Dude! Can't explain how much that means to me. Thank you so much! And you're gonna LOVE that pedal. Never hesitate to drop a line if you have any questions about it :)
The Meris's big units are machines from the future. I'm waiting for the Enzo's big brother and the Hedra's big brother too. Thanks for all these years sharing with us all your wisdom and music! 💖💖💖
@@thepedalzone I guess 2024 it's time for the Enzo X. The "sweet words" are simply fair. I desire you the best Stefan. You're a humble and lovely dude. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Because of you I bought the X and LVX from your original reviews. They still amaze me today. Money well spent. I don't need many pedals now. Yes, they are a little complex but you get the hang of them and can never get bored with them. They are like Star Trek, you can keep exploring space..........
The LVX is soooo good and the desktop prEditor is brilliant - not sure I need a MercuryX - the 7 does me just fine - but I can't wait to see what Meris do next. and what any firmware updates might bring to LVX and more...
This is a video I keep coming back to. I think the fact that these are you favorite pedals is expounded by your playing and tones. You're synergizing wonderfully and its obvious you admire these pedals.
I laughed out loud when I saw the (ambient drone intensifies) shirt- had to grab that on a sweatshirt! Perfect for cold mornings with coffee and ambient playing!
As a long-time PedalZone viewer, I'm really proud of myself for guessing that you were gonna bring up the Dispatch Master exactly when you did. My favourite pedal ever is still the TKoG Mini-Glitch. I keep it at the end of my signal chain for when I need some chaotic, glitchy fuckery to completely destroy any sense of cohesion in my sound. It has seriously reformulated my approach to improvising, whether I'm making ambient jams or formulating another noise manifesto.
Happy to hear you're deep into the TPZ lore :D Dispatch Master will forever be special to me. And thanks for dropping your own favorite pedal. Actually never heard of that one, but glitchy stuff is always fun. I'll check it out :)
It's hard to beat that meris stuff.. It just feels like another level to sound. To be able to sculpt your own algorithm basically is insane!! My jaw is still on the floor and it's been over a year.
I post comment for the first time. I always enjoy and learn from your videos. I love Meris LVX too. I'm intersted in Death By Audio Space Bender. I'll get it someday. My favorite pedal is Empress ZOIA. It realizes my ideas.
If I narrowed down to just delay and reverb, I STILL couldn't choose ten favorites. There's a hole in my heart for every delay or reverb that I've sold to make room for others.
The only creator on YT that I agree with EVERY pick 100%. Those last 2 of course are on my bucket list. The way my life has been going and will go for the foreseeable future, it will unfortunately either be a long, long time before I ever get to even think about getting them... or it won't happen at all. But man... I want them sooo bad. Especially the LVX though it's a close thing. Idk... maybe a miracle will happen. Every single one of these are perfect pedals. Man. This video just sounded awesome. Love the stuff you write for these dude.
More than likely your name, address, every known associate, every digital id of every digital device you've ever used, and your full biometric profile, including dna sequence, typing cadence on keyboard and phone screen, eye movement patterns, gate (walking) cadence, retinalprints, fingerprints, brain wave signature, heart wave signature, voice formant signature, etc. are already in a database, and your name on a list for indefinite conscription into the military, where you will be extinguished in the mud like most other people of your generation. So, I'd keep your bucket list quite small. I mean, do you not know you're about to be drafted into the first and last global nook uuar? Do you not know that your nation is already at vvar? It's all a joke though, right? It won't apply to you, am I right? It's only a felony and 5 years in jail if you refuse, that's just a joke too, plus after your incarceration (as if you'll survive your time in prison without contracting a couple hepatitises, hiv, and other terminal sexually transmitted diseases, with no treatment, of course, as life saving pharmaceuticals are already being rationed, aka unavailable, ask me how I know, and as if you won't be physically taken out of the prison, va>
@@ngronlund - I would definitely recommend checking out the Meris Polymoon. It uses stacked cascading delay lines mixed with pre and post-stage modulation. All things that Robin Guthrie enjoyed to mess around with. It will definitely give you instant Cocteau Twins tones
When I think of pedals i couldn’t part with, the few that immediately come to mind are the Earthquaker Life Pedal, Whammy 5, Collision Devices Black Hole Symmetry and the Gamechanger Light Pedal. Maybe the Meris Ottobit Jr, too.
First saw your video for the OBNE Reverse and I bought that. Then I added the Avalanche Run and Life Pedal 3 because of that same demo. You're a good shepherd, I love those pedals the most. Astral Destiny/Life Pedal combo is fun for me.
Really honored to hear you picked up those pedals on the back of my demos. And it's even better to hear that you are having a lot of fun with all of them :)
No clue what the Hyper Light Drifter is, but I'm assuming it isn't a Steelheading fishing boat designed for the pacific northwest's heavy flowing snow melt rivers?
Honored to hear that I inspired you to pick up Merc7. Its reverb is just perfection to me. And I definitely hope you get to try a Slicer. It’s so crazy but soooo much fun 🤩
I got a Slicer a few months ago and never had so many ideas in such a short amount of time from turning knobs on it. Tempo changes, rhythms, just all of it's little quirks. I love it.
Great video Stefan. All hail the Dark Star! If I could only have one pedal (god forbid!), Dark Star would be a top contender. I'll also never stop loving my old Boss CE-5, and I couldn't do without my EHX Mel9. I could go on...
My pedalboard is still quite young, but I definitely have a soft spot for the Avalanche Run (the reverse delay is just so good). Though you're definitely making me more curious about the Screen Violence; I keep hearing really nice things about it, especially as a modulation pedal.
Avalanche Run is top tier as well. Love that pedal. And yeah, definitely give Screen Violence a go, if you get the chance. I thought that I would just be using it for glorious stereo ambience, but it's those divine edge-of-breakup tones and absolutely monstrous modulation/doubler tones that keep me coming back
I agree - dispatch master is a staple on my gigging pedal board - I feel I can do anything with the pedal. It’s perfect - and so easy to use - that why I love it live.
