miguel_angelo's Pedalboard

One of the best amps I've owned and most beautiful spring reverb I've heard. Beautiful singing cleans, let's your guitar's pickups and effects pedals really shine. Note that if you use dirt pedals on channel 2 make sure to put the volume above 3 or 4 to bypass the bright cap and avoid ice picky high frequencies, those can sound nasty.

Really inspiring tool. I built a small expression knob that sits along with this to control the ramp speed in momentary mode or even to play it like an instrument in latch mode. Compared to a POG the timbre is a bit more metallc on the lower octaves, not a bad thing, just different, the POG is more "Organ-esque" on the low end, but blended in with the dry signal I really can't tell the difference.

I have the adc-4 which is an upgrade to the original Anadime with reduced noise and a mix knob. I can confirm, yes, it's THAT good. Really versatile and sooo lush I can't turn it off. The mix knob does a pretty good job blending more or less of the wet signal. Although it doesn't go to full wet the last quarter of the knob does reduce the dry signal a bit, definitely entering vibrato territory, maxed out I would say 20% dry and 80% wet. The deep switch acts like a Lag control, offering you from a very faithfull and tight 80's Boss CE-2 to a full on, deep and modern sound that can get pretty wacky. I love the most deep setting with the Depth knob around the first third of travel, really lush and 3D sounding. Awesome leslie sounds too. The blinking led in perfect tempo with the LFO is the cherry on top of a brilliant analog chorus. Oh, and on the lowest deep setting with the speed all the way back you get some really nice flanger sounds! Get one and chorus GAS is over.

I had the mini Ditto looper and absolutely loved it's simplicity, quality and it's analog dry-through. The bigger brother just has a bigger leaning-curve, but it's really 4 times better. I can now easily record my stereo effects and export them with great quality to my mac. Only thing I can point out is this: Imagine you record one loop, then another. Now you add a new layer on top of the first loop. You can undo and redo that last layer, BUT if you stop it all and playback again, no more undo for you, it will just delete the whole loop... Maybe a firmware update could allow that. Or else you have to think that once you stop the loop (hitting the stop button) you will merge all the layers inside each loop.

The search for the dream analog delay was over when I got this one. Trails, tap tempo, presets... What can you ask more? CV control and Midi compatibility? Check! 3 LFO shapes for super deep modulation, organic breakup and versatile tone (from Vapor trail dark to DMM clear), this guy is the swiss army knife of analog delays. I don't use the ramping that much, although I have a preset set to ramp from 0 to their knob values and stay there (no bouncing), for nice transitions. The momentary bypass is another interesting selling point, pair it with trails and ramping (time for example) and this pedal turns into momentary time bending machine. Unlimited creativity with this one. Absolutely amazing technological achievement by the great folks at Chase Bliss Audio. Only downside, for me, is that at high modulation depth (past 2 o'clock) and slow rate (from 0 to 8 o'clock) the LFO gets asymmetric, sudden phase jumps occur especially if the delay time is less than 12 o'clock, would prefer it to be centered for that really slow, wide and round modulation. Tamed it a bit with the internal Max Depth Trim Pot. Don't recommend doing this without mailing someone at CBA first.

(edit: It's been a year since I have the pedal and I'm still discovering new sounds! Meanwhile I learned to enjoy the asymmetric modulation I talked about, somehow it resembles the unpredictability of tape wow and flutter, I also use a lot Both mode now, it's really like a dual head echo setting and I can dial in sounds somehow similar to a vintage and dark drum echo with some mild square modulation. Loving it with repeats at minimum for some tasty slapback)

I read a lot of bad reviews on it, saying the volume was too low or too loud, that the app was unreliable, etc.

My experience so far as been flawless and perfect. It sits in the end of my entire signal before the Deluxe Reverb. The signal it records is obviously very tinny (hasn't been amplified yet), but it actually normalizes your signal once you send it to your Iphone via Bluetooth. That's brilliant!

The app works like a charm, the only thing I can point is that if I'm sending a very big riff (like 5 minute riff) to my Iphone I can't let it automatically lock or turn off the screen, as it will stop the transfer.

I haven't even uptaded the firmware and I'm not having any trouble, so I don't see why I should.

If TC folks wanted to make this even more awesome with future firmware, they should include a cab sim alongside with the normalize process, THAT would be killer.

Did I mention it's dirt cheap??? got it new for 49€ in Amazon.

