I do like my Reverbs, and have always been intrigued by the more sci-fi sounding variants. The Ricorda was originally down on my ’nice-to-have’ list, until I lucked out with my Chase Bliss Mystery Box - and got one as a bonus pedal!

Essentially you have a huge spatial ambient reverb with a smart granular delay, and then Freeze and Loop functions via the left Footswitch.

I had not fully appreciated the scope of capabilities when I did my original write-up. While this is every way a ...

I obviously just recently won me an AC Noises Ricorda Retro Series Reverb as a Chase Bliss Mystery Box Bonus Pedal - so the first iteration I had to make on this article was to update the standard Blue Ricorda image to the limited colourway edition that I was gifted by my Mystery Box. This selection is typically the one where I own the least proportion of pedals featured, in fact in this case it’s easier to list the few that I own here :

• AC Noices Ricorda Stereo Granular Reverb + Freeze /

"While knowing my luck I will probably end up with one of the 18 Chase Bliss pedals I already own."

And that was mostly the case per predictions - as I staged a second Onward pedal. However - my luck was still in - as I was one of the only around 8%-percenters which received a bonus pedal too - and it’s actually something I was quite keen on already - a limited colourway of the AC Noises Ricorda Stereo Granular Reverb + Freeze / Loop - which is another $399 value pedal!

Ricorda Controls...

A collaboration between AC Noises and Andrea Degli Esposti from BunkerNoise using a powerful modular synth DSP for AC Noises’ first ever stereo pedal.

This is a unique confection of conventional reverb with diffused and reflected grains - essentially adding further texture and dimension to the Reverb ambience.

The clear knobs are the conventional reverb, and the mini black ones control various aspects of the Grains. That mini-knob row is then  followed by 3 switches - which set further ...

So for the end of year Fuzz selection the only pedal of note that came a little too late to be included in this roundup was the very recent Reeves Electro BlackHatSound Deluxe Wedge - of which only 15 units have been made so far. Markus has promised me I can get copper insides when the next batch comes around - so I can complete my set!

Other than that everything of note that I’m aware of is included here in this selection. Again I own most of these - while there are still some down on the ...

I had initially intended to cover these two individually, but there are so many parallels here that it made more sense to tackle them together. There is of course a significant price differential, with one of these nearly twice as expensive as the other. It does have more controls and more granularity to its functions.

The other is more suited for use with synthesisers as it has 2 CV inputs to further manipulate the signal. And while for the Disorder the filter is an either-way Low Pass >...

This feature was prompted by the recent arrival of Electro-Harmonix’s New Compact Mainframe Bitcrusher pedal. It encouraged me to consider what else was available in the marketplace - which is how I always appraise new pedal introductions.

I have dabbled in bitrcrushers a little bit over the years, but don’t yet have a pure-play single-task bitcrusher pedal, while the Iron Ether FrantaBit has been on my wishlist for the longest time. In my featured selection of 9 - only 5 ...

With its still world-leading designer manufacturing industries I expect Italian pedal-makers to exhibit a certain degree of flair and pizzazz. So I was a touch disappointed when I came across so many poorly designed websites and often rather mediocre designs of pedals. That’s not to say there aren’t some leading lights here which raise the tone - but overall with the glut of pedal-makers I reviewed, I felt that as a nation they did not quite live up to their billing or imaginary status.

I ...