Let me throw in the Digitech Polara. Not as hi end Like the Empress or other higher prized Pedals, but i found it sounds somewhat warm in a lovely way. Worth checking Out. Plus its Not so expensive. No Midi though, If thats important.
1 Like
D’oh! You’re right! I assumed that they would have had the usual lineup. My mistake. I’ll edit my original post for posterity. That’s what I get for trying to help!
I’ve been curious about getting some pedals but it seems like it would be a bit of a pain to use them with electronic music gear because they mostly don’t take line level in? And presumably you would need to feed the output into an amp?
How do the big reverb/delay pedals like the Big Sky and Space compare to plugins?
Having said all that what I really want is an OTO Bim/Bam…
Most of the better ones take line level in and spill line level out (all Empress pedals, all from Strymon etc.pp.). It just integrates fine with any synth.
I can only talk about the Empress Reverb here, but it holds its own weight perfectly fine compared to plugins. Of course it is no convolution reverb, but its algorithms sounds excellent (with the exception of the spring reverb which needs some more love from the devs).
1 Like
The Eventide H9 has adjustable input level - that much I can report. EHX Deluxe Memory Man also has adjustable input level (gain knob).
As for the OTO Bim or whatever, I’m sure the manual of that pedal will state whether the input level is adjustable. I see a manual on the Bim page but I’ll let you read it for yourself.
I don’t use any computer plugins other than the basic Limiter in Ableton Live. I’ve never been motivated enough to check out Live’s delays or reverbs, let alone buy Valhalla or something of the sort so I can’t compare how they sound to my hardware reverbs or delays.
Eventide stompboxes have a switch for instrument/line level in & out.
I’ve tested Eventide plugins - but the H9 sounds way better - even with a couple of round trips out and back into DAW. The H9 has source instrument selector: guitar, bass, synth, bass synth. My H9 isn’t going anywhere.
Meris Polymoon and Empress Echosystem
…have Both chained or individuals running thru rocket ( Waldorf) or digitone and going thru Octa
It has been a hit or miss for me…in fact considering to replace them after getting the Octa’s FX…which has been great sounding and being able to record on Octa.
Speaking of the Empress Echosystem. I am considering this over a Strymon timeline right now, although I am waiting for a price drop (went up to 500+ 10 days ago.
Anyways, any user of the empress here? I am wondering if the firmwareupdate with the looper also introduced an overdubbing mode on the looper - which would make this pedal the absolute killer delay machine. Thanks for insights.
I watch so many videos of the ES… it’s insane. Like the tone and the sonic possibilities you get - even though you will not have midi from the start and no display as in the Strymon.
1 Like
@digi_dave
I’ve got the echosystem and was just relearning the looper tonight:). It has 5 (I think-I did three tonight) tracks to overlay loops. Works pretty well and fluidly with the 3 stomp switches…individual tracks can be turned on or off etc…
Sam
1 Like
Thanks Sam! Really appreciate your reply. So do I get it right? You actually have an overdub mode on all three, four, or five tracks? I am asking because I often start with an empty loop, and take it from there. This way the tails will not be cut off and everything runs perfectly smooth and fine. Thanks.
Hey @digi_dave , I think I know what you’re looking for and I’m not sure either way if it does this? Up to 10 min loops says the manual but I haven’t even done a long loop!
My tensor and my fabrikat can do the infinite overdub into tonal insanity thing…
I guess the feature are the same as on the Empress Reverb.
The very first recorded track determines the length of the loop. You can record on different 5 tracks and you can overdub on each of them. You can delete them individually, you can change the volume of each one and you can mute them individually. The maximum loop length is 10 minutes.
And since everything gets streamed to and from the sd card your recorded loops won’t vanish when you turn the pedal off.
… and you can record pre- or post-effect. So it is possible to overdub even with different effects imprinted on the audio.
Update: It requires a V30 rated SD card for this (minimum speed requirement). Otherwise it won’t allow you to loop. I use a SANDISK SDHC Extreme32GB (V30/U3//90MB/s).
2 Likes
Thank you mate! This is brilliant an answer. Really appreciate it!
So this is my pedal then. WOW, completely full packed for my needs perfect. Now I need a price drop to the 400 it had 14 days ago (before I knew this pedal exists ;))
Edit: crap, I can only push the heart of your reply once…
2 Likes
There are reverbs you get as special effects, for the big over-the-top sounds. Eventide is great for that.
There are reverbs you get to function without calling attention to themselves. Workhorse sounds that just do what they should. The Valhalla plugins excel here.
Some reverbs are simple, doing one or two things well. These are popular with guitarists who just want a standard spring or slapback or whatever to stick on their board.
But some reverbs are jack-of-all-trades, allowing you to spend hours in sound design wonderland. Empress anybody?
Some reverbs have distinctive sounds designed by putting two or three standard effects into one non-standard box. Earthquaker Devices are king here. Everything you do will sound like that pedal. They are super-fantastic at first… but have a signature you may not want. Oh, did someone say “shimmer”?
I am a sound designer and prefer getting one box that will do everything, if I give it the time. But I don’t want anything that will get tired. For me the obvious choice is the Ventris, which is unsurpassed. It is two entirely independent reverbs in one box!
I don’t own that because… Valhalla. But I do own the Source Audio Nemesis which is similarly the be-all and end-all of delays. But no doubt not the only choice.
5 Likes
Strymon Volante into Boss RV-500.
I’m still mulling this topic over… erring on the side of going with a delay first (for dub-like live tweaking laughs) and I’m thinking that the Boss DD200 seems to be looking like a very decent balance of features/sound to price (at least within my budget!!!) but there doesn’t seem to be any demos with synth on the ol’ youtube yet. I’m guessing that the algorithms are similar to the DD500… Anyone have experience of either of these?
1 Like
DD200 looks cute, really like the aesthetics of it. Never used one bit people are liking the 500 and it’s using the same algos so must be decent
Since you mentioned dub you should check out the Boss RE-20, it’s been out for ages but does get you very close to that nice tape sound and is super fun and playable as well. Includes a nice smeary reverb with a level knob that you can quickly blast in and out
Alternatively I can sell you a TimeFactor for the same price as a new DD200. Will probably regret it as it’s a total ambient workhorse but got my eye on that chasebliss mood…
1 Like
Earthquaker Devices
-Avalanche Run
-Transmissor
-Afterneath
Nice dreams when running all 3
2 Likes
The TimeFactor is great and at that price, that would be a good deal 
2 Likes