New Stone Deaf Syncopy Modulated Analogue Delay in stock at the end of this month
We’ve known about the new Syncopy Delay Pedal from Stone Deaf for quite a while now - it’s been about a year or so since it was first announced, and it evidently took a while to refine production models to the high fidelity level desired. The new pedal uses the exact same form factor and control topology as the amazing Tremotron Tremolo which I have and love, as do many.
The coolest thing about these pedals is how the various LEDs light up the main functions, they both come with 4 selectable presets via dual footswitch press, with second footswitch for tap-tempo, and 4 selectable tap-divisions, as well as dual functions on several dials. Form factor is slightly beyond the mainstream ’compact’ enclosure size, but near enough really not to ruffle any feathers.
The key features of each are really the Wave-forms / Modulation Shapes, while I could really have done with a stereo delay for my rig, but understand why it’s mono. Stone Deaf employs a similar Analogue with Digital Controls philosophy as Chase Bliss Audio does, and all their pedals sound great, albeit I find most of their older pedals slightly too large for my needs.
Hopefully they will be compacting those eventually and introducing them within this superior form factor. I’ve long had their Paracentric Fig Fumb Fuzz in my sights, but have thus far preferred slightly more compact alternatives - including Thorpy’s Fallout Cloud.
With the addition of the Syncopy, there are now 7 proper pedals in the Stone Deaf range - with these two newer ones the cream of the crop. I also still recommend the highly versatile Big Muff style circuit of the Fig Fumb, but do not particularly like the larger enclosure size for that. I feel all the older Stone Deaf pedals could really do with a size reduction! They’re all great sounding pedals though.
Stone Deaf Syncopy Analogue Delay - £270
Analogue effect with smart LED-accentuated digital controls. Here you click on the Mix knob to select secondary function Modulation Shape, Time to access Modulation Rate and Feedback to access Modulation Depth, in much a similar way to accessing secondary functions on the Tremoton. The killer features here are the Modulation Shape, secondary swell function on the tap-tempo footswitch, alongside the 4 onboard presets - which makes this easily one of the best and most versatile analogue delay pedals currently available - you can achieve all manner of slightly chorusey and flangey style effects with this pedal.
Stone Deaf Tremotron Analogue Tremolo - £250
This was my main Tremolo for a while, but is now currently an understudy to my Chase Bliss Gravitas, but both are exceptionally capable tremolos, and the Tremotron has several aces up its sleeve. The main one being that you can operate two different tremolos simultaneously by clicking on the Shape knob. You also get tap divisions here and 4 definable presets onboard selected by clicking on both footswitches simultaneously. Both this and the Gravitas sound fantastic and are quite probably the best compact tremolos currently available in terms of tone and feature set. You should really check this one out.
Final Thoughts
My loyalties here seem to be split between Stone Deaf and Chase Bliss Audio - as each has strong contenders for both of these categories and you should be highly satisfied whichever way you go. For analogue delay - Chase Bliss has the incredible Tonal Recall and new Thermae Pitch-Shifting Delay, while you have the Gravitas competing with the Tremoton for Tremolo.
Both of these sorts of pedals are slightly advanced - with the Chase Bliss versions more fiddly to operate with all those dip-switches, but you don't have to go there if you don't need to / want to, and all Chase Bliss pedals come with a 3-way toggle where you can select two presses or active settings - versus 4 on the Stone Deafs!
The Chase Bliss pedals are slightly more compact, and slightly more feature rich, but you may prefer the tone and functionality of the Stone Deaf alternatives - and the pricing. I've gone more down the Chase Bliss route for now. I am also currently super happy with my Empress EchoSystem Delay Workstation which does a whole heap more than the Syncopy and has full stereo and dual simultaneous effect too.
All Stone Deaf pedals sound really clear and articulate, with plenty of harmonic texture and I've long considered their Fig Fumb Fuzz too as mentioned. I really love and will continue to rotate my Tremotron, but for my rig, the delay would really need to be stereo to be properly useful - so that makes it a nice to have here rather than essential for me...
