Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Polarbear Effects' latest Drowner Fuzz/Crush/Reverb Ultimate Shoegazer - absorbs the Ascender Delay and adds a Fuzz Gain Control
Key Points
Polarbear Effects’ Drowner Fuzz/Crush/Reverb Ultimate is confirmed as V4, following the V3 released in February 2023. It absorbs the Ascender Delay, adding selectable Reverb or Delay modes rather than simultaneous operation, plus a mini Fuzz Gain control.
Controls cover Dry/Wet Mix, Reverb Decay/Delay Repeats, modulation, Delay Time, Master Volume, Order, Sample Rate, Crush Mix, Fuzz Level and Fuzz Gain. Modes include Modulated, Shimmer, Octave Down, Digital, Reverse and Pitch Up.
The Fuzz is Big Muff voiced. It costs €229 when in stock, arriving in small, infrequent batches.
I have the earlier version of this - in fact the earliest 2021 V1 version I believe. Since then I think there have been 3 further editions. The online manual refers to V3, while that is already out of date - so presumably this latest version is a V4. Very much confirmed as a V4, the V3 was out in February of 2023. Those where smaller, mostly cosmetic refinement - while the V4 is really quite significantly different.
For this Ultimate Edition, Polarbear’s Darko has essentially absorbed his Delay Shoegazer Pedal - the Ascender - into this single enclosure. You now get a further switch to select whether you’re on Reverb or Delay Modes - and can then adjust those settings appropriately. So it’s not a matter of having both simultaneously - but rather being able to flip from one to the other with relative ease. And you’re getting a quite superb twofer here!
This latest edition also sees the addition of a mini Fuzz Gain knob - so you have further granular control over that side of the pedal.
Controls - Dry/Wet Mix, Reverb Decay / Delay Repeats, Reverb Rate (Mod) & Mix / Delay Time, Master Volume, Order : Fuzz/Crush/Reverb <> Fuzz/Reverb/Crush, Sample Rate, Crush Mix, Fuzz Level, Crush Switch : Off/On, Reverb Modes [Modulated / Shimmer / Octave Down] / Dealy Modes [Digital / Reverse / Pitch Up], Reverb <> Delay, Fuzz Gain, Reverb / Delay & Crush Footswitch, Fuzz Footswitch.
I’ve long held this to be one of the most foremost / greatest Shoegazer all-in-one pedals - probably alongside the OBNE Screen Violence - both are phenomenal. While the Screen Violence is a little on the large side - and this new Drowner is just the perfect format for a Shoegazer Multi-FX.
I’ve always called this the Polarbear Effects flagship pedal - and it most definitely is in this incarnation. The first batch of these understandably sold out very rapidly - like I knew it would. I alas had other priorities at the time! While I will definitely be swinging around again in the new year to hopefully pick up one of these then.
The Fuzz is somewhat Big Muff voiced - and it’s the perfect complement for this particular genre of circuit. A really smart pedal for sure!
It’s priced at €229 when in stock, and is made in small and somewhat infrequent batches. You really need to be on the Polarbear Effects mailing list to keep up, as well as keeping one eye on the Polarbear Effects Webstore!
Demos