Yeah, there's no real downside to that pedal. Plug-and-play simple. Easy to adjust on the fly. And it just sounds amazing no matter where you set the controls.
I thought the Afterneath pedal would make this list, like 100% sure. Also, no Chase Bliss? Wasn't expecting that. Great video! The Boss Slicer... I need that one for sure
I really adore the Afterneath. It is a very important pedal to me, and if you had asked me a couple of years ago, then it would definitely have been in the top 10. Now it's probably more in the top 15 ;) But like I said at the end, you always feel like you end up leaving something out and hurting a pedal's feelings, and the Afterneath is definitely something that can make me second guess myself and my choices at times. I love Chase Bliss and their constant striving for making something that's completely different to anything else out there, but I often also find them a bit overwhelming and also difficult to get consistent repeatable results from. But that's also a part of their charm. That said, I haven't tried their Generation Loss yet, and that one definitely seems like it would tick all the lo-fi boxes for me. Definitely give the Slicer a go. It's such a crazy fun pedal :)
I love the playing on this channel - it would be great to hear more about your song writing/playing style, it always sounds amazing - though I always fall into the trap of thinking if I buy the pedal I will sound like Stefan!! 😂
Thank you so much, man! Really means a lot to me. Just start to lean in to some open tunings (DADGAD is a good place to start), turn on some delay and reverb, and just try to play as dynamically and intentfully as possible. That's all I seek to do every time :)
Happy you enjoyed the video and happy I was able to surprise you even though it was just a little bit 😊 Slicer rocks. Definitely give it a whirl if you get the chance
Pedal lists are irresistible to pedal heads. Mine is on the caveman side. NYC Big Muff Caroline Somersault MXR Phase 100 Boss DD-8 DBA Micro Dream EQD Dispatch Master EQD Plumes Behringer Super Fuzz My last pick is like two pedals or 100 Chroma Console All are usually glued to the board.
ha yep it's a monthly reordering of my fav's! You're the reason I finally jumped into the CB waters and got a mood as well as reinvigorated my love with the dark star. Keep up the great work! :)
LVX & MercuryX, though new, are landmark pedals for me in a way the Timeline & BigSky (which I appreciate and still use), are not. They stand head and shoulders above for me. Polymoon & Mercury7 are great but the way the larger versions extend their functionality is so satisfying. Plus pretty much everything is true stereo wet, which is tough to find.
Excellent list, man! For me... Honorable Mentions: Caroline Arigato, Walrus Monument, Walrus Lillian, Old Blood Haunt, Old Blood Black Fountain, Earthquaker Afterneath, Earthquaker Westwood 10. Damage Control Glass Nexus 9. Caroline Meteore 8. Walrus Audio Lore 7. Walrus Audio Slo 6. Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water 5. Walrus Audio Fable 4. Old Blood Dark Star 3. Earthquaker Dispatch Master 2. Old Blood Signal Blender 1. Old Blood Expression Ramper Utility pedals at 1 and 2 might seem strange, but they take my other pedals into completely uncharted territory.
Boomster, remember though, this MF has guitar chops that are very up to chop. Purchasing one of these pedals instead of a car may leave you a bit jaded, as your playing may not even approach chop factor 10 like this MoFo. Perhaps they could digitize this MF, install his digitized consciousness into a pedal, which is sold with a couple of robotic arms you can wear like a back pack, that play your guitar through one of these Meris pedals, and suddenly you actually sound good? I think that's the only way these reviews would actually be relevant to a viewer.
Honored to hear you enjoyed my KMA Horizont demo. I think that demo was my first full foray into the world of stereo. It was a transcending experience sitting in the middle of its hypnotising stereo swirls. Still a lovely pedal that means a lot to me.
I've been spending the past half-year looking for a new stereo/dual delay pedal. I had been using the Vox DelayLab, which sounds great, but is HUGE. So far, I've tried SA Collider, Boss DD-200, Keeley Halo, Strymon Timeline, and the Empress Echosystem. The Boss, Halo, and Echosystem were my favorites, but I'm 99.9% decided on the Echosystem. It's just so good. It's digital, tape, and bbd delays are the best I've heard. The pedal is super versatile with so many routing options. I absolutely love stereo delay. My favorite type of pedal.
But the time knob is unusable. Try to go slower than 10-11 on knob setting and its broken, unless thats what you want I guess, though I haven't liked it nor seen any demos of good use for it.
Oh, what a list. Some very nice choices on there and I bet it was tough to narrow it down like that. At least for me it would be pretty tough to get it to only a few. Maybe I should try..
Definitely give it a shot. I always enjoy your end of year lists, so a Top 10 Faves from you sounds very cool to me. Happy you enjoyed the video. It was actually less tough to narrow it down than I thought it would be. Still worried that I might have hurt a couple of pedals feelings though :D
The screen violence is brilliant for shoegaze. Here are my top ten: 1. Strymon El Capistan V2 2. Past Fx Chorus Ensemble 3. Asheville ADG-1 4. Crazy Tube Circuits Unobtanium 5. Origin Effects DCX 6. Thorpy FX Peacekeeper 7. Benson Germanium Preamp 8. Strymon Cloudburst 9. Origin Effects Magma 57 10. Diamond Compressor CPR-1 I also really want the Diamond vibrato but I already own the chase bliss warped vinyl hifi and a few other pedals that can achieve vibrato so it would feel redundant.
@@thepedalzone Can you give me your suggestion. I already have a Meris Mercury X and I'm in a dilemma about the delay pedal between Str. Timeline and M. LVX.
