One serious demerit for Terraform: these purple status LEDs that are everything that's awful about blue LEDs only make them 20% more blinding. The first run of the pedal seems to have had tiny writing, which they solved with a bigger font and abbreviation. But instead of a sensible red LED, you literally cannot read any of the words without the sensation of looking directly into the sun.
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Looking for small-ish Multi-Mod (chorus, flange, phase, vibe)
- Thread starter 600 Ohms
- Start date
Further Wampler Terraform review:
This is the pedal to beat, in this form factor (or smaller), having had more time to play with it. Perhaps only the Mobius beats it? Or maybe the Boss, but I won't try the Boss only because I can't fit it on the board. A few bullet points:
1. You'll not likely ever call this a "character" pedal; it's not going to give you highly idiosyncratic versions of any of these mod effects, but instead some really solid versions. It's safe, but it's also really usable and flexible.
2. The phaser, in my opinion, is ace. I managed to get a really 70's Rhodes-kind of phaser tone out of it that just feels warm, analogue and lovely on bass.
3. 8 preset registers is just about perfect for my needs. I was happy to have none and just twiddle knobs. But I like that I have eight recallable sounds on tap. My complaint here is that I wish the LEDs would tell you when you've moved the knob back to where you had it saved, like Strymon does. Once you save it, the pedal knows you've deviated from the preset, but doesn't tell you how to get back.
4. At first I thought it was an oversight to not have a knob that switches between Chorus/Vibrato mode on the UniVibe, but you can just blend it only to the effect side and you're there. Whoever says you don't need a blend doesn't use effects like I do. I'm finding it essential.
5. Some tremolo pedals have lots of waveforms to choose from. Not so here. You can tweak the shape for choppiness. As cool as it would be to have sawtooth waves, etc, I'm pretty happy with the noise two trem patches make out of the box.
6. Although the Envelope Filter isn't a Seamoon Funk Machine or anything very wild, it does have a really good range and adjustability. I use this and the filters from the C4 and I like them both and they don't sound the same, so it makes a very usable second opinion.
7. I've said it before, but to have everything on its own knob is supreme.
8. Overall, I'm really happy with the sound quality. I think they did a great job making a high-quality unit that is thoughtfully made and well-built.
EHX comes tomorrow. May try that Alexander Wavelength, but I'm a little turned off by the interface—though it sounds terrific from the demos.
This is the pedal to beat, in this form factor (or smaller), having had more time to play with it. Perhaps only the Mobius beats it? Or maybe the Boss, but I won't try the Boss only because I can't fit it on the board. A few bullet points:
1. You'll not likely ever call this a "character" pedal; it's not going to give you highly idiosyncratic versions of any of these mod effects, but instead some really solid versions. It's safe, but it's also really usable and flexible.
2. The phaser, in my opinion, is ace. I managed to get a really 70's Rhodes-kind of phaser tone out of it that just feels warm, analogue and lovely on bass.
3. 8 preset registers is just about perfect for my needs. I was happy to have none and just twiddle knobs. But I like that I have eight recallable sounds on tap. My complaint here is that I wish the LEDs would tell you when you've moved the knob back to where you had it saved, like Strymon does. Once you save it, the pedal knows you've deviated from the preset, but doesn't tell you how to get back.
4. At first I thought it was an oversight to not have a knob that switches between Chorus/Vibrato mode on the UniVibe, but you can just blend it only to the effect side and you're there. Whoever says you don't need a blend doesn't use effects like I do. I'm finding it essential.
5. Some tremolo pedals have lots of waveforms to choose from. Not so here. You can tweak the shape for choppiness. As cool as it would be to have sawtooth waves, etc, I'm pretty happy with the noise two trem patches make out of the box.
6. Although the Envelope Filter isn't a Seamoon Funk Machine or anything very wild, it does have a really good range and adjustability. I use this and the filters from the C4 and I like them both and they don't sound the same, so it makes a very usable second opinion.
7. I've said it before, but to have everything on its own knob is supreme.
8. Overall, I'm really happy with the sound quality. I think they did a great job making a high-quality unit that is thoughtfully made and well-built.
EHX comes tomorrow. May try that Alexander Wavelength, but I'm a little turned off by the interface—though it sounds terrific from the demos.
