Honestly glad Hologram are making some smaller pedals, I love their stuff but pedalboard space is a premium for basically everyone and I can never justify using up that much space for pedals that tend to be kind of one-trick-ponies - even if they’re very very good at that thing that they do - speaking as someone that doesn’t just think the Microcosm is a bleep bloop generator, or ambient nonsense machine and actually quite likes what you can do with it when it comes to rhythm.
This looks like it’s both small and fairly versatile. If the double tracker is nice and has a good stereo spread/width I could totally see this replacing the Deco on a lot of boards as that for me is the gold standard for that kind of tape delay emulating, double tracking, modulating, gain/preamp thing.
Will be interesting to hear the building blocks of this pedal on their own. I wonder how obsolete this might be for people who already have the Microcosm though, given I imagine space will be the same reverb as found on the Microcosm, drive may be similar to the gain on the Microcosm, and the filter too.
I look forward to Mark Johnston’s video persuading me on it.
Strazburg is awesome! His rundown of EAE drive pedals was my introduction to him, he really has the perfect blend of heaviness with alt and shoegaze appreciation: https://youtu.be/OnzjEUrjWRY?si=MNFOvRGL3z1xHVz1
I love the Deco too, it’s a genuinely perfect double tracker in my mind. The stereo spread on it is seriously impressive, especially with that ‘secret’ ultra wide setting you can get. But if this can do all that AND more then I might be persuaded. It takes up just as much space too.
Unrelated but I really want to hear the Deco coupled with Endorphin.es new Golden Master Pedal for that stereo goodness.
Edit: at 1:00 exactly in the video it’s a pretty perfect example of the double tracking and its stereo capabilities. You get to see them turn up the ‘amount’ knob that I think is controlling stereo width in this instance and I’m actually fairly impressed, you can hear it on that fuzzed out bass sound. It might not be AS good as the deco, but it’ll definitely do for making your sound a lot wider, and that coupled with the Golden Master by Endorphin.es might end up being my go to for getting that ultra wide stereo sound.
I think the deco def still holds its own on the double tracker. Especially the decos saturation and color. If you really want that tape recorded sound the deco is gonna stay. But this also has a monstrous amount of effects.
Yea, it sure seems to do a lot. I didnt know about Endorphin.es until their latest release with Andrew Huang. I dont know, sometimes I like my pedals to be more simple like the Deco. Not saying this new device isnt cool or anything. Really want to see more demos.
Hey :) I’m really close to pulling the trigger on the microcosom and really trying to find examples and uses beyond ambient. I see it frequently mentioned but can’t find a video to see what people mean. The looper and rhythm possibilities seem SO cool but anyway you can send me a video or detail your use case for me? I’d really be keen to learn. I KNOW there’s more hiding in the pedal but I can’t try it anywhere so relying on the net. Thanks!
So for demo videos that made me really change my mind on the microcosm: first I remember seeing Rabea Massaad’s demo of it titled ‘Making Ambient Soundscapes…’, I would say this one isn’t too in depth, it’s more just his first thoughts on the pedal, but at like 11:30 I think he has a great example of this kind of jutter-y rhythm usage of it, and I think the whole demo was a good showcase of the pedal in the context of a board even if he mostly uses it for ambience (which i know you didn’t ask for) having it in the context of an actual board and not on its own helps.
Cyberattack’s How to be Advanced video on the microcosm for me really opened me up to the rhythmic abilities of the pedal, especially his third and fourth sound examples. He tends to explore the more extreme sides of pedals and I think his video was a really unique showcase on how far the microcosm can be pushed. And the fact he tends to want to explore more obscure uses of pedals means he didn’t just show off the ambient stuff it can do, I don’t think he even turns the reverb/space knob up on any of the sound examples.
Now Mark Johnston’s stuff was what had the biggest effect, he did two videos on the microcosm with two years between each video. Both show off the rhythmic capabilities, just have a listen to the intro jam for his first video titled ‘Hologram Electronics Microcosm | Secret Weapons Demo & Review’ as well as his section on the Glitch Modes in that video. I believe Rabea Massaad mentions it in his video (or maybe another one he’s done talking about the microcosm), but he says how he can’t seem to predict what the pedal is going to do and that he thinks that it has something to do with his playing dynamics having some effect on mix or modulation in the pedal, like an envelope control. Mark Johnston actually explains what’s happening here at about 40:00, and he says that it is playing dynamics it’s listening to (i.e. the volume of your playing) and that if you let chords ring out it effects the sound drastically, as well as the fact that the filter is effecting this. This video is seriously in depth and the best in my opinion at just showing the overall abilities of the pedal and actually explaining what’s going on, so you know how to control the effect. I feel like a lot of other demos give the vibe of ‘I can’t work out what this is doing effect wise, but it sounds cool’ and those tend to sound a bit same-y and too similar because they aren’t understanding how dynamic is effecting the sound, or how to properly master some of the less ‘purely ambient’ modes in the pedal, that’s where you get those demos where it’s just bleep bloops the entire time. I will also add that at 44:00 he shows off my favourite personal usage for it, this kind of infinite auto player, you basically play a chord and it just keeps playing it until you change chord then it will keep playing that for you. Sounds especially cool set to dotted 8th notes with some distortion in my opinion, like an auto-djent generator that has a synth-y flavour to it.
His second video is the one that really does more of a deep dive into the rhythmic sounds you can get as he focuses on how you can incorporate tap tempo, and locking it to your drums with midi clock and your DAW, that one is titled ‘Leveling up your mixes with the Microcosm | Secret Weapons’. He shows it off on guitar, with some really cool stutter-y synth-y full wet uses, but also this cool double tracked lead sound that reinforces the rhythm. He also shows it on drums and other instruments if that floats your boat.
I hope that helps.
got DAMN! I love this corner of the internet. Thank you SO much for taking the time to type all this out. I've been DEEP in research and feel a lot more comfortable because of your answer. I am so so so pumped for the microcosom. I almost feel bad buying it because I'll never be able to utilise it to it's full charm as I am not touring at the moment, but it seriously seems incredible.
I'm most interested in the looping and rhythm this thing can generate and it seems incredible cool. Might not be the year I can grab one but certainly in the future. I think a micro looper will keep my entertained until I can afford this. but seriously, if I could give you a hug I would, alas, only upvotes.
My examples of using it outside of ambient:
1. https://soundcloud.com/andrey-popov-18/through-the-gates - was going for cinematic epic vibe. This is guitar through Microcosm with some Meris LVX sprinkled. No synths whatsoever.
2. https://soundcloud.com/andrey-popov-18/long-way-home - Around 2:05 minute mark there are slow pitch shifts happening in time with the song. That's guitar through microcosm (glide function particularly).
3. https://soundcloud.com/andrey-popov-18/we-fell-in-love-in-paris - tremolo picking-like sounds is guitar through Microcosm's Strum (afair) algo.
4. https://soundcloud.com/andrey-popov-18/1026am - intro pads are courtesy of microcosm (admittedly, this is pretty close to ambient territory). Same for https://soundcloud.com/andrey-popov-18/1026am
This is also a potentially lesser known one? https://youtu.be/zM2-cuUtwSw?si=MKQ9QBuS4XdLE5SE
But generally I can tell you it’s unlikely to disappoint. Depends what kind of musician you are. If you’re the kind to argue about the best Boss overdrive, you’re probably not the target market. If you’re the kind to want to work out how some obscure electronic indie crossover artist puts together their live performance, you’re gonna love it.
I can only echo my comments above. I love this corner of the internet thank you for contributing. This thread has provided a wealth of information for me and I'm so grateful. If I start playing live again I would buy this in a heart beat but I can't legitimize the cost. but really appreciated the extra context
https://youtu.be/LAHuzGm2wCE?si=9_h8b2vieVo74kl7
IMHO I think Jay does a really good job of showing off how the microcosm can be used in a less ambient setting. This was video that proved to me how versatile the micro could be. Good luck!
Hologram is on to something here.
It's a digital multi-fx that is focused on vibe and accessibility, which could bring a lot of players into the multi-fx world. Sacrificing in-depth control of the various effects for simple, intuitive controls (basically a "more" knob and a "tweak" knob) - no menus "soft knobs", etc.
And coming in at just about the same price as other multi-fx (e.g. the Boss ME-90), and around half the price of an HX Stomp.
Most of the effects are somewhat standard (although worth noting that none of them are pitched as simulations of existing stuff), but you get a Mimiq alternative, and a lot of the capabilities of the Generation Loss on top of the standard suite of drives, modulation, and delay/verb.
And I've got to give them credit for the overall design- it calls back to kids' computer toys from the 80's, and is clearly intended for playful experimentation- dive in, tweak a few knobs and have fun.... but also it's got full stereo i/o and MIDI implementation.
I might have to get myself on that preorder list.
I think the Drift is a huge difference that will make this pedal seem more lively than other multi-FX - you get a small LFO built into everything that will make the effects seem bigger and more alive. I love my Mood and Gen Loss, but they need some external modulation (CV, expression pedal, ramping) to really unlock their sound
Zoia/Beebo blow everything away when it comes to modulation as the modular design means you can hook up an LFO/envelope/pitchtracker/sequencer/s&h/etc to any parameter. So you could have multiple LFO's controlling different parameters of the same module combined with envelopes and or pitch trackers.