Thank you so much! Actually not using a reverb after it, but I was using a subtle multitap delay from Meris LVX just to give the overall sound a bit of stereo width. That's all :)
Cool! Never tried that one, but Thermae is one of the best sounding analog delays I've ever played, so can only imagine Tonal Recall would be of similar quality
Would love to try that screen violence Some of my favorites (in no particular order) 1. Strymon El Capistan V2 2. Red Panda Particle V2 3. Meris MercuryX 4. Chase Bliss MOOD 5. Diamond Vibrato 6. Benson Preamp 7. Boss SY-1 8. Eventide H90 9. Greer Lightspeed 10. Meris LVX
Definitely give Screen Violence a go, if you get the chance. It's incredible! And that's a solid Top 10 you got going there as well. Particle was a really close contender for my top 10 as well, but it probably sits more in the top 15 :)
Hello Stefan! Love your videos. Not only I get to discover new pedals, I also learn from your musicianship. Thank you! I just got the Dark Star the other day. So happy with the sounds i can create especially with the faux cello violin going on. Just one thing, I notice a volume drop when it's 100% wet, delay mode. Do you also get this? Just wanted to know. Thank you!
Reverbs and delays loom large in my top 10. And if I had to pick just four pedals, Meris would take half. My favourites are: 1. Meris Mercury X. 2. Meris LVX. 3. Chase Bliss Mood mk.II. 4. Boss DM-101. 5. Surfybear Classic. 6. Soma Labs Cosmos. 7. Walrus Eons. 8. Sunn O))) Life Pedal V3. 9. Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water. 10. KMA Audio Machines Queequeg 2.
@@thepedalzone Such great pedals around these days. And I'm kind of cheating, since those are all more big box / multi-function / system in a box pedals. Or highly variable circuits, like the Eons. But I would definitely be happy with a pedalboard of those on a desert island, though maybe I'd swap the octave for a compressor/boost, like the Union Transistor & Tube, Airchild, Hyperluminal or Cali'76. Since Life Pedal does have an Octaver. Would be a big pedal board though.
Love both of those pedals, and if I had extended the list a bit, then they would definitely appear. I really hope Meris bring out an Enzo in their new big box format
@thepedalzone Tensor, Boss Slicer and Boss SY 200..Definitely a couple more on your list I would like to have. I have been looking at the Meris LVX for awhile now..
I love love love my Red Panda Particle. I absolutely could not live without it, however I’ve been really interested in the Tensor. Do you think they are different enough to have on the same board?? Different beasts or relatively the same? What are your thoughts? As always excellent video, all the best Stefan!
The Tensor and Slicer have been on my radar for awhile - they both sound amazing. I was a bit underwhelmed though, by the Dispatch Master, Dark Star and Space Bender...all great pedals, just didn't bond with them. :)
I dont own pedals, but i love demos. 1. OBNE Dark Star 2. EQD Data Corrupter 3. KMA Tyler 4. KMA Horizont 5. ZeroFiveAudio Voodoo 6. Meris Mercury7 7. Redux Electric metric 3-Band EQ 8. Caroline Meteore 9. Blackstone Electric MOSFET Overdrive 10. OBNE Float
My favourite delay/verb combo has been the OBNE Procession and Caroline Kilobyte. The Megabyte may have more features, but (at least from what I've heard online) has a different character than the OG Kilobyte. I couldn't find a bad setting with those two, regardless of which one was first in the chain.
My fav pedals (with synths) are Moog Clusterflux and TWA Little Dipper 2. You need to reamp the Little Dipper with synths, tho... it can't take the heat.
Here are some of my favourites: Collision Devices - Black Hole Symmetry GFI - Specular Tempus JPTR FX - Katastrophe JPTR FX - Add Violence KMA - Astrospurt KMA - Moai Maea Lichtlaerm - Aesahaettr Digitech - Obscura & Polara
I cant chose between the cirrus, avalanche run and the minim, which would you recommend? Your videos are too good for each of them and makes me want all three ❤
Avalanche Run if you want more classic ambience (and if you play in stereo), Cirrus for more deep dynamic ambient and experimental soundscapes (it is almost a small multi-fx unit). Minim if you want more shoegaze focused textures.
No never. Don't have time for that. But I'm honored to hear that you want to be able to explore my playing style. Things that will get you 90% of the way there is to tune your guitar to an open tuning (DADGAD is a good starting point), add some delay and reverb, and off you go :)
The Tensor reverse example had me swimming in a modern sounding Jimi Hendrix dreamscape. Just beautiful playing and ideas. The other pedals are all amazing, but the two (three) other standouts had to be the Screen Violence which I got after seeing your video on it, and man, it opens up another sonic world when both sides are engaged. Also, the Merris pedals. They sound as modern and beautiful as I could imagine any pedal ever sounding. As always, I am struck by your taste in your playing and your ideas. I have said it before, but if you release a CD I will buy it! Cheers.
Thanks for all the kindness, buddy! Tensor's reverse sounds is just to die for. Hands-down the best reverse effect I own. Honored to hear that my video inspired you to pick up a Screen Violence. That pedal is just immense!
@thepedalzone awesome Thank you so much and keep up the great work/content. When ya gonna start serving the US Market with pedals? I'm sure that's a big undertaking, but I know I'd buy from you
Funny question. Like saying what’s your favourite tool? Well, it depends what you need to do with it. (Not sure what the point of bringing your mug of beverage into the shot was exactly. Shameless plug?)
Mainly use low-gain overdrive and fuzz. But have also used the KMA Wurm2 a lot, which is based on an HM-2, and sits somewhere between distortion and fuzz. But a video on my favorite dirt pedals might be worth doing. Dirt is often overlooked/neglected on my part, even though I love it, since delay, reverb and modulation are more ingrained into my style, whereas fuzz is something I’ve grown to love over the years
I wouldn't say they are similar. Tars is a classic fuzz with a synth-style low-pass filter. Lysis is an octave fuzz with a variable LFO filter. So Lysis is definitely more of a one-stop synth machine than Tars is. Both are killer pedals, but it all comes down to what you and your musical context needs :)
Haha! Wah has never really been my thing. It's just a bit one dimensional. I love filter pedals though, and I love Metallica :) Raster is rad as well. One of the most insane stereo delay machines money can buy
Stefan, can I ask you about the Slicer SL-2? Do you find you place it more often at the end of the chain, before time based, or before drive and close to input?
