Crazy Tube Circuits shrinks down and improves on its ingenious 80's inspired Sidekick Multi-FX, and doubles down on the number of algorithms

Crazy Tube Circuits’ Christos Ntaifotis is the master of miniaturisation - and he’s achieved a similar marvel of engineering here as he did with his Phi Golden Ratio Compressor - with the key difference being that the compressor was an all-analog 3-in-1 confection, while there was no way you would be able to fit 3 Analog modulations, 2 delays, and 6 reverbs into a compact enclosure any other way - DSP is the only vehicle that can make that possible.

And Chris here has settled on just the right number of controls to get the maximum impact from this compact marvel. The Sidekick JR is a somewhat different proposition to its larger forebear - while the inspiration is still the same - the best of those killer sounds and algorithms that made the 80’s such a flavoursome decade. So the Modulations are inspired by those Boss classics of the day - the CE-2 Chorus, BF-2 Flanger, and DC-2 Dimension, the Echo / Delay section sees Vintage Style Tape Echo with fresh tape, and one of those cool Digital Delay Rack Units, and then we have 6 Reverb algorithms inspired by the Alesis Rack Units from that time (MIDIverb and XT).

Controls - MODULATION } Depth, Mode : Ensemble (CE-2) / Flanger (BF-2) / Dimension (DC-2), Speed, SWITCHING } Combine Modulation with Reverb FS / Use External XT Switch / Combine Modulation with Delay FS, DELAY } More (Level), Tail (Feedback / Repeats), Time (40ms - 800ms), Mode : Tape / Digital, REVERB : Plate [Gated] / Spring [Exciter] / Hall [Shimmer], Bank : A/[B], Reverb [+Mod] Footswitch, Delay [+Mod] Footswitch.

So you get 11 different algorithms here that you can combine together 3 at a time. The only complexity with the compact unit is in the Footswitching department - where you need to select whether the Modulation gets activated at the same time as the Reverb or Delay Switch. If you want all 3 to be independent you need to buy the additional exernal XT Mini Switch pictured above. That’s my only insight here - in that with the pedal being fully Digital I wonder why Chris could not have used the same trick as Jackson Audio do - where pressing both footswitches simultaneously allows you to switch in and out a 3rd function - as happens on the JA Bloom and JA Optimist pedals for instance. Otherwise I feel this device is pretty nigh on perfect for this format.

You can combine this with a versatile gain pedal to give you pretty much your whole pedal rig! This is such a clever encapsulation of the 80’s - down to the look and feel / colourway of the pedal. I must say Chris is really on a roll these days - so many cool innovations coming through from CTC.

If you want to add that maximum 80’s feel to your rig - I can’t think of anything that does this better. There is of course the BIG EAR pedals Albie - while you have a lot less control over those combined mode algorithms. With the Sidekick JR you get Range and Depth, but you also get a cool degree of granularity too. Being able to separate out the distinct elements / channels is always a good thing!

I can’t really fault this concept apart from it not doing the dual-press thing with the footswitches. I feel that a lot of players are going to have a lot of fun with this unit. For my own needs - this would really need to be stereo input / output - which I guess we could see in a future variant using TSR Jacks - for now though this is the most perfect encapsulation of the 80’s to-date.

TOP 5 FEATURES / USP

• Three classic 80s style effect sections (modulation, delay, reverb) in a small size enclosure
• Wide selection of algorithms and controls for each effect
• Hybrid mode of operation : digital time-based effects / analog mixing, buffering and filtering of the wet and dry signals for warm and musical sound quality
• All effect sections can be operated together or separately
• True bypass for all sections – switchable buffer bypass with tails for reverb section

The Sidekick JR retails for €289 (c.$310) and equivalent, while the XT Mini Footswitch is €49 (c.$52) - both available from the Crazy Tube Circuits Webstore, and imminently at International Dealers too.