I’m considering getting a Chase Bliss pedal, but I’m not sure which one is right for me. I want a pedal with glitchy or stuttery modulation/delay that gives me control over when and where the glitches happen. Something like the Boss Slicer but with more options, control, and the ability to adjust the tone. The Onward, Mood, Lossy, and Habit pedals seem like they might work for this, but which one would be easiest to use in a live setting? Any suggestions?
Hi, I have Onward, Mood mkII, and Lossy, but I don’t think any of these are exactly what you’re after. Here’s my take on them:
- Lossy is more of a signal degradation effect, kind of like a dynamic freezer that turns notes into pads, but it won’t really do glitchy delays.
- Onward is another dynamic freezer with some glitchy effects, but those glitches are more unpredictable and not really based on delay.
- Mood mkII does have a delay mode, but the glitchy part is also pretty random.
All of these pedals have dip switches and deep MIDI control, so with additional hardware, you might be able to get closer to what you’re looking for. The Hologram Microcosm has a lot of glitchy delay modes, but they’re also unpredictable. I use these pedals for happy accidents, which might not be what you’re after.
I’ve been thinking about using a MIDI sequencer to control them more precisely, but I haven’t had time to test it yet. If I can get that working, I think I’d have better control over when the glitches happen.
Hope this helps a bit. I’m interested to hear if anyone else has found a way to control glitches better.
No, your answer was actually really helpful, thank you for taking the time to explain!
I love Habit so much I’ve bought pretty much every other Chase Bliss pedal, and I’m about halfway through the collection.
Most of them can get glitchy, but the older ones aren’t as focused on it. Habit is probably the closest to what you’re looking for, depending on how much modulation you want. Habit is a delay, Blooper is a looper, Mood is a reverb/delay, Clean is a compressor, Onward is a sampler, and CXM is a reverb. The Wombtone is the only one that’s more of a modulator.
The cool thing about Chase Bliss pedals is that they tend to create interesting results when you let go of control, so asking for more control makes me hesitant to recommend these pedals to you.
That makes sense, I was drawn to Habit too, but maybe I’m misunderstanding what Chase Bliss pedals are all about.
Mood is actually a granular looper at its core.
I might not be fully understanding what you’re looking for, but I think Habit could be your best option. It has a lot of delay time, multi-tap abilities with the spread knob, and if you add an expression pedal, you can control when, how long, and how much modifier is applied to the delay repeats.
Onward or Mood could be what you need. It might take some time to get the settings right, whether it’s adjusting sensitivity on Onward or finding the right workflow for turning on Mood at the right moments.
Have you seen the Knobs demos for these pedals? They show off the different features well.
I have the Mood Mk II, and I love it. I’m hoping to get an Onward next. However, I don’t think Mood is what you’re after if you need more control over the glitches. The pedal’s more about trusting the process and working with what it gives you, like having a robotic jam partner.
So far, Mood has been the easiest one for me to learn. But even after months of playing with it, I’m still discovering new things. I’d say it has the perfect blend of control and randomness.
Raj said:
So far, Mood has been the easiest one for me to learn. But even after months of playing with it, I’m still discovering new things. I’d say it has the perfect blend of control and randomness.
As someone else mentioned, you don’t necessarily trigger glitches with Mood, but it does cover most of the other areas you mentioned.
These pedals are all interesting. The only one I have is the Mood Mk II, and I’m still figuring it out.
If you’re more focused on functionality than brand, you might want to check out the Red Panda Particle V2. It could be a good fit for you.
If you’re not sure about which pedal to go for, maybe try flipping them on Reverb. Chase Bliss pedals sell pretty quickly, and if you don’t get what you want, you won’t lose much.
I use the Blooper to mess with my recordings. In my experience, real-time stutter and glitch effects don’t always track the way you want them to.
I haven’t tried Habit, Lossy, or Onward yet, but I feel like Blooper might cover what you’re looking for anyway.
If none of these pedals stand out to you, or if you’re not sure about the randomness of Chase Bliss pedals, maybe wait on it for now. They’re pretty expensive, and buying one just to have it isn’t usually the best idea financially.
I’m curious why you want one if you’re not sure which pedal you like.
@Dakota
I’m not opposed to something more complex with randomness. I find Chase Bliss pedals fascinating and would love to tinker with one. But I also need something that I can count on for live performances, which is why I was hoping to find a pedal that works both at home for experimenting and live for more predictable use. Maybe I’m being naive, though, haha.