S
ometimes, it’s not all about frenetic
sweep picking, ornamental arpeggios
or artful blues turnarounds –
sometimes, it’s all about texture.
Although it might be tempting to dismiss
the resurgent ‘shoegaze’ movement as a
cynical ploy by pedal companies to shift
more units, the fact remains there’s a
growing subsection of players (doubtless
inspired by the celestial workings of
Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien, Swervedriver and
Ride) whose primary goal is the creation of
otherworldly atmospheres. It’s this group
that Walrus Audio’s latest offering, the Slö
Multi Textured Reverb, is aimed at.
The jack and power sockets are top-
mounted to make the unit pedalboard-friendly and the knobs are all smooth and
precise. Controls include decay, mix and
depth, with the added attraction of a filter
and another knob simply marked ‘X’, which
plays different roles depending on which
algorithm has been selected.
A centre-mounted mini-toggle switch
accesses three reverbs: Dark (adds a lower
octave), Rise (ambient swell with a slow
attack on the reverb) and Dream (latching
pad controlled with the sustain footswitch).
Secondary functionality is also accessed
when you hold down the bypass switch,
which changes the wave shapes of the
reverb tail from a smooth sine wave with
even pitch modulation (Sine) to warped
record (Warp) and Bigsby drop (Sink).WALRUS AUDIO
SLÖ MULTI TEXTURE REVERB
WORDS MICHAEL WATTSA handwired box of dreamlike reverb flavours for the unhurried
texturenaut. Time to tune up, turn up and zone out...IN USE
The sounds within are not only extremely
high quality but also, crucially, usable. All
too often, lush, multi-layered textures are
added to pedals and multi-FX units almost
as an afterthought but here, we discover
new sonic landscapes that fit into both live
and recorded mixes with little tweaking.
Our immediate favourite combinations
are jangly Gretsch chords with the Dark sub
octave grumbling underneath, summoning
a choir of angels behind an acoustic guitar
with the Rise setting and the psychonautic
experience that is the Dream setting. With
the sustain switch, it will surround you with
swirling, somnambulant textures as you solo
(tastefully) over the top.
The Slö’s control system is intuitive, with
a large amount of range to each parameter.
The bass octave and modulation track
perfectly and the top end remains silky and
dynamic. Fans of self-oscillating, end-of-the-
gig wig-outs will find a new friend here.
That’s not to say the Slö is strictly limited
to the Jazzmaster/Strymon enthusiasts outREVIEWS120