Minim

106
GUITARIST OCTOBER 2020
IMAGES TO BE SHOT
P
edals specifically designed to
create complex ambiences have
become quite a thing of late – and
the Old Blood Noise Endeavors Minim
falls right into that category. While some
pedals weave their sonic tapestry simply
via a combination of reverb and delay, the
Minim goes further, adding reverse sounds
to the mix. You get two effects blocks
that run serially with a choice of which
goes first. One block features modulated
delay and modulated reverb, the other
(with a separate momentary or latching
footswitch) offers the reverse effect.
SOUNDS
The Reverb knob does what you’d expect,
adding in the effect all the way to a totally
wet sound, while the Decay knob adjusts
the length of its decay. By default, the
reverb has harmonic tremolo applied to
it with speed and depth simultaneously
controlled by the Modulation knob. Speed
is continuously increased by turning the
knob, but Depth is gradually decreased at
the same time, so it starts off at its deepest
and ends up at zero depth. This basically
means no modulation, allowing you to
use the pedal for a straight-sounding
hall reverb. Before that point is reached,
though, the faster trem speeds add a lovely
shimmer to the mix.
The Delay knob dials in the amount of
the delay effect on top of the dry sound,
which is always present; the dry and delay
sound are in equal balance at about two
o’clock with repeats getting slightly louder
than the dry sound beyond that. The
delay is constantly modulating, so at the
minimum setting of the Time knob you get
a pure chorus effect. That knob advances
up to a maximum delay time of about
400ms, the modulation getting gradually
deeper, with the detuning more noticeable
at longer delay times. A Feedback knob
runs from a single repeat upwards to
its maximum value of non-stop repeats
that go on and on but never take off into
self-oscillation. Feedback can also conjure
up some metallic flanging and comb
filtering effects at minimal delay times.
Between them, reverb and delay can
combine to yield a vast range of ambient
and rhythmic effects textured with rich
modulation – and that’s before you even
think about switching in the other block
for the reverse side of the pedal, which
takes your input signal and plays it back
in reverse after a fixed time of around
half a second.
Palindromic ambience machine puts a reverse spin on your sound
Words Trevor Curwen Photography Phil Barker
PEDALBOARD
Minim
CONTACT
AUDIO DISTRIBUTION GROUP [phone] WWW.OLDBLOODNOISE.COM
MODEL
MINIM
PRICE
£219
M A NU FACTUR ER
OLD BLOOD NOISE ENDEAVORS
OLD BLOOD NOISE ENDEAVORS
GIT464.peds_obne_lead.indd 106 02/09/2020 15:18