RatingsPros:A vast collection of cool Muff variations. Cons: How do you feel about mini-DIP switches? Street: $299 Wren and Cuff De La Riva BM20-Ultra wrenandcuff.com | Tones:  Ease of Use:  Build/Design: Value: |
You’ve probably encountered stompboxes where the designer lets the user make component choices. There might be, for example, a switch that toggles between a vintage part and one likelier to appeal to modern tastes.
But few have taken this notion to such surreal extremes as L.A.-based pedal builders Wren and Cuff. In some ways, their De La Riva BM20-Ultra pedal is a traditional Big Muff clone that hews to the original circuit’s topology. But here, most of the circuit decisions are multiple-choice. A set of 20 tiny DIP switches (reminiscent of Andrew Barta’s original SansAmp) offers two possible settings for nearly every stage in the circuit.
According to Wren and Cuff, the 20 DIP switches alone will yield over 1 million unique configurations, and if the three toggles are added to the mix, this give you over 8 million combinations. Minds, commence boggling.
The Muff Stuff
At its most basic, the De La Riva is a killer Muff clone. Its three knobs replicate the gain/tone/output controls of the Electro-Harmonix original. Without touching any additional controls, you get stellar versions of familiar Muff flavors, delivered with crackling presence and remarkably little noise. High-gain MPSA18 transistors in plastic housings replace the original’s metal-can 2N5133s, but whatever—they sound great.
Original Muffs used only silicon transistors, but here you can switch two of the four transistors (the ones in the main clipping stages) from silicon to germanium. These germanium transistors have no visible part numbers, but they, too, sound terrific. Differences between transistor configurations are less dramatic than, say, changing from Si to Ge in a two-transistor Fuzz Face circuit. The Muff circuit generates so much gain that subtleties can get flattened beneath the steamroller fuzz.
On the other hand, the dedicated tone-stack bypass switch is drama for days. It helps to know a bit about the circuit’s topology here: Big Muffs build up tremendous amounts of gain across three transistor stages. Next comes a volume- and tone-sucking passive tone control, followed by a fourth transistor stage to restore the level to its former glory. Nixing the tone stage provides thunderous fuzz without the Muff’s love-it-or-hate-it midrange cut. (That’s the first tone you hear in the demo clip.)
So far, so awesome: a killer Muff clone with a couple of cool variations.
Enter the Infinite
The De La Riva manual capably explains the roles of the 20 DIP switches, and it all makes sense if you have passing knowledge of how the Muff circuit works. The switches determine such factors as how the transistors are biased, the amount of low end filtered between gain stages, and whether the clipping diodes are engaged (and, if so, whether they are Si or Ge diodes, and whether the clipping is symmetrical or asymmetrical). The four leftmost DIP switches shape the character of the tone control, providing many alternatives to that signature mid scoop.
But even if you’re an electronics wiz who’s built mountains of Muff derivatives, you probably won’t be able to predict the exact result of every switch change. Experts and ignoramuses alike are likely to employ the same technique: Flick some switches until you hear a cool sound.
Does that sound fun? It was for me, and I stumbled across all the tones heard in the demo clip within seconds. Other players will wince at the sight of those 20 switches and their hard-to-read labels. Your gut feeling here is probably the best indicator of whether the De La Riva is for you. Another factor is whether you’d use the pedal only onstage, where fussy edits are impractical, or when sitting in front of studio monitors, thoughtfully concocting the perfect tone to suit a mix in progress.
The De La Riva is solidly made inside and out. It’s an unusual-looking circuit board, housing both tiny surface-mount components and traditional through-hole parts, including those four transistors. Is there room inside for a battery? Hell no! The pedal runs on standard 9V power. (Adapter not included.)
The Verdict
Wren and Cuff’s De La Riva is one of the most complex and open-ended distortion pedals ever created, right up there with the trickiest gizmos from Origin Effects and Chase Bliss. You should definitely pause to consider whether such vast tweakbility is likelier to feed your creativity or stifle it. Still, while it’s hard to predict exactly what will happen when you manipulate the mini-switches, you’re almost certain to find cool, usable sounds quickly. The De La Riva takes a simple idea to extremes, and does so brilliantly. Verdict? Total success.
Watch the First Look:
Hotone Wong Press
Cory Wong Signature Volume/Wah/Expression Pedal
Renowned international funk guitar maestro and 63rd Grammy nominee Cory Wong is celebrated for his unique playing style and unmistakable crisp tone. Known for his expressive technique, he’s been acclaimed across the globe by all audiences for his unique blend of energy and soul. In 2022, Cory discovered the multi-functional Soul Press II pedal from Hotone and instantly fell in love. Since then, it has become his go-to pedal for live performances.
