Customers included Liam Howlett of The Prodigy and Jean-Michel Jarre. A selection of instruments was used by producer Ego Plum, alongside a 60-piece orchestra, for soundtracks to episodes of Harvey Beaks and Sponge-Bob Square Pants.

Producer Daniel Boyle worked with Lee “Scratch” Perry on his “Back On The Controls” and “Black” Albums, and used both our circuit bent digital Dubsta delay, and our new Analogue Dubsta-Delay. Our circuit bent machine was even included on the “Back On The Controls” album gatefold artwork.

These achievements inspired us to step into the world of electronic design and manufacturing in 2013. We began to create our own range of products, the first being the Dub-Siren & Analogue Dubsta-Delay, which are available from our online shop.

The learning curve of product design is  an enjoyable challenge for us. Our experimental approach leads us to strive for audio excellence and quality of build. Explore our instruments in our online shop, and see what designs we have in development.

MEET THE TEAM

Abegael Saward

Arron

It all started for me when I was given a selection of electronic kits, and a soldering iron, at 8 years old by my grandad. We would sit at the kitchen table, building them. It was from there that my interest in electronics began. I first started getting into synthesizers when I was around 12 years old. I was given a Casio VL-1 for Christmas and spent a lot of time using the ADSR section to create my own sounds. Having an inquisitive mind, I was always taking things apart, and I remember opening the VL-1 up, and poking around the PCB with a paperclip, changing the sound. Little did I know that in later life, I would create a business based on that.

I was heavily into the Hip Hop, electro and graffiti scene in the ‘80’s, and was a regular visitor to Covent Garden, which lead onto the day time jams at clubs like the Wag, Spats and Jubilee Hall. By the time I was 17 I had teamed up with my now Brother-in-Law Daren Ager, we started our first electronic band under the name of a Interlect 3000. We would rent a friends local place called Spare Room Studios in Essex, which was full to the rafters of classic electronic instruments and record there as often as we could.

After many years in the studio and releasing vinyl, I decided that I wanted to take my equipment out live and teamed up with Jason Scarlett of Bio-System in Southend. We hand built a 20k sound system together and began putting Techno Parties on in the area, starting around 1996. We went on to supply the music and sound system at various squat parties and music festivals. It’s something that we did on a regular basis for around 20 years together. I still record and release music in our own studio. See our music page for more details.

These experiences led onto a love of quality audio for me and an inquisitive mind that wanted to know what technology was being used to create the best electronic musical instruments. I did a lot of research myself over the years, and begun to understand the internal workings of many instruments at the time. Now all these influences feed into our designs at S-CAT.

Abegael (Abi)

I grew up surrounded by music and creativity, being taken to festivals and gigs by my parents. I always loved making things, painting and drawing, and was an enthusiastic guitar player. I also had a keen interest in ancient history, and decided to study archaeology at Bristol University. However, the electronic music scene turned out to have a stronger pull than academia.

Arron and I met through mutual friends, and he introduced me to music production, which I loved. We then started experimenting with circuit-bending, and S-CAT was born. I began to take over the creation of our elaborate control panels. I now take on pretty much all the graphic design aspects of our work, which is a fantastic creative outlet. I also love building electronics, and am usually found happily hand-soldering S-CAT machines at the workbench.

Over the years, running S-CAT has given me many opportunities to learn new skills, and meet fantastic people. The process of bringing a new product to completion requires hard work and attention to detail, but is extremely satisfying.

My many roles at S-CAT include; Documenting the prototyping process, creating layouts and artwork for our case designs, liaising with manufacturers, stock control and ordering, building and assembling products, web design, accounting, general admin and shipping.