GEAR SPOTLIGHT
ALEXANDER
PEDALS
SYNTAX ERROR
REVIEW BY ERIC TISCHLER
STREET PRICE $199.99
I don’t know if I need the
Alexander Syntax Error,
but I want one. The pedal
offers ways to digitally
manipulate your tone that,
in theory, create textures
that are reminiscent of
the early days of digital
music and sound effects
(think Atari video games).
However, given the various
parameters that the pedal
can tweak, it’s probably
more accurate to say it
creates cool, unusual
sounds that aren’t limited
to a specific vintage.
The Syntax Error is a
sampler: it samples your
signal, then offers a myriad
of methods to alter the
sampled signal. The heart
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GEAR SPOTLIGHT //
of the pedal is the Select
Button, which toggles
between four types of
effects: Stretch, Cube,
Ring and Freq. Stretch
mode is a delay—the
pedal delays the signal
and the controls affect the
delayed signal. Turn the
Code and Sample knobs
counter clockwise, set the
Mix (amount of effect) and
Tweak (length of delayed
signal) to taste, and you’ve
got a fairly clean, short
delay. However, if you max
out the Tweak you’ve got a
full reverse delay. Bring up
the Sample control and it
will introduce some 8-bit-
flavored distortion. Now,
turn the Sample knob
Alexander Syntax Error
clockwise and the signal
gets glitchier. At noon,
it’s virtually decimated;
beyond noon . . . well,
the crazy just keeps on
coming.
Hit the Select Button again
and the pedal toggles to
the Cube setting. In this
setting, the pedal is a very
unconventional fuzz. Think
of an old-school octave-up
fuzz built around state-of-
the-art 1982 technology.
The Sample control is still
degrading the original
signal’s sample rate as you
turn it clockwise. In the
first quarter of its travel,
the distortion is fairly
conventional, but different
enough that it still The