Now, two years later, the Hotone team has meticulously crafted the Wong Press, a pedal tailored specifically for Cory Wong. Building on the multi-functional design philosophy of the Soul Press series, this new pedal includes Cory’s custom requests: a signature blue and white color scheme, a customized volume pedal curve, an adjustable wah Q value range, and travel lights that indicate both pedal position and working mode.
Cory’s near-perfect pursuit of tone and pedal feel presented a significant challenge for our development team. After countless adjustments to the Q value range, Hotone engineers achieved the precise WAH tone Cory desired while minimizing the risk of accidental Q value changes affecting the sound. Additionally, based on Cory’s feedback, the volume control was fine-tuned for a smoother, more musical transition, enhancing the overall feel of volume swells. The team also upgraded the iconic travel lights of the Soul Press II to dual-color travel lights—blue for Wah mode and green for Volume mode—making live performances more intuitive and visually striking!
In line with the Hotone Design Inspiration philosophy, the Wong Press represents the perfect blend of design and inspiration. Now, musicians can channel their inner Cory Wong and enjoy the freedom and joy of playing with the Wong Press!
Reverend Vernon Reid Totem Series Electric Guitar - Shaman
Silos features six presets, tap tempo, one full second of delay time, and three voices—two of which are styled after bucket-brigade and tape-delay sounds. In the $150 price category, it’s not unusual for a digital delay to leave some number of those functions out. And spending the same money on a true-analog alternative usually means warm, enveloping sounds but limited functionality and delay time. Silos, improbably perhaps, offers a very elegant solution to this can’t-have-it-all dilemma in a U.S.-made effect.
A More Complete Cobbling Together
Silos’ utility is bolstered by a very unintimidating control set, which is streamlined and approachable. Three of those controls are dedicated to the same mix, time, and repeats controls you see on any delay. But saving a preset to one of the six spots on the rotary preset dial is as easy as holding the green/red illuminated button just below the mix and preset knobs. And you certainly won’t get lost in the weeds if you move to the 3-position toggle, which switches between a clear “digital” voice, darker “analog” voice, and a “tape” voice which is darker still.
“The three voices offer discernibly different response to gain devices.”
One might suspect that a tone control for the repeats offers similar functionality as the voice toggle switch. But while it’s true that the most obvious audible differences between digital, BBD, and tape delays are apparent in the relative fidelity and darkness of their echoes, the Silos’ three voices behave differently in ways that are more complex than lighter or duskier tonality. For instance, the digital voice will never exhibit runaway oscillation, even at maximum mix and repeat settings. Instead, repeats fade out after about six seconds (at the fastest time settings) or create sleepy layers of slow-decaying repeats that enhance detail in complex, sprawling, loop-like melodic phrases. The analog voice and tape voice, on the other hand, will happily feed back to psychotic extremes. Both also offer satisfying sensitivity to real-time, on-the-fly adjustments. For example, I was tickled with how I could generate Apocalypse Now helicopter-chop effects and fade them in and out of prominence as if they were approaching or receding in proximity—an effect made easier still if you assign an expression pedal to the mix control. This kind of interactivity is what makes analog machines like the Echoplex, Space Echo, and Memory Man transcend mere delay status, and the sensitivity and just-right resistance make the process of manipulating repeats endlessly engaging.
Doesn't Flinch at Filth
EarthQuaker makes a point of highlighting the Silos’ affinity for dirty and distorted sounds. I did not notice that it behaved light-years better than other delays in this regard. But the three voices most definitely offer discernibly different responses to gain devices. The super-clear first repeat in the digital mode lends clarity and melodic focus, even to hectic, unpredictable, fractured fuzzes. The analog voice, which EQD says is inspired by the tone makeup of a 1980s-vintage, Japan-made KMD bucket brigade echo, handles fuzz forgivingly inasmuch as its repeats fade warmly and evenly, but the strong midrange also keeps many overtones present as the echoes fade. The tape voice, which uses aMaestro Echoplex as its sonic inspiration, is distinctly dirtier and creates more nebulous undercurrents in the repeats. If you want to retain clarity in more melodic settings, it will create a warm glow around repeats at conservative levels. Push it, and it will summon thick, sometimes droning haze that makes a great backdrop for slower, simpler, and hooky psychedelic riffs.
In clean applications, this decay and tone profile lend the tape setting a spooky, foggy aura that suggests the cold vastness of outer space. The analog voice often displays an authentic BBD clickiness in clean repeats that’s sweet for underscoring rhythmic patterns, while the digital voice’s pronounced regularity adds a clockwork quality that supports more up-tempo, driving, electronic rhythms.
The Verdict
Silos’ combination of features seems like a very obvious and appealing one. But bringing it all together at just less than 150 bucks represents a smart, adept threading of the cost/feature needle.
EarthQuaker Devices Silos Multi-generational Time Reflection Delay Pedal