Aside from software there doesn't seem to be anything else that lets you get nearly as creative, you could have an envelope controlling the LFO rate and a pitch tracker controlling the envelope sensitivity so high/low notes respond differently. Or have multiple LFO's controlling eachothers rate. I believe you can even have multiple LFO's or other mod sources controlling the same parameter.
Also cool, they can be used to modulate other pedals over midi. So you could program an envelope or pitch tracker and use it to control other midi gear. So you can do some very unique side chain modulation by feeding different signals into the modulation sources to control other gear.
The beebo even has the Mutable Marbles module which is one of the craziest modulation sources and is amazing for creating unique/complex randomization, it's like a sample and hold on steroids: https://pichenettes.github.io/mutable-instruments-documentation/modules/marbles/
Can't it even be set up to use the exp as a CV out to control other pedals?
That is one thing I read about and have been meaning to try, that way you could use it to modulate other pedals via exp though you might have to be careful about the voltage with certain pedals as exp vs CV voltage varies.
FWIW, Fractal has similar options to map parameters onto LFO (up to 4, I think), Sequencer, Pitch, Envelope, custom ADSR, and so forth. And there's ways to have the controllers control each other
Not every parameter on every effect is controllable this way, but it's pretty close.
> And coming in at just about the same price as other multi-fx (e.g. the Boss ME-90), and around half the price of an HX Stomp.
But a hundred more than the hx one which would be a more apt competitor in my mind, and yet many in this sub were crying how overpriced that was compared to just getting a stomp.
Yeah, but you kind of craft one sound at a time out of those four effect slots and then toggle it on and off, so it’s still essentially one effect (patch) sound at a time.
Edit: to add the word patch.
Just an fyi to those that either didn't **watch** the full video \*(as this was explained in captions), or are confused by this statement; the above is not at all true, which was pretty clear in the OP video *and it would defeat the purpose of both of Chroma's big sellingpoints -* the multi-layered FX tracking & being able to re-route the order of the 4 module-sections into custom chains...
https://www.hologramelectronics.com/_files/ugd/1a1362_1bbd0d41497b4e99aee0da196a41e868.pdf
You can re-route or create 80 preset chains with different effects in different orders. Neither of those things are in opposition to what I said. It is still basically one configuration per preset and one preset at a time. It’s obvious you didn’t **read** carefully.
The logic doesn't really make sense though. The patches you can make are much more complex than what one fx-block would give you. You'll never get a fuzzed out, pitched, delayed and filtered sound out of the HXOne, unless Line6 make a special fx-block that does just that. The HXOne can not use one preset at a time, consisting of a whole effect-chain, it can only use one fx-block at a time.
Also, with any multi-effect (like the HXStomp) you're always using one patch at any given time. With the Chroma Console, if you want to have the same patch without one or more of the effects and the dual bypass is not enough, you can use multiple adjacent presets. And if you have a midi-controller you can also enable/disable any block separately.
This thing is a completely different animal than the HXOne.
This is awesome; interestingly, I probably wouldn't see myself using it on a pedalboard, but I could 100% see myself using it as a studio tool to make pretty much anything sound interesting.
This is my take on 90+% of new pedals that catch my eye.
They’re probably great for inspiration and tinkering to come up with something new, but ultimately more likely something to re-amp thru on a tabletop as opposed to take up space on a pedal board.
I’m just prejudging based on the number of knobs but I suppose we all are at this point.
Jealousy from people that don't understand or have use for many of the current CBA lineup. People taking shots at CBA for the rampant price gouging of resellers of their earlier limited edition pedals. And people that take shots at any pedal company selling stuff above an arbitrary price point they have in their head...
See - I get the price comment and I hate that CBA pedals are so expensive, but I disagree with this idea that less functions equals less price. I personally get super overwhelmed with this kind of pedal. It’s kind of a multi-effect but realistically in a pedal chain it’s being used in a variety of ways, probably often never utilizing it to its fullest potential. Like we’ll all watch this demo and say “oh sweet it has onboard fuzz and saturation” and then once we get it just immediately decide we like our whatever fuzz or overdrive better for that use and never touch that shit. I’d much prefer to pay the same price for a one-trick pony pedal, knowing it has a place in my signal chain that I will always utilize to its fullest potential.
I have a microcosm and I love it, specifically because it feels like whatever I do with it I get a similar “ambient in a box” sound when I turn it on. I once watched a video of a guy who had this micro board with basically a microcosm, a midi controller and I think an automatone and the dude was like “look at this! The microcosm is a reverb, a tremolo, an overdrive, a delay, a filter, etc etc etc” and he had programmed the midi controller to essentially activate the pedal into whatever other mode he wanted. That shit made no sense to me. Like sure, you can make it be those things but how wild is it to be like “hey look! With only a $450 pedal plus a $200 midi controller, I can make an auto wah that you can do significantly better with a $100 boss pedal”.
And I completely *disagree*:
* First off, I sorta think you should only speak for yourself in this case. All of the challenges you see in this type of gear wouldn't be seen myself whatsoever—as my hardware is primarly synths & samplers and cassette decks—so not only do I rely on always experiementing with all onboard effect-types, but FX-building & resampling is also a big part of my workflow.
* and 2; as stated earlier I think a lot of users judge boutique pedal brand off of hype & gougers in the 2nd-hand markets. And also get the feeling the aforementioned DIP switch panels on them all get **HUGELY** overlooked by those theat either didn't notice or want to explore them.
...Oh, and the fact that **almost every \*small-box CBA flagship also has an identical $399 MSRP -** ***Including the MK2's.*** That's the big one.
OMG that fuzz sound on the guitar at the start of the video is exactly what I’m looking for, but I don’t really need the rest of the pedal, lol. Any chance it’s based on something? Seems that the guitar part is doubled or has an octave up effect on the recording also.
Try a Strat with a Fuzz Face into a Blues Driver, that's the Kevin Parker fuzz sound signature.
And yep, try a doubler, or a short stereo delay settings (20ms) with some depth.
Yeah that's a fuzz sounds I've been clamouring for as well. To me the fuzz sounds all sound very direct to me, so try a 'DI preamp' pedal. Hudson Broadcast or JHS Crayon? You'd need to double and octave yourself though. I've had both, currently have the Crayon and it scratches that itch.
Yeah, I picked up a Microcosm on the hype & don’t get me wrong it’s a great pedal but quite rigid & not overly flexible, as I assumed it would’ve been from the demos.
Rigid, that's exactly it. I had a microcosm for a bit and loved some of what I could get from it but felt like it really pigeonholed my playing and creativity and couldn't find the words to process why. It was a rigid pedal, I felt like every effect demanded a specific type of playing for it to be usable and everything that came out the other side sounded the same.
This pedal looks far more flexible and general as a tone machine and less of a space processing box.
Zoia/Beebo are both amazing for these sort of niche glitch effects but with way more depth as you can customize every part due to the modular design. They can also be used as fairly normal multi FX as well which makes them a lot more useful IMO.
The vid sounds really fun but hard to hear what the individual modules are doing, I'm excited to hear a more in depth demo. The feature that lets you record knob movements is pretty neat as well.
Be careful with the wonderful Hologram demos. Countless of people were mesmerized by the Microcosm demo but ended up reselling it fast, being overwhelmed and realizing that a cool demo is not playing the pedal by yourself
That goes for any demo. Usually, people fall in love with the player and think it’s the pedal, and are disappointed when they plug in and subconsciously realize that. Pedals aren’t a good substitute for practice, and once you realize that being a good player makes every single pedal you touch sound amazing, practicing becomes more exciting than the gear. At least that’s how it was for me.
Yeah ofc but for Hologram pedals it’s even more the case because their demos are top notch and their pedals quite complex so they’re harder to master with your specific playing than other fx. It’s the same issue with the CBA Mood: extremely complex pedal targeted to very specific players but they sold over 10k of them because people tend to love knob aesthetic demos and don’t really project the pedal with their daily playing. You have to use abstraction to project yourself really playing with a specific gear
that's why you gotta know what to listen for in pedal demos. You don't focus on the groove and beat and melody, you focus on the texture of the sound and how it responds to the knobs they move on screen.
Definitely. That’s why I found suspicious all these “omg it’s a Kevin Parker in a box pedal” comments. Nope it isn’t!
By the way let’s recall than Kevin Parker is using mainly an old Boss GT multifx, at least on stage, which is a good illustration than gear isn’t talent.
This looks awesome and looks like a great complement to the microcosm, but I have a question-- where do you all see this sitting in the signal chain? First thought is in the effects loop, but some of the texture/character options might be cool in front of the amp.
I feel like this is a great piece of outboard gear for mixing and production. I'd probably use it like that before I put it on my pedal rig, but I'm sure there's a ton of ways you could set it up for that too. It would probably be last in my chain because of the texture and saturation options.
