Tone Report Weekly 202 | Page 48

GEAR SPOTLIGHT ISSUE 202 O C T O B E R 20 SUHR ALEXA REVIEW BY DAVID A. EVANS STREET PRICE $299.00 1 # TOP TONE When my editor informed me that I would get to test drive the new Alexa by Suhr Electronics, thoughts of effortless online commerce came to mind. After all, who hasn’t wished to order more laundry detergent without experiencing the hassle of actually going to the store? Even handling a keyboard can seem onerous these days. The good news is that the Alexa now ranks as one of my favorite chorus and vibrato units on the market, tonally comparable to 48 G EA R S POTLI G HT // my beloved Providence Anadime Chorus. The Alexa seemed far more complex and overbuilt than I would have expected. Its durable, green metal housing reassured me that it would last. Still, the sheer number of knobs atop the unit for speed, delay, depth, and what looked like waveforms, confused me. However, the Alexa featured left and right output jacks and an input for an Expression or Tap- Tempo pedal. The Alexa also features a nifty eighth-inch input which S u h r alexa connects the unit to an external effects switching relay. The Alexa features two excellent modulation circuits. Moreover, one circuit can produce either a vibrato or chorus effect, depending upon the position of a small toggle switch. The A/B foot switch on the lower right-hand corner of the pedal’s face allows the user to choose between the two main circuits. The left-hand circuit could be set to Vibrato mode, its parameters adjusted for, say, a deep and slow triangle waveform. The