All depends on what kind of sound I want to achieve, but I probably do use it before time-based stuff like 80-90% of the time, even though it's super fun to place it at the very end of the chain and just let it slice and dice everything :)
You sold me at least three of them, but that’s only because you didn’t add the Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water (shame on you), otherwise it would have been four. And of course I would love to add the two Meris pedals, but sometimes you have to make different choices depending on the depth of your wallet. 😅
It really is an impressive device, and I applaud Empress for daring to make it. I do hope they make an editor for it though at some point, or make a new version with a bigger screen, because it is extremely overwhelming to use. It definitely taught me that I thrive best creatively when I have some set limitations :)
All really great pedals. And making a choice between Dispatch Master and Avalanche Run is always really tough for me, but Dispatch Master always just wins out on pure nostalgia and the massive importance it plays in my journey into the world of "boutique" effects.
Just ordered the Screen Violence from your shop! I'm really happy to be able to support you in another way besides just on YT. Cheers, mate!
Dude! Can't explain how much that means to me. Thank you so much! And you're gonna LOVE that pedal. Never hesitate to drop a line if you have any questions about it :)
It is a killer pedal!! I have just been playing through it and it sounds amazing.
Yeah, I've had it for 3 days and am loving it. Every sound is great, and there is a lot of them! @@beachcomber4141
The Meris's big units are machines from the future. I'm waiting for the Enzo's big brother and the Hedra's big brother too. Thanks for all these years sharing with us all your wisdom and music! 💖💖💖
A big box Enzo would be the stuff dreams are made of. Hope it happens. And thanks for all the sweet words. Means so much to me 🙏
@@thepedalzone I guess 2024 it's time for the Enzo X. The "sweet words" are simply fair. I desire you the best Stefan. You're a humble and lovely dude. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
@@thepedalzoneI’m hoping for an Ottobit/Enzo/Hedra combo big box, just imagine that combined with the LVX and MercuryX… 🤤
@@thepedalzone A big box Enzo would be basically a DAW in a pedal. It's already a very complex multi-FX unit. An X version would just be ENORMOUS.
@@ShallieDragon Bigger is better! 🤣🤣🤣
Because of you I bought the X and LVX from your original reviews. They still amaze me today. Money well spent. I don't need many pedals now. Yes, they are a little complex but you get the hang of them and can never get bored with them. They are like Star Trek, you can keep exploring space..........
Agreed. They’re both amazing and hard to beat.
Really awesome to hear that you're enjoying MercX and LVX so much. They are indeed two sonic dream machines.
The LVX is soooo good and the desktop prEditor is brilliant - not sure I need a MercuryX - the 7 does me just fine - but I can't wait to see what Meris do next. and what any firmware updates might bring to LVX and more...
This is a video I keep coming back to. I think the fact that these are you favorite pedals is expounded by your playing and tones. You're synergizing wonderfully and its obvious you admire these pedals.
Thanks, dude! Really means a lot to me that my excitement for these devices can be felt and heard on the other end of the screen 😊
I laughed out loud when I saw the (ambient drone intensifies) shirt- had to grab that on a sweatshirt! Perfect for cold mornings with coffee and ambient playing!
Thanks for grabbing some merch. Really appreciate the support. And I'm happy to hear that my weird idea made you laugh. Makes it all worth it :D
As a long-time PedalZone viewer, I'm really proud of myself for guessing that you were gonna bring up the Dispatch Master exactly when you did.
My favourite pedal ever is still the TKoG Mini-Glitch. I keep it at the end of my signal chain for when I need some chaotic, glitchy fuckery to completely destroy any sense of cohesion in my sound. It has seriously reformulated my approach to improvising, whether I'm making ambient jams or formulating another noise manifesto.
Happy to hear you're deep into the TPZ lore :D Dispatch Master will forever be special to me.
And thanks for dropping your own favorite pedal. Actually never heard of that one, but glitchy stuff is always fun. I'll check it out :)
I expected it when I saw the thumbnail for this video. How OG does that make me?
Amazing video dude! So good to see the SY-200 and SL-2 on there. Legendary tones to aspire to as always.
Really enjoying your playing. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much!!
It's hard to beat that meris stuff.. It just feels like another level to sound. To be able to sculpt your own algorithm basically is insane!! My jaw is still on the floor and it's been over a year.
Yeah, they really are on a wizard-like level when it comes to sound design
I post comment for the first time.
I always enjoy and learn from your videos.
I love Meris LVX too.
I'm intersted in Death By Audio Space Bender.
I'll get it someday.
My favorite pedal is Empress ZOIA.
It realizes my ideas.
If I narrowed down to just delay and reverb, I STILL couldn't choose ten favorites.
There's a hole in my heart for every delay or reverb that I've sold to make room for others.
I know that feeling all too well ❤️🩹
19:00 that sound is amazing!
Heck yeah! Nick Reinhart made that synth-swell preset for LVX and it’s my favorite sound in it. Just sounds so dreamy
@@thepedalzone Definitely dreamy! First thing that came to my mind was to sample this into my Korg DSS-1 and Casio SK-2100!
I loved your list. As usual you showed me some new machines i had no idea existed. I do have a an addition though! I
The only creator on YT that I agree with EVERY pick 100%.
Those last 2 of course are on my bucket list. The way my life has been going and will go for the foreseeable future, it will unfortunately either be a long, long time before I ever get to even think about getting them... or it won't happen at all.
But man... I want them sooo bad. Especially the LVX though it's a close thing.
Idk... maybe a miracle will happen.
Every single one of these are perfect pedals. Man. This video just sounded awesome.
Love the stuff you write for these dude.
More than likely your name, address, every known associate, every digital id of every digital device you've ever used, and your full biometric profile, including dna sequence, typing cadence on keyboard and phone screen, eye movement patterns, gate (walking) cadence, retinalprints, fingerprints, brain wave signature, heart wave signature, voice formant signature, etc. are already in a database, and your name on a list for indefinite conscription into the military, where you will be extinguished in the mud like most other people of your generation.