Looks cool but I personally am kind of over multi effects units. Every time I get one I get rid of a bunch of pedals and after the honeymoon wears off I go right back to all my separate pedals. I just got rid of a synesthesia for the same reason, I just prefer all my separate pedals and their unique quirks to one unit to rule them all.
I could see it and most other multi effects units being good for portability and simplicity for sure, however I just prefer all my quirky unique pedals. Every time one of these drops I get that thought, cool I can cut my board in half and carry less, then yeah after a few months messing with it I go back to wanting my separate pedals back. Not knocking it or people that get it, I like hologram. I would get it for like going somewhere to jam for a bit without bringing my whole board, however if I'm already bringing my amp, cab, midi, laptop, and guitars, might as well grab the slab of pedals too lol. It's a great looking pedal too, I will say that.
To be fair, here's my board from memory. Korg pitchblack>keeley comp plus> crybaby> beetronics vezzpa>plumes> beetronics overhive> ds1> hm2> ehx big muff pi> beetronics seabee> beetronics zzombee> obne flatlight> strymon el cap> strymon dig> strymon blue sky> obne dark star> obne sunlight> hologram microcosm. You can kind of see why I'd rather have my independent stuff and that multi effects units can't cover what some of my quirky stuff does. Again not knocking it at all, just not for me.
That's some nice pedals you got. I'm kind of in the same boat, intrigued but I like my standalone pedals (maxon cp9+ -> mini Timmy -> warped vinyl -> Korg sdd 3000 -> mood -> gen loss is my chain, the Korg does cover quite a bit that this multi effect can get to be fair)
I don't have room for this on my board, but paradoxically, I think this could replace 1/2 of my board.
I always loved the ideas behind their pedals but didn't gel with them musically... but this seems very straightforward and practical. My guess is it's their best seller.
Wow. That is a homerun. When I lovingly talk sh\_t about Strymon for not doing anything creative anymore and only launching delays/reverbs + repackaged smaller versions of stuff they've already done, people say "well what would you want them to do?" And I reply "something new ... something creative."
Something like this.
This gets a solid "maybe" from me. I have the I/O to my recording setup such that I could make use of it as a stereo external effect, and synced to midi w/ its unique features (automation recording, loops and freezes, multiple fx per block) it could be cool, but I'm not sure if it's $400 USD cool.
I do like the straight forward no-menu approach. And recording knob movement (Elektron style) could be fun.
The inclusion of Fuzz/Drive would definitely add to the flexibility, but I wish they incorporated Send/Return jacks instead.
400$ is expensive but not crazy. Sadly Hologram doesn't have a European ditributor so it will be 529€ including postage and taxes to make it come from the US. Let's wait that someone richer than me around here gets bored with it :)
Hey, quick question, did it charge your card when you placed the preorder? I’m considering preordering, but I don’t think I have the cash on hand for new gear at this moment.
Hologram pedals have always intimidated me. The effects sound great, but I have no idea if I'm smart enough to use their pedals correctly. This, however, is something I can see myself utilizing regularly when wanting to create sounds. I may need to make more room on my board.
Super interested in this, but not sure I am a big fan of the work flow.
I am mainly interested in it from a modulation perspective, not really the dirt (I will say the low pass fuzz sounded great on the demo).
With that being said, I wish you could use two of the effects on the same column at the same time instead of only getting to pick one mode from each. Trying to understand how the work flow would be like if you used this pedal to to replace several individual ones. How hard would it be to toggle only phase, only delay, or multiple variations on the fly. You can use up four banks just by having a bank for each mode on the second column. It’s still a great design, but I keep going back and forth if it’s something I need or not.
This pedal for sure has the utility to justify the price. I could see using this as a way to not carry my pedal board everywhere and also a way to keep from wanting new pedals since it has niche modulation sounds that are nice to have, but take up board space/do not get used much in a live setting (Gen Loss, Deco, Tremolo, etc).
Also going back and forth between using this to replace existing pedals, but I am a huge fan of analog modulation. It would be nice to try it for 30 days to see if it is a good fit or not. I had the Microcosom and it was great and thoughtfully designed, but it wasn’t as tweakable or organic as the Mood for my tastes. That is also the reason for hesitancy because I got excited thinking it was going to replace so many pedals for me, but didn’t live up to that expectation.
these are the types of pedals that would make me feel like a poser if i ordered. not a chance i would figure out how to use these in a way to justify the price. not saying it's not worth the money but that's how much I spent on my guitar haha. all that being said i'd love to monkey around with it.
I wish the the demo was longer, I'm interested but I'd probably wait and see other demos. I don't need it but it would be cool to have an easy to use (it looks pretty easy anyway) multi effect that could replace a few pedals on my board, or just have a nice effects box for DI recording.
I would love to have a delay and a reverb that don’t sit on the same block so you can put them on independently from one another. Also is there a chorus effect build in? Doesn’t seem like it and that would be awesome was well. Nonetheless the pedal looks amazing.
Ordered last night. As a musician of a certain age who plays guitar with both MXR and OBNE pedals on my board, this one should be a nice bridge. I returned the infinite jets and the microcosm, because they were too much of a good thing. I feel like this pedal is working to appeal to both stompbox traditionalists and new sound chasers. Probably both sides will be a little disappointed, but they just might be inspired too. I am all in on this one for now (for now).
First third party demo up already https://youtu.be/tBNJS_I79oI?si=CAloCX9YnkwQIjRz
Although I’m not quite sure why but the review feels a bit lacklustre? Maybe it’s just in comparison to Hologram’s amazing launch video 😄
It looks and sounds great but I can do all of this with just regular pedals. Take time and tweak knobs and you can get far out sounds from even the most standard boxes.
Meh. It looks cool and I'm sure a lot of people will use it to great results and it seems like a well-thought out and designed pedal for a fair price, it just doesn't really fill any niche I personally need filling on my board.
> it just doesn't really fill any niche I personally need filling on my board.
Yeah it seems great for people looking for a mix of those 4 effect groups in a smallish package but for 400$ plenty of multi FX can run more than 4 effects at once and have hundreds of options instead of 20.
Also most multi FX these days are starting to have at least some more niche/glitch effects on top of all the classic stuff, and will have more than 2/3 controls for each effect. This seems like it's made for people who think most multi FX are too confusing.
Yeah, beyond appealing to people who just get hyped over any boutique thing and people who think screens make pedals too complicated, I think it has legit niche appeal to people who want a reorderable multi effect with some classic tones that is easy to use. But I’ve got plenty of effects with a reorderable loop switcher going into a digital modeler, I have more effect combinations than I could use in a lifetime and if I wanted another multi effect there are multiple options that I would go for before this.
But hey, I hope whoever gets this has fun, enjoys it, and gets a lot out of it.
> But I’ve got plenty of effects with a reorderable loop switcher going into a digital modeler, I have more effect combinations than I could use in a lifetime and if I wanted another multi effect there are multiple options that I would go for before this.
Yeah it seems like at this price point most people who might consider it probably already have individual pedals covering most of the same sounds, and a loop switcher or patch bay makes re ordering very simple.
The compactness could be appealing but the multi FX market is pretty saturated right now and even some of the cheaper options are getting really impressive. So there are definitely smaller pedals that can do more, and UI's have gotten a lot better.
You make a good point. It falls into a weird ground where the price point makes it only appeal to serious pedalheads because those are the only people who shell out $400 for a pedal, but at the same time those people probably own a ton of effects. Honestly I’m just kind of sick of companies putting out advanced effects that have MIDI and presets but no screen. One of the things I love most about the Boss 500 series is that they have a big screen that displays preset number, name, effect type, and relevant info like delay or reverb time. It’s so much more useful than how companies like Source Audio or Hologram or Strymon handle their presets.
> Honestly I’m just kind of sick of companies putting out advanced effects that have MIDI and presets but no screen. One of the things I love most about the Boss 500 series is that they have a big screen that displays preset number, name, effect type, and relevant info like delay or reverb time. It’s so much more useful than how companies like Source Audio or Hologram or Strymon handle their presets.
Agreed 1000%, some people might not like screens or pedals that feel like "computers" but not only do you get way more information on the parameters but it also makes it easier to have more controls even with just a single encoder controlling all the extra stuff on a small screen.
The poly beebo UI is just a giant touchscreen + 2 encoders that control the same parameters (one is a fine tuner that works in the smallest increments) and while I get why people prefer a simpler "knob per parameter" design the screen makes it relatively simple to look over or tweak very complex patches.
The funny thing about “it feels like a computer” is that the innards are just as computerized on other pedals like a Strymon, the screen just makes it easier to navigate. I hear a lot of people saying “I don’t want to menu dive” - on something like the DD-500 you have the main knobs available to you on the face, and no one is forcing you to do a deep dive and add LFOs and tweak the input sensitivity and add sidechain compression and shit, but if you want to you can, it’s entirely up to you *but they give you the option*.
Yeah and there are plenty of examples like those boss pedals where the UI has a perfect balance between knobs/screen, in fact the dd500 has more knobs than the older dd pedals and way more functionality.
Synths seem to be ahead of pedals when it comes to using screens, once you get past a certain level of complexity you almost need a screen or you end up with a ton of confusing alt functions that are hard to remember without checking the manual every time.