Hmm, I didn't like the EHX Mod 11 nearly as much as I expected. Really wanted to love it on account of price and size. In a direct comparison with the Terraform, I couldn't find a single effect that I preferred on the Mod 11, even with all its mode choices. I thought making Volume the primary function of the bottom right knob was the wrong choice. I'm just not adjusting the output of modulation effects all that much—I would have rather that be the tweak knob or a mix knob, especially with chorus, flange and phase, and that it switched to secondary for volume. I just kind of found it a bit "lumpy" sounding.
The lay of the rest of the land:
Alexander Pedals Wavelength—Sounds great in demos, rejected for interface, but I think it really sounds great. It's pretty ugly, though. They were clever enough to make it firmware upgradeable and to add a tap tempo, something I came to regard as essential in a multi-mod.
Keeley Super Mod Workstation—High confidence this would be great, but Keeley focused more on ability to play through two things at once than on overall tweak-ability. Not quite.
Southampton Utility Knife—I love these guys, but this gets the axe due to no blend and it's too close to the cost of the Wampler while lacking a lot of effects and control. More guitar-friendly than bass in my opinion. There is a "Canada Tax" to pay on this: no USA dealers, long wait to receive, returns more hassle. None in the used channel right now. A victim of circumstance.
Empress Nebulus—Empress make brilliant stuff, but for the same price as the Terraform, it's a lot less brilliant. I'm confident it would ring the bell sonically, however. And I like their layouts in general. Runner-up.
Zoom (anything)—Sounds great in demos, rejected for interface. It just doesn't suit me.
Mooer Mod Factory—Small, maybe a bit too small. I don't have any experience with this brand. An also-ran for me.
Nux Mod Core Deluxe—unknown brand, a last resort—plenty of choice already.
I think I'm sticking with the Wampler. I think I'm their core demographic for this box. The design suits me. It's funny how your needs sometimes start modest, but become deeper the more you test and try stuff out and see how a pedal anticipates what you might want—that was the lesson in this exercise. It's nearly a Mobius in a smaller, less expensive package and I relate to how they thought people would use it. It sounds expensive (and it should). Plus, you get the slick pre-post gain loop. It also fits on the board.
The lay of the rest of the land:
Alexander Pedals Wavelength—Sounds great in demos, rejected for interface, but I think it really sounds great. It's pretty ugly, though. They were clever enough to make it firmware upgradeable and to add a tap tempo, something I came to regard as essential in a multi-mod.
Keeley Super Mod Workstation—High confidence this would be great, but Keeley focused more on ability to play through two things at once than on overall tweak-ability. Not quite.
Southampton Utility Knife—I love these guys, but this gets the axe due to no blend and it's too close to the cost of the Wampler while lacking a lot of effects and control. More guitar-friendly than bass in my opinion. There is a "Canada Tax" to pay on this: no USA dealers, long wait to receive, returns more hassle. None in the used channel right now. A victim of circumstance.
Empress Nebulus—Empress make brilliant stuff, but for the same price as the Terraform, it's a lot less brilliant. I'm confident it would ring the bell sonically, however. And I like their layouts in general. Runner-up.
Zoom (anything)—Sounds great in demos, rejected for interface. It just doesn't suit me.
Mooer Mod Factory—Small, maybe a bit too small. I don't have any experience with this brand. An also-ran for me.
Nux Mod Core Deluxe—unknown brand, a last resort—plenty of choice already.
I think I'm sticking with the Wampler. I think I'm their core demographic for this box. The design suits me. It's funny how your needs sometimes start modest, but become deeper the more you test and try stuff out and see how a pedal anticipates what you might want—that was the lesson in this exercise. It's nearly a Mobius in a smaller, less expensive package and I relate to how they thought people would use it. It sounds expensive (and it should). Plus, you get the slick pre-post gain loop. It also fits on the board.
Yeah, no one pedal can ever anticipate the needs of everybody, which is to everybody’s benefit I guess. Most of my mod effect usage seriously relies on a mix knob, which is of limited utility to some, so it’s good there is good competition.
Going into this I had no idea how much I would come to love the rotary effect, and Terraform does a great version. Fun stuff to discover. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.
