certain contexts, but they
probably won’t end up
on my personal board.
My favorite thus far is
the EarthQuaker Devices
Dispatch Master. Its sweet
sounding reverb can be
subtle or far out without
ever sounding over the
top or unusable. Whether
it’s fair or not, I compare
every reverb pedal I play
to the Dispatch Master
and I’m rarely satisfied.
As soon as I strummed a
chord with the Splash, I
was sold. It has a natural
quality even at extreme
settings. In Exciter mode,
with the Excite and Decay
knobs maxed, nearinfinite reverb captures
your sound and takes it to
another dimension. This is
a great setting for volume
swells, and with the Kill
Dry function engaged,
you don’t even need
your volume knob/pedal.
Mode II is great for more
subtle sounds, and mode
III gets big but without
the infinity factor of the
Exciter mode. Using the
Kill Dry function adds a
whole new level to each
setting and is it is worth
experimenting with. The
Volume knob adds up
to 20db of boost if you
need it. In keeping with
the slogan on its box,
the Splash preserved the
natural guitar tone going
into the pedal. It did not
overtake my signal, but
added glorious reverb to
the sound I already had.
What I really love about
the Splash is all settings
are musical and usable.
There are a lot of pedals
loaded with several
wacky sounds and a few
good ones. Don’t get
me wrong, I appreciate
experimentation and
exploration, but at the
end of the day I want
something that sounds
good and is functional.
There is nothing in the
Splash that you can’t
use—it contains beautiful
reverbs from subtle
splashes to waves so
big Moby Dick could
be hiding in them. It’s
compact, looks awesome,
sounds amazing, and is
simple to operate.
Tone Report, I have the
incredible opportunity to
test drive gear. Some of
it strikes my fancy, some
of it doesn’t, but frankly,
none of it is ever bad. It’s
been a long time since
I’ve played something
and thought “this sucks.”
I don’t want to use the
term lightly, but I feel
we’re in a Golden Era
as far as effects are
concerned. That being
said, I only throw down
cash for things I really
want, and I want the
Splash on my board.
I can’t give it any
higher endorsement
than that.
WHAT WE LIKE
Fantastic sounding
reverb variations.
Useful Kill Dry
function. Userriendly design.
CONCERNS
Expensive.
As a contributor for
ToneReport.com
57