A broad range of voices and a clever morph control unlock uncommon ambient reverb sounds that break the same-old-cathedral-verb mold.
Many unusual tonalities that defy affordable ambient reverb convention. High-quality controls. Morph control covers a lot of tones shifting without an expression pedal.
Setting up morph control can feel less than intuitive.
$219
Pigtronix Cosmosis
pigtronix.com
Pigtronix boss Dave Koltai is an energetic guy—particularly when you get him chatting about music. He loves the musical potential of the guitar. And while he seems to have an affection for every kind of guitar expression, from the rootsiest to the most experimental, his heart often seems to be very invested in the latter camp. Pigtronix pedals have always hinted at that affection for out-there modes of guitar thought, and the new Cosmosis stereo reverb definitely exists, in part, to serve those urges. Billed as an ambient reverb, the Cosmosis spans big-picture reverb profiles and more modest ones. And while it doesn’t necessarily achieve anything revolutionary, it features many unique sounds and a cool, practical morph control, which enables users to shift between very divergent settings using a footswitch instead of a space-hogging expression pedal. Together with the many spacious voices on tap, it helps make Cosmosis a varied and versatile time-warping device.
More Cosmic Pig, Less Space Hog
On the surface, Cosmosis’ morph control might not seem like a big deal. But as I am often tasked with getting the most possible sounds from a pedalboard that shares a suitcase with two weeks’ worth of clean clothes, I can attest to the impracticality of expression pedals and the value of effects that do more without them. With its longitudinally oriented, rectangular layout, Cosmosis doesn’t exactly have the smallest footprint. But while you could argue that a similar set of functions would have fit in a vertically oriented box, users would have paid a penalty in functionality and practicality onstage. Cosmosis’ control layout is smartly spaced, logically laid out, and pretty easy to suss before you ever touch the manual. Tone, blend, and size controls are exactly what they seem, and they’re sturdy, smooth-turning things that are satisfying to the touch. The three small push buttons, which, perhaps, look a bit too much like the black screws holding the enclosure together at the pedal’s crown, enable switching between the pedal’s three primary voicings, four presets, and the parameters governed by the morph control.
Sorting out the functionality of the morph function takes a few minutes with the manual. Getting a feel for the switching sequences required to select and assign values can feel awkward, if only because the possible combinations are so many. While many pedals with the ability to move between settings via expression pedal can only assign that movement to a single effect, the Cosmosis' morph function allows any combination of parameters to be manipulated simultaneously. And the compound tone shifts you hear between the two extremes in many Cosmosis morph cycles can be exceptionally rich and nebulous.
Returning the Mystery to Space
The Cosmosis’ morph feature is made cooler for the varied voices the pedal puts at one’s disposal. With a voice called “temple,” you’d expect the kind of churchy, choir-like, octave-up tones associated with ambient reverb. At their best, these octave-up sounds can evoke organ tones or add lushness to overdubbed layers. At their worst, they sound like sickeningly sweet, cheap cable-sci-fi soundtracks. And the Cosmosis trades the octave-up ambient reverb technique for a smoother-sounding processing that uses just harmonics to create the reverb image. And an effective, wide-ranging tone control means you can bend that high-frequency-harmonics content to much weirder ends. At its highest extremes in the temple and even more spacious cosmos settings, the tone control adds almost granular washes that sound like the electromechanical clangs from a spring reverb taken to unnatural extremes. At some lower tone settings, the Cosmosis tucks high octave content into much more subliminal spaces, which is especially cool for adding faint illumination around the edges of foggy, extra-wet, super-spacious temple and cosmos settings.
The Cosmosis’ most demure settings are fun to work with. too. There are many convincing spring-like settings that run from subdued to splashy and metallic ’60s tones. And room-style settings can give any instrument a touch of intimate Fleetwood Mac Rumors glow.The Verdict
The Cosmosis is, delightfully, more than the average generic ambient reverb. While it can generate the high-harmonic-bedazzled textures many look for in an effect of this type, its rangy and interactive tone, space, and blend controls generate octave-up colors that are uncommon and mysterious. The sounds you can create between the modest theater settings and the grandest cosmos settings span mellow room- and amp-reverb sounds and tones that evoke spaces measured in light years. The useful morph function, meanwhile, enables the player to shift between such extremes with dramatic effect. And while some players will lament that there are only four presets, that number can accommodate hugely variable tones if you’re clever and creative. At nearly $220, its price falls in line with comparable ambient reverbs. But its unique tonalities and features will make it a superior option for many players seeking less-common routes to space-time contorting bliss.
