In case you’re unfamiliar, the Mooer Micro Pedal series of stomps is sort of the new Boss in terms of covering a wide variety of effects with affordable prices. The thing with these little beauties is that they are fitted into a micro case and pack a maximum of features while maintaining a small price tag and footprint; something to be desired by anyone with an ever growing pedal board. This is the first of a series of reviews I will be conducting involving the Micro Pedal line. The first four on my reviewer’s bench include the Echolizer (digital delay), ShimVerb (digital reverb), LoFi Machine (Bit Crusher), and Fog (Bass Fuzz).
The Echolizer:
The Echolizer digital delay is a digital delay made to sound like an analog delay. Adjustable parameters include an Echo knob for adjusting the level of the delay effect, a Feedback knob for adjusting the number of repeats, and lastly the Time knob for adjusting the delay time from 25 to 600ms. A very musical delay with a minimum of bells and whistles. However, that’s the charm. It feels like an analog delay because there’s no tap tempo or LCD screen. Set your level, time and amount of repeats and that’s it. I feel like this would be a great pedal to just set and forget. It’s a preset in itself. Say you had a specific simple delay you use often and it doesn’t have to be synced to tempo or maybe you use it only once in your set. The price and footprint of this pedal make it so that it would be worth it to buy it just for one part of one song in your set. When the Feedback knob is cranked it easily goes into self oscillation-so you could use it specifically for that dramatic moment when you want your delay to just oscillate into oblivion. I’m a big fan of this little delay.
The ShimVerb:
The ShimVerb digital reverb has three modes-Room, Spring and Shimmer. The Room mode emulates room reverb tones ranging from room to hall. The Spring mode emulates vintage spring units of the past. Shimmer mode adds shinning overtones to the reverberated signal making it ideal for Post Rock. Additionally the unit features a Color knob which effects different parameters depending on what mode you’re in, a Level knob that simply controls the amount of reverb added to your signal, and a Decay knob that allows you to control the time it takes the reverb tails to decay. In Room mode the Color knob adjusts the tone of the reverberated signal. In Spring mode Color adjusts the level of the clanging springs. In Shimmer mode the Color knob adjusts the brightness of the added shimmer. How do the modes sound? Overall I like them. I really like Spring and Shimmer. I am a sucker for Spring reverb as it is and this is a really good emulation and I really like that you can adjust Decay and Spring sounds. It does Surf Rock very well. The Shimmer mode brings me back to the 80s. Its added sparkle will add space and shine to your tone.
LoFi Machine:
I freaking love this little pedal! For years one of my favorite effects in DAWs has been the bit crusher effect. There’s something about the gritty, degrading, bit-starved distortion that just warms my soul. So Mooer have taken this digital effect (the only good one if you ask me) and made a small footprint dedicated LoFi Machine. This is a one trick pony. There is a Mix knob for wet/dry ratio, a Sample knob for reducing the sample rate, and a Bit knob for reducing the bit rate. Lastly, it has a 3-way switch for switching between Synth, Bass and Guitar. That’s it. It makes for a great effect for use on special riffs and one-off licks. Degrade your signal until it is just a digital mess.
Fog:
Fog is a bass fuzz, pure and simple. For such a small pedal I feel like it digs a little deeper than fuzzes much larger in size. It has knobs for Volume, Squeeze, Tone, and Fuzz. Fuzz adjusts the level of fuzz, Tone adjusts the tonal color of the fuzz, Squeeze adjusts the pulse waveform from wide (leftmost) to narrow (rightmost), and Volume adjusts the volume level of the fuzzed signal. Given the controls, this pedal can generate all sorts of fuzzed tones. Utilizing the Squeeze knob really helps shape the timbre of the fuzzed signal. You get everything from piercing and abrasive to warm and woolly. Once again for the price and footprint I think this is a brilliant bass fuzz.
Take it from me, you won’t find better cost/size/features ratios out there. These are rad little beasts!-Gus Green
1 comment
Metaljuice says:
Aug 6, 2013
Recently purchased a Mooer Acoustikar… and I gotta say it sounded a lot more refined than the Boss Acoustic Simulator my bro owns. Unlike the Boss, the Mooer doesn’t hiss or sound as thin. The sound on the Mooer is fuller sounding and tones down some of the excess, digital brightness of the Boss. Look forward to getting a Blues Crab or Rumble Drive or Shimverb soon. Nice review. Cheers!