Gamechanger Audio significantly extends and upgrades its Plus Piano style Sustainer Pedal - now in enhanced V2 edition

From a distance things look to be fairly similar (identical shape and dimensions) - but go closer - and you can see there’s a slew of new options and controls. The facia has double its previous controls - now 8 in place of 4; there are 3 controls on the rear panel - where there were none previously. And the optional extra Footswitch now has 2 further operational Modes to select via a 3-way rear slider-switch. We also have a new Spectral Dual Resonance Engine to extend the pedal’s prowess even further! And you can sustain additive notes now too instead of just the one!

So the overall core format is kind of unchanged - but this version has been somewhat tuned up and supercharged - and there’s actually so much added - with that extra degree of finesse and granularity - that it’s a no-brainer to upgrade if you’re into this kind of thing already.

When the Plus Pedal Sustainer first came out - I thought it a little large for my preferences - and felt that it would be tricky to accommodate it on the board. I’ve always liked the aesthetics - but a number of Gamechanger Audio devices aren’t particularly pedalboard-friendly - and that is mostly the case here.

While in intervening years my stance has softened somewhat considerably - which was triggered by the arrival of the Boss XS-100 - which is a massive 230mm long - the Plus Pedal’s 190mm doesn’t seem to be so much of an imposition as before! Besides I now kind of have a dedicated slot for those over-sized pedals - #15 - which normally houses the XS-100 or the Gamechanger Motor Synth Pedal. That slot could serve the Plus Pedal pretty well, while I would need to consider the cabling order to a degree. In any case no longer such a challenge to fit it on the board. I still feel that the circuit and mechanics could be accommodated in a somewhat smaller enclosure - it is still a large pedal for most - and comes with its own placement challenges.

The other is the aspect of the need for a separate Footswitch to flip modes - which I feel could have been done better / differently - that adds another £49 to the £348 of the core device - and makes for an even more cumbersome deployment.

I still feel this is the GOAT of this type of effect - and really beautifully executed - while it kind of needs that full deep gloss Steinway lacquer for the full effect. For sure a very commendable pedal - every which way - but relatively dear @ near enough £400 all in - so you would really need to get the most out of it!

One of these could very much be on the cards for me. Not this month, and not the next - too many existing priorities - but sometime in the Autumn this should become an active target. It definitely goes directly onto the wishlist. Conceptually it is pretty flawless - but I would liked to have seen a slightly more compact edition - with that grand piano gloss lacquer finish!

Facia Controls - Level : 0-100, Layers : 1>10>∞, Tone : Dark>Bright, Resonance : ↓>0>↑, Rise : Fast>Slow, Cath : All / Group / Single, Hold : All / First / None, Decay : Freeze>∞, Piano-style Sustain Pedal.

Rear Panel - Routing : Pre / FX Loop / Post, Dry : Kill / On, TS / XLR In, XLR Gain, 9V DC [-] 500mA, USB-C, TS/TRS Out.

Side Panel - TS/TRS Return, TS/TRS Send, TRS Only FSW.

Optional Extra 3-Mode Footswitch

• 3-way switch on the back - MODES : Wet (removes dry) / Latch (continuous sustain) / Hide (gradually removes dry).