GEAR REVIEW
WALRUS AUDIO R1 REVERB | Bradford Mitchell
KEY FEATURES
• 128 Preset Slots
• Stereo-in ’ s and out ’ s
• Easily adjustable parameters
• Small pedal format
BREAKDOWN OF THE PEDAL AND ITS FEATURES It seems that in the last decade or so reverb pedals have undergone a handful of pretty substantial changes . We ’ ve seen them go from being small with minimal or no presets on-board and then to being rather big with hundreds of presets and features on-board and being MIDI capable . And now recently players are wanting to keep things tight , lean and mean but still with all the features offered from the big boxes . So now we are back to smaller pedals but this time demands are higher . Players want it all - loads of presets , loads of features and MIDI accessibility . Walrus is coming in hot with the R1 - the reverb offering in their MAKO series of pedals . Some key features of the R1 are 128 preset slots ( nine accessible directly on the pedal ), six different programs ( modes ) a handful of adjustable parameters , stereo-in ’ s and out ’ s , MIDI in and MIDI thru and the ability to sustain or latch the trails . This matte black box of wonder is in a small proprietary enclosure that is roughly the size of their other single-sized pedals or a Boss pedal making it very pedalboard friendly . It may be small and compact , but it does not sound small nor is it lacking in features !
The adjustable parameters are divided over 2 knobs - Tweak and Tune . Tweak can be used to adjust the rate and depth of modulation the user can add to any program as well as the pre-delay of the verb . Tune can be used to adjust the low and high frequencies of the verb as well as X which is different depending on the selected program . You can also adjust the stereo width of a preset to get super wide sounds or dial it back for more focused sounds .
Available programs include some ol ’ standbys such as spring , hall and plate as well as three unique sounds Walrus created - BFR , Refract and Air . The spring mode has that separation in the sound you would expect as your original signal zips over the springs of a reverb tank - only in stereo . The plate has just the right amount of a metallic and shimmery quality in its reflections without running wild . Both can have some grit added by adjusting the X parameter . The hall emits dense , huge trails and truly gives the user the feeling of playing in a massive hall or theatre . Or , at smaller settings , just some subtle and warm space to just sound like putting an amp in a big room . In this program X controls the room size .
The other three original programs created add some different textures to the trails . The BFR mode is a “ big freakin reverb ” with a diffusion