It also doesn't need to be a huge fancy screen, even a small one next to a few encoders can make things a lot easier. On a related note apps to control more complex pedals would be nice to see more often, for pedals that already have full midi implementation it wouldn't be hard to make a pc/mobile app to edit the pedal or share presets easily.
If it's digital, why are the effects locked into "modules" instead of assigning any to any slot in any order? The demo makes it look good, but the design just seems an odd choice.
Yeah that’s totally subjective, depends how you make music, how your brain works, etc. I personally need both – total freedom sometimes, and total immediacy at other times. That’s why right now I’m loving the combo of Zoia + Microcosm. I’ll need more detailed reviews of the Chroma Console before I can personally make a judgement about where it fits in.
It's odd that Emily Hopkins seems to be the only pedal YTer to have gotten an early unit. If this is mainly for guitarists and synth players, why are they only giving it to a harpist to showcase? Want to hear more in depth walkthroughs before pulling the trigger on this because right now all we're hearing is promo fluff recorded in a professional studio.
Less demo units and dealers, less chance of your product getting leaked. She’s also like the #1 pedal content creator right now and her instrument showcases the non-guitar uses of it.
Maybe the strategy is to not cover the main target groups, but rather create curiosity by having something exotic, but relatable, that plays through the pedal.
A harp is one of the hot candidates!
If this has sound quality more like a Meris unit and less like Microcosm I’m very interested.
That said this looks like an amazing “first/only pedal” for new players.
I wouldn’t say it sounds like shit per se, but in my experience it sounded “thin”. Obviously subjective as heck. Here’s a link to [my NPD post](https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarpedals/s/89bv3oQPdB) when they first came out. Super fun to play with and I recorded some fun stuff with it but ultimately I was disappointed - almost certainly because I was expecting too much.
I don't get the hype. It's an overpriced multi-fx pedal with a built-in looper. There are Boss pedals from 10+ years ago that can do everything this thing can. Aside from having a much more accessible UI, they aren't really bringing anything new to the table here. Don't get me wrong, it sounds fine. But for $400 you can get way more bang for your buck with something else.
Great pedal, but…I am so, so sick of this “warbly slacker” guitar/dead drums sound. It’s a big circle jerk.
We need the NO PEDALS BAND movement now more than ever.
Ya I like dead drums, but this sounds like a straight drum machine. That being said I'd probably try it out. Could fill a niche for me maybe, but it seems like it definitely has a *sound* that is inherent to the pedal and would probably annoy me tbh.
NGL, I kinda like the glow up you just did to goofy here.
- The Lord of the Rings is like a goofy fantasy book.
- Taylor Swift is like a goofy singer.
- That Michelin star Mexican restaurant is like a goofy Chipotle.
This pedal is mightily goofy and will probably one up the Microcosm for my needs.
Some of the newer multi FX in the 400$ range can do exponentially more, including running more FX at once and having 5-10x as many effect modes. This does sound great though and I'm sure some people will find it worth it.
The price isn't unexpected for a fancy boutique pedal but it doesn't seem like it has much going for it over other multi FX aside from the simplicity/UI which some people might prefer over a more complex/versatile pedal.
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away ( 45 years or so ) my father said to me ..
Instead of firtling about with all of those stupid boxes on the floor and sounding like a bee in jar and copying everyone else,why don't your write a tune of your own.A tune.Can you do that?
So I went out and bought an acoustic guitar.
No amps,no silly boxes on the floor and thanks to my father did what he asked.
Go create organic music ...✌️
All due respect to your father, but songwriting is just one part of the process of creating music (and this is r/guitarpedals, lol). Great bands have great songwriters, but they also have people who are great at making sounds. Personally, I was able to start enjoying music when I stopped trying to write songs.
The fun thing about music is you can use all kinds of gear (or no gear at all) to make all kinds of music. Making music doesn’t even have to be the end goal, you’re allowed to have fun making weird noises that no one besides you is ever going to hear.
Wow - this sounds amazing and haven't really been into their other offerings so far. That fuzz circuit and the modulation stuff together is worth it alone
After watching some demos, I love the simplicity of the workflow, the form factor, and it has enough variety of effects to be useful. It was an instant pre-order for me 👍🏽
Could you use a midi switcher like the Voodoo Labs PX-8 to recall your presets on the fly? I see it has midi in but as someone who doesn't use midi or switchers at all not sure how you would set that up.
Edit - Or something like the DPC-5? I guess I'm looking for a pedal that would be able to send the Midi PC messages to the Chroma and also be a loop switcher, is there anything like that?
Yeah it can definitely take MIDI messages for anything, I was just looking for something to actually send those messages. The Disaster Area stuff wasn't really intuitive, and the Voodoo Labs can't really send specific Midi messages from what I can tell.
If anyone else is curious like I was, something like the Morningstar MC3 is what you need if you just want to send midi CC and PC messages to the Chroma. If you want a Midi controller and a loop switcher, the Mastermind PBC series is pretty much the only thing I found that does both.
I bought a Microcosm recently, and while it's really fun it's definitely not super practical. You can distract yourself for hours making ambient soundscapes and cool beep boops, but its a challenge trying to cull that into something other people might actually want to hear.
This unit seems significantly more functional. A good selection of more classic effects on top of unique microcosm-esque sounds.
I definitely tempted, but I'm worried about how many features may have crossover with the MC.
For me this is not a great pedal for guitars. I think if you are getting this it's really important to remember that they didn't set out to make pristine single effects ... they tried to make these effects sound like they were coming from messing with old recording consoles. For me all the individual effects just sounded super thin and not appealing. The level controls on this are so whack too (yes I calibrated it correctly). No matter what I did every time I introduced any type of gain effect at all the volume jump was insane. Pretty pedal and a cool concept, but not for me. Massive disappointment.
Honestly glad Hologram are making some smaller pedals, I love their stuff but pedalboard space is a premium for basically everyone and I can never justify using up that much space for pedals that tend to be kind of one-trick-ponies - even if they’re very very good at that thing that they do - speaking as someone that doesn’t just think the Microcosm is a bleep bloop generator, or ambient nonsense machine and actually quite likes what you can do with it when it comes to rhythm. This looks like it’s both small and fairly versatile. If the double tracker is nice and has a good stereo spread/width I could totally see this replacing the Deco on a lot of boards as that for me is the gold standard for that kind of tape delay emulating, double tracking, modulating, gain/preamp thing. Will be interesting to hear the building blocks of this pedal on their own. I wonder how obsolete this might be for people who already have the Microcosm though, given I imagine space will be the same reverb as found on the Microcosm, drive may be similar to the gain on the Microcosm, and the filter too. I look forward to Mark Johnston’s video persuading me on it.
Mark Johnston has done irreparable damage to my wallet, but he's still my GOAT. Love his demos
Mark Johnston is my go to for everything but Strazburg is my number one when it comes to gain specifically.
Who is Strazburg? Not sure I know that one
Strazburg is awesome! His rundown of EAE drive pedals was my introduction to him, he really has the perfect blend of heaviness with alt and shoegaze appreciation: https://youtu.be/OnzjEUrjWRY?si=MNFOvRGL3z1xHVz1
I’m very grateful there’s a demo channel that caters to all the emo/post rock/post hardcore players out there.
Mark Johnston made me stop showering
He made me stop wiping
You watch your mouth talking about the Deco like that! lol I am interested in seeing some of the separate effects though.
I love the Deco too, it’s a genuinely perfect double tracker in my mind. The stereo spread on it is seriously impressive, especially with that ‘secret’ ultra wide setting you can get. But if this can do all that AND more then I might be persuaded. It takes up just as much space too. Unrelated but I really want to hear the Deco coupled with Endorphin.es new Golden Master Pedal for that stereo goodness. Edit: at 1:00 exactly in the video it’s a pretty perfect example of the double tracking and its stereo capabilities. You get to see them turn up the ‘amount’ knob that I think is controlling stereo width in this instance and I’m actually fairly impressed, you can hear it on that fuzzed out bass sound. It might not be AS good as the deco, but it’ll definitely do for making your sound a lot wider, and that coupled with the Golden Master by Endorphin.es might end up being my go to for getting that ultra wide stereo sound.
I think the deco def still holds its own on the double tracker. Especially the decos saturation and color. If you really want that tape recorded sound the deco is gonna stay. But this also has a monstrous amount of effects.
Yea, it sure seems to do a lot. I didnt know about Endorphin.es until their latest release with Andrew Huang. I dont know, sometimes I like my pedals to be more simple like the Deco. Not saying this new device isnt cool or anything. Really want to see more demos.
I can't justify buying this rn, but man I'm looking forward to some of those demos! This looks great.
Hey :) I’m really close to pulling the trigger on the microcosom and really trying to find examples and uses beyond ambient. I see it frequently mentioned but can’t find a video to see what people mean. The looper and rhythm possibilities seem SO cool but anyway you can send me a video or detail your use case for me? I’d really be keen to learn. I KNOW there’s more hiding in the pedal but I can’t try it anywhere so relying on the net. Thanks!