So, I'd keep your bucket list quite small. I mean, do you not know you're about to be drafted into the first and last global nook uuar? Do you not know that your nation is already at vvar?
It's all a joke though, right? It won't apply to you, am I right? It's only a felony and 5 years in jail if you refuse, that's just a joke too, plus after your incarceration (as if you'll survive your time in prison without contracting a couple hepatitises, hiv, and other terminal sexually transmitted diseases, with no treatment, of course, as life saving pharmaceuticals are already being rationed, aka unavailable, ask me how I know, and as if you won't be physically taken out of the prison, va>
Thank you for your wonderfully inventive playing.
Cheers, man! Really kind of ya ❤️
@@thepedalzone I’m looking for “Robin Guthrie in a Pedal”. Is there a best pedal or combination of pedals that you can recommend?
@@ngronlund - I would definitely recommend checking out the Meris Polymoon. It uses stacked cascading delay lines mixed with pre and post-stage modulation. All things that Robin Guthrie enjoyed to mess around with. It will definitely give you instant Cocteau Twins tones
When I think of pedals i couldn’t part with, the few that immediately come to mind are the Earthquaker Life Pedal, Whammy 5, Collision Devices Black Hole Symmetry and the Gamechanger Light Pedal. Maybe the Meris Ottobit Jr, too.
First saw your video for the OBNE Reverse and I bought that. Then I added the Avalanche Run and Life Pedal 3 because of that same demo. You're a good shepherd, I love those pedals the most. Astral Destiny/Life Pedal combo is fun for me.
Really honored to hear you picked up those pedals on the back of my demos. And it's even better to hear that you are having a lot of fun with all of them :)
Oh my God, prophecy fulfilled, "You're a good shepherd, you direct me to good purchases."
The end is nigh, indeed.
That OBNE Dark Star reminds me SO MUCH of the Hyper Light Drifter soundtrack in the best possible way. Seriously such an amazing cinematic sound!
One of my favorite soundtracks. Just so much nostalgia present in his amazing compositions and sound designs
No clue what the Hyper Light Drifter is, but I'm assuming it isn't a Steelheading fishing boat designed for the pacific northwest's heavy flowing snow melt rivers?
The Mercury 7 is on my board because of your original review. Now the SL-2 might be joining!
Honored to hear that I inspired you to pick up Merc7. Its reverb is just perfection to me. And I definitely hope you get to try a Slicer. It’s so crazy but soooo much fun 🤩
I got a Slicer a few months ago and never had so many ideas in such a short amount of time from turning knobs on it. Tempo changes, rhythms, just all of it's little quirks. I love it.
Same here!! As well as the Screen Violence. My favorite guitar pedal reviewer BY FAR.
Yea, the Slicer is one of my favorite pedals of the last years. It's damn inspiring!
It's so freaking cool!
Great video Stefan. All hail the Dark Star! If I could only have one pedal (god forbid!), Dark Star would be a top contender. I'll also never stop loving my old Boss CE-5, and I couldn't do without my EHX Mel9. I could go on...
My pedalboard is still quite young, but I definitely have a soft spot for the Avalanche Run (the reverse delay is just so good). Though you're definitely making me more curious about the Screen Violence; I keep hearing really nice things about it, especially as a modulation pedal.
Avalanche Run is top tier as well. Love that pedal. And yeah, definitely give Screen Violence a go, if you get the chance. I thought that I would just be using it for glorious stereo ambience, but it's those divine edge-of-breakup tones and absolutely monstrous modulation/doubler tones that keep me coming back
I agree - dispatch master is a staple on my gigging pedal board - I feel I can do anything with the pedal. It’s perfect - and so easy to use - that why I love it live.
Yeah, there's no real downside to that pedal. Plug-and-play simple. Easy to adjust on the fly. And it just sounds amazing no matter where you set the controls.
Screen Violence may have been my fave- as far as simple layout box. Incredibly inspiring tones throughout man. Great to see you again.
That pedal is just so freaking well thought out. So simple to use, but contains sooooo many sounds. And it just sounds ginormous in stereo
I got the Screen Violence after watching Stefan's review of it and I am so glad I did. What amazing sounds.
I thought the Afterneath pedal would make this list, like 100% sure. Also, no Chase Bliss? Wasn't expecting that. Great video! The Boss Slicer... I need that one for sure
I really adore the Afterneath. It is a very important pedal to me, and if you had asked me a couple of years ago, then it would definitely have been in the top 10. Now it's probably more in the top 15 ;) But like I said at the end, you always feel like you end up leaving something out and hurting a pedal's feelings, and the Afterneath is definitely something that can make me second guess myself and my choices at times. I love Chase Bliss and their constant striving for making something that's completely different to anything else out there, but I often also find them a bit overwhelming and also difficult to get consistent repeatable results from. But that's also a part of their charm. That said, I haven't tried their Generation Loss yet, and that one definitely seems like it would tick all the lo-fi boxes for me. Definitely give the Slicer a go. It's such a crazy fun pedal :)
@@thepedalzone Thanks for answering, Stefan! Cheers
Your playing is some of the most original stuff ive ever heard and i listen to a lot of shit lmao mindblowing honestly
Wow! Thank you so much for the candid and kind words. Means a lot to me 🙏❤️
I love the playing on this channel - it would be great to hear more about your song writing/playing style, it always sounds amazing - though I always fall into the trap of thinking if I buy the pedal I will sound like Stefan!! 😂
Thank you so much, man! Really means a lot to me. Just start to lean in to some open tunings (DADGAD is a good place to start), turn on some delay and reverb, and just try to play as dynamically and intentfully as possible. That's all I seek to do every time :)
@@thepedalzone thanks for the tip! :)
Walrus Audio Melee is one of my favs… such an awesome and diverse pedal.
Definitely looks like a fun device :)
Another great video! The only surprise for me was the Boss Slicer! Gotta take a deeper dive on it, thank you
Happy you enjoyed the video and happy I was able to surprise you even though it was just a little bit 😊 Slicer rocks. Definitely give it a whirl if you get the chance
Thank you for the long backwards loop on the tensor ., I have one and was wondering about its backward looping
Can you use an expression pedal to do that drop in pitch thing on the dark star ..?
