Guitarists and sound designers seeking to transcend traditional effects have a new tool at their disposal. Source Audio has just launched the Encounter, a new pedal that pushes the boundaries of delay and reverb, delivering a unique palette of otherworldly soundscapes and ambient textures.
Marketed as “Atmospheric Delay & Reverb,” the Encounter pedal combines key elements from the company’s popular Collider and Nemesis pedals while forging its own distinct identity. Instead of the classic plate reverb or tape delay sounds found in many pedals, the Encounter is designed for players who want to explore weird delays and alien reverbs.
More Than Just Echoes
The Encounter is a dual-engine pedal featuring 12 unique algorithms—six for delay and six for reverb. None of these effects are your standard fare. The delay modes, including Noise Tape, Resonant, Drum Echo, Echoverb, Kaleidoscope, and Helix, offer a diverse range of broken and unconventional echoes.
The reverb side is equally adventurous, with algorithms like Hypersphere, Shimmers, TremVerb, Reverse, Lo-Fi, and Swell. The ability to use two effects simultaneously opens up a world of sonic possibilities, allowing for creative and interwoven sound design.
Stereo and Control Options for Ultimate Flexibility
For those who crave a broad stereo image, the Encounter delivers with a complete stereo signal path. The pedal’s flexible routing options allow users to run the delay and reverb in parallel, in series, or even send them to separate outputs. This level of versatility gives you immense control over the placement and interaction of your effects.
The Encounter’s control layout is designed for both intuitive tweaking and deep editing. Six knobs—Delay, Feedback, Tone, and Mix, plus two additional Control 1 and Control 2 parameters—provide a hands-on way to sculpt your tone. The function of the latter two knobs changes with each algorithm, offering precise control over the unique characteristics of each effect.
Presets and App Integration
A three-way switch allows for easy toggling between delay and reverb settings, and dedicated footswitches for each effect make independent activation simple. When you’ve dialed in a perfect sound, you can save up to eight presets for quick recall.
The pedal’s true potential is unlocked via the Neuro app, accessible through a mini-USB port. The app gives users access to deeper settings for each algorithm and the ability to download custom presets from a community of users. For advanced setups, the Encounter can be synchronized with other pedals via MIDI, unlocking the ability to switch between a massive 128 presets.
Price & Availability
The Source Audio Encounter is now available, inviting musicians to create sounds that are truly out of this world.
Priced at $399£369/€399 pre-orders are open now at the dealers below.
Available at Andertons
Available at Sweetwater
Available at Thomann
More Information
#Source Audio
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