Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Second from Klowra's Budding Bloom Mini Series is the versatile swirling Whorl Rotary Speaker Emulator
Key Points
Klowra Whorl is a mono Rotary Speaker Emulator in the Budding Bloom Mini Series. MAP/RRP: $129.99. Available direct from Klowra, Amazon.com and select international dealers.
Controls: Rate, Balance, Tweak, ACC, Mode button (RPM Step / Spin / Brake), Toggle (Normal / Large Cab / Distant Mic), Hold footswitch modes. Ports: CTRL/Remote In, TS In/Out, USB‑C, 9V DC (150mA).
Tech: WildSeed DSP, 44.1K Hz, 24‑bit AD/DA + 32‑bit floating DSP, 234g. External footswitch compatible. Three featured presets: Heavy Vybe, Flutter Ramp, Aero Chorus. Mono output — does not produce true stereo Doppler immersion.
I have a soft spot for Rotary Speaker Emulators, and have long sought out the most flavourful from that genre. With the recent Boss RT-2 Rotary Ensemble my current champion of that genre, followed by Strymon’s Lex 2, the Eventide Rotary Vibrotone H9 & H90 Algorithm (Josh Smith settings), and the long-since discontinued Tech 21 NYC Roto Choir - also the Rotary voicings on the Hamstead Redwing, Eventide Tricerachorus, and Colortone VibroVerb - all those are excellent. And all those work brilliantly in proper Doppler effect fashion - in being fully stereo immersive in their output.
When I first saw the press release photos of Klowra Whorl I was hoping that Klowra had made a TRS Stereo Mini Rotary Effect - while alas it’s mono only in this first incarnation. As far as mono rotary effects go - this is surely one of the most formidable, while it’s overall probably short of a couple of knobs in order to give you that fully granular full-fat control environment.
The 2 x selections of 3 x Modes though are super handy and give you lots of great playing options - featuring all the best aspects of Rotary / Leslie pedals features and functions - including dynamic and manual speed ramping and the core Brake effect - but one-at-a-time and not all part of the same singular dynamic process - while if I had either of the Klowra remote footswitches I believe I could get more of that fully dynamic Leslie Rotary environment!
The Boss RT-2 has been pretty much permanent on the board since its launch, I also currently happen have the Stereo Tricerachorus on the board currently, and of course my trusty Eventide H90 - oh and indeed the Colortone VibroVerb - so lots of bases / basis for comparison. The Whorl acquits itself well enough - but it cannot compete with those full stereo modulations. It still sounds very decent most of the time - just not with the same degree of intimacy and immersion!
The Whorl has been super easy for me to dial in and control - and I was instantly able to find several favourite voicings. In some way the 3-way toggle Mode switch is really an Intensity kind of control to a degree - where it should really be ordered Distant Mic first, then Normal, then Large Cab - as each of those progressively increases the flavour and intensity of the device! All modes work exceptionally well and all are highly usable and worthy, Overall a really smartly designed and executed device - I would that it were stereo though!
There’s loads of Mono Chorus / Vibrato devices that purport to be able to deliver formidable rotary voicings - but they don’t hold up against any of the proper dedicated stereo ones. You don’t get a proper rotary effect without the stereo doppler effect - ideally you would need a quadrophonic setup with a speaker in each of the 4 corners of the room - 4 x channels therefore ideally - which of course no one does outside of professional and advanced studio applications!
The Controls / Modes, and Ports
Whorl Controls - Rate (Rotation Speed), Balance (Drum > Horn Mix), Tweak (RPM 2nd Speed / Spin Threshold / Brake Duration), ACC (slow > fast Acceleration ramp up time), Mode : RPM Step Mode / Spin Mode / Brake Mode, Secondary Modes : I Normal / II Large Cabinet / III Distant Mic, Hold Footswitch Modes - RPM 2nd Speed (Slow > Fast) / Instant Spin Acceleration / Engage and Release Brake.
Ports - CTRL / Remote In, TS In, USB-C for Updates, 9V DC [-] 150mA, TS Out.
THE MODES
Funnily enough here there are 2 Mode selections here - where the MODE switch mostly involves Footswitch Hold Functions, and the Toggle Switch governs the Intensity of the effect.
3 x MODE BUTTON
- RPM Step Mode - Ramp up to 2nd Speed set via Tweak Knob and Footswitch Hold
- Spin Mode - Dynamic Threshold which triggers Rate ramp-up based on Tweak Threshold and pick attack
- Brake Mode - Using Footswitch Hold to Brake / Slow Down rotation and release, Tweak is Brake Durations
3 x MODE TOGGLE SWITCH
- Normal - Goldilocks Zone Rotary Modulation
- Large Cab - Heavier Sound / More Low-End and Intensity
- Distant Mix - Lighter / airy chorusey sound!
