REVIEWS
SOURCE AUDIO
Nemesis
12 onboard delay engines
By Charles Saufley
Source Audio ’ s new One Series pedals were designed , in part , to make the company ’ s potent sound-shaping tools more accessible and easier to use . At a glance , the new Nemesis digital delay — with seven knobs , two switches , two push buttons , two footswitches , and a raft of I / Os — might look like a step backwards along that path . But in fact , it ’ s an intuitive and fantastically fun way to explore the possibilities of digital delay and create very personal variations on classic and more new-fangled echo sounds .
Like all One Series effects , Nemesis offers the potential of deep editing and customization through the company ’ s free , downloadable Neuro app . What ’ s impressive about Nemesis , however , is how sonically flexible the unit is before you dive into that second level of tailoring . Whether you plug and play or go further , this is a powerfully varied delay machine .
Echoes from a Frenemy Tech-averse players haven ’ t always found Source Audio pedals approachable . So the Darth Vader aura conveyed by the black enclosure and ominous name might seem like an odd choice . Such perceptions are overcome quickly by plugging in , twisting knobs , and making sounds — a process the very user-friendly Nemesis rewards readily , and with engaging sonic results .
Time , feedback , and mix controls all work like they would on any basic delay . The mod and rate knobs control the depth and speed of the modulation texture associated with each delay type . The intensity knob is the real wild card . This impressive little control changes roles depending on the delay type , adding a wide range of additional color and texture to each delay engine — from EQ filtering on the tape and analog delays , to aliased sounds on the bitcrushing degrade delay , and scale intervals on the pitch-shift delay .
The centerpiece of the control set is the delay engine selector . It offers a dozen departure points from which you can explore the Nemesis ’ formidable echo-shaping powers . Many of the delay engines are familiar . There are tape and analog simulations , ultra-high-resolution digital delays , and slapback . But there ’ s also a reverse delay , a reverse / octave delay , a pitch-sifting delay , and a sweeping-filter delay that ranges from subtle to extreme . The taptempo control can be tailored with a division switch that moves between quarter , dotted eighth , and triplet settings . It also doubles as a hold or freeze switch — an awesome feature that opens up all kinds of improvisational , on-the-fly uses for your echo textures .
For players that work with more than a single guitar and amp there are more features still : MIDI I / Os , stereo I / Os , USB connectivity , an assignable expression pedal input , and , of course , the Neuro app interface . Presets are also available and easy to program with the dedicated preset button .
Sonic Kicks from the 12 Chambers Navigating the 12 delay engines ( you can download an additional dozen via Neuro ) reveals how thoughtfully integrated each control is within the basic delay voice — and how profoundly those controls can reshape otherwise familiar echo types . The modulation controls are the most obvious and accessible way to reshape a familiar delay sound . At modest settings , the modulations tend to feel like very natural and integral parts of the delay tone . Within the analog and digital engines , for instance , they sound like light chorus — a natural fit for the ’ 70s and ’ 80s musical textures most associated with those echo types . In the tape modes , light modulation provides convincing replication of mechanically derived pitch modulation . At more extreme modes , however , the modulation controls radically transform the delay voices . Lovers of warped sci-fi textures will rejoice .
Nemesis ’ super-long delay times mean you can stack sounds over very elongated , almost loop-like durations and intervals — a technique that ’ s especially effective at high feedback levels . Used with the sweeper and reverse settings , it enables spacious , timewarping , wide-angle soundscaping . Tape settings , meanwhile , take on a cool , lo-fi vaporousness — particularly when you introduce darker repeat textures with the intensity control .
Modulation depth and rate controls
Hold control
Tap tempo with three divisions
Preset button
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