I did a fairly substantive feature on the original set of 8 Fundamental Series - and how they stacked up against the other competing Budget Boutique Series. I love this format - while there are still questions about how long-term robust those sliders are - but so far so good! And then there’s the price - which sits mostly at the $129 which is quite significantly above the usual $99 price tag.
Overall though I feel Walrus have about got the formula right - while I feel that they may not have...
I’m getting a little bit Beetronics syndrome here - as a warning to not necessarily acquire the first edition that comes along - as subsequent editions are typically prettier and more appealing.
It just so happens that I still quite like my sort of Original Lilac MKII, while it’s quite evident that the 10 Year Anniversary ’Birthday Cake’ and this recent ’Light Bright’ edition are somewhat more aesthetically pleasing!
I’m generally a huge fan of Chase Bliss designer Eric Nyffeler - and ...
Champion Leccy - aka Woolly, the king of whimsical pedal design, has delivered another really cool textural ambient pedal - which combines two his previous greats - the Skitter TremVerb / Verbolo, and Woozy Lo-Fi Pitch-Shifting SwayVerb.
It always takes a minute or two to figure out what’s going on with these pedals - as the control labels tend to be fairly whimsical too, while the breakdown on this occasion is actually pretty straight forward.
Controls - LFO } Space (LFO Depth), Time (...
So I’ve kind of left the best to last! All 4 ALABS Audio Adam Adventures Series pedals are amazing, and particularly for the price. I note that the TimeSlip and Cetus have moved up $10 to the same price point as the Orbital - or $109.99 vs $99.99 - but they’re really worth it at twice the price even!
Someone commented the these were Walrus Audio levels of production and packaging - but with JHS 3 Series pricing. I feel they’re going to be very hard to beat at that price point - and for me ...
It’s been quiet a while since Boss completed its Digital Delay Range Revamp with the DD-3T and DD-8 - back in September of 2019 - that selection is fully rounded and up-up-to-date still - with each of the 4 pedals at the top of its respective game - DD-3T, DD-8, DD-200, and DD-500!
We had to wait an age for the RV-200 to arrive - where the DD-200 was part of the original June 2019 200-Series quartet. The current generation of compact Boss Reverb is the RV-6 - which was released as long ago...
So 2024 is off to a pretty spirted start! I treaded myself to 2 pedals right at the tail end of the year - the Poly VERBS puts in an appearance in this month’s selection - while the Reeves Electro BHS-D is running a touch late and will be part of the February selection instead.
This time of the year has to be mostly about NAMM - while I feel that a lot of builders kind of took away from NAMM and launched / showcased their new release in advance!
I’ve still to make it to NAMM - timing’s ...
As mentioned, the KMA Machines Endgame Duality Calibrator has been several years in the making, and no expense has been spared in delivering the ultimate end-of-chain tone-enhancer - this thing is wholly feature-packed!
It combines True Stereo Double-Tracking, with stereo width enhancement, with Stereo FX Loop, Celestion IR / Cab Sim, with further Tube Power Amp Sim - options for Bluetooth or TRS inputs, alongside Ambient Space Simulation, and a plethora of connectivity - with pertinent ...
We’re steadily seeing the Boss 20-Series pedals being replaced now, and the VE-20 is the latest to get a very significant upgrade. The new VE-22 moves things on pretty massively and completely revamps and enhances the form factor, switches, knobs and overall control interface - with 3 core switches now in place of the former 2 - and really smart dedicated controls for each of the core functions - all served by a highly visibly and usable LED screen.
If you’re a singer or vocal performer of ...
Like many I was entirely captivated by the Andertons demo of this pedal (as below) - and was fortunate to be quick enough off the mark to snag one of from the very first edition. My good friend Joe Halliday of Hello Sailor Effects obviously came across the demo just a little bit after me - as I surely snagged one of the last ones from that small initial Andertons batch. The fact that there is an Icelandic Space featured (my country of birth) on the VERBS - was also instrumental in my rapid ...
The final arrangement for the year - all the pedals that impressed the most!