ALABS Audio's Cetus 9 Mode Stereo Compact Reverb is truly one of the finest of its kind - mixing up classic and unique Reverb Algorithms in superb fashion
So I’ve kind of left the best to last! All 4 ALABS Audio Adam Adventures Series pedals are amazing, and particularly for the price. I note that the TimeSlip and Cetus have moved up $10 to the same price point as the Orbital - or $109.99 vs $99.99 - but they’re really worth it at twice the price even!
Someone commented the these were Walrus Audio levels of production and packaging - but with JHS 3 Series pricing. I feel they’re going to be very hard to beat at that price point - and for me the TimeSlip and Cetus are really world-class. With the Cetus just being a little bit more magical and special to deploy.
Whenever I buy Multi-effects I always go on about the ’mix of algorithms’ where I like to see coverage of the classics - but also some unique flavours that I can’t get anywhere else - and that is exactly the case with the Cetus. It’s one of my most favourite reverb pedals - and particularly at compact size. I would pretty much have it over any other current Compact Reverb - including the excellent Strymon Cloudburst.
Cetus’s combination of features and functions just doesn’t have another equal in that form factor. As for the TimeSlip - it’s the second half of algorithms that charm me the most - the Wave and Cloudy in particular - while I really love the Plate, Swell and Shimmer too - and the classic flavours are exactly where they need to be.
People talk of Pristine Reverbs - and this is certainly in that category - and with some really beautiful algorithms - this pedal just sounds amazing!
Controls - Decay (Trail Length), Bright, Dry>Wet Mix, Mode : Hall / Room / Church / Spring / Plate / Swell / Shimmer / Cloudy (Floating) / Wave (Lapping Sea Shore), PreDelay / Mod knob, Toggle switch : Freeze : PreDelay | Freeze / ∞ Explore Mode 5s Gesture Control, Footswitch Freeze : Hold for Freeze | Footswitch ∞ + Hold activates Gesture Control for Decay, Bright, Mix, and Mod.
Key Features
- 9 Studio Quality Effects / Modes
- W.A.V.E. Wizard Audio Virtual Engine
- Analog Dry Through with Zero Latency
- True Full Stereo In/Out Operation
- 32-bit floating-point DSP
- Selectable highest quality relay-based true bypass with analog buffered bypass option
- Multi-Function / Multi-Mode Footswitch - including Tap Tempo, Freeze, Expression Ramping etc.
- Infinity '∞' Explore Mode - a 5 second Gesture Control / Expression Ramping of the 4 main parameters -
- Rate, Depth, Mix, and Tone
- 9V DC [-] 250mA Current Draw
9 Modes
- Hall
- Room
- Church
- Spring
- Plate
- Swell
- Shimmer
- Cloudy [Floating]
- Wave [Waves lapping against shore]
Operational Overview
This one is probably the easiest to operate of the 4 - there are no hidden features or secondary functions - you're mostly just selecting the Mode - and then tweaking the 4 main parameter controls. As with all of these - the final knob has 2 parameters - depending on where the toggle switch to its right is positioned. On this occasion Up allows you to set the PreDelay, and Down sets the Modulation.
The Toggle-switch also impacts the core Footswitch function - which when UP is a Freeze / Hold on that Reverb type, and when down you kick in the Infinity ∞ Explore Gesture Control Mode - where you can wiggle the 4 key parameter knobs to creaet your own movement - or Decay, Bright, Mix and Mod. And then once that pattern is saved you can press-hold the footswitch in that Mode to Expression-Ramp the output.
It's all incredibly easy to figure out - and as there are no additional secret settings - this one is about as straightforward as it gets.
I guess the Cloudy Mode is not a million miles aways from Cloudburst - while Swell and Wave are just endless ethereal delights.
This is every way a superior Reverb pedal - it punches way way above its class. A great Reverb is just one of those effects that can really lift the sprits - very much 'awesome' in its application!
The Cetus is an exceptional proposition. It's the ALABS Audio pedal that will be in the most circulation on my board for sure. I can imagine guest appearance from the Orbital and TimeSlip too. While as mentioned in an earlier review - the NovaDrift is a little bit too vanilla for me to sustain interest - with not quite enough surprises up its sleeve - unlike its 3 siblings.
You can read up more about the Cetus on the ALABS Website.
And you can buy one from Amazon.com for $109.99
Go get yours!
Demos
![First-hand Impressions of the Walrus Audio Mako Series II [M1] High-Fidelity Modulation Machine](https://d6a2e7ghqts3o.cloudfront.net/AcuCustom/Sitename/DAM/556/2024-GPX-Walrus-Audio-Mako-II-M1-Y-7001.jpg "First-hand Impressions of the Walrus Audio Mako Series II [M1] High-Fidelity Modulation Machine")
