For those interested in pedal modifications : ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This is a great affordable "Slow Gear" clone. Stock it do short volume swells very well but it definitely lack versatility. Here is the magic modification : Add a switch to change the value of the C12 capacitor between 1uF (stock : short attack) and 22uF (long attack). Long volume swells are now available. Enjoy! ;-)
Bonsoir, désolé pour le délai! En fait, le circuit est très facile à travailler. La plaquette est de bonne qualité et les composantes amplement espacées et clairement identifiées sur le circuit. Il suffit de localiser le condensateur "C12" et de le désouder. C'est un condensateur électrolytique de 1uF. Il faut noter son orientation sur le circuit pour respecter sa polarité pour les étapes subséquentes. Bref, une fois le condensateur enlevé, souder deux fils dans les trous désormais vacants. Relier ces deux fils aux terminaux du centre d'un interrupteur DPDT. Resouder le condensateur de 1 uF précédemment enlevé sur les terminaux d'une des positions de l'interrupteur et souder un autre condensateur d'une valeur de 22uF (ou plus!) sur les terminaux de l'autre position. Encore une fois, respecter la polarité. Voilà! En position 1uF le swell est stock. En position 22uF le swell est plus lent. Pour ce qui est de l'emplacement de l'interrupteur sur le boîtier, c'est vraiment génial car il y a l'espace nécessaire directement au centre juste au-dessus de l'inscription "CRESCENDO". Résultat super propre. ;-) Pour ce qui est de l'opération : Le crescendo est 100% analogique. De manière simplifiée c'est un détecteur d'enveloppe qui actionne un VCA (amplificateur commandé en tension). Donc, quand un signal audio est détecté, le condensateur se charge (volume ascendant)... il doit se décharger pour revenir à son état initial (volume descendant et coupure). Il faut donc arrêter de jouer brièvement (picking, mute, etc.) pour remettre le volume à zéro. Avec un condensateur plus gros, le swell est plus lent et le retour à zéro est également ralenti un peu. Perso, j'aime le swell lent pour les accords et les courtes phrases. C'est un circuit qui répond énormément à la dynamique du musicien. Bonne expérimentation.
Always went crazy in the 80s trying to figure how Andy summers got the chord swells on “driven to tears” and “when the world is running down”. It was the boss pedal. (Slow gear). This is an affordable copy
I legit went looking for reviews for this pedal, and yours came up first. Didn't know it was you though! Saw you and immediately thought, Oh this is EXACTLY the guy I wanted to hear from about this pedal! Thanks for the cool review!
Спасибо за обзор!!! 🤝🏽 У меня такая педалька есть. Я заметил, что отдельные ноты она обрабатывает лучше, чем полный аккорд. Теперь хочу поэкспериментировать: купить педаль с эффектом "blender", с помощью которой данную педаль, представленную на этом обзоре, скоммутировать с иной педалью. Ещё раз благодарю за обзор! Senky very much! 🤝🏽 🤝🏽🤝🏽🤝🏽
Hey Bill, have you ever tried velcro-ing or taping a couple of small planks across both a volume pedal and a wah? You could swell them together in unison? Could make for some interesting experimenting. :) Kind regards from England!
It is a great stand-alone pedal, thank you Bill for the demo!! I have a multi effect Boss ME-80, which is kinda of an entry level board. Interestingly however, it contains an implementation of their famous Slow Gear of yesteryears (which is hard to find now and more more expensive to purchase by itself than the entire ME-80 board!). This TC pedal is a great 'new slow gear'. Appreciate you demoing.
Have you ever thought about incorporating some slide guitar into your ambient style? I think that mixed with some other stuff you do could be crazy good!
Nice review Bill. I tried out one of these pedals in a guitar store and liked it but I found that if I picked a note and let it ring, the note cut off much more quickly than it should and in an unmusical manner. Did you notice such a phenomenon at all?
I have not noticed anything like that. I suspect it's a matter of playing with the controls and perhaps putting a compressor in front to smooth out the dynamics of what is hitting the Crescendo.
The Creseendo is very twitchy about the level of the input signal, I use a Rush buffer/ booster before it to suit the dynamics of my playing for best effect.
Hello. First of all, great video and a great channel. Secondly, I have a question: does it make sense to buy Crescendo Auto Swell if I have volume pedal?
I think that is a question for you to decide. Do you ever have a need for a device to do swells while you are doing something else with your feet? If so, then an auto swell can make sense. Also, it may be that you can create fast short swells with the pedal faster than your foot.