Powerhouse!!! Both sides individually sound absolutely awesome, like having 6 god made pedals in 1. Overall, for single channel use, I prefer the JFET channel as it lends itself more to a type of distortion I'm really enjoying, but the IC side Is also great sounding, the fuzz being more of vintage 70's muff, more compressed, but really the stacking options set this guy in a whole new different championship and the IC channel really complements so damn well the JFET channel and vice-versa. Parallel mode really feels like a two amp configuration, such a great value. I'm getting sounds out of my guitar and amp I never got before, they just sound and feel way better now. Really really versatile and great value.

I tested it in first of my signal chain, second to my drive/boost, in the fx loop. I left it at the very first position because it's where I fell it acts more naturally, feed-backing straight into my Brothers makes it sound really authentic. Playing clean gives you kind of a soft"flutie" synth tone, and while it's not that natural you can make some pretty interesting sounds with it, I'm enjoying it at low gain and fast attack with some delay. The natural-low mode is cool if you're playing a minor tune since it avoids major thirds. Has it's learning curve, but once you get acquainted with it, it's pretty useful and sound really well. Love the LED's! Put some dirt after it and you're ready to rock n'roll with really authentic sounding feedback. It doesn't get 5 stars because there is no way to smoothly fade out the feedback, sometimes it just drops dead and it's a bit tricky to get a hang of it. If you use a boost or compressor I would recommend placing it before the Freqout, as it will make the feedback more stable.

This pedal covers so much ground that it may be overwhelming, but on the other hand can also be pretty straightforward.

Think of it as an EQ pedal with bass, parametric mids and a treble knobs. You can boost or cut bass by 12dB and the lower left toggle determines the range of bass frequencies that it's affecting (to the left you cut/boost a small area of lower bass frequencies, and to the right the range gets bigger).

The mids control is parametric (which is what makes this pedal super powerfull) and has 18dB boost/cut. With the freq knob you set the pivot point of the mid frequencies you are affecting, all the way counterclockwise is 150 Hz, noon is around 1250Hz, and all the way clockwise is 4kHz. Again with the lower 3 way toggle you select how broad or narrow the range of the boost/cut is.

Finally the highs/trebles gets both a standard treble cut (like a guitar tone knob) with the lower switch all the way left, and then you also have two resonant low pass filters, the middle one being more subtle and the most to the right being very resonant and powerful for the deepest filter sweeps you ever heard your amp putting out. So the treble side of the pedal wont let you boost or cut high frequencies like a standard EQ, instead the low pass filter let's you shape how much of that high end will be preserved or not. All the way clockwise the low pass filter is making nothing since all the frequencies are passing through, but when you start dialing it counterclockwise the high frequencies progressively get filtered out, and since the middle and most to the right low pass filters are two-pole wave shape it means it will actually boost the frequencies right that are right behind the threshold of the LPF, making them very resonant (even harsh some times, you gotta tame it).

The LPF is great for ramping to get crazy and deep wah and phaser tones. One of my favourite settings (stored in a preset) is a faux envelope filter effect that is activated with the footswitch in momentary mode (hold). I set everything at noon except the LPF which is all the way clockwise (to make the pedal unnoticeable in the chain when it's on). I set the pedal to hold (momentary bypass) and LPF dipswitch to ramp up from the lowest value to the actual knob value (wich is at max) and stoping there since bounce is off. I also turn Reset dip switch on. So when I play a chord and at the same time click the footswitch the LPF instantly resets to counterclockwise position and starts raising all the way clockwise (and stopping there, no bouncing) giving it a very deep and resonant envelope filter like sound, except it has no actual envelope, just your foot and Condor's magical ramping. If I had not engaged the Reset dip switch what would happen was that instead of reseting to the begging of the ramping "path" every time I clicked the footswitch it would simple continue ramping starting off whatever value it was left on previously. The addition of a Reset on the dip switches really shows just how much well thought out this pedal was, leaving you to decide if the momentary switch is only temporarily starting and stoping the ramp "path" (awesome for varying cocked wah tones) OR if it actually resets the ramp to the starting values of it's "path" (for awesome faux envelope filter effects).

So yeah, there is ramping, you can ramp Volume for Tremolo effects or any other of the knobs for all kinds of modulation tones, Univibe, Tremolo, Phaser, Wah...

But what I really love is its drive mode, I would describe it as transparent and low-medium gainish, perfect for any pre-amp application. It also sounds to my ears like it preserves some wet signal in there as a Tube Screamer or a Klon would. Pair this smooth overdrive with the powerfull parametric mids and you can really nail Klon and TS sounds. I had my mini TS next to the Condors and was able to perfectly match them. I stored that preset on the Condor and sold the TS...