A safe space for savage fuzz.
Absolutely ripping fuzz sounds that balance sustain and chaos. Cool low-gain and volume-attenuated textures. Sturdy construction. Cool control layout.
High gain sounds rob pedal of some of its nuance
$179
Pigtronix Star Eater
pigtronix.com
Though it feels sacrilegious to say, sometimes you need a break from fuzz—a chance to rest the ears, to bathe in the overtones of a little reverb, or just listen to the birds sing. That’s the place I was in when the Pigtronix Star Eater arrived. An hour later I wasn’t nearly as interested in the birds anymore.
It’s hard to pinpoint a classic fuzz touchstone that’s useful to describe the Star Eater. At many settings it has a lot of the chainsaw grind and piercing focus of a Shin-Ei Super Fuzz, but it’s thicker. At other settings it has some of the mass and wallop of a Rams Head Big Muff, but it’s less woofy and thick. Elsewhere you hear echoes of the Foxx Tone Machine and ZVex Fuzz Factory. But generally, such comparisons are pretty futile: The Star Eater shines in a galaxy all its own.
Fuzz Maze
One reason the Star Eater’s personality is hard to pigeonhole is that it has a few. This multi-faceted character is attributable to the Star Eater’s big and snarly but malleable fundamental voice, which is controlled by a simple set of three knobs and two rocker switches. When the contour filter is off, the fuzz is shaped by the volume and gain knobs and the germanium/silicon clipping switch. That’s a simple set of controls, but there are many sounds to find within their respective ranges. Winding up the output volume and gain (called hunger) produces hot, trashy, and saturated tones that are killer for super-focused punk power chords and leads that rip and splatter. Sustain is impressive, too. But it’s not the vocal- or violin-like sustain you hear in a Big Muff. Instead, it’s reedy, cracked and fractured, particularly when holding deep pitch bends.
Sustain is not the vocal- or violin-like sustain you hear in a Big Muff. Instead, it’s reedy, cracked and fractured.
Low gain/high volume settings produce sounds that range from ’66-style germanium fuzz voices at full guitar volume to almost ring-modulated and electric-sitar-like voices at attenuated guitar volumes. These glitchier, messier fuzz sounds are some of the pedal’s coolest colors. The fuzz is plenty loud at these lower gain levels, too, which means you can explore these sounds in a live band without the fear of being rendered silent.
Filtered Fatness and Contoured Screech
The contour filter, controllable via the footswitch, rocker switch, and knob on the left side of the pedal, generates versions of the Star Eater voice that run from scooped and fat to raspy and cutting. Parking the sweep knob somewhere around noon and switching in the contour filter makes a given sound from the fuzz side fatter and fuller. You can also further shape the response and tonality with the contour rocker switch, which moves between a scooped and bumped midrange profile.
When you move the sweep knob a little in either direction, the sustain becomes more unstable and EQ emphasis shifts—usually with deliciously perverse results. The best of these sounds, at least in my demented estimation, are in the clockwise range with the mid-contour switch in scooped mode. Here, screaming notes quickly turn to shards of cracked octave overtones and harmonics that sound especially freaked-out and full of fangs when you move the rocker switch to the scooped setting.
The Verdict
While it was hard to determine any direct lineage between the Star Eater and any other classic fuzz (and what a treat that is), the Star Eater evoked many thrilling musical spaces: Mudhoney, Ghost’s Michio Kurihara, the manic buzz of a thousand aggro psych-punk bands, and the meaty, trucking riffage of 100 Sabbathoid sojourners.
