An expansion we can all get behind.
After dipping their toes into the pedal pond back in 2019 with the Komorebi BBD Chorus/Flanger, Dreadbox have announced four colourful new effects pedals to join their rapidly-growing roster.
Summary
- Dreadbox have solidified their stompbox range with five effects: the previously announced Komorebi BBD Chorus/Flanger, Kinematic Compressor/Filter, Lethargy 8-Stage Phaser, Darkness Stereo Reverb and the soon-to-be-released Raindrops Stereo Delay.
- Three units in the range feature CV inputs to play kindly with a range of Eurorack modules.
- Each new pedal is available to order today and will ship some time this April.
Discover all the latest Product News here.
Dreadbox Effects
As the worlds of ambient music and modular synthesis have bloomed in recent years, we’ve seen a noted trend with manufacturers creating effects to suit more than just the needs of the average guitarist.
These new units from Dreadbox – who you’re probably more familiar with as a synth manufacturer – exemplify this pattern perfectly, with all units sharing a similar intuitive design and feature set to that of the previously released Komorebi to make them suitable for desktop users. Let’s check out the range in its entirety.
Dreadbox Kinematic
A handy combination of an analogue VCA Compressor and a Filter, the Dreadbox Kinematic looks to be a nifty tool for shaping the sound of your drum, bass, synth or guitar signal.
The Compression side of the Kinematic can juice your signal up by a chunky +18dB, while a band-boost filter and hardcore compression ratio lets you achieve all those classic pumping effects you know and love.
On the Filter side, you can use the large filter knob in conjunction with a level, drive and envelope control to sculpt your tones, with the cutoff, level and output of the filter also being able to be patched out via CV.
Dreadbox Lethargy
For squelchy, subaquatic tones, you just can’t beat an analogue phaser, which makes the eight-stage Dreadbox Lethargy a unique offering from the brand. It packs a wide-ranging LFO with triangle and square waves, while controls for Rate, Manual, Feedback and Amount let you dial in the weirdness and shape some gnarly resonant frequencies.
Like its blue compatriot, Dreadbox have equipped the Lethargy with a trio of patch points to control Manual, Rate and LFO Out, which could prove to be lethal when sent off to another synthesiser or drum module. That being said, this one would also sound a treat on an electronic piano, and we wouldn’t mind running a guitar into it either.
Dreadbox Darkness
As the name might imply, the Dreadbox Darkness excels in delivering cavernous, shimmering reverbs akin to those heard on classic synth soundtracks like Blade Runner. It makes use of a 32bit/48kHz DSP to power its immersive tones, and boasts variable time scale with modulation and a selectable pitch shift of +/- semitones.
The pedal also offers up to 30 seconds of decay time and a versatile two-pole damping filter with high-pass and low-pass capabilities, while other add-ons include a Freeze and Gate function.
While there’s no patch points on this one, there is true stereo inputs and outputs to make it a worthy solution for synths and shoegaze guitarists looking to dip into expansive, blooming reverbs with a difference.
Dreadbox Raindrops
Finally, there’s the Dreadbox Raindrops; a feature-packed Stereo Delay and Looper with a neat teal and pink colour scheme. There’s not much in the way of information for the Raindrops yet, as it’s expected to land with dealers a little later than the rest of the pedals in this new range.
Given from what we can see from the images Dreadbox have released, it’s looking like the Raindrops will feature controls for Time, Feedback, Mix and Control parameters, with a smaller toggle switch and two footswitches also included in the equation for good measure. Needless to say, we’re excited to hear more about it soon.
Find out more about each new pedal via Dreadbox today.