Thank you
Yes, you can use an expression pedal to control the pitch on Dark Star
It was a wonderfull list i agree with all of them, luv ur playin bro
Pedal lists are irresistible to pedal heads. Mine is on the caveman side.
NYC Big Muff
Caroline Somersault
MXR Phase 100
Boss DD-8
DBA Micro Dream
EQD Dispatch Master
EQD Plumes
Behringer Super Fuzz
My last pick is like two pedals or 100
Chroma Console
All are usually glued to the board.
ha yep it's a monthly reordering of my fav's! You're the reason I finally jumped into the CB waters and got a mood as well as reinvigorated my love with the dark star. Keep up the great work! :)
LVX & MercuryX, though new, are landmark pedals for me in a way the Timeline & BigSky (which I appreciate and still use), are not. They stand head and shoulders above for me.
Polymoon & Mercury7 are great but the way the larger versions extend their functionality is so satisfying. Plus pretty much everything is true stereo wet, which is tough to find.
You play live with stereo wet, or just jam, or record at home?
Excellent list, man!
For me...
Honorable Mentions: Caroline Arigato, Walrus Monument, Walrus Lillian, Old Blood Haunt, Old Blood Black Fountain, Earthquaker Afterneath, Earthquaker Westwood
10. Damage Control Glass Nexus
9. Caroline Meteore
8. Walrus Audio Lore
7. Walrus Audio Slo
6. Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water
5. Walrus Audio Fable
4. Old Blood Dark Star
3. Earthquaker Dispatch Master
2. Old Blood Signal Blender
1. Old Blood Expression Ramper
Utility pedals at 1 and 2 might seem strange, but they take my other pedals into completely uncharted territory.
totally agree on the utilities, mission expressionator and obne signal blender are in my top 5 for sure
always have the best demos - we need 10 favourite ways to play pedals like this!11
Thank you very very much!
Wow..i have decided that you are number 1 for reviews on you tube..always look forward to your vids..very cool..Thank you.
Awwww, man! Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️
Boomster, remember though, this MF has guitar chops that are very up to chop. Purchasing one of these pedals instead of a car may leave you a bit jaded, as your playing may not even approach chop factor 10 like this MoFo.
Perhaps they could digitize this MF, install his digitized consciousness into a pedal, which is sold with a couple of robotic arms you can wear like a back pack, that play your guitar through one of these Meris pedals, and suddenly you actually sound good?
I think that's the only way these reviews would actually be relevant to a viewer.
I would have put money on the KMA Horizont being on here. It's probably my favorite demo you've ever done (with respect to all of the others!!)
His Dark Star demo slightly edges out Horizont and Data corrupter for me.
Honored to hear you enjoyed my KMA Horizont demo. I think that demo was my first full foray into the world of stereo. It was a transcending experience sitting in the middle of its hypnotising stereo swirls. Still a lovely pedal that means a lot to me.
I've been spending the past half-year looking for a new stereo/dual delay pedal. I had been using the Vox DelayLab, which sounds great, but is HUGE. So far, I've tried SA Collider, Boss DD-200, Keeley Halo, Strymon Timeline, and the Empress Echosystem. The Boss, Halo, and Echosystem were my favorites, but I'm 99.9% decided on the Echosystem. It's just so good. It's digital, tape, and bbd delays are the best I've heard. The pedal is super versatile with so many routing options. I absolutely love stereo delay. My favorite type of pedal.
Holly Molly!!! I am only at the beginning but OMG that Tensor demo!🤤
Cheers, man! Tensor is just the coolest!
But the time knob is unusable. Try to go slower than 10-11 on knob setting and its broken, unless thats what you want I guess, though I haven't liked it nor seen any demos of good use for it.
Oh, what a list. Some very nice choices on there and I bet it was tough to narrow it down like that.
At least for me it would be pretty tough to get it to only a few. Maybe I should try..
Definitely give it a shot. I always enjoy your end of year lists, so a Top 10 Faves from you sounds very cool to me. Happy you enjoyed the video. It was actually less tough to narrow it down than I thought it would be. Still worried that I might have hurt a couple of pedals feelings though :D
How delightful to see you again...feel like its been a sec
Good to have you back. I'm here almost every week :)
10:05 - Sounds like a riff that belongs on Super Mario Galaxy
Well that's definitely not a bad thing!
The screen violence is brilliant for shoegaze.
Here are my top ten:
1. Strymon El Capistan V2
2. Past Fx Chorus Ensemble
3. Asheville ADG-1
4. Crazy Tube Circuits Unobtanium
5. Origin Effects DCX
6. Thorpy FX Peacekeeper
7. Benson Germanium Preamp
8. Strymon Cloudburst
9. Origin Effects Magma 57
10. Diamond Compressor CPR-1
I also really want the Diamond vibrato but I already own the chase bliss warped vinyl hifi and a few other pedals that can achieve vibrato so it would feel redundant.
I got the diamond vibrator in green, right as im rewiring my board, so I haven't been able to use it yet.
with the meris big units its like you can replace the mood and microcosm all in one
Great video, thanks. Mercury X and LVX ❤
Thank you! And yes, they are amazing. The ambient dream team
@@thepedalzone Can you give me your suggestion. I already have a Meris Mercury X and I'm in a dilemma about the delay pedal between Str. Timeline and M. LVX.
MercuryX is magical and so inspiring
Sure is! I deeply adore it
Boy, you really manage to get beautiful dreamy sounds from the Tensor. What reverb are you using after it?
Thank you so much! Actually not using a reverb after it, but I was using a subtle multitap delay from Meris LVX just to give the overall sound a bit of stereo width. That's all :)
Chase Bliss Tonal Recall for me, desert Island pedal I cannot live without
Cool! Never tried that one, but Thermae is one of the best sounding analog delays I've ever played, so can only imagine Tonal Recall would be of similar quality
Love your videos man!
