Krozz Devices' Krakenheart V2 Abyssal Uni-Vibe delivers next level output shaping to match its expansive depth of flavour
I need to start off by mentioning how much I love the Krozz Devices Airborn Flanger - that was an instant hit for me - such a smart combination of features and functions within the perfect form factor - and exceptional sounding of course. I really love everything about the Airborn - which is just as well really - as much the same philosophy is carried across to the Krakenheart - including the right-hand Max Speed Footswitch - albeit with some further additions.
I’ve had the Krakenheart for just a few days now, but am already impressed with how much flavour is onboard - and I don’t just mean depth of flavour - in terms of how richly textured it is - but rather how many different directions you can shape it into! I’ve tried it with all kind of different pedals, as well as cleans, including my recently arrived JAM Pedals Octaurus Octafuzz, and Farmer Factory Harmonic Generator (Buzzaround) - the Krakenheart really sounds exceptional every which way!
There are 2 really unique knobs on this device - Spectrum and Shadow - both of which are EQ’s in some way, while there is a whole lot more to the Shadow Control - which adjusts the Symmetry of Waveform / Duty Cycle - so you can kind of accentuate different parts of the wave - which also includes brings out either the higher (CW) or lower (CCW) frequencies. In fact I found there was a great deal of symmetry in interaction between the Spectrum and Shadow Controls.
Controls - Level, Spectrum (Mids > Full Frequency EQ), Depth, Shadow (Wave Symmetry / Bias / Lows / Highs), Mix : Chorus / Vibrato, Pulse (Rate), Bypass / Engage Footswitch, Speed Ramp Footswitch, there is also a Side trimmer to adjust the Ramp Time - i.e. how long it takes to speed up and slow down again.
My pedal arrived with minimum Ramp-up interval set - so it instantly switched between Max Speed and where your Pulse dial is set. I adjusted this all the way up - to give the maximum interval in ramp-up / ramp-down time - which is more the Leslie Rotary Speaker kind of thing - which I really love.
In terms of the key controls - Level for me remained mostly @ 2 o’c, with Pulse (Rate) Mostly set to Minimum - or fully CCW. While I was moving the Spectrum, Depth, and Shadow Controls a lot, as well as constantly alternating between Chorus and Vibrato Voicings. I definitely road-tested every extreme of this pedal!
As I mentioned previously - the Spectrum and Shadow controls are highly unique. The Spectrum EQ takes you from very Mids accentuated fully CCW, to Full-Frequency EQ at the other CW Extreme. I mostly preferred it in the right hemisphere - but it really depends on where the Shadow Control is set to.
So the Shadow is a combination of Waveform Cycle Adjustment / Waveform Symmetry / Duty Cycle, Bias, and results in a sort of Low / Hi accentuation EQ. So it sits default at Noon for a fully symmetrical and balanced shape / output - while you can shift the centre-frequency in terms of the speed of rise and fall by adjusting that knob. I found that when the Shadow knob was at around 9 o'c - then it really worked well with the Spectrum also set to around 9, and conversely when the Spectrum was @ 3 o'c then it suited the Shadow to be also at a similar value. Where default I tended to have the Shadow in the middle / at Noon, and Spectrum set to Max - for full-frequency maximum Classic Uni-Vibe texture.
I found that right-hemisphere Shadow was better for more rhythmic structures, while is sounds more lop-sided in the other direction - which has quite different applications.
As for the Depth Control - this varied enormously and was set in proportion to which other pedals were used in combination - sometimes falling back to around 10 o'c, while at other times rising to around 3 o'c.
In terms of my core / preferred starting point settings - then it would be Level @ 2 o'c, Spectrum @ Max, Depth @ 2 o'c, Shadow @ Noon, Mix on Chorus (Top), and Pulse at minimum. As I mentioned I raised the ramp-up / down interval (via the trimpot) to its full value - for the slowest possible step-up and fall-back. I didn't feel the need to use Expression control - that's just not how I tend to use this variety of pedal - I much prefer the Leslie Rotary Speaker dynamic that you get with the right-hand Footswitch.
Overall the thought and detail that has gone into the construction of this pedal is really next level - this is surely one of if not the most versatile Uni-Vibes currently on the market. And it of course has amazing textures and depth of flavour. It's all-round pretty much exactly how I would design it myself. Although I would probably add a slider switch to one of the sides of the pedal - so you can set the Ramp Footswitch to be either Momentary or Latching. The pedal really doesn't need anything extra - and that is the only area that I could think to improve it!
In terms of its overall appeal - this surely has to be right at the peak of this format. I've often complained about Uni-Vibes being unnecessarily large, or unreasonably priced or even a little clunky, While the Krakenheart is none of those - it's sleek and attractive - with a quite superb feature set to match its looks and output quality. These are priced at $269 / £269 - where a 3-way agreement between Krozz Devices' Murilo, Steve Dennis @ FX Pedal Planet and myself - allows me to acquire these at preferential rates.
Both my Airborn Flanger and Krakenheart Uni-Vibe came courtesy of Steve's FX Pedal Planet - where he is the exclusive dealer for Krozz Devices in the UK. Murilo obviously has a fantastic ear for tone, and seems to be the master of Analog Modulations!
The Krakenheart is my 16th or 17th Uni-Vibe - and quite possibly the best one to date - for al the reasons I have mentioned here.
There is some serendipity in that my review somewhat coincides with good friend Andy Martin's superior demo of this pedal materialising . Both were kind of intended to go live at the same time - but for various reasons the pedal arrived a little late to me. And of course I needed to live with the pedal for a few days before I come to the final conclusions.
Just a couple of notes to end with, the pedal contains a charge pump which raises interior voltage to 15V - which is optimal for this type of effect. And finally I would just like to mention how cool the artwork is - where per the Airborn, it's the work of designer Joey Melo. Both the Airborn and Krakenheart are absolutely essential for me - and come highly recommended!
Demos
12 Degrees of Saturation 2023 Compact Edition
