This pedal has some great features.
Kill Dry is awesome, though a lot of reverb pedals incorporate this simply by turning the reverb all the way up. The trails switch also nice to have but not that innovative. Stereo ins and outs are great but should be a given now days. It looks nice. The color scheme, graphics and box are awesome.
But in the end it is the sounds that define the pedal. So how did the modes stack up?
The Modes
Detune - 7/10 - This could get pretty. It's not the best detune I've heard but it was alright.
Echo - 4/10 - The echo was weak. Not really inspiring.
Shimmer 1 - 10/10 - For the record, I hate shimmer. It is my number 1 most hated effect. But they actually did a damn fine job on this. It sounded amazing.
Shimmer 2 - 6/10 - This was darker and less defined. More subtle. I didn't find it inspiring
Spring - 4/10 - Didn't get up to "splashy", and I didn't feel it accomplished vintage warmth either.
Plate - 9/10 - Plate was great for ambient stuff. Also a standout on this pedal.
Hall - 10/10 - Even more ambient. Very ethereal.
Wet - 10/10 - Wet is just an awesome reverb sound. Very ambient. The algorithm gets a 10, the ability to not dial it up louder however hurts.
Total Score: 60/80 75% C
The Bad
- The FEEL of the construction. I'm sorry, but the neunaber platform just seems a bit tacky and "cheap" to me. I'm not saying it isn't quality, but it doesn't feel like quality. From the light weight to the kinda rubberyish knobs. It feels a bit cheap.
- The FX Level Knob Taper. Dialed up to about noon, you couldn't even tell there was reverb on the signal. You had to really crank it up to hear the reverb. This is partly because of the way they implemented the "mix". They keep your dry signal pure and present, it is not a "mix" knob like you are used to. It simply brings the reverb volume level up. Thus the NEED for the kill dry switch.
- Depth - Depth controlled how long the reverb tail was. Decay would have been a better name, but the taper on that knob was very odd. Everything below about 2 was short and then ramped up super quickly after that to almost infinite (Not complaining about the infinite)
- The knob that controls various aspects on the respective reverb types I felt didn't have enough range. Neither did the tone.They seemed to me like play it safe knobs.
- No volume adjustment. Things sounded a bit thin and low in the mix in the reverb department, very apparent with kill dry. Thinking about it now what I mean by no volume adjustment is the reverb just didn't get loud enough. The FX level is the volume adjustment :)
- The Spring Reverb in my opinion just didn't cut it. I want my spring to go from vintage warmth to surfy splash. I don't really feel it accomplished either.
The Decent
- Detune, Echo, Shimmer 2 - These did just ok at their jobs. They didn't really wow me.
The Great
- Wet, Plate, Hall - These modes were awesome sounding
- Trails for days. No other reverb pedal decays like this pedal. It will go on forever if you let it. Very awesome.
The crap you don't think about
- Kill dry switch being left on, and wondering where your dry signal is for 20 minutes while trying to record the demo :)
At first I thought I was being to critical of this pedal. Then I stuck this next to the Empress Reverb, and the decision to get rid of the Immerse was made almost instantly. With the lack of stand alone "proprietary" reverbs, it had to stand alone on the reverb sounds. And it does not do anything but perhaps "Wet" better than any other pedal. But that is a proprietary algorithm, so no real competition on that one.
I do recommend their Expanse series of pedals however. Simpler controls, much better mixes. The ability to go full ambient, and amazing sound. Everything this pedal should be.
If they ever released a new version with better tapers to the knobs, greater range, and an actual "Mix" knob, I'd be all about it. Most of the reverbs sounded great. But there were just to many things adding up to make me want to keep this one. I look forward to seeing what these guys put out next though.
If you are interested in a video demo, you can view mine at the below link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jic4z6Z0p6s
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