OohLaLa Pedals
becomes increasingly processed as the signal
is routed through the other units. For the test,
I tried out my Ernie Ball Jr. volume pedal and
my Line 6 DL4. I found that I could control the
ratio of dry signal to saturated signal using the
volume pedal without the loss of any volume.
Through the DL4 I was able to combine two
different delays to create some bizzare effects.
Using the reverse delay of the DL4 combined
with the slapback delay of the Quicksilver, I
achieved a slower build up of notes with a
huge sound.
It’s worth mentioning that if the Quicksilver is
in bypass mode, the pedals you run through
its effect loop chain are unavailable, so players may want to use some expendable pedals
in the chain. My only qualm with this unit is
the absence of a Tap Tempo. Some players
who are used to tapping out the delay speed
on the fly may try using the expression pedal
input feature, which allows you to adjust the
delay speed. I didn’t have an expression pedal
on hand to try this out, but I’m sure it would
take some getting used to. I would recommend the Quicksilver to any guitarist or synth
player looking for a great sounding analog
and tape-style delay.
Buy if… you’re looking for a great sounding
analog and tape-style delay.
Skip if… you want a delay pedal with
tap tempo.
Rating...
4. 5
Street $475
oohlalamanufacturing.com
Quicksilver
The Quicksilver is a very versatile pedal with
plenty of options for almost any style of music.
It offers 7 knobs: Delay Long, Delay Short,
Tone, Mix, Wobble, Speed and Repeat. There
are two footswitches: one bypass, and one
that switches between Long and Short Delay.
There are two small LEDs: red for Long Delay,
yellow for Short Delay. Neither LED will light
when the pedal is in bypass mode. You are
provided with a standard in/out, expression
pedal input, and an effects loop, which processes the feedback loop through external
devices. The Wobble controls the amount of
modulation going to the delay time. The Tone
knob adjusts the tone of the delay signal—
counterclockwise for a darker analog delay,
and clockwise for a brighter tape delay.
When I first plugged into this pedal, I tried
out the Long Delay option with the following
settings: Delay Long at 2 o’clock, Tone at 10
o’clock, Mix at 2 o’clock, Wobble and Speed
at 7 o’clock, and Repeat at 5 o’clock. I was
treated to a healthy dose of long, drawn-out
delay, and to my surprise, no out-of-control
feedback from repeat build up—the notes just
trailed off in the distance. Turning the speed
knob up, the waves became faster, building
over the slow churning waves. With the Short
Delay at 2 o’clock, I backed off on the Repeat
knob to 2 o’clock and turned the Wobble
up to 10 o’clock to add some modulation. It
was still a bit dark, so I turned the tone knob
clockwise to brighten up the tone, to get a
tight slapback-style delay. Using a telecaster,
I achieved an icy chorused twang, with a
roomier sound.
The effects loop allows you to route other
effects such as fuzz, volume pedals, or delays,
so that as the delay repeats, the sound
Soda-Meiser
The Soda-Meiser appears to be a basic fuzz
pedal, but what it may lack in features it
makes up for in all-out fuzz heaven. In heavy
competition with the infamous Big Muff,
this pedal is a lot more fun to play, with better harmonics to boot. The pedal layout is
simple: you get two footswitches for Bypass
and Boost, a Volume knob, Intensity knob,
Chaos switch (it means what it says), and
two big, bright LEDs, for Bypass and Boost.
My favorite setting on this pedal was with
the Intensity set at 2 o’clock without the
boost; volume was adjusted according to
the room. The intensity knob adjusts the
amount of signal going to the fuzz circuit,
similar to the sustain knob on a Big Muff.
The Soda-Meiser provides amazing sustain—
chords just droned on forever. The pedal
also has a smooth bass response.