The Nebulus is worth any cabling issues. It does draw 300mA, though, so plan accordingly.
I did the same with the Terraform; it sits at a right angle and fits just fine. I've got a Cioks DC7 so excess power for more pedals than can be cabled.
D
Jumping in late here cause I'm always looking for "The World's Most Perfectest Multi-Modulation Pedal Ever"(echo echo echo...)
I've been using the Source Audio Mercury Flanger for about a little less than a year...maybe...I can't remember. It's the best thing I've found so far because:
1) As a previous post stated, you can load anything and everything available from the SA One Series phaser, chorus and flanger. That means all the phasers of any stages; all chorususes; all the of flangers; vibrato; resonant filters; plus (decent enough) vibe and rotary speaker sims.
2) A really good EQ assignable to each effect. This is the thing that's going to be really hard to give up if and when I replace this. I can't express enough how cool it is having the different EQ settings for each effect or preset...especially when you have envelope phasers and resonant filters. An example of why this is so handy you ask? Sure!
The other night at our (socially distanced and masked) practice, we were working on a new song. Guitarist suggested a really short reverb would sound cool on the bass for one section. "It would!" everyone agreed. Well I don't have a reverb. I do have Boss DD-3T. Short delay, cranked time, high feedback, effect mix 50/50...short reverbish effect, but like two swords sliding over each other. Nope. But when I got home I thought, "Hm, what if I ran it through a resonant filter to get ride of that clank." And since I have the Mercury Flanger after the delay (don't judge me I have my reasons!) I could. I pulled up a resonant filter in the app, boosted the ever-loving poop out of the bass. Turned on the delay set to that short reverbish effect, and started adjusting the filter and resonance until it sounded OK. Made a couple more adjustments to the EQ. Set the output to unity and bammo, short reverb that didn't sound metallic. I'm not saying it sounded like a pristine reverb born from the halls of an elven castle high upon the Mount of Yernfollern, but it was a short reverb of my own making and it sounded kind of dirty and cool. And no one else had it. So that take, Yernfollern. Stupid, elves.
3) Assignable wave forms, speeds, depths, feedback, etc for each effect...even the ability to make an effect envelope triggered all the way in the way, way back of the chain.
4)All that junk above can be created, tweaked, loaded and saved relatively easily by hooking your phone up to the second input jack on the pedal with the supplied 1/4" to 3mm TRS cable (and an iPhone lightning adaptor if needed.) I say relatively because the app takes some getting used to, especially since not all the parameters are going to be labelled correctly across all the effects. If you spend some time with it, you can figure it out or accidently discover something cool. In Preset mode, holding down the footswitch for 5 sec, or way quicker in Quick Preset Mode, switches the indicator light from green to red. Now the 3 toggle switch positions are 3 new presets. In the app you can see all 6 presets assigned to the positions. I've found 6 is pretty good. I've sometimes wanted one or two more, but I'll just bump the one I'm using the least. All of your presets can be saved in the Library on the app, so I can always come back and load up again later if I change my mind.
4)It's also a pretty small pedal. A bit wider than a Boss, but definitely shorter.
The reason's I'm still looking:
1) I wouldn't mind something that had midi capability without having to shell out for the damn Neuro Hub AND a midi controller. I may add a midi capable device in the future or decide to start using a midi controller for something already on the board and I don't want to spend $60-$99 just to be able to start using the SA.
2) The jacks. The damn stupid jacks. I'd love to use an expression pedal with some of the effects, but I'm not buying a proprietary SA expression pedal. I know there's a work around for it, but...ugh. I just spent 3 months learning your damn app. Now you want me to do more homework? More importantly, the expression jack is a 3mm input. No way do I trust that in the durability department. ESPECIALLY when SA makes it so the pedal inputs need to be accessed regularly so the best place for it is the top row of the board. That 3mm jack is getting snapped off going in and out of the pedalboard bag.
3) I love the app and the EQ and everything that it offers. It would be hard to give that up, but I would like to have something that I could adjust, tweak at practice when we're working stuff out. I'm not pulling my phone out and telling the rest of the band to "hang on a second, I think I have the perfect thing for this part." Now I just make a mental note, wait till I get home, load it up, make a preset, and try it out the next time. Not the end of the world, but could be better.
