delay, which seems to be
inspired by a tape echo.
On all settings, it has two
main repeats the play
at the same volume and
clarity, and the rest just
kind of trail behind it at a
lower volume and clarity,
like a tape echo. I wasn’t
a huge fan of one knob
for all delay, since I like to
independently set feedback
and repeats on a delay, to
make it more rhythmically
conducive. However, I
found that setting it at 12
o’clock seemed to be the
easiest to work with. When
I “slapped” the low E string
(as a bass player would),
it created a very defined
syncopated rhythm with a
nice warmth, not unlike the
intro to Pink Floyd’s “One of
These Days”, the opening
track on 1971’s Meddle.
Remember as always to be
tasteful with reverb and
delay, as it can steal a lot of
definition and clarity from
your notes, even more so
with the Mr. Black. Since
it has the pitch shifting
reverb, you have to be
extra careful, mixed too
high this can disorient you
and your audience.
This pedal is not without
gripe however, and it has
one glaring issue that makes
it hard to recommend: tone
suck. Upon plugging it in,
I was shocked to hear that
my bright Strat sounded
all of a sudden quite dull. I
started to grab at my amp’s
EQ and fiddle with it to no
avail. Cranking the treble
and presence all the way
didn’t help in the least, if
anything it made it worse.
However, upon engaging
the pedal (without any of
the reverb and delay mixed
in), magically brought back
the lost treble, albeit with
a bit of a sheen. Yanking
this thing out made my
signal return to its natural
balanced state, which I
found odd. Looking at the
manual slip, I saw this pedal
has a relatively high input
and output impedance,
which is what I imagine
contributed to the tone
suck, but then again, I’m
just a journalist.
WHAT WE LIKE
Wonderful ambient textures.
Eye-catching, sparkly
enclosure.
CONCERNS
High end tone suck.
Delay could be a bit more
versatile. Reverb can be a
little seasick.
ToneReport.com
63