Missed everything that's gone on in the gear world this week? Never fear - we've got you covered.
This week, we’ve got our sights set on two very cool pedal collaborations from ZVex and Chase Bliss and EarthQuaker Devices and Death By Audio, plus a new USB microphone from PreSonus, a feature-packed podcast mixer from Behringer and more.
1. ZVex x Chase Bliss Bliss Factory
In case you missed it, Reverb are making an entire movie about the humble stompbox – fittingly titled The Pedal Movie – and to celebrate, they’ve lined up a number of sweet collaborations between some of the most respected names in the pedal universe today.
Perhaps the most enticing of the bunch is the Bliss Factory: a collaboration between ZVex and Chase Bliss that packs the raucous circuit of the Fuzz Factory inside a Chase Bliss chassis, complete with digitised controls and a huge array of expressive capabilities.
In addition to all the standard features offered by the Fuzz Factory, the limited edition Bliss Factory packs a low-pass filter and a toggle to adjust its character, as well as to control the functions of the MIDI/footswitch input. The digital brain of the pedal allows for a range of preset, ramp and expression controls, while an all-analogue signal path delivers that filthy fuzz tone you know and love. We’re hooked!
2. PreSonus Revelator
The PreSonus Revelator sees the company set their sights on the burgeoning podcast sector, debuting a multi-pattern condenser microphone with cardioid, figure-of-eight and omnidirectional polar patterns to suit a range of different applications. On a surface level, the Revelator looks like a typical USB microphone – but once you dig beneath the surface, it’s clear that there’s a whole lot more on offer here.
Touting the unit as ‘more than just a USB microphone’, PreSonus have integrated the Revelator with the same voice effects processing found in their StudioLive range, with their Fat Channel DSP allowing users to add vocal effects, compression and EQ to their signal with ease. The microphone also features dual channel loopback functionality to showcase on-screen audio while simultaneously speaking, making it a choice pick for gamers and streamers alike.
The Revelator also boasts an inbuilt headphone amplifier for direct monitoring, and can be connected to your device via USB-C. These ones are expected to land in Australia this January – keep your eyes peeled for them soon!
3. Death By Audio x EarthQuaker Devices Time Shadows
Another exciting collaboration for Reverb’s The Pedal Movie, the Time Shadows is said to fuse “an insane synth buzz bazooka sound on the EarthQuaker side and a multi-intertwined delay filter remorphinator of cosmic waves on the Death By Audio side.”
A by-product of the two builders designing an effect around one of EarthQuaker’s circuit boards, the Time Shadows can be tweaked via a trio of Delay Time, Filter Cutoff and Filter Span knobs. Players can choose between each side of the pedal via the central toggle switch, with each side giving off spectacularly different – but equally brilliant – results.
Hear the pedal in action below, and duck over to Reverb to order your own today.
4. Behringer FLOW8
The audio world is really going bananas for podcasting and streaming this year, and Behringer’s latest offering only reaffirms that further. A comprehensive digital mixer similar to that offered by RØDE and Zoom, the FLOW8 allows for eight inputs, a graphic EQ and two effects processors, and boasts the ability to be controlled by USB, Bluetooth and remotely via Behringer’s own mobile app.
The FLOW8 also makes use of an EZ-GAIN feature to automatically adjust channel gain for optimum headroom, which could act as a god-send for those who are new to monitoring and working with audio. The mixer can be controlled via any Apple or Android device, and even features a little stand for you to rest your device on while you’re working – now that’s intuitive.
5. Revv Generator MkIII
Now, here’s an absolute monster! The all-tube Revv Generator MkIII amplifier range might just be one of the most exciting tube amp releases of the year, with the company offering three different models loaded with five 12AX7 preamp tubes and four 6L6GC power tubes to pack a whole lot of oomph.
Each amp in the series – the 120, 100P and 100R – feature independent EQs per channel, as well as three different drive modes on the crunch channel, a noise gate, digital reverb, dual master volumes and an aggression switch to bump your signal into scorching hot overdrive.
Despite their immense power, each Revv Generator can be attenuated courtesy of a Two Notes Torpedo stereo XLR output, letting you go all the way down to 10 watts for ideal studio work. There’s even a Two Notes speaker emulated output that can be controlled via Bluetooth, and a Twin Tracker mode to beef up your signal for an even thicker tone. Huge!
Never miss a story – sign up to our mailing list for all the latest news, reviews, features and giveaways.