Chords Of Orion With my free foot, I could try to add the wah effect to my swells :-D Every pretext is good to buy a new toy ;-) Thanks for the answer. Greetings from Poland :-)
How does It respond to fast flurries of notes ala Allan Holdsworth? Does It have definition for every note at speedy licks? Great vid and great demo :D
In general, as long as the input of an auto sweller sees signal that is above the threshold you've set, it will not clamp down on the output, thus allowing your flurry of notes to get through. As soon as you stop your strings from vibrating in order to dip your signal below the threshold, an auto sweller will shut off its output and wait until it sees signal that crosses the threshold before starting the next swell. I do not own an auto sweller, so please take my comment with a grain of salt.
Cool sounding pedal - I guess it’s a copy of the old Boss Slow Gear pedal that sells for silly money on eBay. Is there any reason you put the pedal after the overdrive rather than before?
I normally place my volume pedal after an overdrive, so it made sense to me to place the Crescendo in the same position. But there's no reason why you couldn't switch the order.
If you put a volume pedal/autoswell pedal in front of a gain pedal, it will work like rolling your volume knob on your guitar - more/less signal hitting the gain pedal, which means less drive/distortion when the signal is quieter, and more when it's louder. That means the tone will probably shift a bit depending on the volume coming in from an autoswell. If the autoswell comes after your gain pedal(s), the driven sound will be sound the same, just louder or softer. My preference is to have a volume pedal near the front of my chain most of the time, but I would put an autoswell AFTER my gain pedals, just to avoid any weirdness with quickly changing volume into my fuzz and distortion pedals.
I don't know what kind of keys you're playing, but I'd imagine for more piano-like sounds, you might have some success. If you're thinking more about organ, synth pads, or any sustained keys, you might not get much as out of the effect, because the sound is sustained with a consistent volume and the attack is less distinct. Just my assumption based on how the pedal works. If you see one in a store, try one out and see if it works for your style! I played around with one a little while ago and I imagine it could still be fun with some non-guitar instruments.
Nope. The Velocity is wrong. I couldn't find a demo, so I just bought it. But it didn't work... so I returned it. For anyone reading this & considering TC SOT Pedals, I have the EchoBrain & the Choka. They are a fine fit√
Jeff Ali I had a Slow Engine so I am interested in the Pedal Shootout between the Mooer Slow Engine and the Crescendo. The slow engine is great for the cost but yes it has noise. So I'm considered replacing it but I'd like to see them side by side to stay with mooer or fork the dough for the TC. Autoswell is a must for what I do, it helps me limit multitasking. thinking about playing and manually working a volume pedal with my foot wasn't working well for me. Thanks to Bill for all he shares. Much appreciated as an aspiring ambient player.
I personally use both a volume pedal and an auto-swell dependent on the piece. The results can be similar, but ultimately, there is more flexibility with a volume pedal.
whwnever youre just noodling, if you threw the chords or tabs up in the corner, that would be a nice touch to the channel. I always watch youtube with a guitar in my hand.
This line of TCE pedals is currently only available through Guitar Center/Musician’s Friend in the US. The MF website is currently showing it not available until 2/16. GC’s site says it’s only available in some stores. Which could all be due to this being a new pedal.
I know this post is a few months old, but just to update anyone interested - I ordered it in early March from GC, and it was on back order until the end of the month at that time. And that was just updated to 4/13. I don't know if I'll ever see this pedal.
Yes, really. The sensitivity control needs to be set to trigger the pedal correctly which depends on the signal strength hitting the pedal. Once set up for your guitar and pedals it can be left alone. Also, the pedal cuts the signal like a noise gate once the signal level falls below the sensitivity setting. Setting the sensitivity too high takes away sustain. In fact the pedal generally reduces sustain because of that though running a compressor or compressing overdrive into it helps.
For those interested in pedal modifications :
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a great affordable "Slow Gear" clone. Stock it do short volume swells very well but it definitely lack versatility. Here is the magic modification : Add a switch to change the value of the C12 capacitor between 1uF (stock : short attack) and 22uF (long attack). Long volume swells are now available. Enjoy! ;-)
Super, merci Jean-Pierre. Comment faire? As-tu des démos/diagrammes?
Bonsoir, désolé pour le délai!
En fait, le circuit est très facile à travailler. La plaquette est de bonne qualité et les composantes amplement espacées et clairement identifiées sur le circuit. Il suffit de localiser le condensateur "C12" et de le désouder. C'est un condensateur électrolytique de 1uF. Il faut noter son orientation sur le circuit pour respecter sa polarité pour les étapes subséquentes. Bref, une fois le condensateur enlevé, souder deux fils dans les trous désormais vacants. Relier ces deux fils aux terminaux du centre d'un interrupteur DPDT. Resouder le condensateur de 1 uF précédemment enlevé sur les terminaux d'une des positions de l'interrupteur et souder un autre condensateur d'une valeur de 22uF (ou plus!) sur les terminaux de l'autre position. Encore une fois, respecter la polarité. Voilà!
