2024, they had no idea how popular it would become.
Stillman, co-founder of the Akron-based boutique effect pedal manufacturer EarthQuaker Devices (EQD) and Zaite, owner of Dr. Z Amplification (Dr. Z Amps) in Maple Heights, Ohio, had collaborated on products in the past.
But their latest work--the ZEQD-Pre--is not only a best seller, but it also won an award at the 2026 National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) Show in Anaheim, California.
The annual NAMM show highlights new products, trends and innovative music technologies and provides educational opportunities and live entertainment.
This year the largest global nonprofit music trade organization celebrated NAMM’s 125th anniversary.
It ran from Jan. 20-24 and featured more than 1,650 exhibitors representing over 5,400 brands, drawing 60,000-plus attendees from across the United States and internationally.
In a press release, NAMM President and Chief Executive Officer John Mlynczak stated, “NAMM continues to be the global stage for our industry to announce groundbreaking products, establish transformative partnerships and gain valuable education that drives success for our industry for the rest of the year.”
The “Best in Show” Award ceremony took place on the morning of Jan. 24 in the main building of the Anaheim Convention Center.
Frank Alkyer of Music Inc. and UpBeat Daily magazines moderated the session, which featured a panel of gear experts and buyers who shopped the show floors to come up with their top picks, including Jim Tuerk of Reverb, Laura Penrose of Nick Rail Music and Penrose Strings, Geoff Metts of Five Star Guitars, Cyph Shah of Astro Audio Video Lighting, Robert Christie of A&G Central Music and Gayle Beacock of Beacock Music.
There were four award categories, including Add-Ons & Accessories, Gotta Stock It, Companies to Watch and Best In Show, with multiple winners in each one.
Reverb’s Jim Tuerk selected the ZEQD-Pre (https://www.earthquakerdevices.com/zeqd-pre) for a Gotta Stock It Award.
The all-analog tube preamplifier features a passive three-band EQ, professional headphone output, balanced XLR output and onboard analog cabinet simulation.
During the event, Tuerk said EarthQuaker Devices is his favorite pedal brand, describing the ZEQD-Pre as a “really, really cool pedal,” adding, “It sounds awesome. There’s a tube in it that kind of reminds me of the old Tube King…The first batch sold really, really fast,” he said, advising stores to “get the next batch because it’s gonna move quick.”
“It was definitely very exciting,” said Stillman, whose products were displayed at the Silent Pedal Showcase booth. “I’ve been an exhibitor at the NAMM Show for many years, and you don’t go there expecting an award.
“We used the EF86 pentode tube, which is the same one that gives many of Dr. Z’s amps their hi-fi tone and makes them such responsive pedal platforms,” said Stillman. “It creates an authentic tube warmth and dynamic response in an analog amplifier system that fits right on the pedalboard.”
“I was shocked, but very happy when I learned the news,” said Zaite, who did not attend the show.
“I think the reason it was selected is because it not only sounds great, but it’s all analog and has many major functions,” said Zaite. “It can operate as a simple boost pedal or as an end of a pedalboard drive. It also has an XLR output that can drive a front of house system, and it can be used as an input to a computer for direct recording.
“Additionally, it contains an analog speaker simulator that Jaime designed that can be turned on or off, and it has an amazing headphone jack output for silent at-home playing.”
Interestingly, it was a discontinued Germanium diode that led to the creation of the ZEQD-Pre.
“Jamie’s original Z-Drive pedal required this diode and rather than try and find a replacement part that would never sound quite the same, we decided to come up with a different idea using the EF86 tube,” said Zaite.
“Jamie took the preamp that I designed and added a simulated speaker cabinet, headphone amplifier, and an XLR output, so it can be used both on stage and in the studio.
“EarthQuaker was already a well-known pedal manufacturer, but the ZEQD-Pre is raising its profile even further,” said Zaite.
While Zaite and Stillman are both musicians with a passion for sound, their backgrounds and businesses are not the same.
Zaite has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Cleveland State University and worked for GE for about 15 years, prior to starting Dr. Z Amps in 1988.
“I was able to combine my two passions of music and electronics into a successful business,” said Zaite. “When I started the business, I was building and repairing amps.
“Fortunately, I became very successful, in part because of a good friend of mine, Joe Walsh, a guitarist and singer-songwriter in the Eagles band. He used one of the amps in the Eagles’ ‘Hell Freezes Over’ tour in the 1990s.
“Now quite a few artists use my amps, including Brad Paisley.”
In the case of Kent native Stillman, he started his own record label, Donut Friends, at the age of 13, running it until he turned 25.
Stillman, who plays multiple instruments, including guitar, toured with quite a few rock bands, including The Party of Helicopters, Harriet the Spy, Relaxer and Teeth of the Hydra.
His venture into the pedal industry began because he couldn’t find a place that fixed the devices.
Soon he was designing his own, and then in 2004, some friends of his asked him to build one for their band, The Black Keys. At the time, he was their tour manager.
It was called the Hoof fuzz, and it would go on to be used on festival stages around the world.
When he first founded EarthQuaker Devices in 2004, the business operated out of the West Akron home that he shared with his wife and business partner Julie Robbins, but that’s no longer the case.
Today EQD has 35 employees, who work out of a two-story 15,000-square-foot facility at 350 W. Bowery St. in Akron, designing and manufacturing pedals for guitar, bass and synth.
EarthQuaker Devices currently features a line of more than 45 different pedals, sold in the U.S. and globally.
“We’ve gone through a lot of changes,” said Stillman. “We now have a fully automated PCB assembly line which has expanded our ability to produce much more in a given year.”
NAMM isn’t the only venue where Stillman showcases the products.
In fact, for the second year in a row, they were simultaneously on display at both NAMM and the Wood Wire Volts trade show, also in Anaheim.
This February, they also tried something new, doing a limited exhibit aboard the Norwegian Pearl, as part of the music festival, titled Modest Mouse Cruise: Ice Cream Floats.
“We set up in the lobby and there was a lot of traffic,” said Stillman. “People were excited to see our products.”
But the business does face its challenges.
“We manufacture everything here in Akron, Ohio, but almost all the parts we need are made outside of the U.S., and the tariffs have hurt us,” said Stillman.
Last May EarthQuaker Devices Chief Executive Officer and co-founder Robbins testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to raise awareness about how the tariffs are hurting small businesses.
“In order to manufacture our pedals in Akron, we use more than 1,000 individual components which come from 16 different countries and cover 34 different harmonized tariff codes,” said Robbins. “Even though the Supreme Court ruled the tariffs instituted under the IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) statute illegal, more tariffs have been implemented and the uncertainly and instability will continue.
“We are doing our best to navigate a difficult time.”
As the owners continue to grapple with the issue, Stillman said they are adjusting the company’s business model.
“We are expanding our marketing efforts and being more cautious about bringing in new employees,” said Stillman. “Despite the challenges, we expect to release five or six new products this year, which is more than we have in the past.”