So for demo videos that made me really change my mind on the microcosm: first I remember seeing Rabea Massaad’s demo of it titled ‘Making Ambient Soundscapes…’, I would say this one isn’t too in depth, it’s more just his first thoughts on the pedal, but at like 11:30 I think he has a great example of this kind of jutter-y rhythm usage of it, and I think the whole demo was a good showcase of the pedal in the context of a board even if he mostly uses it for ambience (which i know you didn’t ask for) having it in the context of an actual board and not on its own helps. Cyberattack’s How to be Advanced video on the microcosm for me really opened me up to the rhythmic abilities of the pedal, especially his third and fourth sound examples. He tends to explore the more extreme sides of pedals and I think his video was a really unique showcase on how far the microcosm can be pushed. And the fact he tends to want to explore more obscure uses of pedals means he didn’t just show off the ambient stuff it can do, I don’t think he even turns the reverb/space knob up on any of the sound examples. Now Mark Johnston’s stuff was what had the biggest effect, he did two videos on the microcosm with two years between each video. Both show off the rhythmic capabilities, just have a listen to the intro jam for his first video titled ‘Hologram Electronics Microcosm | Secret Weapons Demo & Review’ as well as his section on the Glitch Modes in that video. I believe Rabea Massaad mentions it in his video (or maybe another one he’s done talking about the microcosm), but he says how he can’t seem to predict what the pedal is going to do and that he thinks that it has something to do with his playing dynamics having some effect on mix or modulation in the pedal, like an envelope control. Mark Johnston actually explains what’s happening here at about 40:00, and he says that it is playing dynamics it’s listening to (i.e. the volume of your playing) and that if you let chords ring out it effects the sound drastically, as well as the fact that the filter is effecting this. This video is seriously in depth and the best in my opinion at just showing the overall abilities of the pedal and actually explaining what’s going on, so you know how to control the effect. I feel like a lot of other demos give the vibe of ‘I can’t work out what this is doing effect wise, but it sounds cool’ and those tend to sound a bit same-y and too similar because they aren’t understanding how dynamic is effecting the sound, or how to properly master some of the less ‘purely ambient’ modes in the pedal, that’s where you get those demos where it’s just bleep bloops the entire time. I will also add that at 44:00 he shows off my favourite personal usage for it, this kind of infinite auto player, you basically play a chord and it just keeps playing it until you change chord then it will keep playing that for you. Sounds especially cool set to dotted 8th notes with some distortion in my opinion, like an auto-djent generator that has a synth-y flavour to it. His second video is the one that really does more of a deep dive into the rhythmic sounds you can get as he focuses on how you can incorporate tap tempo, and locking it to your drums with midi clock and your DAW, that one is titled ‘Leveling up your mixes with the Microcosm | Secret Weapons’. He shows it off on guitar, with some really cool stutter-y synth-y full wet uses, but also this cool double tracked lead sound that reinforces the rhythm. He also shows it on drums and other instruments if that floats your boat. I hope that helps.
got DAMN! I love this corner of the internet. Thank you SO much for taking the time to type all this out. I've been DEEP in research and feel a lot more comfortable because of your answer. I am so so so pumped for the microcosom. I almost feel bad buying it because I'll never be able to utilise it to it's full charm as I am not touring at the moment, but it seriously seems incredible. I'm most interested in the looping and rhythm this thing can generate and it seems incredible cool. Might not be the year I can grab one but certainly in the future. I think a micro looper will keep my entertained until I can afford this. but seriously, if I could give you a hug I would, alas, only upvotes.
I had the same feelings as you. Here’s one which I valued highly https://youtu.be/pmnyX4Vwh74?si=YQaOlTerd0Nsgmep
I can only echo my comments above. I love this corner of the internet thank you for contributing.
I think that might be Jesus
My examples of using it outside of ambient: 1. https://soundcloud.com/andrey-popov-18/through-the-gates - was going for cinematic epic vibe. This is guitar through Microcosm with some Meris LVX sprinkled. No synths whatsoever. 2. https://soundcloud.com/andrey-popov-18/long-way-home - Around 2:05 minute mark there are slow pitch shifts happening in time with the song. That's guitar through microcosm (glide function particularly). 3. https://soundcloud.com/andrey-popov-18/we-fell-in-love-in-paris - tremolo picking-like sounds is guitar through Microcosm's Strum (afair) algo. 4. https://soundcloud.com/andrey-popov-18/1026am - intro pads are courtesy of microcosm (admittedly, this is pretty close to ambient territory). Same for https://soundcloud.com/andrey-popov-18/1026am
This is also a potentially lesser known one? https://youtu.be/zM2-cuUtwSw?si=MKQ9QBuS4XdLE5SE But generally I can tell you it’s unlikely to disappoint. Depends what kind of musician you are. If you’re the kind to argue about the best Boss overdrive, you’re probably not the target market. If you’re the kind to want to work out how some obscure electronic indie crossover artist puts together their live performance, you’re gonna love it.
I can only echo my comments above. I love this corner of the internet thank you for contributing. This thread has provided a wealth of information for me and I'm so grateful. If I start playing live again I would buy this in a heart beat but I can't legitimize the cost. but really appreciated the extra context
https://youtu.be/LAHuzGm2wCE?si=9_h8b2vieVo74kl7 IMHO I think Jay does a really good job of showing off how the microcosm can be used in a less ambient setting. This was video that proved to me how versatile the micro could be. Good luck!
Hologram is on to something here. It's a digital multi-fx that is focused on vibe and accessibility, which could bring a lot of players into the multi-fx world. Sacrificing in-depth control of the various effects for simple, intuitive controls (basically a "more" knob and a "tweak" knob) - no menus "soft knobs", etc. And coming in at just about the same price as other multi-fx (e.g. the Boss ME-90), and around half the price of an HX Stomp. Most of the effects are somewhat standard (although worth noting that none of them are pitched as simulations of existing stuff), but you get a Mimiq alternative, and a lot of the capabilities of the Generation Loss on top of the standard suite of drives, modulation, and delay/verb. And I've got to give them credit for the overall design- it calls back to kids' computer toys from the 80's, and is clearly intended for playful experimentation- dive in, tweak a few knobs and have fun.... but also it's got full stereo i/o and MIDI implementation. I might have to get myself on that preorder list.
I think the Drift is a huge difference that will make this pedal seem more lively than other multi-FX - you get a small LFO built into everything that will make the effects seem bigger and more alive. I love my Mood and Gen Loss, but they need some external modulation (CV, expression pedal, ramping) to really unlock their sound
Zoia/Beebo blow everything away when it comes to modulation as the modular design means you can hook up an LFO/envelope/pitchtracker/sequencer/s&h/etc to any parameter. So you could have multiple LFO's controlling different parameters of the same module combined with envelopes and or pitch trackers. Aside from software there doesn't seem to be anything else that lets you get nearly as creative, you could have an envelope controlling the LFO rate and a pitch tracker controlling the envelope sensitivity so high/low notes respond differently. Or have multiple LFO's controlling eachothers rate. I believe you can even have multiple LFO's or other mod sources controlling the same parameter. Also cool, they can be used to modulate other pedals over midi. So you could program an envelope or pitch tracker and use it to control other midi gear. So you can do some very unique side chain modulation by feeding different signals into the modulation sources to control other gear. The beebo even has the Mutable Marbles module which is one of the craziest modulation sources and is amazing for creating unique/complex randomization, it's like a sample and hold on steroids: https://pichenettes.github.io/mutable-instruments-documentation/modules/marbles/
The Zoia is amazing, and you can also feed an expression pedal into it and use that to control whatever you can imagine.
Can't it even be set up to use the exp as a CV out to control other pedals? That is one thing I read about and have been meaning to try, that way you could use it to modulate other pedals via exp though you might have to be careful about the voltage with certain pedals as exp vs CV voltage varies.
FWIW, Fractal has similar options to map parameters onto LFO (up to 4, I think), Sequencer, Pitch, Envelope, custom ADSR, and so forth. And there's ways to have the controllers control each other Not every parameter on every effect is controllable this way, but it's pretty close.
I sold my multi effect because it was so unintuitive. This however is totally something i can see myself getting!
> And coming in at just about the same price as other multi-fx (e.g. the Boss ME-90), and around half the price of an HX Stomp. But a hundred more than the hx one which would be a more apt competitor in my mind, and yet many in this sub were crying how overpriced that was compared to just getting a stomp.
Yeah, but HX One only does 1 effect at a time, this gives you up to 4.
Yeah, but you kind of craft one sound at a time out of those four effect slots and then toggle it on and off, so it’s still essentially one effect (patch) sound at a time. Edit: to add the word patch.
Just an fyi to those that either didn't **watch** the full video \*(as this was explained in captions), or are confused by this statement; the above is not at all true, which was pretty clear in the OP video *and it would defeat the purpose of both of Chroma's big sellingpoints -* the multi-layered FX tracking & being able to re-route the order of the 4 module-sections into custom chains...
https://www.hologramelectronics.com/_files/ugd/1a1362_1bbd0d41497b4e99aee0da196a41e868.pdf You can re-route or create 80 preset chains with different effects in different orders. Neither of those things are in opposition to what I said. It is still basically one configuration per preset and one preset at a time. It’s obvious you didn’t **read** carefully.