En position 1uF le swell est stock. En position 22uF le swell est plus lent.
Pour ce qui est de l'emplacement de l'interrupteur sur le boîtier, c'est vraiment génial car il y a l'espace nécessaire directement au centre juste au-dessus de l'inscription "CRESCENDO". Résultat super propre. ;-)
Pour ce qui est de l'opération : Le crescendo est 100% analogique. De manière simplifiée c'est un détecteur d'enveloppe qui actionne un VCA (amplificateur commandé en tension). Donc, quand un signal audio est détecté, le condensateur se charge (volume ascendant)... il doit se décharger pour revenir à son état initial (volume descendant et coupure). Il faut donc arrêter de jouer brièvement (picking, mute, etc.) pour remettre le volume à zéro. Avec un condensateur plus gros, le swell est plus lent et le retour à zéro est également ralenti un peu. Perso, j'aime le swell lent pour les accords et les courtes phrases. C'est un circuit qui répond énormément à la dynamique du musicien.
Bonne expérimentation.
Always went crazy in the 80s trying to figure how Andy summers got the chord swells on “driven to tears” and “when the world is running down”. It was the boss pedal. (Slow gear). This is an affordable copy
I legit went looking for reviews for this pedal, and yours came up first. Didn't know it was you though! Saw you and immediately thought, Oh this is EXACTLY the guy I wanted to hear from about this pedal! Thanks for the cool review!
The Bob Ross of Ambient guitar..."that wasn't a wrong note, just a happy little accident..."
Some happy little Ds ...
Спасибо за обзор!!! 🤝🏽 У меня такая педалька есть. Я заметил, что отдельные ноты она обрабатывает лучше, чем полный аккорд. Теперь хочу поэкспериментировать: купить педаль с эффектом "blender", с помощью которой данную педаль, представленную на этом обзоре, скоммутировать с иной педалью. Ещё раз благодарю за обзор! Senky very much! 🤝🏽 🤝🏽🤝🏽🤝🏽
Hey Bill, have you ever tried velcro-ing or taping a couple of small planks across both a volume pedal and a wah? You could swell them together in unison? Could make for some interesting experimenting. :)
Kind regards from England!
😆
in that experiment the only thing that I have money left for is the wooden plank .
This or the MOOER SLOW ENGINE?? Thanks!
It is a great stand-alone pedal, thank you Bill for the demo!! I have a multi effect Boss ME-80, which is kinda of an entry level board. Interestingly however, it contains an implementation of their famous Slow Gear of yesteryears (which is hard to find now and more more expensive to purchase by itself than the entire ME-80 board!). This TC pedal is a great 'new slow gear'. Appreciate you demoing.
Have you ever thought about incorporating some slide guitar into your ambient style? I think that mixed with some other stuff you do could be crazy good!
I have thought about it from time to time, as I used to use slide back in the day.
Been wanting to pick up one of these babies, seems like a sweet pedal!
It is very nice indeed!
Nice one Bill. Just bought one! Thanks for the review.
Thanks!
Nice review Bill. I tried out one of these pedals in a guitar store and liked it but I found that if I picked a note and let it ring, the note cut off much more quickly than it should and in an unmusical manner. Did you notice such a phenomenon at all?
I have not noticed anything like that. I suspect it's a matter of playing with the controls and perhaps putting a compressor in front to smooth out the dynamics of what is hitting the Crescendo.
Gary, did you buy a Crescendo in the end? I've just got one but it's doing just what you described.
i recently acquired this pedal. im just about ready to get rid of my volume pedal to make way for more toys.
Nice!!
Great review 🎶 🎸
Really great stuff, thanks for sharing
The Creseendo is very twitchy about the level of the input signal, I use a Rush buffer/ booster before it to suit the dynamics of my playing for best effect.
I sold my Behringer Slow Motion because it controlled (has cut) the END of the sound, too, and I didn't like it. Does this do the same thing or no ?
Hey Bill! I just grabbed one of these myself, and I've noticed it adds a light distortion to my cleanest tones. Have you noticed anything similar?
Nope
Thank you so much for this review. I´m just buying it!!! :-) Have a wonderfull day
Got my sub. U seem like a very chill dude!
Does it clip off the natural sustain if you let the sound ring?
Not that I have noticed.
Thank you very much!
Hello. First of all, great video and a great channel. Secondly, I have a question: does it make sense to buy Crescendo Auto Swell if I have volume pedal?
I think that is a question for you to decide. Do you ever have a need for a device to do swells while you are doing something else with your feet? If so, then an auto swell can make sense. Also, it may be that you can create fast short swells with the pedal faster than your foot.