I have this hell of a pedal before the Bothers Gain Stage, and the possibilities are endless and massive.

I also have to mention it is also great to achieve really fat and defined jazz tones, with the help of the Para Mids filtering out high mids (Freq almost all the way up), LPF a hair before noon with lower toggle to the left and just a small touch of extra bass.

This pedal easily earns the "if I could only bring one pedal to my gig" award. Possibly also wins the "best guitar pedal for synths" award. It's really that good.

This is the first compressor that I actually like a lot. I doesn't mess with your tone, just makes it bigger. Since it's optical compression the attack is not the fastest and the ratio is somewhere around 1 : 4, wich is great if you want something subtle. I really like it, it's always on.

EDIT: I tried the first white version with blue 3d logo and based the up comment on that, but I just a bought a more recent version (blue with round black and white logo) and it sounds (a lot) fuller to me. It also sounds faster, I don't get any blooming like I sometimes got on the first version. Also unity gain seems to be at a lower setting, around 9 o'clock.

The Pathos is my first "high gain" type of pedal so I really don't have any other comparison. It really feels like a cranked Mesa tube amp, with that tube like compression, lots of body and presence, not overly tight, great sweet spot between tight and rich (you can make it tighter with the incredibly powerfull EQ section). I prefer the smooth side of the pedal where you can go from soft compressed crunch to full on distortion (there is a LOT of gain on tap). The edge side makes it a tad more focused on the low end and adds a good amount of presence (high end), very modern sounding, you can really feel Tosin's signature here. Playing the Ibanez TAM 10 - Pathos - Fender Deluxe Reverb I could easily get very similar tones to AAL's stuff. I also enjoyed some Meshuggah riffs through it, also some Govan tones with some chorus added. It's not a "transparent" overdrive where you retain the original dynamic range with dirt added, instead it compresses and sharpens your signal and makes it more mid range focused, but not tube screamer territory at all (at least to my ears). The description "several dirt boxes in one" is reflected in the gain range of the pedal, which is insane, and the EQ really lets you tailor from massive scooped Pantera tones to a rich mid rangy OD that is great for fusion, all the way to an impressive Djent tone. It really shines for lead solos with some delay. Massive low end chug, lot's of singing sustain, very rich sounding indeed. I would say note separation is very good, all the different string frequencies have the same distorted texture, I guess it's the nature of a high gain pedal. I don't believe it's really designed for stacking it with drives other than a boost before it. Tried different dirt pedals before and after it, I really only enjoyed the boosts into Pathos, but that's really personal and subjective. Since it's not very transparent don't think of it as an EQ/boost for other OD since it will compress your signal even with the gain knob all the way down. Again, this is not a negative point, it's just the way it's designed. Tried it between 9 and 18 Volts and really could't hear any significant difference. Overall I am very impressed and highly recommend it to anyone who has valve amp that doesn't have a gain knob or is not primarily designed for high gain, but wants a real cranked metal head tone and feel out of it.

Edit: Later I learned about the Dracarys pedal from Wampler (wampler also makes the Pathos for Abasi Guitars), and couldn't help to find me really similar in layout. Anyone knows if this is a retweaked and rehoused Dracarys? Certainly it was the starting point for Brian Wampler when developing Pathos.

Ok, so this will be a long review since I plan to give a broad impression on all the modes.

To start off I want to say that this is the best reverb I ever had, my previous reverbs were the MXR M300 and the Catalinbread Talisman. To me Dark World is by far a superior reverb workstation then the previous two.

To start off it has a huge headroom that I wasn't able to clip in anyway (unlike the Talisman which clipped very easily), just like the MXR M300 with it's internal voltage doubler. It's just super clean and defined.

World Channel: The difference between Plate and Hall is subtle, I will describe the Plate as more focused, fuller dynamic range, and fuller bodied sound where you feel your guitar sound hitting this thin metallic wall. The hall has a softer attack, your reverb fades in rather than "kicking" in, it sounds to me that it has less bass and less high-end compared to the Plate, overall it's a softer reverb. Both sound absolutely fantastic, pristine and evolving, very natural sounding, and the dynamics of the reverbs with a long decay really tell that these are top notch algorithms (great job from Robert Keeley's crew!). The Talisman's Plate with high pass all the way CCW felt more "realistic" compared to the DW's Plate, but the clipping rendered it useless. The spring reverb maybe has the "cleanest" tails, what I mean is that it sounds closer to your original wet sound, with a quite pronounced spring drip, although it doesn't feel as responsive or authentic as my Deluxe Reverb's spring tank it is still very usable and sounds great for rockabilly or surf slapback type of tones. If your amp doesn't have a spring reverb this will definitely make you happy.