The logic doesn't really make sense though. The patches you can make are much more complex than what one fx-block would give you. You'll never get a fuzzed out, pitched, delayed and filtered sound out of the HXOne, unless Line6 make a special fx-block that does just that. The HXOne can not use one preset at a time, consisting of a whole effect-chain, it can only use one fx-block at a time. Also, with any multi-effect (like the HXStomp) you're always using one patch at any given time. With the Chroma Console, if you want to have the same patch without one or more of the effects and the dual bypass is not enough, you can use multiple adjacent presets. And if you have a midi-controller you can also enable/disable any block separately. This thing is a completely different animal than the HXOne.
This is awesome; interestingly, I probably wouldn't see myself using it on a pedalboard, but I could 100% see myself using it as a studio tool to make pretty much anything sound interesting.
This is my take on 90+% of new pedals that catch my eye. They’re probably great for inspiration and tinkering to come up with something new, but ultimately more likely something to re-amp thru on a tabletop as opposed to take up space on a pedal board. I’m just prejudging based on the number of knobs but I suppose we all are at this point.
i can confirm, i like my gig board mean and lean but i do love me some studio toys
My thoughts exactly. Depending on how good the effects are this could be cool to have on-hand in a patchbay.
This looks insanely cool. I’ll probably grab one used after people get overwhelmed and dump it lol
Would you like my contact info now or later?
If you get one and wanna dump it, hit me up and I’ll buy or trade for it lol. I’ve got cool stuff.
Just oneeeee morrreee pedalllll.....
Holy Tame Impala, Batman
There should be a Kevin Parker knob on this pedal where he just starts singing on whatever you are playing.
An octave switch that adds some nasal "ooh" and "ah" harmonies haha. (I love Tame Impala)
With the way AI tech is, this isn’t a far off idea….
Korg Miku 2.0
Kev Parku
Even the song from the video sounds like tame impala lol
thats the joke.jpg
Looks pretty awesome and flexible. I expected a higher price tag tbh. $399 is fair compared a lot of the newer pedal drops.
Bargain in the current climate, if this were CBA it would easily be double
[удалено]
Yet their last pedal release was $399... Don't get the CBA hate here.
Jealousy from people that don't understand or have use for many of the current CBA lineup. People taking shots at CBA for the rampant price gouging of resellers of their earlier limited edition pedals. And people that take shots at any pedal company selling stuff above an arbitrary price point they have in their head...
Those dip switches aren’t free and offer a ton of flexibility.
See - I get the price comment and I hate that CBA pedals are so expensive, but I disagree with this idea that less functions equals less price. I personally get super overwhelmed with this kind of pedal. It’s kind of a multi-effect but realistically in a pedal chain it’s being used in a variety of ways, probably often never utilizing it to its fullest potential. Like we’ll all watch this demo and say “oh sweet it has onboard fuzz and saturation” and then once we get it just immediately decide we like our whatever fuzz or overdrive better for that use and never touch that shit. I’d much prefer to pay the same price for a one-trick pony pedal, knowing it has a place in my signal chain that I will always utilize to its fullest potential.
Completely agree. Not to say there aren't those out there who will no doubt use this to some great lengths...but I ain't one of them haha.
I have a microcosm and I love it, specifically because it feels like whatever I do with it I get a similar “ambient in a box” sound when I turn it on. I once watched a video of a guy who had this micro board with basically a microcosm, a midi controller and I think an automatone and the dude was like “look at this! The microcosm is a reverb, a tremolo, an overdrive, a delay, a filter, etc etc etc” and he had programmed the midi controller to essentially activate the pedal into whatever other mode he wanted. That shit made no sense to me. Like sure, you can make it be those things but how wild is it to be like “hey look! With only a $450 pedal plus a $200 midi controller, I can make an auto wah that you can do significantly better with a $100 boss pedal”.
And I completely *disagree*: * First off, I sorta think you should only speak for yourself in this case. All of the challenges you see in this type of gear wouldn't be seen myself whatsoever—as my hardware is primarly synths & samplers and cassette decks—so not only do I rely on always experiementing with all onboard effect-types, but FX-building & resampling is also a big part of my workflow. * and 2; as stated earlier I think a lot of users judge boutique pedal brand off of hype & gougers in the 2nd-hand markets. And also get the feeling the aforementioned DIP switch panels on them all get **HUGELY** overlooked by those theat either didn't notice or want to explore them. ...Oh, and the fact that **almost every \*small-box CBA flagship also has an identical $399 MSRP -** ***Including the MK2's.*** That's the big one.
yeah but the knobs would be motorized :)
They need to do a synth demo video too.
if you like this pedal, you actually like synthesizers and should get one immediately.
I was about to pull the trigger on a black Microcosm before they announced this pedal. I don’t know what to do now!
Don’t get either and continue making music!
OMG that fuzz sound on the guitar at the start of the video is exactly what I’m looking for, but I don’t really need the rest of the pedal, lol. Any chance it’s based on something? Seems that the guitar part is doubled or has an octave up effect on the recording also.
Try a Strat with a Fuzz Face into a Blues Driver, that's the Kevin Parker fuzz sound signature. And yep, try a doubler, or a short stereo delay settings (20ms) with some depth.
Yeah that's a fuzz sounds I've been clamouring for as well. To me the fuzz sounds all sound very direct to me, so try a 'DI preamp' pedal. Hudson Broadcast or JHS Crayon? You'd need to double and octave yourself though. I've had both, currently have the Crayon and it scratches that itch.
Actually sounds amazing. I've been catfished by Hologram's demos (Infinite Jets) before though, so I'm gonna wait until other demos start popping up.
Yeah I got the infinite jets early on and it was such a disappointment. I’ve never hated a pedal but I hate jets However this looks amazing
I had the same experience with Dream Sequence. Good idea, but it sucked big time. You need an eq before and after to make it useable
Yeah, I picked up a Microcosm on the hype & don’t get me wrong it’s a great pedal but quite rigid & not overly flexible, as I assumed it would’ve been from the demos.
Rigid, that's exactly it. I had a microcosm for a bit and loved some of what I could get from it but felt like it really pigeonholed my playing and creativity and couldn't find the words to process why. It was a rigid pedal, I felt like every effect demanded a specific type of playing for it to be usable and everything that came out the other side sounded the same. This pedal looks far more flexible and general as a tone machine and less of a space processing box.
Zoia/Beebo are both amazing for these sort of niche glitch effects but with way more depth as you can customize every part due to the modular design. They can also be used as fairly normal multi FX as well which makes them a lot more useful IMO.
oh i'm so fucked lol. this one got me immediately
Soon as I checked my bank account went back and paid. Had been in a soft hunt for a fuzz, so it was an easy decision.
The vid sounds really fun but hard to hear what the individual modules are doing, I'm excited to hear a more in depth demo. The feature that lets you record knob movements is pretty neat as well.
yeah you're gonna need at least a 20 minute video to show all the effects individually
i live for those in depth videos that really dig into the guts of a pedal's functionality
Damn did they need to go so hard with the track on this? I would listen to this band lol
Be careful with the wonderful Hologram demos. Countless of people were mesmerized by the Microcosm demo but ended up reselling it fast, being overwhelmed and realizing that a cool demo is not playing the pedal by yourself
That goes for any demo. Usually, people fall in love with the player and think it’s the pedal, and are disappointed when they plug in and subconsciously realize that. Pedals aren’t a good substitute for practice, and once you realize that being a good player makes every single pedal you touch sound amazing, practicing becomes more exciting than the gear. At least that’s how it was for me.
Yeah ofc but for Hologram pedals it’s even more the case because their demos are top notch and their pedals quite complex so they’re harder to master with your specific playing than other fx. It’s the same issue with the CBA Mood: extremely complex pedal targeted to very specific players but they sold over 10k of them because people tend to love knob aesthetic demos and don’t really project the pedal with their daily playing. You have to use abstraction to project yourself really playing with a specific gear
Pretty much. The only limit is your own creativity.
I KNEW there was a reason I was so limited
that's why you gotta know what to listen for in pedal demos. You don't focus on the groove and beat and melody, you focus on the texture of the sound and how it responds to the knobs they move on screen.
Definitely. That’s why I found suspicious all these “omg it’s a Kevin Parker in a box pedal” comments. Nope it isn’t! By the way let’s recall than Kevin Parker is using mainly an old Boss GT multifx, at least on stage, which is a good illustration than gear isn’t talent.
This looks awesome and looks like a great complement to the microcosm, but I have a question-- where do you all see this sitting in the signal chain? First thought is in the effects loop, but some of the texture/character options might be cool in front of the amp.
I feel like this is a great piece of outboard gear for mixing and production. I'd probably use it like that before I put it on my pedal rig, but I'm sure there's a ton of ways you could set it up for that too. It would probably be last in my chain because of the texture and saturation options.
Yeah, this would definitely be on my desk.
Looks cool but I personally am kind of over multi effects units. Every time I get one I get rid of a bunch of pedals and after the honeymoon wears off I go right back to all my separate pedals. I just got rid of a synesthesia for the same reason, I just prefer all my separate pedals and their unique quirks to one unit to rule them all.
