Alain Johannes

Alain Johannes is a guitarist and producer born on May 2, 1962 in Santiago, Chile¹². Press coverage describes him as well known for working with Queens of the Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures and PJ Harvey³, and MusicRadar names him as a Mark Lanegan and Chris Cornell collaborator as well². His own projects include Eleven, and he is also associated with the Desert Sessions, Fragments and Wholes and Spark⁴. For pedal builders, though, he is one of the most deeply involved signature artists around: rather than simply lending his name, he has co-designed effects with the maker Dr. No effects, recorded demos for them, and even donated blood for one pedal's ink.

Dr. No effects in the 11AD studio

The relationship between Johannes and Dr. No effects began at 11AD, Johannes' home studio in West Hollywood, Los Angeles. Dr. No recalls how it started:

From there the collaboration deepened. Dr. No effects created the 11:11 collaboration effect with Johannes in 2014⁶, and after helping him move and clean out the 11AD studio in 2017 the two stayed in touch and became friends⁶. In a 2024 interview, guitarist David Catching described Dr. No as "an incredible artist that also creates some amazing effects pedals and has collaborated with everyone from Alain Johannes, Troy Van Leeuwen, Sarah Lipstate and many more"⁷.

The 11:11 pedal

The 11:11, announced in January 2015 as an upcoming custom "Art" pedal for Dr. No's "musical hero and friend"⁸, was released as a guitar effects pedal in 2016². Gearnews describes it as a "symbolic fuzz/fixed wah pedal"³, and it sits squarely in fuzz pedal territory with a fixed filter section. It is a two-in-one effect designed to get what Dr. No calls "that inspirational signature Alain Johannes sound"¹⁴, and Gearnews notes that "You can get close to his signature sound using the 11.11"³.

The pedal's design is unusually personal. Its coin knobs reference Johannes' marriage to his late wife, including both their dates of birth³. MusicRadar explains the layout: the larger coin knobs represent Alain's date of birth, May 2, 1962, and his Chilean origin, and control fuzz and fuzz volume, while the smaller coins nod to Natascha's Russian heritage and her May 22, 1956 birthday, and control balance and shape². Two Centesimo coins from Johannes' 1962 birth year form 11:11 together on the pedal¹. All copies are hand signed by Alain⁴, and the maker's webshop lists it at € 623.00⁴.

Johannes also recorded his own demo of the pedal's tones, a piece called "The Adventures of Dr. No in the 11th Dimension," recorded at his own 11AD studio in Los Angeles⁴². Gearnews notes he "has even made a demo video using the pedal so you can hear how it gets that tone"³.

The Djinn

The collaboration continued with the Djinn, another Dr. No Effects design made with Johannes⁵. Its origin is unusual: the first and only version of the Djinn existed exclusively as a circuit installed in a bass guitar built for Johannes by luthier Tom Pugi of T.P. Customs in London, before being released as a guitar effect⁹. The limited Djinn release carries a detail that makes it, in Dr. No's words, "a true signature in blood":

Dr. No describes Johannes as a "tone connaisseur and wizard musician" and a good friend¹⁰.

The Eleven pedalboard built for his live shows

In 2019, Dr. No set up a small European acoustic solo tour for Johannes, visiting various countries in Europe⁶. That led to the Eleven live tour, on which friends of Iron Jinn joined as band members and support act to accompany Johannes playing what Dr. No calls his "legendary Eleven set"⁶. For those shows, Dr. No built the gear himself:

The result is the Alain Johannes Eleven Live Tour pedalboard, a custom made pedalboard with pedals, case and power supplies⁶. The pedals are all mounted with velcro on a custom made board with a flocking finish⁶, and the "Eleven" logo on the pedalboard comes from the 11AD studio⁶. The board was later made available for purchase in its tour-used condition, with some damaged corners and stains from the road⁶.

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