Alexander Pedals Introduces 3 new offerings at NAMM - Superball Kinetic Modulator, Super Neo-Matic Modulator and Magnolia Vintage Overdrive

I have long been a fan of Alexander’s slightly quirky NEO Series of pedals - with 4 onboard presets, up to 6 modes and secondary / alt functions on every knob - all in handy dual-footswitch compact enclosures. To-date I have only acquired overdrives and the La Calavera Phaser - but there are many more Alexander Pedals on my wishlist and likely at least a couple more candidates here.

The big release is the Superball Kinetic Modulator - a sort of modulated delay - which for one of its key algorithms has the modulation based on the waveform of a bouncing ball - i.e. with the waveform peaks getting shorter and quicker in an untypical and non-uniform manner - this is where the name comes from. There are different sensitivity settings which impact on the interaction of the Superball modulation and its degree of emphasis. In any case another cool leftfield effect with more potential than you would initially think. We’re still waiting for the full details to land on this one, estimated price is likely to be $199.99 .

The Super Neo-Matic has been teased a few times by Alexander - but is now fully formed and part of the main collection. It is Alexander’s take on Pefftronics Rand-O-Matic Delay - developed by Iowa State University back in the 90’s. The Super Neo-Matic has two modulation types Triangle and Random, with two sound modes - Vintage and Modern - and while it can be used as a delay per the original’s intentions, Alexander intends for this to be more of a sort of quirky chorus. Already in the catalogue and priced at $199.99 .

The final pedal featured here is the lovely warm slightly barky Magnolia Vintage Overdrive with 3-band EQ - just a beautifully calibrated textured and tuneful overdrive - superbly demo’d by RJ Ronquillo below. I already have a squillion overdrives - but I am still tempted! The Magnolia is available for $189.99.

So yet again a really strong showing from Alexander - who never fail to find an interesting avenue that has not been properly explored before. I actually like each of these in their own way - there are other sexier pedals at NAMM this year - but these are all excellent candidates too. Will see what I decide in my final NAMM review!