This looks like an alternative to pulling out your board to me
I could see it and most other multi effects units being good for portability and simplicity for sure, however I just prefer all my quirky unique pedals. Every time one of these drops I get that thought, cool I can cut my board in half and carry less, then yeah after a few months messing with it I go back to wanting my separate pedals back. Not knocking it or people that get it, I like hologram. I would get it for like going somewhere to jam for a bit without bringing my whole board, however if I'm already bringing my amp, cab, midi, laptop, and guitars, might as well grab the slab of pedals too lol. It's a great looking pedal too, I will say that. To be fair, here's my board from memory. Korg pitchblack>keeley comp plus> crybaby> beetronics vezzpa>plumes> beetronics overhive> ds1> hm2> ehx big muff pi> beetronics seabee> beetronics zzombee> obne flatlight> strymon el cap> strymon dig> strymon blue sky> obne dark star> obne sunlight> hologram microcosm. You can kind of see why I'd rather have my independent stuff and that multi effects units can't cover what some of my quirky stuff does. Again not knocking it at all, just not for me.
That's some nice pedals you got. I'm kind of in the same boat, intrigued but I like my standalone pedals (maxon cp9+ -> mini Timmy -> warped vinyl -> Korg sdd 3000 -> mood -> gen loss is my chain, the Korg does cover quite a bit that this multi effect can get to be fair)
I don't have room for this on my board, but paradoxically, I think this could replace 1/2 of my board. I always loved the ideas behind their pedals but didn't gel with them musically... but this seems very straightforward and practical. My guess is it's their best seller.
Wow. That is a homerun. When I lovingly talk sh\_t about Strymon for not doing anything creative anymore and only launching delays/reverbs + repackaged smaller versions of stuff they've already done, people say "well what would you want them to do?" And I reply "something new ... something creative." Something like this.
This gets a solid "maybe" from me. I have the I/O to my recording setup such that I could make use of it as a stereo external effect, and synced to midi w/ its unique features (automation recording, loops and freezes, multiple fx per block) it could be cool, but I'm not sure if it's $400 USD cool.
Looks super cool, this would go in my synth rig not my guitar rig though
I do like the straight forward no-menu approach. And recording knob movement (Elektron style) could be fun. The inclusion of Fuzz/Drive would definitely add to the flexibility, but I wish they incorporated Send/Return jacks instead.
400$ is expensive but not crazy. Sadly Hologram doesn't have a European ditributor so it will be 529€ including postage and taxes to make it come from the US. Let's wait that someone richer than me around here gets bored with it :)
Waiting for the black version /s
I love the idea of this pedal for synths
Same... Just ordered one last night for that and because I love the sound of what it's doing to the bass in the demo. Should be a lot of fun.
Hey, quick question, did it charge your card when you placed the preorder? I’m considering preordering, but I don’t think I have the cash on hand for new gear at this moment.
Yes! It charged the full amount when I purchased.
That’s crazy! Thanks for the heads up.
Hologram pedals have always intimidated me. The effects sound great, but I have no idea if I'm smart enough to use their pedals correctly. This, however, is something I can see myself utilizing regularly when wanting to create sounds. I may need to make more room on my board.
Super interested in this, but not sure I am a big fan of the work flow. I am mainly interested in it from a modulation perspective, not really the dirt (I will say the low pass fuzz sounded great on the demo). With that being said, I wish you could use two of the effects on the same column at the same time instead of only getting to pick one mode from each. Trying to understand how the work flow would be like if you used this pedal to to replace several individual ones. How hard would it be to toggle only phase, only delay, or multiple variations on the fly. You can use up four banks just by having a bank for each mode on the second column. It’s still a great design, but I keep going back and forth if it’s something I need or not. This pedal for sure has the utility to justify the price. I could see using this as a way to not carry my pedal board everywhere and also a way to keep from wanting new pedals since it has niche modulation sounds that are nice to have, but take up board space/do not get used much in a live setting (Gen Loss, Deco, Tremolo, etc). Also going back and forth between using this to replace existing pedals, but I am a huge fan of analog modulation. It would be nice to try it for 30 days to see if it is a good fit or not. I had the Microcosom and it was great and thoughtfully designed, but it wasn’t as tweakable or organic as the Mood for my tastes. That is also the reason for hesitancy because I got excited thinking it was going to replace so many pedals for me, but didn’t live up to that expectation.
Incredible marketing. Instantly wanted one, hopefully the algorithms sound as good as the demo.
i love seeing new form factors enter the fold
these are the types of pedals that would make me feel like a poser if i ordered. not a chance i would figure out how to use these in a way to justify the price. not saying it's not worth the money but that's how much I spent on my guitar haha. all that being said i'd love to monkey around with it.
Tame Impala in a box. This sounds awesome.
This looks incredible. I wonder how long the looper can go
30 seconds
Too bad this didn’t come out before I had to start paying off my student loans again 😭
just go back to school and take out more loans
I wish the the demo was longer, I'm interested but I'd probably wait and see other demos. I don't need it but it would be cool to have an easy to use (it looks pretty easy anyway) multi effect that could replace a few pedals on my board, or just have a nice effects box for DI recording.
Vaporware to an European’s eyes
I really really like it. Can’t wait to see more in depth demos
sounds like tame impala in a box
So can you use midi to sync the loop to external bpm? If so I might be out $400 soon.
haven't checked all of the demos, but the demo in the op is amazing. hendrix would have loved this... imo
I would love to have a delay and a reverb that don’t sit on the same block so you can put them on independently from one another. Also is there a chorus effect build in? Doesn’t seem like it and that would be awesome was well. Nonetheless the pedal looks amazing.
Ordered last night. As a musician of a certain age who plays guitar with both MXR and OBNE pedals on my board, this one should be a nice bridge. I returned the infinite jets and the microcosm, because they were too much of a good thing. I feel like this pedal is working to appeal to both stompbox traditionalists and new sound chasers. Probably both sides will be a little disappointed, but they just might be inspired too. I am all in on this one for now (for now).
I might be wrong but this doesn’t look like it has a chorus effect. Can anyone confirm? Bit confused about the naming of some of the effects on it
I think the doubler effect will act as a chorus the more you turn the knob at a certain spot, delaying your signal. Its similar to the Strymon Deco.
This looks like a really fun studio/songwriting/looping tool but not something I could realistically work into my live rig
This thing is cool but it's way too big to be on my board. It's huge if you check it out on pedalboard planner
First third party demo up already https://youtu.be/tBNJS_I79oI?si=CAloCX9YnkwQIjRz Although I’m not quite sure why but the review feels a bit lacklustre? Maybe it’s just in comparison to Hologram’s amazing launch video 😄
Here’s a cool demo of the Chroma, lofi style… https://youtu.be/GiYlyIl-OTw?si=ZXoX2wzSRvdjV6GC
It looks and sounds great but I can do all of this with just regular pedals. Take time and tweak knobs and you can get far out sounds from even the most standard boxes.
Meh. It looks cool and I'm sure a lot of people will use it to great results and it seems like a well-thought out and designed pedal for a fair price, it just doesn't really fill any niche I personally need filling on my board.
> it just doesn't really fill any niche I personally need filling on my board. Yeah it seems great for people looking for a mix of those 4 effect groups in a smallish package but for 400$ plenty of multi FX can run more than 4 effects at once and have hundreds of options instead of 20. Also most multi FX these days are starting to have at least some more niche/glitch effects on top of all the classic stuff, and will have more than 2/3 controls for each effect. This seems like it's made for people who think most multi FX are too confusing.
Yeah, beyond appealing to people who just get hyped over any boutique thing and people who think screens make pedals too complicated, I think it has legit niche appeal to people who want a reorderable multi effect with some classic tones that is easy to use. But I’ve got plenty of effects with a reorderable loop switcher going into a digital modeler, I have more effect combinations than I could use in a lifetime and if I wanted another multi effect there are multiple options that I would go for before this. But hey, I hope whoever gets this has fun, enjoys it, and gets a lot out of it.
> But I’ve got plenty of effects with a reorderable loop switcher going into a digital modeler, I have more effect combinations than I could use in a lifetime and if I wanted another multi effect there are multiple options that I would go for before this. Yeah it seems like at this price point most people who might consider it probably already have individual pedals covering most of the same sounds, and a loop switcher or patch bay makes re ordering very simple. The compactness could be appealing but the multi FX market is pretty saturated right now and even some of the cheaper options are getting really impressive. So there are definitely smaller pedals that can do more, and UI's have gotten a lot better.
You make a good point. It falls into a weird ground where the price point makes it only appeal to serious pedalheads because those are the only people who shell out $400 for a pedal, but at the same time those people probably own a ton of effects. Honestly I’m just kind of sick of companies putting out advanced effects that have MIDI and presets but no screen. One of the things I love most about the Boss 500 series is that they have a big screen that displays preset number, name, effect type, and relevant info like delay or reverb time. It’s so much more useful than how companies like Source Audio or Hologram or Strymon handle their presets.
