Xploration • Curation • Recommendation
Meris Evolves and Super-Sizes its Bitcrusher / Sequencer / Texturizer - now the Ottobit X Modular Degradation and Texture Engine / Workstation
I’m a little late with this as Meris held back the press release until launch - so I was only provided with the details at the same time as everyone else - which is really rather unusual. I had a number of other projects already on the go - and so I’m a couple days late with this!
As always - each Meris device delivers way beyond its specific core category, its Enzo X for instance is almost as much a multi-modulator as it is a synth - and here we have lots of extras thrown into the mix - ...
Keeley's Trey Anastasio favoured DM2000 rack unit inspired RK2000 Funk Siren Delay is finally launched, after being teased for a number of weeks
The RK2000 is only just now officially released! While in fact there have been 2 Custom Shop PGH editions available for a while in Glow White or Black editions - with or without those handy 2-switch Remote Footswitches. Those are priced at $369 solo and $420 with the remote - courtesy of the Keeley Custom Shop. Those custom shop editions have a small colourful PGH fish icon on them too - which some will really like
The now launched Standard Edition RK2000 is seemingly a sort of dark bronze-...
2026 February Pedal-Chain Update - Episode II - Steady Progress
February is always something of a lull - particularly after the hyper busy NAMM-inflected January. This month is the doldrums of the calendar where not much gets releases. I did though manage to land a decent selection of a dozen pedals - obviously some from the previous year. With the Sinvertek MGAT-1 EVO being the standout pedal landed - where the Klowra Gnash and Wampler Golden Jubilee were pretty spectacular too. 3 x Klowra pedals on the board this month - all excellent!
Of course there...
Klowra's Rilum Stereo Multi-Head Tape style Delay, Chorus, Flanger, and Vibrato delivers an incredible array of Delay and Modulation Effects - Vintage, Modern, and Otherworldly
This is such a smart pedal - it took me a while to figure out all the controls and their impact - but it’s mostly second nature now. I had to do a lot of experimentation for it all to slot into place for me. Klowra’s Jinbo was very helpful in getting me to understand the interplay between the main variable playback head - and the further fixed relative playback heads - which you can dial in and out of action or accentuate - by using the [Spawn], Heads Volume, [Groove] and [Sum-Invert] ...
Hungry Robot reissues the Moby Dick Multihead Stereo Tape style Delay, now in expanded V3 edition
We now have a brand new fuller featured 3rd edition of the Moby Dick Multihead Tape Style Delay. The V1 had 5 controls on a 1590BB enclosure, then we had a shrunk down Compact V2 125B unit - also with 5 controls. And now the new V3 has 8 controls and full stereo ins and outs.
Original V1 Controls - Time, Mix, Subdivision : Quarter / Eighth / Dotted Eighth, Repeats, Modulation, Tap Tempo Footswitch, Bypass Footswitch.
V3 Controls - Multihead : < Dotted Eighth | Off | Quarter Triplets >, ...
T-Rex creates the ultimate Analog Studio Delay - the Binson Sterephonica Drum Delay
T-Rex does it again! This time stereo-fying the Binson Echorec - for the greatest ever analog Tape-style / Magnetic Delay.
It has the full range of features that I would have included had I designed this myself - with 4 selectable Record / Playback Heads and the full complement of controls and connections you need for maximum impact.
This is every way a perfect execution - possibly bar its size and price. For this level of technical achievement $3 Grand seems about right - while that ...
Ibanez's new LD303 Layer Delayer uniquely combines Sixteenth and Triplet sort of multi-head delays with variable repeats levels
This is a really cool and unique delay - somewhat reminiscent of the Andy Timmons’ Halo Echo - as both use a combination of 2 different time signatures delays!
The control topology works a little like a Multi-Head Delay - where it combines 16th Notes (in Quarters) with Triplets.
You essentially set the level on each repeat / beat - where you have 1-3 LED indicators to indicate strength of each of those.
And by deploying those in different combination - you can achieve some really ...
2025 Best New Delay and Reverb Pedals of the Year
In many ways this is the most straightforward category with singular award nominees - GOLD, SILVER and BRONZE.
It’s the second smallest category after Distortions - and the one where I own the least number of pedals in proportion to the whole - just 10 out of these 26.
The order pretty much set itself - with the Cornerstone Nucleo being the clear winner from the start. I’m so impressed with every aspect of that pedal - it’s a perfect Trifecta of Design, Feaures and Playability - pretty ...
Catalinbread updates its Belle Epoch Tape Echo - now in Plus Edition with 3 Programs onboard and Tap-Tempo on the one footswitch
Catalinbread has made its 80ms-800ms Belle Epoch more potent and more versatile. It has an additional 3-way Program Toggle-switch, and you can now use the Footswitch for Tap Tempo - similar to the Boss way of doing that.
Catalinbread’s Belle Epoch is one of the best known compact takes of the Echoplex EP-3 and has long been an essential delay for many players - obviously with Mono output - so not as useful for my own rig - but fabulous for Mono rigs.
Old Controls - Echo Sustain, ...
The Colortone VibroVerb and ZeroSum get the final tiny tweaks that they need - now with Smarter Preset Switching and slightly Brighter Tone Profile
So when I first reviewed these two superb specimens from Colortone Pedals I advocated for Smarter Preset Switching - via a combined press on the two footswitches - as several pedals do - and AD has now programmed that to perfection - so you can scroll through the presets with the 2 footswitches - changing things up wholly on-the-fly - for a much more dynamic live performance.
I also noted that the output could at times be somewhat dense and intense - and could do with Lightening Up and ...