Generally - you need to decide on the combination of Button Mode with Toggle Mode for every 'Preset' and I feel my below settings are a really great take on all those elements. I feel that if I had either of Klowra's 2 remote footswitches I would have got even more out of this device. It's pretty decent on its own though - albeit cannot really compete with the stereo field.
Using the Pedal and Preferred Presets
These Presets just happened all rather quickly and effortlessly - kind of automagically fell into place for me! The Whorl was a breeze to dial in, and so easy to get decent output sounds - but not really in line with the 4 stereo effects I already had on the board.
Klowra has this statement in its blurb - "Based on detailed physical modelling, it calculates the authentic mass of the treble horn and bass drum to recreate the true 3D Doppler effect through speaker mass simulation." I can't really agree with that - it's like saying 'True Stereo Emulation' from a mono speaker - which just isn't physics. You cannot generate a 3D Doppler Effect from a mono speaker - it doesn't have that soundscape projection - only amplitude. Don't get me wrong - it's a really decent device and sounds pretty great for what it does - but it does not generate one iota of the immersion you get with a proper stereo rotary effect!
These were the 3 Presets that pretty much fell into my lap! :
- PRESET 1 : RPM Step Mode + II Large Cab - 'Heavy Vybe' : I like this more intense / more heavyweight Rotary Effect - with significantly more low-end signal - kind of beefs up the profile. Step Mode use Rate for the Slow Rotation, and the Tweak for the Fast Rotation - you could of course have it the other way around. And we could have had different / additional settings to make that latching as well as momentary on/off.
- PRESET 2 : Spin Mode + I Normal - 'Flutter Ramp' : a slightly lighter touch to the Heavy Vybe - where Tweak sets the pick attack threshold for triggering the Rotation Acceleration - which peaks at the Rate setting. Press-holding the Footswitch and also automatically trigger the threshold / ramp-up - even when you're playing softly.
- PRESET 3 : Brake Mode + III Distant Mix - 'Aero Chorus' : the lightest / least intense of the Toggle Modes - here you have the Braking action on the footswitch - which is actually less useful overall than the ramping ones - but still kind of fun - and it doesn't to the hard stop that some of those devices are capable of - with a Distant Mix you get a less dense / more airy modulation - hence 'Aero Chorus' per my PRESET moniker.
All in all a really cool Rotary Emulator - but for me it really should have been stereo - with a couple of extra elements in the Toggle Modes - so you can beef up the flavour further.
Whorl Rotary Features & Specs, and Buying a Unit
- Part of the brand new Budding Bloom Mini Series
- Versatilte Rotary Speaker Emulator
- External Footswitch / Remote CTRL compatible
- Featuring WildSeed DSP Engine
- Constantly Evolving Firmware Ecosystem
- Selectable power-up Bypass Modes
- Ultra Compact, Robust, Road-Ready Design
- 3 x Button Modes Onboard : RPM Step Mode / Spin Mode / Brake Mode
- 3 x Toggle Modes (Intensity) : Normal / Large Cab / Distant Mic
- Pedal Type : Digital Dynamic Rotary Pedal
- Effects : Dynamic Rotary
- Inputs : 1 x 1/4" TS Instrument
- Outputs : 1 x 1/4" TS Instrument
- Input Impedance : 500k Ohm
- Output Impedance : 100 Ohm
- External Control : TS Momentary footswitch
- Bypass Mode - Switchable : True Bypass, Buffered Bypass
- Power Source : 9V DC [-] power supply required
- Current Draw : 150mA
- Hardware Interface : USB-C
- Sample rate : 44.1K Hz
- Sampling accuracy : 24-bit AD/DA Conversion & 32-bit Floating-Point DSP
- Package Contents : 3.5mm TS (Male) to 1/4" TS (Female) Audio Adapter Cable, Exclusive Sticker, Quick Start, Safety Instructions,Product Catalog
- Dimensions : 51mm H x 92mm D x 38mm W / (2.0"H x 3.6"D x 1.5"W)
- Package Size : 59mm H x 140mm D x 140mm W / (2.3"H x5.5"D x 5.5"W)
- Net Weight : 234g/0.515lb
- Package Weight : 358g/0.788lb
- MAP/RRP : $129.99
Klowra pedals, including the Whorl Rotary are available Direct from Klowra and via Amazon.com, and are increasingly available at select International Dealers too.
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