What really sets the Star Eater apart for me, though, is attitude. It’s not the burliest fuzz or the weirdest. But by inhabiting a world between those poles, the Star Eater manages to be articulate and nasty—a poet assassin and a civilized brute. These are the kinds of tones that make a solo or driving rhythm part explode in a recorded mix or onstage. And if you like your guitar parts with a touch of chaos and the confrontational, you’ll find this stompbox beautiful.
Star Eater Analog Fuzz
- All-analog design delivers authentic old-school fuzz tones
- Dual footswitch setup, sporting a powerful fuzz side and a versatile Boost/Filter side to cover all of your fuzz needs
- Precision matched transistor pairs allow you to effortlessly dial in the “sweet spot”
- Voice rocker switch offers both smooth germanium sounds and wild silicon tones
Week #3 is here! You could win gear from Carl Martin, Rockett Pedals, Origin Effects, Pigtronix, Truetone or VOX Amplification! Giveaway Ends October 3, 2022.
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Ampster
The world of music has changed and the world of guitar playing has changed along with it. It is becoming normal to not see the full guitar rigs of the 70’s 80’s and 90’s, and just see guitar players with minimal systems to achieve their signature sounds.
Introducing the Carl Martin Ampster…. from the company that has shone the single analog light down that deep digital tunnel. The Ampster, a single tube driven amp/speaker simulator that can either supplement your amp, or replace it. A fully analog unit with controls that are the same as your amplifier with the addition of a mute switch, a speaker selection switch and a voicing switch. What’s more important, the Ampster reacts to your playing in the same way your full size amp does, giving you the same organic feel with zero latency!
J. Rockett Audio Designs Uni-Verb Chorus/Vibrato Pedal
The Uni-Verb is a faithful analog recreation of the Univibe with an added 50’s spring tank reverb, expanded control section, and effects loop. This pedal runs at 24v like the original but is internally converted to 24v so you can use a standard 9v power supply. The effects loop separates the chorus/vibe and the reverb
Uni-Verb features:
• Analog vibe/chorus running at 24v like the original (powers with a standard 9v)
•Built in 50’s spring tank reverb selectable via foot switch
•Effects loop separating reverb and chorus/vibe for versatile routing options
•Expanded modulation controls for more flexibility and versatility than the original
•True Bypass
Origin Effects Halcyon Green Overdrive Pedal
The Halcyon Green Overdrive is a classic low-gain drive pedal featuring our proprietary Adaptive circuitry. This unique design allows it to adapt its voicing in response to pick attack and volume changes, making it one of the most dynamic and interactive overdrives out there. While it is based on the same green pedal that has inspired countless clones, this little box goes way beyond what the average overdrive has to offer.
Pigtronix Star Eater Analog Fuzz Pedal
Star Eater is an all-analog, dual footswitch super-jumbo Fuzz with a footswitchable booster and variable filter stage, allowing players to easily sculpt a massive array of inspiring, unique fuzz tones. On the fuzz side, newly-available, precision-matched transistor pairs are utilized to ensure that each and every unit is perfectly dialed in to “the sweet spot” that can be so elusive to find in vintage pedals. A rocker switch provides your choice of Germanium or Silicon color. Downstream from the fuzz, a powerful booster stage drives the filter in the Star Eater. Scoop and Bump voicings for the filter can be selected via a rocker switch, drastically changing the frequency response of the Sweep control throughout its entire range. Built to last and designed to inspire, the Star Eater brings a unique approach and a new standard of performance to the world of boutique fuzz pedals. Runs on standard 9VDC.
Truetone 1 SPOT PRO CS12 12-output Isolated Guitar Pedal Power Supply
The 1 SPOT Pro CS12 power supply can provide three times as much power to your pedals as transformer-based power bricks. Each of the 12 outputs are completely isolated, regulated and filtered to give you noise-free performance. With no transformer to hinder its abilities, there is never any proximity noise. And being the world’s first multi-output switching power supply for musicians, it will work anywhere in the world without modification. Quiet, dependable, affordable, and powerful!
Valvenergy Mystic Edge
Iconic amp sounds for your pedalboard. The Valvenergyvalve distortion pedals offer distortion tones based on iconic amps in a compact pedal format, powered by Nutubefor warm and responsive amp-like tones.