Thank you so much, man!
Would love to try that screen violence
Some of my favorites (in no particular order)
1. Strymon El Capistan V2
2. Red Panda Particle V2
3. Meris MercuryX
4. Chase Bliss MOOD
5. Diamond Vibrato
6. Benson Preamp
7. Boss SY-1
8. Eventide H90
9. Greer Lightspeed
10. Meris LVX
Definitely give Screen Violence a go, if you get the chance. It's incredible! And that's a solid Top 10 you got going there as well. Particle was a really close contender for my top 10 as well, but it probably sits more in the top 15 :)
Oh my God - Du spiller lige lovlig lovely !
Du er sgu da alt for sød ❤️🙏
Hello Stefan! Love your videos. Not only I get to discover new pedals, I also learn from your musicianship. Thank you! I just got the Dark Star the other day. So happy with the sounds i can create especially with the faux cello violin going on. Just one thing, I notice a volume drop when it's 100% wet, delay mode. Do you also get this? Just wanted to know. Thank you!
Reverbs and delays loom large in my top 10. And if I had to pick just four pedals, Meris would take half. My favourites are: 1. Meris Mercury X. 2. Meris LVX. 3. Chase Bliss Mood mk.II. 4. Boss DM-101. 5. Surfybear Classic. 6. Soma Labs Cosmos. 7. Walrus Eons. 8. Sunn O))) Life Pedal V3. 9. Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water. 10. KMA Audio Machines Queequeg 2.
Nice ones, man!
@@thepedalzone Such great pedals around these days. And I'm kind of cheating, since those are all more big box / multi-function / system in a box pedals. Or highly variable circuits, like the Eons. But I would definitely be happy with a pedalboard of those on a desert island, though maybe I'd swap the octave for a compressor/boost, like the Union Transistor & Tube, Airchild, Hyperluminal or Cali'76. Since Life Pedal does have an Octaver. Would be a big pedal board though.
i love your channel. thanks for all the wonderful videos 🙂
So sweet of you. Thank you!
Pyramids and Enzo better be on here! Lol hyped to watch this
Heck, they weren't, but excited to see you talk about the new Slicer!
Love both of those pedals, and if I had extended the list a bit, then they would definitely appear. I really hope Meris bring out an Enzo in their new big box format
strymon nightsky into a chase bliss generation loss mk 2 is very trippy. also the Neon Egg Planetarium 3 is worth the one year waiting list.
I'm glad that you demonstrated these instead of a talk fest! Thanks
Sounds and music will always be the most important thing here. I’m fully aware that I’m not a interesting 😹
Awesome video and concept
Thanks a ton!
I own three of the 10...not bad....great video as always..thanks!
Cheers, man! Which 3 do you own?
@thepedalzone Tensor, Boss Slicer and Boss SY 200..Definitely a couple more on your list I would like to have. I have been looking at the Meris LVX for awhile now..
I love love love my Red Panda Particle. I absolutely could not live without it, however I’ve been really interested in the Tensor. Do you think they are different enough to have on the same board?? Different beasts or relatively the same? What are your thoughts? As always excellent video, all the best Stefan!
love this list!
Cheers, man! Really great to hear you enjoyed it 😊
The Tensor and Slicer have been on my radar for awhile - they both sound amazing. I was a bit underwhelmed though, by the Dispatch Master, Dark Star and Space Bender...all great pedals, just didn't bond with them. :)
Love my Dark Star!
It's just the best!
Useful video👍👍 left out the Mood mk2?
Happy you enjoyed the video! 😊 Haven’t played a Mood MkII, so can’t rate it.
I dont own pedals, but i love demos.
1. OBNE Dark Star
2. EQD Data Corrupter
3. KMA Tyler
4. KMA Horizont
5. ZeroFiveAudio Voodoo
6. Meris Mercury7
7. Redux Electric metric 3-Band EQ
8. Caroline Meteore
9. Blackstone Electric MOSFET Overdrive
10. OBNE Float
What's the guitar? The pedals are amazing of course but that dry tone was incredible
It's a Balaguer Espada Ambient. Happy you dig the core tone :)
@@thepedalzone hi, is this baritone version? What is the tuning? Thanks
My favourite delay/verb combo has been the OBNE Procession and Caroline Kilobyte. The Megabyte may have more features, but (at least from what I've heard online) has a different character than the OG Kilobyte. I couldn't find a bad setting with those two, regardless of which one was first in the chain.
That's one heck of a solid combo. Love both of those pedals a lot as well
That space bender is sick
Heck yeah! It’s so insanely wild. Love it to pieces 😍🔥
Check out the Walrus Audio Meraki.
My fav pedals (with synths) are Moog Clusterflux and TWA Little Dipper 2. You need to reamp the Little Dipper with synths, tho... it can't take the heat.
Do you have video for the Chase Bliss Clean coming?
awesome! you're a man of good taste!!!
Thank you very much!
Here are some of my favourites:
Collision Devices - Black Hole Symmetry
GFI - Specular Tempus
JPTR FX - Katastrophe
JPTR FX - Add Violence
KMA - Astrospurt
KMA - Moai Maea
Lichtlaerm - Aesahaettr
Digitech - Obscura & Polara
Nice ones!
Looove this ❤
Thaaaaank you :)
My favourite pedals are MERIS Mercury X, Chase Bliss Mood 2 and Red Panda Raster 2....
Nice ones! All three are people/brands who really seek to innovate and push sound design to new levels, and I'm so happy they exist
would love for you to demo a mr. black blood moon chrome!
That silent build-up before the slurp 😂
I cant chose between the cirrus, avalanche run and the minim, which would you recommend? Your videos are too good for each of them and makes me want all three ❤
Avalanche Run if you want more classic ambience (and if you play in stereo), Cirrus for more deep dynamic ambient and experimental soundscapes (it is almost a small multi-fx unit). Minim if you want more shoegaze focused textures.
Do you ever write your tunes down into tab? I'd love to be able to play some of your riffs, they're beautiful!
