Old Blood Noise Endeavors seeks to repeat the fabulous success of its Dark Star Stereo with a similar evolution of its Black Fountain Oil Can Delay
First thing I have to say is how dinky this format is - which is shared by the new Dark Star and Pardner Fuzz pedals - it’s around he same size as a square Strymon type which is really cool - as these pedals are relatively easy to accommodate within the Tetris environment of your pedalboard.
So as before this is much more than just a stereo-fying exercise as it massively evolves the original compact pedal format with a load more features. And similar to the Dark Star being a distinctly ...
Strymon releases EC-1 Single Head dTape Echo distillation of the El Capistan
I’m a huge fan of Tape Delays, but typically Multi-Head varieties - like say the Roland / Boss Space Echo. In some ways this completes the Volante / El Capistan / EC-1 arc - as each of those devices offers up fewer overall features. I’ve said that this is really a distillation of the El Capistan - where that one had 3 key modes of operation - Fixed / Multi / Single - and this EC-1 is just the Single mode from the El Capistan really - with some variations.
Controls - Time (50ms-1000ms) [Tap ...
Meris super-sizes its Enzo Polyphonic Synth - now the Enzo X with additional features and algorithms from the LVX and Mercury X Pedals onboard
We’ve known about this one’s arrival for a while, and in truth it was a pretty obvious move for Meris. Its smaller pedals with all those Secondary functions can be difficult to navigate - where the larger enclosure interface makes it easier to get to all the different parameters, modifiers, features and functions.
This new Enzo X vastly expands the range of the original - and borrows various features and versions of algorithms from its LVX and Mercury X siblings.
I own the LVX, and at ...
Donner introduces Versa Yellow Fall 2 DSP Delay + Reverb as the heir to the secret weapon Yellow Fall 'Analog' Mini Delay Pedal
The original Yellow Fall Mini Delay was a secret weapon for many - as the best sounding most affordable ’analog’ delay pedal. Jack White loved it so much - that it’s included on his Donner Triple Threat Multi-FX Collaboration. Even though by the most common classifications - this is not really an ’Analog’ pedal at all - but actually a PT2399 variant!
I was very excited when I first spotted the more expansive Yellow Fall 2 - which has some significant pros, and a slight con in that it’s all ...
Walrus Audio collaborates with Yvette Young on signature QI Etherealizer Parallel Grains + Delay + Chorus + Reverb Pedal
When I first clocked this - it immediately brought to mind my recently acquired AC Noises Ricorda Granualar Reverb, amd while there is some degree of overlap between the two - each device is also very distinctive in its own way. Where the QI Etherealizer adds Chorus, and Parallel as well as Series Routing.
It’s a device that perfectly covers Yvette’s key tones in the one device.
Controls - MIX } Mix / Dry (Series / Parallel), Grain, Delay, Chorus; MAIN } Mix / Dry (Series / Parallel), ...
End of Year Pedal-Chain Update - Final December Formation - Class of 2024
33 slots updated this year - #2, #3, #4, #5, #7, #9a, #9b, #10, #11, #12, #15a, #15b, #15c, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #22a, #22b, #23, #24, #25, #26, #29, #30, #31, #32, #33, #34, #36, #38, and #41.
There’s been a fair amount of re-routing and re-organising this year - which you should be able to pick via the pattern of changes. The introduction of the stereo Poly Amplitude introduced the biggest change to the board order - to get th most out of that format!
I try to limit acquisitions /...
2024 Best of the Best New Pedals of the Year
So this is the big one - all the top performers from the year in one selection.
We’ve already covered :
- 35 Boost & Overdrive Pedal Finalists
- 34 Distortion Pedal Finalists
- 32 Fuzz Pedal Finalists
- 38 Modutility Pedal Finalists
- 25 Delay and Reverb Pedal Finalists
Total Overall Finalist Selection of 164 Pedals!
Distilled down to the final favourites selection, where I own 27 of them, and will try to secure the final missing ones next year :
- Coffee Shop Pedals London Fog Tape Delay -
2024 Best New Spatial, Immersive and Time-Based Effects of the Year
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 /
TC Electronic combines 14 of its mainline flagship pedals into the one Plethora X1 Bluetooth Enabled All-in-one Multi-FX unit
This was always a no-brainer for TC Electronic - really just a matter of when they decided to pull the trigger, and this is truly a fantastic proposition - coming with Bluetooth App Control by default for just a $179 / €189 / £179 outlay. You get the creme-de-la-creme of TC Electronic Flagship pedals all in one unit! If you have any passing knowledge of TC Electronic Effects then this is a must-have acquisition.
So this doesn’t cover off the various recent Ampworx pedals, in fact none of ...
GFI System finally rolls out its improved and expanded Solis Ventus replacement for the Specular Tempus
It’s 4 years ago now since I did my mockup of a possible new version of Specular Tempus - based on the Synesthesia format. While GFI has gone even more expansive here and delivered a fully workstation format pedal.
It’s in the same territory as the Source Audio Collider and Wampler Catacombs - but with much more onboard - and in a significantly larger enclosure. Which will suit some, but not all. It’s actually probably more likely completing with the Mooer Ocean Machine and Line 6 DL4 (...