4) I don't care what you think of me: THE PEDAL IS LAME LOOKING. I've got a big ole hunk of gaffers tape over most of it with this week's presets marked, but still. I just feel like...you were redder when we first met. Do you want to maybe change out of your all white block lettering today? You've been wearing it around the pedalboard all week. Well of course I was staring at Grand Orbiter! It's got sparkles. But all the sparkles in the universe can't replace the magic we create together.
I think that covers it for this edition of No One Asked For My Opinion On a Thread That's Been Dormant for Two Months. I just saw that someone had a question about the Earthquaker Bellows 11 months ago. Off to write a screed on that thread...
I've been using the Source Audio Mercury Flanger for about a little less than a year...maybe...I can't remember. It's the best thing I've found so far because:
1) As a previous post stated, you can load anything and everything available from the SA One Series phaser, chorus and flanger. That means all the phasers of any stages; all chorususes; all the of flangers; vibrato; resonant filters; plus (decent enough) vibe and rotary speaker sims.
2) A really good EQ assignable to each effect. This is the thing that's going to be really hard to give up if and when I replace this. I can't express enough how cool it is having the different EQ settings for each effect or preset...especially when you have envelope phasers and resonant filters. An example of why this is so handy you ask? Sure!
The other night at our (socially distanced and masked) practice, we were working on a new song. Guitarist suggested a really short reverb would sound cool on the bass for one section. "It would!" everyone agreed. Well I don't have a reverb. I do have Boss DD-3T. Short delay, cranked time, high feedback, effect mix 50/50...short reverbish effect, but like two swords sliding over each other. Nope. But when I got home I thought, "Hm, what if I ran it through a resonant filter to get ride of that clank." And since I have the Mercury Flanger after the delay (don't judge me I have my reasons!) I could. I pulled up a resonant filter in the app, boosted the ever-loving poop out of the bass. Turned on the delay set to that short reverbish effect, and started adjusting the filter and resonance until it sounded OK. Made a couple more adjustments to the EQ. Set the output to unity and bammo, short reverb that didn't sound metallic. I'm not saying it sounded like a pristine reverb born from the halls of an elven castle high upon the Mount of Yernfollern, but it was a short reverb of my own making and it sounded kind of dirty and cool. And no one else had it. So that take, Yernfollern. Stupid, elves.
3) Assignable wave forms, speeds, depths, feedback, etc for each effect...even the ability to make an effect envelope triggered all the way in the way, way back of the chain.
4)All that junk above can be created, tweaked, loaded and saved relatively easily by hooking your phone up to the second input jack on the pedal with the supplied 1/4" to 3mm TRS cable (and an iPhone lightning adaptor if needed.) I say relatively because the app takes some getting used to, especially since not all the parameters are going to be labelled correctly across all the effects. If you spend some time with it, you can figure it out or accidently discover something cool. In Preset mode, holding down the footswitch for 5 sec, or way quicker in Quick Preset Mode, switches the indicator light from green to red. Now the 3 toggle switch positions are 3 new presets. In the app you can see all 6 presets assigned to the positions. I've found 6 is pretty good. I've sometimes wanted one or two more, but I'll just bump the one I'm using the least. All of your presets can be saved in the Library on the app, so I can always come back and load up again later if I change my mind.
4)It's also a pretty small pedal. A bit wider than a Boss, but definitely shorter.
The reason's I'm still looking:
1) I wouldn't mind something that had midi capability without having to shell out for the damn Neuro Hub AND a midi controller. I may add a midi capable device in the future or decide to start using a midi controller for something already on the board and I don't want to spend $60-$99 just to be able to start using the SA.
2) The jacks. The damn stupid jacks. I'd love to use an expression pedal with some of the effects, but I'm not buying a proprietary SA expression pedal. I know there's a work around for it, but...ugh. I just spent 3 months learning your damn app. Now you want me to do more homework? More importantly, the expression jack is a 3mm input. No way do I trust that in the durability department. ESPECIALLY when SA makes it so the pedal inputs need to be accessed regularly so the best place for it is the top row of the board. That 3mm jack is getting snapped off going in and out of the pedalboard bag.
