Pittsburgh, PA (August 28, 2018) -- On the heavier side of RPS Effects' four pedal launch line-up, we've got a couple of fuzzy sonic manglers.
The Bit Reactor is an all-hardware bit crusher and downsampler, digitizing whatever signal you feed into it without any programming involved, resulting in a unique lo-fi monster that can get some out-of-this-world sounds.
The control interface is simple with only three knobs, but within their ranges you'll find plenty of tonal variety. The two principal controls are crush and sample, allowing you to vary the bit depth and sampling frequency, respectively. That's all rounded off with a simple level adjustment to compensate for differences in perceived volume based on the settings of the other two knobs.
The bit depth varies from 1 to 8 with one LED representing each bit, so that they light up as the knob is turned clockwise. The less bits, the more distortion you'll get – at 8 bits, only low signal levels will be distorted, while at 1 bit the output signal is transformed completely into a square wave. Based on the number of bits, you can get a whole variety of sounds, from almost infinite sustains to a super-gated fuzz.
Sampling rate is a little trickier to explain, but basically as it's reduced less and less high-frequency content can be reproduced in the output. Instead of those high-frequencies disappearing, though, they reappear at a lower frequency due to a phenomenon called 'aliasing'. The result isn't far off from a ring modulator, but it's more complex than that. Like a ring modulator, the sampling rate can be 'tuned' in a sense to different notes, resulting in really interesting and hard-to-explain effects. Top all that off with an expression pedal input to take over the sample knob, giving you access to whammy-like frequency sweeps while keeping your hands free to play.
This pedal can be used subtly once understood, but if noise is your thing, look no further. Meanwhile, the Red Sun is a face-melting fuzz / distortion providing plenty of classic heavy tones. Again we've got three controls here: gain, tone, and level.
The tone knob controls a filter that shapes the frequency content of the distortion, giving a smoother, darker sound at its lowest settings and a crisp crunch at the highest.
Controlling a pre-distortion amplifier, an interesting feature of the gain knob is that you can actually use it to get a clearer signal over the distortion floor. At the higher settings, you can play chords for example and still have them stand out in the mix. At the lower settings you've basically got a fuzz box.
Features:
- Die-cast aluminum case
- True bypass on/off switch
- 9-volt operation and standard DC input
The Bit Reactor and Red Sun pedals carry street prices of $180 and $150, respectively.
Watch the Bit Reactor video demo:
Watch the Red Sun video demo:
For more information:
RPS Effects
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
In this episode, we’re celebrating the thrill of guitarmony, sick riffs, and driving 8th-note rhythms by talking about Judas Priest. Before getting ready for this episode, neither of your esteemed hosts had ever delved into the Priest discography beyond the rock-radio hits and Beavis and Butthead—though we’d both spent our time with Heavy Metal Parking Lot. Since so many of the GOATs hold the band in the highest of regard, we knew that K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton belonged on this list, so we embarked on a journey to find out why.
After hours of listening and watching, we’re happy to report that we get it. From their debut, 1974’s Rocka Rolla, through 1980’s British Steel, deep into the ’80s-production era with 1986’s Turbo, and through the speed-metal bravado of 1990’s Painkiller, plus live videos and records—the super-loud US Festival performance and the crushing Unleashed in the East record—we found a lot that we love.
