NAMM 2018: TC Electronics churn out four more “Sonic Specialists” effect pedals
New Sonic Specialists digital pedal range launches
TC Electronics Sonic Specialist pedal range launches at NAMM 2018 · Source: TC Electronics
These four new TC Electronics effects pedals are billed as the “Sonic Specialists”, using “state-of-the-art” digital algorithms. OK, we’ve heard that phrase used in advertising before, but we reckon these new guitar effects will be cheap and cheerful, making them worth at least checking out if you’re on a tight budget. Here’s more on each individual pedal.
Fluorescence Shimmer Reverb
The Fluorescence shimmer reverb is a ’90s style wash of reverb, the kind you might associate with Shoegaze guitar or perhaps Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Either way, this little box of reverb is big and lustrous sounding in the demo video below. It sounds a bit artificial, but I suppose that is the type of reverb you would want from a pedal like this.
Drip Spring Reverb
You guessed it, it’s a reverb pedal and yes, it is digital. TC has based this one on the typical heavy spring reverb sound one might associate with ’50s Surf guitar. Think vintage reverb tones with thick reverberation and classic old school ‘amp-style’ spring reverbs.
Vibraclone Rotary
The idea behind the Vibraclone rotary was to emulate the thick Leslie-like tones of players like Robin Trower, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan. I’m not convinced by the demo video below, but in a band mix, if it is cheap enough, it could be a useful effect for the odd tune. But if you want a decent rotary pedal, this would probably not be the one I would choose myself.
Gauss Tape Echo
A ‘sort of’ vintage delay that TC says is based on recordings from the 70s, the Gauss Tape Echo looks like a nice, cheap digital recreation of old vintage analogue tape delay units. Again, I don’t think it sounds particularly authentic, but if you are on a budget and if this is cheap enough, then it could be a useful pedal.
Behringer/TC Electronics
In case you hadn’t yet heard, Behringer, the budget audio brand, bought TC Electronics a while back. And it shows. TC has since released a whole slew of these cheap digital pedals. They all sound a little ‘meh’, and perhaps not what we are used to from this venerable Danish company in its pre-takeover form. But if these are cheap enough, they could be great for players on a budget.
RRP – TBC
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One response to “NAMM 2018: TC Electronics churn out four more “Sonic Specialists” effect pedals”
But on the “plus’ side, Behringer got TC back away from Gibson.