Chase Bliss Audio Gravitas
Chase Bliss Audio has a knack for taking
classic effects and squeezing every last drop
of tone tweaking potential from them, giving
the user unprecedented control over every
parameter, and putting a unique spin on
sounds that would otherwise be common and
familiar. That the company manages to do this
while still keeping tonal purity at the forefront
is a minor miracle. Chase Bliss’s Gravitas
Analog Tremolo marries a pristine, completely
analog signal path (based on the Analog
Devices AD823 op-amp) to a powerful digital
control brain, for a pedal that can sound as
classic and swampy as any vintage tube amp
trem, but has a control set that will boggle
the mind. That being said, it’s a fairly easy
pedal to just plug in—without looking at the
manual—and dial up a good sound, even if it
might take some old fashioned book-learnin’
to wrap one’s brain around the more advanced
features. Speaking of advanced features,
there are many. The bank of tiny DIP switches
on top is a dead giveaway this tremolo box
goes all the way and then some. I couldn’t
possibly cover all the options here, but among
its unique powers is the ability to mix, match,
and blend sine, triangle, and square waves
any which way one might desire, and then
alter the blend point with the “sway” knob,
which can result in some very inspiring and
innovative sounds. Then there’s the ramping,
tap and expression control, MIDI, momentary
bypass, and innumerable other tone warping
tools at one’s disposal. For the truly devious
tremolo torturer, Chase Bliss Audio’s Gravitas
is a must-have.
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TONE TALK //
Tremolo Laboratories for Mad Tone Scientists