So I’ve been meaning to do this article for a while, but kept putting it off - in the hope that we might see more brands materialising from this country. That has not been the case though - so now seems as good a time as any to focus on the small but mighty trifecta of Croatian brands - Dawner Prince Electronics, DryBell Musical Electronic Laboratory and Polarbear Effects.

I typically have a grid of a 9 for this style of article - so here I’ve selected my favourite 3 choices from each brand...

I have always liked the look of the Walrus Audio Mako Series of MI Multi-Modulator, D1 Delay, R1 Reverb and ASC1 Amp Cab and Sim. And feel that these latest changes have really propelled some of these to the top of their respective categories - particularly in terms of Compact Enclosure Editions!

The new control interface is actually remarkably simple and intuitive - the knobs above each of the 3 screen segments allow you to click through different ’pages’ or screen of options - where you ...

The colour and moniker of this new Diamond Pedals Delay accurately describes its relationship to the legacy smoother more classic Memory Lane mainstay. The controls and core functions are identical across the two pedals - it’s just the 3 core modes that are different. The Memory lane is more traditionally inspired with Modern, Warm and Vintage Modes, where the Dark Cloud has vintage inspired Tape, and then the more unusual / modern Harmonic and Reverse voicings.

I mostly use tape-style ...

So we’re getting pretty familiar with this format of effect by now - where this is the 5th of that kind to share the exact same topology - following on from the Aurelius Chorus, Ledges Reverb, Spatial Delivery Filter, and Time Shadows II Multi-Delay.

Controls - Time, Repeats, Mode : Digital / Analog / Tape, Mix, Preset Save/Recall, Preset 1-6. Tap Tempo Footswitch, Activate Footswitch.

All pretty straightforward really - just 3 main controls with a Rotary Selector for Presets.

I ...

Non-Human Audio introduced the 2-knobs Slow Loris Short Delay Line Dynamic Modulator about one year ago now - where it was incredibly enthusiastically received. Slightly reminiscent of a number of Delay Line Modulators - like say the Fjord Fuzz Loke, and Spaceman Effects Meridian - but hugely simplified - and with a slightly dissonant nature to the output.

And while inspired by the Slow Loris - this is a slightly differently calibrated effect with 2 different A + B Short Delay Lines - each ...

So this has been on the cards for a while, in fact I needed to get an update of both boards featured here, as the first version I had was almost a year ago now. The idea was always to feature reader’s pedalboards - which had been somewhat noticeably / significantly inspired by this very site.

And I’m delighted that Long-term GPX friend and pedal fan Cyril Demaegd, board game designer / developer (founder of Ystari Games) and touring musician, has been somewhat ’Inspired by GPX’ since December of...

So we first saw a very finished prototype of this pedal back in October of 2019 - where it looks identical to this final production release as far as I can tell. I’m guessing there were some further challenges with the DSP side of things - where it’s often the MIDI programming side that holds things up.

In any case, we finally have a proper release candidate - which all Boonar and Echorec fans will be delighted to see. I personally was hoping for a Stereo pedal - as the last 1/3rd of my ...

And so we have a rather intriguing new pedal from Alexander Pedals - which looks like something you would typically be more likely to see coming out from Old Blood Noise Endeavors!

This new Forget Me Not Digital 4-Head Tape Delay is quite different from Alexander’s current models - which typically come with a handy mini screen. On this occasion though we have a much more traditional pedal - with no screen, and no hidden or secondary functions - everything is fully surfaces on this new pedal...

I always get pangs of sorrow when a pedal brand retires for one reason or another. Late last year Luca Romanelli announced that he was pulling the plug on his Mastro Valvola pedal brand - which at times I have referred to as ’The Strymon of Italy’.

There are so many complications and complexities with pedal-building in general - chip sets and key components increasingly harder to source, and numerous challenges with logistics and red tape. It’s a wonder more of these don’t go to the wire. ...