Tone Report Weekly Issue 162 | Page 47

The Drifter features a couple of interesting hidden features which help to set this unit apart from the rest . Aside from the generous selection of waveforms , the Drifter also features two “ live ” adjustments , Drift and Slide . Each mode can be accessed by depressing and holding the footswitch while the unit is turned on . Letting go of the footswitch takes the unit out of the temporary mode and puts it back into the “ normal ” mode in which the effect ’ s parameters match up to the knob ’ s settings .
Drift increases the speed of the tremolo , while Slide adjusts the depth of the effect . Unfortunately , only one of these two modes is accessible at a time , accessible via a toggle switch . And , somewhat disappointingly , neither mode seems accessible when the Drifter is in the Save mode , but these are minor quibbles of mine .
What ’ s particularly nice is that the Rate knob also controls the ramp time for both the
Drift and Slide modes . When the unit is off , simply depress the footswitch and hold for at least two seconds , then adjust the Rate knob to the desired position . Anywhere from fast ramping ( zero seconds ) up to very slow ramping ( ten seconds ) can be obtained . So , if a person would like to slowly ease into the Slide mode , for example , they could adjust the ramp time for five seconds .
When the Slide or Drift modes are engaged , the Drifter ’ s blinking LED helpfully displays two colors : red and blue . In this way , one can see the speed of the ramping ( in and out ) as well as hear the change of effect . It ’ s a nice feature .
So , if you ’ re curious about drifters but are ( understandably ) leery because of scary urban myths , might I recommend meeting another drifter — the Drifter analog tremolo by Greenhouse Effects ? It ’ s a safe purchase , and is quite handsome , just as drifters ought to be . Before you
know it , it ’ ll win you over . . . but watch your back .
Cool ramping options , excellent tremolo with a variety of analog waveforms .
Perhaps future models could allow for Slide and Drift while in the Save mode .
The Drifter features a couple of interesting hidden features which help to set this unit apart from the rest . Aside from the generous selection of waveforms , the Drifter also features two “ live ” adjustments , Drift and Slide . Each mode can be accessed by depressing and holding the footswitch while the unit is turned on . Letting go of the footswitch takes the unit out of the temporary mode and puts it back into the “ normal ” mode in which the effect ’ s parameters match up to the knob ’ s settings .
Drift increases the speed of the tremolo , while Slide adjusts the depth of the effect . Unfortunately , only one of these two modes is accessible at a time , accessible via a toggle switch . And , somewhat disappointingly , neither mode seems accessible when the Drifter is in the Save mode , but these are minor quibbles of mine .
What ’ s particularly nice is that the Rate knob also controls the ramp time for both the
Drift and Slide modes . When the unit is off , simply depress the footswitch and hold for at least two seconds , then adjust the Rate knob to the desired position . Anywhere from fast ramping ( zero seconds ) up to very slow ramping ( ten seconds ) can be obtained . So , if a person would like to slowly ease into the Slide mode , for example , they could adjust the ramp time for five seconds .
When the Slide or Drift modes are engaged , the Drifter ’ s blinking LED helpfully displays two colors : red and blue . In this way , one can see the speed of the ramping ( in and out ) as well as hear the change of effect . It ’ s a nice feature .
So , if you ’ re curious about drifters but are ( understandably ) leery because of scary urban myths , might I recommend meeting another drifter — the Drifter analog tremolo by Greenhouse Effects ? It ’ s a safe purchase , and is quite handsome , just as drifters ought to be . Before you
know it , it ’ ll win you over . . . but watch your back .

WHAT WE LIKE

Cool ramping options , excellent tremolo with a variety of analog waveforms .

CONCERNS :

Perhaps future models could allow for Slide and Drift while in the Save mode .
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