Source Audio

133
july 2016 Guitarist
source audio
S
ource Audio’s One Series includes
three dirt pedals, but here we’re
looking at the four modulation
options: the Vertigo Tremolo, Lunar Phaser,
Gemini Chorus and Mercury Flanger. If you
merely glanced at their top panels, you’d
think that these were just fairly standard
stompboxes with four knobs and a toggle
switch for selecting three sound variations.
You can, of course, use them just like that if
you like to keep things simple, but if you’re
keen to explore, each of these pedals has a
lot more going on.
The key to unlocking the potential in
these ’boxes is Source Audio’s Neuro app
(available for both iOS and Android). Once
loaded into your phone or device, you can
connect the supplied mini-to-standard
jack cable to a pedal’s Input 2 socket and
access an editing page that offers a bunch
of editing parameters and control options
beyond the four physical knobs. For
example, parametric EQ and a low-cut filter
are covered here, and you can also access
more algorithms than the three defaults
initially called up by that toggle switch.
Neuro also has access to loads of edited
effects that can be browsed and tried out
– and maybe transferred to the editor and
loaded into the pedal. There are factory
presets, presets from other users and
storage for your own customised effects,
which can be shared with other users if
you wish. While the tremolo has its own
algorithms, the architecture of the phaser,
chorus and flanger allows all three to share
the same effects, making each of them very
versatile. You could, for example, load any
one of the pedals so the toggle switch could
call up a chorus, a flanger and a phaser
effect. We have to say that the prospect of a
CE-2, Electric Mistress and Phase 90 in one
compact pedal does appeal.
Each pedal can also save a single preset
onboard for instant access to a sound,
regardless of the physical knob positions.
Once you’ve dialled up a sound that you
like, you can simply press and hold the
footswitch to save it. Switching the pedal
between normal operation and Preset
mode is easily carried out. Each pedal can
operate in a standard mono signal chain, but
also has true stereo operation and various
mono/stereo combinations. If you fancy
a bit of live parameter manipulation, each
pedal has a mini-jack control input to take
an expression pedal, Source Audio’s Hot
Hand (a motion sensing controller) or a tap-
tempo switch. A USB port lets each pedal
connect as a plug-and-play device to a DAW,
allowing synchronisation via MIDI clock.
If you want to build a complete system
utilising the pedals, then you can purchase
the Neuro Hub (for around £80), which
can connect up to five Source Audio pedals.
A scene-saving facility allows you to create
up to 128 multi-pedal presets complete
with external expression control. These
presets can be recalled using an external
MIDI foot controller.
With our introduction complete, let’s take
a closer look at the pedals over the page…
SOURCE AUDIO
one series pedals
£129 each
These compact plug-in-and-play stompboxes get a boost in
feature sets and flexibility with Source Audio’s Neuro app
Words Trevor Curwen Photography Adam Gasson
GIT408.peds_source.indd 133 12/05/2016 14:33