No never. Don't have time for that. But I'm honored to hear that you want to be able to explore my playing style. Things that will get you 90% of the way there is to tune your guitar to an open tuning (DADGAD is a good starting point), add some delay and reverb, and off you go :)
The Tensor reverse example had me swimming in a modern sounding Jimi Hendrix dreamscape. Just beautiful playing and ideas. The other pedals are all amazing, but the two (three) other standouts had to be the Screen Violence which I got after seeing your video on it, and man, it opens up another sonic world when both sides are engaged. Also, the Merris pedals. They sound as modern and beautiful as I could imagine any pedal ever sounding. As always, I am struck by your taste in your playing and your ideas. I have said it before, but if you release a CD I will buy it! Cheers.
Thanks for all the kindness, buddy! Tensor's reverse sounds is just to die for. Hands-down the best reverse effect I own. Honored to hear that my video inspired you to pick up a Screen Violence. That pedal is just immense!
The SY200 sounds like Oneohtrix Point Never in a pedal.
Okay. I hope that's a good thing :D
The question I keep asking is where do I hear your music/bands
On your preferred streaming services. Sky Architects, Cloud Anthems and Don't Come Looking For Us all have my guitar work on them
@thepedalzone awesome
Thank you so much and keep up the great work/content.
When ya gonna start serving the US Market with pedals? I'm sure that's a big undertaking, but I know I'd buy from you
Funny question. Like saying what’s your favourite tool? Well, it depends what you need to do with it. (Not sure what the point of bringing your mug of beverage into the shot was exactly. Shameless plug?)
What do you use for dirt? Fuzz or Distortion?
Mainly use low-gain overdrive and fuzz. But have also used the KMA Wurm2 a lot, which is based on an HM-2, and sits somewhere between distortion and fuzz. But a video on my favorite dirt pedals might be worth doing. Dirt is often overlooked/neglected on my part, even though I love it, since delay, reverb and modulation are more ingrained into my style, whereas fuzz is something I’ve grown to love over the years
@@thepedalzone Noooice. I'll check it out. Cheers bud!
So would you say you like the SolidGold Lysis V2 more than the CD TARS? Seems like they do fairly similar things.
I wouldn't say they are similar. Tars is a classic fuzz with a synth-style low-pass filter. Lysis is an octave fuzz with a variable LFO filter. So Lysis is definitely more of a one-stop synth machine than Tars is. Both are killer pedals, but it all comes down to what you and your musical context needs :)
I guessed like 3 😂 But I really thought you'd include HABIT by Chase Bliss 😊
Well done guessing 3! I think Habit is super cool, and it would probably appear in a Top 15, but for now, this is the Top 10 for sure.
No wah?? How ya gonna Kirk Hammet? Jk great list. The Red Panda Raster slightly edges out the Tensor for me but they are both absolute power houses.
Haha! Wah has never really been my thing. It's just a bit one dimensional. I love filter pedals though, and I love Metallica :) Raster is rad as well. One of the most insane stereo delay machines money can buy
Stefan, can I ask you about the Slicer SL-2? Do you find you place it more often at the end of the chain, before time based, or before drive and close to input?
All depends on what kind of sound I want to achieve, but I probably do use it before time-based stuff like 80-90% of the time, even though it's super fun to place it at the very end of the chain and just let it slice and dice everything :)
10. Chase Bliss & Meris CXM 19878
9. Chase Bliss - Thermae
8. Vongon and Land - Onset / Attack/Decay
7. DBA - Space Bender
6. Drolo - Stamme[n] v4
5. Fairfield Circuitry - Roger That
4. Pladask Elektrisk - Feber
3. Chase Bliss - Gen Loss Mk 2
2. Cooper FX - Arcades
1. Dwarfcraft - Ghost Fax
Best Utils:
5. Morningstar - MC8
4. OBNE - Signal Blender
3. DSM Humboldt - Simplifier MK II
2. Cooper FX - Signal Path Selector
1. Morningstar - MLX10
Awesome selection, man! Lot of pedals there that I've never tried
Im gonna get eurorack builder ALMs new pedal.
You sold me at least three of them, but that’s only because you didn’t add the Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water (shame on you), otherwise it would have been four. And of course I would love to add the two Meris pedals, but sometimes you have to make different choices depending on the depth of your wallet. 😅
It is probably obvious to many, but what guitar are you playing, exactly. Is it the Japanese Jazzmaster?
I was curious too as it's super sharp. It's named in his notes of what gear he used, a Balaguer Espada Ambient
@@eddienothing9610 Great - thanks a lot!!
It's a Balaguer Espada Ambient. Always list the gear in use in the video description, if you're ever in doubt about a piece of gear :)
@@thepedalzone Thanks a lot! Looks like a wonderful guitar indeed.
Surprised Shallow Waters isn’t on here!
Epic pedal, and it would definitely have been on there a couple of years ago, but for now, this is what the list looks like :)
The Empress Zoia: truly limitless possibilities.
It really is an impressive device, and I applaud Empress for daring to make it. I do hope they make an editor for it though at some point, or make a new version with a bigger screen, because it is extremely overwhelming to use. It definitely taught me that I thrive best creatively when I have some set limitations :)
You could have demo’d most of those pedals using the Alex lifeson chord.
The Lifeson chord?
@@thepedalzoneI just googled "The Alex Lifeson chord". It really is a thing too. Try it. 😀👍
It’s like saying, “These are my favorite bands/albums/musicians EVER, so far.”
Exactly
Must say VISITOR by OBNA, MOOD by Chase Bliss and AVALANCHE RUN from EQD deserve a mention..
All really great pedals. And making a choice between Dispatch Master and Avalanche Run is always really tough for me, but Dispatch Master always just wins out on pure nostalgia and the massive importance it plays in my journey into the world of "boutique" effects.
Best compressor for me? Yara2 by Ohmless
It's a good one for sure
11:01 that's just flexing. Feels like a magic trick 'cause you think "he just passed it to the other hand" but then he lifts both.
😅😂🤣