Walrus audio Descent

£285

ORIGIN: USA TYPE: Reverb pedal FEATURES: True bypass CONTROLS: Dry Mix, Reverb Time, Diminish, Tweak, Wet Mix, Dry Signal, - 1,+ 1, Hall/Reverse/ Shimmer switch, preset footswitch, bypass footswitch CONNECTIONS: Standard input, standard outputs (L, R), exp pedal input, Remote (for a dual footswitch) POWER: 9V DC adaptor (not supplied) 140mA DIMENSIONS: 143 (w) x 117 (d) x 40mm (h) FACE bvba +32 3 844 67 97 www.walrusaudio.com

The Descent is a reverb pedal that may suit players who are keen on altered ambiences. Key to this is the fact you get two knobs to feed octaves – one below and one above – into the reverberated signal. Hall, Reverse and Shimmer reverb modes are selectable from a toggle switch and each has a range of parameters to adjust from five knobs, including Diminish and Tweak knobs, which have different functions for each mode. A Dry Signal knob controls how much of your instrument sound is going through the reverb. Set it at zero and only the octaves will go to the reverb, but at maximum, your whole dry signal goes to the reverb along with any octaves that you’ve dialled in.

Juxtaposing eight knobs to get to your favourite sounds can be time-consuming, especially as the Descent precludes any graduation marks around the knobs. However, the unit can store three presets (each indicated by a different colour LED), recalled using the second footswitch. There’s the facility to add a two-channel remote footswitch to take care of bypass and preset switching, and an expression pedal can also be connected to control single or multiple parameters.

For standard reverb and ambient sounds, the Hall reverb will give you a range of perceived differently sized spaces from small room to cavernous. Adding in octaves moves things into a different realm: the lower one adds depth and, at full strength, can give the sense of a bass playing along, while the upper octave provides icy top end shimmer. The Shimmer reverb mode itself sounds like a solid curtain of reverb hanging behind your guitar, which is great for adding texture, but takes on more life when you bring in the octaves – almost like adding a string section with the upper and balancing that with a sense of weighty depth with the lower. Reverse reverb can be a little gimmicky, but there are plenty of parameters here to tweak it and it can also be used as a single repeat delay for retro-billy slapback if you don’t want to dial in background ambiences. A carefully set up and wielded expression pedal will let you fade this in and out, creating a shifting soundscape of massive ambiences. [TC]

VERDICT The Descent box is packed full of ambiences to fill out your sound with plenty of creative control. Well worth the money, especially if you like to tweak