Alexander Pedals' Space Race Reverberator gets a Brand New Space Force Leap Series Transformation
DSP Pedal Pioneers Alexander Pedals had 3 series of pedals until today - Standard, Neo and Venture in ascending order of development. The recent BB-size Venture Series pedals - Syntax Error 2 and Fever Pitch introduced a cool in-context LCD Display to make it easier to control said pedals.
In essence - on the Venture Series you have several screens of parameters - which you can scroll through and edit 4 key parameters at a time via the corresponding 4 main control knobs. You have a further 2 knobs to select Mode and tweak other essential parameters like Mix.
The Leap Series has a slightly smaller LCD Display and only the 4 knobs - where the 4th knob has an additional push/click/hold function to access next page / screen / sub-menu.
Compared to the Neo Series Space Race that this essentially replaces, you get a more intuitive and much easier to use interface - with a couple of extra Algorithms / Modes, and a jump to 32 onboard presets in four banks of 8.
The 8 Reverberation Modes are :
- Plate
- Mod Hall
- Pitch
- Spring
- Lo-Fi
- Analog
- Dynamic
- Echoverb
The two first screens consist of the essential variable parameters 1-7, while the third screen has more set-and-forget type settings. Push/Hold on the 4th knob takes you to the Global Settings sub menu, single presses simply scroll between the 3 parameter screens.
All Leap Series Pedals will roughly feature :
- PRESETS : 32 built-in / onboard Presets
- EXPRESSION & RAMPING : Left footswitch acts as an Expression / Ramping controller - while you can also plug in an Expression Pedal to the Multijack
- MULTIJACK : Uniform Jack which allows connection to Expression Pedal, Remote Footswitch, or Midi Controller
- BYPASS TRAILS : Reverb + Delay Trails are configurable as Hard Bypass, Full Trails, or Auto Trails - the last of which adds some further smarts to the trail fade-out
- STEREO INS AND OUTS : Separate L+R Stereo Output Jacks, use TRS Input Jack for Stereo In
- USB PORT : Use USB Mini Port for Midi Control and Firmware Updates
I am actually quite delighted with this innovation - while the screen + text are still slightly on the small size. I was first aware of this kind of control topology courtesy of the Cooper FX Arcades Multi-FX pedal - and I always thought that sort of tech would surely be introduced soon to compact pedals.
Alexander have done a superb engineering job - my only very minor quibble is that the screen could have been a touch larger. While there’s no arguing with the number of extended features onboard. Users of the Neo Series Space Race should be in for a treat here as this retains and improves on every aspect of the Neo Series unit. I would expect to see Alexander Pedals rolling these innovations out throughout their compact range of pedals - seem like the Neo Series’ days look to be numbered.
I much prefer this form factor to the larger Venture series. There’s no reason we can’t apply the same amount of parameters here - as we simply just need to add one or more parameter display screens.
Part of the issue with the Neo Series is that you could not always be sure of what exactly the Alt / Secondary Controls were at any specific time - with the Leap Series you get full transparency and instant easy access to current Status info.
This heralds another phase of compact pedal development - which I kind of foresaw a few years back. I don’t think this format has been fully honed and perfected yet - soon enough we will have slightly bigger / better resolution screens / with clearer legibility and a touch more colour. It won’t materialise overnight - but over the next few years, and judging on their progress so far - one would think Alexander would likely be on the leading edge of that too.
I feel that here for the first time we’re getting the genuine advantage of digitally controlled pedals - via smart interface design. This is still rather fledgling - but a fantastic achievement within this industry. Kudos to Alexander for being the first to seize this version of the future!
This for me makes the compact Alexander Pedals even more appealing - while I’m not sure the Space Force will be my own first of the Leap Series types - I’m expecting many more great things to come.
Of course the price has risen slightly to accommodate these new technologies and innovations - now at $230 - which is still pretty reasonable all things considered. This is the first compact with this format of in-context display, of course the Free The Tone Motion Loop has a screen too - but that’s nowhere near as intuitive. When I first encountered the Cooper FX Arcades - I was sure that I would see that kind of control topology on a compact pedal soon enough - and that’s just what Alexander’s Leap Series is!
Are any of you as excited about this development as I? How do you like this control innovation - and are you fully onboard with this particular wave of the future?
The Leap Series Space Race is available right now from the Alexander Pedals Webstore and arriving imminently at leading dealers.
Demos
