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Managed to sneak in a pedal purchase into the last few days of 2024!
So honestly, I've had it all of 30 minutes. And here's my first impressions:
- Plugged it in, powered by my Zuma, and immediately was able to navigate the unit. Haven't watched any tutorial videos for ages on these, and haven't read the manual. Very easy to use.
- It is a bit more compact than I was expecting. About the same size as a Timeline, but not quite as deep.
- Sonically, it sounds GREAT. No dodgy impedance loading, and the noise floor is very acceptable.
- The screens are really nice to look at, and the tuner display is up there with the best of them.
- Switch on the left changes modes; edit or play. Switch on the right cycles through boards you've setup.
- From a 'Triple Delay' perspective, this is way better than their equivalent standalone pedal.
- The 3 mini knobs are a bit stiff. The bigger ones have a very nice and satisfying feel to them.
- Within seconds, I was able to start a new board, insert a flashback digital delay, and a hall of fame reverb... and get a huge sonic pad soundscape thing that on something like Quad Cortex or Helix, you'd have to properly go diving into the parameter sets to achieve. This took me no time at all, and I only had to tweak 5 or 6 parameters.
- It comes preloaded with TONS of toneprints. All of the Alter Ego stuff seems to be on there, and they sound really good.
- The pitch effects are not great. Suitable for a basic octave down effect, but anything like whammy or harmonisation, to me sounds shrill and a bit naff.
- You know what I love about the Flashback digital algorithm? When you tweak the time knob, you don't get jittery digital delay that struggles to properly update the read pointer, resulting in momentary but nasty artifacts. You also don't get pitchy squirrel artifacts. You get a really cool timestretch-esque sound. I want to try assigning that to one of the MASH switches.
- Modulation effects are GOOOOOOOD. Especially the Viscous Vibe, and usually I'm not that into those kinds of effects.
- Stereo processing sounds much better than some of the competition. For instance I compared it to an RV-5, and while the RV-5 is a fantastic reverb, it doesn't sound as good in stereo as many other pedals, including this one.
All in all, for £250, this is kind of a bargain of a pedal. Even if you just wanted a good option for a delay/reverb multi-effect, I think it is punching well above its weight. It doesn't do nice spillover like you'd get from a Meris pedal, and I haven't checked out the midi side of things yet, but to spend 30 minutes with it, and pretty much fully understand how it works, and to have found loads of great sounds just by flicking through boards, and creating one of my own... I'm impressed to be honest!
So honestly, I've had it all of 30 minutes. And here's my first impressions:
- Plugged it in, powered by my Zuma, and immediately was able to navigate the unit. Haven't watched any tutorial videos for ages on these, and haven't read the manual. Very easy to use.
- It is a bit more compact than I was expecting. About the same size as a Timeline, but not quite as deep.
- Sonically, it sounds GREAT. No dodgy impedance loading, and the noise floor is very acceptable.
- The screens are really nice to look at, and the tuner display is up there with the best of them.
- Switch on the left changes modes; edit or play. Switch on the right cycles through boards you've setup.
- From a 'Triple Delay' perspective, this is way better than their equivalent standalone pedal.
- The 3 mini knobs are a bit stiff. The bigger ones have a very nice and satisfying feel to them.
- Within seconds, I was able to start a new board, insert a flashback digital delay, and a hall of fame reverb... and get a huge sonic pad soundscape thing that on something like Quad Cortex or Helix, you'd have to properly go diving into the parameter sets to achieve. This took me no time at all, and I only had to tweak 5 or 6 parameters.
- It comes preloaded with TONS of toneprints. All of the Alter Ego stuff seems to be on there, and they sound really good.
- The pitch effects are not great. Suitable for a basic octave down effect, but anything like whammy or harmonisation, to me sounds shrill and a bit naff.
- You know what I love about the Flashback digital algorithm? When you tweak the time knob, you don't get jittery digital delay that struggles to properly update the read pointer, resulting in momentary but nasty artifacts. You also don't get pitchy squirrel artifacts. You get a really cool timestretch-esque sound. I want to try assigning that to one of the MASH switches.
- Modulation effects are GOOOOOOOD. Especially the Viscous Vibe, and usually I'm not that into those kinds of effects.
- Stereo processing sounds much better than some of the competition. For instance I compared it to an RV-5, and while the RV-5 is a fantastic reverb, it doesn't sound as good in stereo as many other pedals, including this one.
All in all, for £250, this is kind of a bargain of a pedal. Even if you just wanted a good option for a delay/reverb multi-effect, I think it is punching well above its weight. It doesn't do nice spillover like you'd get from a Meris pedal, and I haven't checked out the midi side of things yet, but to spend 30 minutes with it, and pretty much fully understand how it works, and to have found loads of great sounds just by flicking through boards, and creating one of my own... I'm impressed to be honest!