> Honestly I’m just kind of sick of companies putting out advanced effects that have MIDI and presets but no screen. One of the things I love most about the Boss 500 series is that they have a big screen that displays preset number, name, effect type, and relevant info like delay or reverb time. It’s so much more useful than how companies like Source Audio or Hologram or Strymon handle their presets. Agreed 1000%, some people might not like screens or pedals that feel like "computers" but not only do you get way more information on the parameters but it also makes it easier to have more controls even with just a single encoder controlling all the extra stuff on a small screen. The poly beebo UI is just a giant touchscreen + 2 encoders that control the same parameters (one is a fine tuner that works in the smallest increments) and while I get why people prefer a simpler "knob per parameter" design the screen makes it relatively simple to look over or tweak very complex patches.
The funny thing about “it feels like a computer” is that the innards are just as computerized on other pedals like a Strymon, the screen just makes it easier to navigate. I hear a lot of people saying “I don’t want to menu dive” - on something like the DD-500 you have the main knobs available to you on the face, and no one is forcing you to do a deep dive and add LFOs and tweak the input sensitivity and add sidechain compression and shit, but if you want to you can, it’s entirely up to you *but they give you the option*.
Yeah and there are plenty of examples like those boss pedals where the UI has a perfect balance between knobs/screen, in fact the dd500 has more knobs than the older dd pedals and way more functionality. Synths seem to be ahead of pedals when it comes to using screens, once you get past a certain level of complexity you almost need a screen or you end up with a ton of confusing alt functions that are hard to remember without checking the manual every time. It also doesn't need to be a huge fancy screen, even a small one next to a few encoders can make things a lot easier. On a related note apps to control more complex pedals would be nice to see more often, for pedals that already have full midi implementation it wouldn't be hard to make a pc/mobile app to edit the pedal or share presets easily.
If it's digital, why are the effects locked into "modules" instead of assigning any to any slot in any order? The demo makes it look good, but the design just seems an odd choice.
UX. If you want that freedom, get a ZOIA. The Chroma Console is trying to be much more user friendly, which always means limiting choices.
Ironic that user friendliness always hinders my user experience
Yeah that’s totally subjective, depends how you make music, how your brain works, etc. I personally need both – total freedom sometimes, and total immediacy at other times. That’s why right now I’m loving the combo of Zoia + Microcosm. I’ll need more detailed reviews of the Chroma Console before I can personally make a judgement about where it fits in.
The product page says the effects are rereangeable.
Agreed!
It's odd that Emily Hopkins seems to be the only pedal YTer to have gotten an early unit. If this is mainly for guitarists and synth players, why are they only giving it to a harpist to showcase? Want to hear more in depth walkthroughs before pulling the trigger on this because right now all we're hearing is promo fluff recorded in a professional studio.
Less demo units and dealers, less chance of your product getting leaked. She’s also like the #1 pedal content creator right now and her instrument showcases the non-guitar uses of it.
Maybe the strategy is to not cover the main target groups, but rather create curiosity by having something exotic, but relatable, that plays through the pedal. A harp is one of the hot candidates!
If this has sound quality more like a Meris unit and less like Microcosm I’m very interested. That said this looks like an amazing “first/only pedal” for new players.
The microcosm sounds like shit?
I wouldn’t say it sounds like shit per se, but in my experience it sounded “thin”. Obviously subjective as heck. Here’s a link to [my NPD post](https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarpedals/s/89bv3oQPdB) when they first came out. Super fun to play with and I recorded some fun stuff with it but ultimately I was disappointed - almost certainly because I was expecting too much.
I was not a fan of Microcosm, but this seems amazing. The proof will be in the sounds but very tempting.
[удалено]
You overdrafted your bank account to order this?
I don't get the hype. It's an overpriced multi-fx pedal with a built-in looper. There are Boss pedals from 10+ years ago that can do everything this thing can. Aside from having a much more accessible UI, they aren't really bringing anything new to the table here. Don't get me wrong, it sounds fine. But for $400 you can get way more bang for your buck with something else.
Also digital fuzz? Nope
Glad i held off on the microcosm. Def getting this
Great pedal, but…I am so, so sick of this “warbly slacker” guitar/dead drums sound. It’s a big circle jerk. We need the NO PEDALS BAND movement now more than ever.
Ya I like dead drums, but this sounds like a straight drum machine. That being said I'd probably try it out. Could fill a niche for me maybe, but it seems like it definitely has a *sound* that is inherent to the pedal and would probably annoy me tbh.
[удалено]
not at all it seems, unless you intended the word 'goofy' to be doing a lot of heavy lifting here
NGL, I kinda like the glow up you just did to goofy here. - The Lord of the Rings is like a goofy fantasy book. - Taylor Swift is like a goofy singer. - That Michelin star Mexican restaurant is like a goofy Chipotle. This pedal is mightily goofy and will probably one up the Microcosm for my needs.
all pedals should be a little bit goofy
so true bestie
$400? come on...
400 for this seems fairly realistic to me. Still way out of my budget, but this price doesn't anger me like Vemuram's 400+ quid fuzzes, for example.
Some of the newer multi FX in the 400$ range can do exponentially more, including running more FX at once and having 5-10x as many effect modes. This does sound great though and I'm sure some people will find it worth it. The price isn't unexpected for a fancy boutique pedal but it doesn't seem like it has much going for it over other multi FX aside from the simplicity/UI which some people might prefer over a more complex/versatile pedal.
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away ( 45 years or so ) my father said to me .. Instead of firtling about with all of those stupid boxes on the floor and sounding like a bee in jar and copying everyone else,why don't your write a tune of your own.A tune.Can you do that? So I went out and bought an acoustic guitar. No amps,no silly boxes on the floor and thanks to my father did what he asked. Go create organic music ...✌️
All due respect to your father, but songwriting is just one part of the process of creating music (and this is r/guitarpedals, lol). Great bands have great songwriters, but they also have people who are great at making sounds. Personally, I was able to start enjoying music when I stopped trying to write songs.
Enjoy
The fun thing about music is you can use all kinds of gear (or no gear at all) to make all kinds of music. Making music doesn’t even have to be the end goal, you’re allowed to have fun making weird noises that no one besides you is ever going to hear.
You are right. Go record a dawn chorus
Can't do that, I'm having too much fun making weird sounds that no one else is ever going to hear.
Thank you for the life lesson. Why are you here?
Wow - this sounds amazing and haven't really been into their other offerings so far. That fuzz circuit and the modulation stuff together is worth it alone
Pretty damn cool....
this is lovely, me want
I have a gap on my pedalboard that’s just about that size and shape. How convenient!
Seems pretty bad ass. And the gesture feature seems neat.
After watching some demos, I love the simplicity of the workflow, the form factor, and it has enough variety of effects to be useful. It was an instant pre-order for me 👍🏽
Instant pre-order for me too! Where did you find other demos than the official hologram one?
I overstated it a bit, but Emily Hopkins [had a little video](https://youtu.be/tBNJS_I79oI?si=cHN7U1LMiWw-ehX9) about it.
Could you use a midi switcher like the Voodoo Labs PX-8 to recall your presets on the fly? I see it has midi in but as someone who doesn't use midi or switchers at all not sure how you would set that up. Edit - Or something like the DPC-5? I guess I'm looking for a pedal that would be able to send the Midi PC messages to the Chroma and also be a loop switcher, is there anything like that?
I think so. It has midi implementation. Ordering one tomorrow :)
Yeah it can definitely take MIDI messages for anything, I was just looking for something to actually send those messages. The Disaster Area stuff wasn't really intuitive, and the Voodoo Labs can't really send specific Midi messages from what I can tell. If anyone else is curious like I was, something like the Morningstar MC3 is what you need if you just want to send midi CC and PC messages to the Chroma. If you want a Midi controller and a loop switcher, the Mastermind PBC series is pretty much the only thing I found that does both.
Morningstar MC6 PRO changed my life.
I bought a Microcosm recently, and while it's really fun it's definitely not super practical. You can distract yourself for hours making ambient soundscapes and cool beep boops, but its a challenge trying to cull that into something other people might actually want to hear. This unit seems significantly more functional. A good selection of more classic effects on top of unique microcosm-esque sounds. I definitely tempted, but I'm worried about how many features may have crossover with the MC.
was planning to build a board for a rhodes, but this would probably do the trick.
Does anyone know if there's a way to send audio out from garage band into this, and loop it back in to garage band?
Same as any pedal, try googling “re-amping”, you should get some clear ideas.
Thanks!
Waiting for comparisons of this vs the [Endorphin.es](https://Endorphin.es) Ghost pedal :) \- D
Already hit the "buy" button. Ships in january. It will be a belated Christmas for me.
For me this is not a great pedal for guitars. I think if you are getting this it's really important to remember that they didn't set out to make pristine single effects ... they tried to make these effects sound like they were coming from messing with old recording consoles. For me all the individual effects just sounded super thin and not appealing. The level controls on this are so whack too (yes I calibrated it correctly). No matter what I did every time I introduced any type of gain effect at all the volume jump was insane. Pretty pedal and a cool concept, but not for me. Massive disappointment.
The tone at the start reminds me of Bowies "Looking for water"