NUX's recent TRS Enabled Full Stereo Capable Mini Core Series Pedals are a genuine game-changer for the industry

The most recent NUX Mini Core Series are not the first ever mini pedals to have Full Stereo Ins and Outs courtesy of TRS cables, while I believe it’s the first time we’ve had a range of pedals released concurrently with this smart functionality.

It used to be almost a given that Mini Pedals would be Mono only, while the recent trend for using single TRS enabled ports for a stereo signal has really taken off of late. A great adjacent example to this is Chase Bliss’s recent Generation Loss MKII pedal - which is the first Compact Chase Bliss Pedal to benefit from a Full Stereo Signal throughput.

There are some even cleverer mini pedals out there in terms of more granularity and controls - while these Mini Core pedals are all 3-knob varieties, but with additional Modes available via pressing the top ’Tap Button’ / LED Indicator - the Damp Reverb for instance switches between Plate, Spring and Hall voicings - each change which is accompanied by a matching LED colour change. If you hold down the somewhat misleading ’Tap Switch’ you can also select between Mono and Stereo Modes.

The 6 pedals in this batch include the Damp Reverb (Plate + Spring + Hall), Edge Delay (ф Dual Digital + Analog + Tape), Mini S.C.F (Chorus + Pitch Modulation + Flanger), Pulse IR Loader (8 x EG Electric Guitar Cab + 8 x BS Bass Cabs + 8 x AG Acoustic Guitar Cab), Ukiyo-E Chorus (MXR Stereo Chorus + Arion SCH-1 + Boss CE-1), Voodoo Vibe (Vibe + Chorus).

The majority of the units also have smart tap tempo which activates when you press the footswitch multiple times in succession - or at least twice.

These are all generally available for a very reasonable $79 and equivalent - obviously all DSP units, but really great sounding nonetheless.

I personally of course rely on somewhat more capable and comprehensive workstation pedals - particularly as regards Modulation, Delay and Reverb Workstations - while it’s really cool to have these tiny individual ones as backups - for when certain pedals aren’t or can’t fit on the board.

I’m still constantly surprised by the rapid scale of ongoing pedal innovation we see year in / year out - while the various screen interface pedals could still do with some work. We are living in a golden age of effects pedals for sure - and these further options are really useful alternatives to what is already out there, while mostly understudies for my purposes!

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