Dark Channel: The World Channel sounds glorious, but the Dark Channel is really what sets this pedal in whole different league. Mod sounds beautiful... You heard it, you loved it... I can only add to that saying that it you fell some short delay lines in there, almost like a warped slapback. The modify is very responsive and I would say it has 3 stages of dirt. The first third of the knob goes from very clean digital reverb with short and subtle delay lines to the same with a very mild modulation (almost like a vibrato being introduced after the reverb). The second third the modulation gets deeper and more unpredictable. The last third starts adding noise and kicking all those lovely vhs/retro filters, besides giving the modulation perfectly random rate, with moments of greater depth (more warp) and others of milder depth. A lovely nightmare.

Shimmer mode is for me the most innovative of all. The problem I had with previous shimmers was that it kinda of allways sounded the same, always had the same vibe to it. Please note something if you're considering getting the DW: It may sound like a "glitchy" effect with little usability, but once you start routing it into the world channel you really understand that what Joel has done here was to give the user the maximum possibilities on shaping this shimmer. Yes it can sound pretty glitchy, but it can also sound majestic and as "natural" as any other shimmer pedal, it just requires some time to get acquainted to it's tricks. Note that with the modify knob at 12 o'clock there are no octaves being introduced, so you're left with "two freeze pedals that have an LFO attached, one is freezing incoming audio, the other is playing back the frozen audio, and they're switching roles (LFO) and the rate that that's happening is determined by the Decay knob" (Joel Korte). It's hard to describe, but it has a very interesting feel to it, sometimes sounds like a gated or reversed reverb. Being able to blend in just the right amount of octave up or down is killer. Since the decay knob controls the rate that the two freezing blocks change roles a smart way (and only way) to actually make it have a longer decay is by routing any World program into the Dark's Shim. Route it the other way around D>W and suddendly the glitchiness is tamed and melted inside the World's reverb's. Lush and magnificent.

Finally Black. You can think of it as a more standard freeze pedal, where the Decay knob sets the threshold for new incoming audio to be frozen and played back. On it's own it sounds very digital (naturally), but again, route it into the World Channel and it completely changes its character. You can play a hard note and play a bit more quiet over it's infinite trails. It's great for studying scales and it's also a very creative tool. One of my favorite tricks is to have the Dark World Channel set to Momentary Bypass and into > the World Channel. This way I can control with greater precision when I want a new chord or note to take over the previous frozen one, I just temporarily hit the Dark footswitch, play a new note, and let go of it - infinite trails on the World Channel (note that this is only possible if you have Trails set to ON). Also thanks to the Pre-Delay (which is another fantastic feature, especially when routing D>W or W>D) you can determined if the new note fades in faster or slower.

Just a quick mention to the tone knob also, it's SUPER versatile on the Dark Channel since it's a resonant low pass filter. In mod mode you can have a full crispy degenarated sound with defined white noise or various mild versions of it where there is not much noise anymore, this allows you to keep the modulation vibe and getting rid of that noise and take more advantage of the modulation.

So I'll finish with some of my favourite settings:

1 - Black (momentary) > Plate. Minimum decay and maximum modify on the Black side. Dwell at around 2 o'clock, Mix, pre-delay and tone at 3 o'clock. Dip switches: MODIFY; MOT B D; TRAILS; MODIFY (RISE). Ramp set to 2'clock.

2 - Shimmer > Hall: Decay at around 2 o'clock, modify at 9 o'clock. Pre-delay at 4 o'clock, Tone at 10'clock, mix at 1 o'clock. Dip Switches: MODIFY; TONE; BOUNCE; TRAILS; SWEEP (TOP). Ramp set to taste, I prefer it slower.

So a lot is happening in this mode, we are ramping not just the tone (giving it a swoosh feel) but the octaves as well. And also we are getting a mild modulation via the pre-delay ramping. You can also flick the Modify or Tone control to Fall instead of rising wether you want the upper octave to coincide with full tone or not.

3 - Mod > Hall: Any setting of knobs is great but I like to have the modify almost maxed out and the tone quite low around 10 o'clock. Very haunting sounding. If you want it sound even more haunted just route W>D. Actually it also sounds great in parallel.

What an amazing pedal on such a small footprint. Any other reverb with this level of complexity and quality of sound will be at least double of its size. Another keeper from Chase Bliss.