AC Noices' Ricorda Stereo Granular Reverb + Freeze / Loop has some amazing hidden depths and truly unique playback possibilities
I do like my Reverbs, and have always been intrigued by the more sci-fi sounding variants. The Ricorda was originally down on my ’nice-to-have’ list, until I lucked out with my Chase Bliss Mystery Box - and got one as a bonus pedal!
Essentially you have a huge spatial ambient reverb with a smart granular delay, and then Freeze and Loop functions via the left Footswitch.
I had not fully appreciated the scope of capabilities when I did my original write-up. While this is every way a fantastic and unique style of reverb pedal - with a large variety of playback options and textures.
I can’t recall how much I mentioned about the fact that both Size knobs - cover Reverse Reverberations counter-clockwise, and forward / regular reverberations in a clockwise direction. There really is an incredible variety and versatility at your disposal here - through the various Modes mainly set by the 2 Size Knobs, and the 0 / +12 switch.
It’s a shame that there are no onboard presets, as I’ve discovered so many interesting textures in my first couple of weeks of exploration.
Controls [secondary - hold Freeze footswitch, tap to exit] - MAIN REVEBR } Wet Mix [diffuse], Decay Time [lfo speed], Size : > Reverse | Forward < [lfo depth], Tone : Dark > Bright [predelay]; GRAINS } Grains Mix [feedback], Number / Intensity [spray], Size : > Reverse | Forward < [stereo spread], Offset Time [pitch offset], SWITCHES } * / ↺ : Freeze / Looper (2 mins) [post / pre loop], O/OO : Mono / Stereo [dual mono / stereo], 0 / +12 : Root / Octave [pre / post grains], Freeze / Loop Footswitch, Bypass/Engage Footswitch.
It initially looks like you have 11 controls at your disposal - while each of those controls has a secondary function - which you access by holding down the Freeze Footswitch (referenced in [parenthesis] above) - giving you no less than 22 different parameters to adjust!
So exploring all those options is going to take some considerable time. Where you can make things really simple for yourself too by simply dialling out the Grains - and just working with the main ambient Reverb. There’s certainly a huge amount of scope here - and I’m a little disappointed with myself that I did not pick up on some of these finer elements earlier - but then that is the benefit of first-hand / hands-on experience.
You can generate so many different styles of reverb here and some similar sorts of tones as to what you might get on a Chase Bliss Mood or Hologram Microcosm too.
A particular favourite of mine is a kind of twittery Accordion sounding rhythmic pattern - with the following settings (note that utmost delicacy is required for the ’Number’ dial!)
Favourite Current Settings : Mix 1 @ 1 o’c, Decay @ 9:30 o’c, Size 1 Fully CCW (Max Reverse), Tone @ 10 o’c, Mix 2 @ 3 o’c, Number @ 10 o’c (safecracker mode!), Size 2 Fully CCW (Max Reverse), Time Fully CCW (0 offset), Freeze Mode Selected, Stereo Output Selected, +12 Octave Selected.
The resulting output is just fabulous, and fantastically rhythmic - you would not typically expect to get such output from a Reverb pedal! And this pedal is so easy to change up. The only downside as mentioned is the lack of presets - as you can spend quite a bit of time dialling in superior settings - which are then tricky to get back to next time around - as they require quite a bit of delicacy to tune in right, and the last bit has to be done by ear (safecracker style)! It would have been nice to have been easily able to preserve some of those killer settings. My current favourite settings above take some patience to dial in properly - where you have to be very delicate with the Number control.
When I did my end of year roundup - I kind of had the OBNE Dark Star ahead of this - while I’m not sure now - I feel this unit is a little more expansive than the admittedly also excellent Dark Star.
In any case I’m delighted that I snagged one so elegantly - this reverb definitely deserves some serious consideration - so much thought has gone into its feature set. The scope of possibilities here is much bigger than you might think. This is truly a really clever and unique take on a reverb - and more people need to take a chance on it!
As I mentioned, I won my AC Noices Ricorda in Chase Bliss’s recent Mystery Box promotion, while If I knew back then what I know now - I would most likely have acquired this one already! The Retro Series Limited Edition like mine I believe is sold out now, while the really attractive sparkle blue edition is still available for €352 and equivalent, or around $370 by today’s conversion rate! I say get one now - either from AC Noises direct, or one of their many international dealers!
Demos