Chords Of Orion With my free foot, I could try to add the wah effect to my swells :-D Every pretext is good to buy a new toy ;-) Thanks for the answer. Greetings from Poland :-)
leonfmis perhaps yes. I prefer an auto swell as I find it difficult to play guitar and use my feet at the same time (I am a very average player.)
And where can we obtain this pedal?
How does It respond to fast flurries of notes ala Allan Holdsworth? Does It have definition for every note at speedy licks? Great vid and great demo :D
In general, as long as the input of an auto sweller sees signal that is above the threshold you've set, it will not clamp down on the output, thus allowing your flurry of notes to get through. As soon as you stop your strings from vibrating in order to dip your signal below the threshold, an auto sweller will shut off its output and wait until it sees signal that crosses the threshold before starting the next swell. I do not own an auto sweller, so please take my comment with a grain of salt.
Cool sounding pedal - I guess it’s a copy of the old Boss Slow Gear pedal that sells for silly money on eBay. Is there any reason you put the pedal after the overdrive rather than before?
I normally place my volume pedal after an overdrive, so it made sense to me to place the Crescendo in the same position. But there's no reason why you couldn't switch the order.
If you put a volume pedal/autoswell pedal in front of a gain pedal, it will work like rolling your volume knob on your guitar - more/less signal hitting the gain pedal, which means less drive/distortion when the signal is quieter, and more when it's louder. That means the tone will probably shift a bit depending on the volume coming in from an autoswell. If the autoswell comes after your gain pedal(s), the driven sound will be sound the same, just louder or softer. My preference is to have a volume pedal near the front of my chain most of the time, but I would put an autoswell AFTER my gain pedals, just to avoid any weirdness with quickly changing volume into my fuzz and distortion pedals.
It worries me that this might not translate to Keys on account of the "Sensitivity" perimeter. Any thoughts?
Yeah, that is a possibility. I am pretty sure this pedal is voiced for guitars.
Thanks for the reply :]
I don't know what kind of keys you're playing, but I'd imagine for more piano-like sounds, you might have some success. If you're thinking more about organ, synth pads, or any sustained keys, you might not get much as out of the effect, because the sound is sustained with a consistent volume and the attack is less distinct. Just my assumption based on how the pedal works. If you see one in a store, try one out and see if it works for your style! I played around with one a little while ago and I imagine it could still be fun with some non-guitar instruments.
Nope. The Velocity is wrong. I couldn't find a demo, so I just bought it. But it didn't work... so I returned it.
For anyone reading this & considering TC SOT Pedals, I have the EchoBrain & the Choka. They are a fine fit√
Thanks for the review, is it better than the Mooer Slow Engine?
I think so, although I need to do more direct comparison. One thing is sure - it is a lot quieter than the Mooer pedal.
Jeff Ali I had a Slow Engine so I am interested in the Pedal Shootout between the Mooer Slow Engine and the Crescendo. The slow engine is great for the cost but yes it has noise. So I'm considered replacing it but I'd like to see them side by side to stay with mooer or fork the dough for the TC. Autoswell is a must for what I do, it helps me limit multitasking. thinking about playing and manually working a volume pedal with my foot wasn't working well for me. Thanks to Bill for all he shares. Much appreciated as an aspiring ambient player.
How many have you got?
lol, thanks for the explanation Jeff! :) I was concerned you may be uni-footed.
Thanks!!!
Would volume pedal be an upgrade for this, or do you see the need for both of these in the rig?
using two at once can really smooth out a longer volume swell.
I personally use both a volume pedal and an auto-swell dependent on the piece. The results can be similar, but ultimately, there is more flexibility with a volume pedal.
ser davos ?
whwnever youre just noodling, if you threw the chords or tabs up in the corner, that would be a nice touch to the channel. I always watch youtube with a guitar in my hand.
Bob Ross for guitar pedals?
Hard pedal to find.
its kind of a new pedal. should be able to pick it up online somewhere.
This line of TCE pedals is currently only available through Guitar Center/Musician’s Friend in the US. The MF website is currently showing it not available until 2/16. GC’s site says it’s only available in some stores. Which could all be due to this being a new pedal.
I know this post is a few months old, but just to update anyone interested - I ordered it in early March from GC, and it was on back order until the end of the month at that time. And that was just updated to 4/13. I don't know if I'll ever see this pedal.
Kept the sensitivity knob to the left the whole video......really?
Yes, really.
The sensitivity control needs to be set to trigger the pedal correctly which depends on the signal strength hitting the pedal. Once set up for your guitar and pedals it can be left alone.
Also, the pedal cuts the signal like a noise gate once the signal level falls below the sensitivity setting. Setting the sensitivity too high takes away sustain. In fact the pedal generally reduces sustain because of that though running a compressor or compressing overdrive into it helps.