3) I love the app and the EQ and everything that it offers. It would be hard to give that up, but I would like to have something that I could adjust, tweak at practice when we're working stuff out. I'm not pulling my phone out and telling the rest of the band to "hang on a second, I think I have the perfect thing for this part." Now I just make a mental note, wait till I get home, load it up, make a preset, and try it out the next time. Not the end of the world, but could be better.
4) I don't care what you think of me: THE PEDAL IS LAME LOOKING. I've got a big ole hunk of gaffers tape over most of it with this week's presets marked, but still. I just feel like...you were redder when we first met. Do you want to maybe change out of your all white block lettering today? You've been wearing it around the pedalboard all week. Well of course I was staring at Grand Orbiter! It's got sparkles. But all the sparkles in the universe can't replace the magic we create together.
I think that covers it for this edition of No One Asked For My Opinion On a Thread That's Been Dormant for Two Months. I just saw that someone had a question about the Earthquaker Bellows 11 months ago. Off to write a screed on that thread...
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Yeah, I rejected the SA ones for all the reasons you mentioned, despite their excellent track record. I would not be shocked if they were working on a multi-mod that was in the vein of their recent reverb and delay units, with plenty of onboard tweakability.
A ways in and the Terraform is still on the board. It's excellent. The only thing I dislike about it is a bit of self-noise with passive basses going in and nothing in between it. Not the end of the world, surely. Probably the least impressive sound is the envelope filter, which is perfectly functional, but nothing unique or characterful, just a solid, staple filter. Everything else has kept me satisfied with my purchase. Good luck with your search.
If size wasn't a limiting factor, an interesting option would be the Erica Synths Fusion Box. It sounds great, and it has a nice tube overdrive as well.
In the Source Audio Modulation world all three pedals are the same under the hood so the app allows any of the modulation algorithms to be downloaded and burnt to one of the six internal preset memory slots on the pedal. If you add the Neuro Hub and access / control the pedal via the hub you can add a further 128 preset slots (called Scenes) to that pedal. It's a very versatile system and it's particularly useful if you are controlling your board via midi.
I'm a long term user and owner of the Strymon Mobius and it's excellent, however it's far from perfect. It's astonishing that such a large and expensive panel / pedal has been unchallenged for so long.
However, the current state of the art Modulation crown is now clearly owned by the GFI Synesthesia. That's not to diminish the Mobius' abilities. It's still a VERY capable multi mod. The GFI Synesthesia is a fair bit smaller than a Mobius or MD-200. Although not in "micro" pedal category that your Post requested. The main problem with the GFS is actually finding one in stock anywhere. Every vendor seems to be on back order. Here in the UK...they are super - scarce.
@600 Ohms , are you still using the Terraform? If so, are you still liking it?
I’m in a similar boat, I want a multi mod pedal with a smaller footprint than my HX Effects. I really only need chorus, flanger, phaser, and filter, so the Terraform checks literally every box for me. Also considering a Mobius, but that’s getting up there both in size and price, and getting another H9 Max is out of my self-imposed budget as well.
I’m in a similar boat, I want a multi mod pedal with a smaller footprint than my HX Effects. I really only need chorus, flanger, phaser, and filter, so the Terraform checks literally every box for me. Also considering a Mobius, but that’s getting up there both in size and price, and getting another H9 Max is out of my self-imposed budget as well.
Yes, still using it, still on the board. It sounds great. It's in one of the two chorus modes 90% of the time, but I do use the other stuff on the menu from time to time, especially the phaser. The features I use the most are both the blend and the knob that removes the mod from the low end of the signal (VARIABLE in some modes).
My opinion of this pedal hasn't changed in terms of its great sound and functionality, but I'm a bit bothered by its self-noise, and beginning to dissent. Back on the trail. Maybe I need to try the H9 finally.
One look through the H9 page and boy, what overkill for what I want it for. It's an incredible pedal, but I bristle at the option-anxiety.
Looking seriously at that Alexander Wavelength again.
One look through the H9 page and boy, what overkill for what I want it for. It's an incredible pedal, but I bristle at the option-anxiety.
Looking seriously at that Alexander Wavelength again.
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