The following article is a Strymon Mobius review discussing the features and performance of a very popular modulation pedal.
Strymon Mobius Review
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When this pedal arrived several years ago, it definitely wasn’t the first product designed to offer a complete range of modulation pedals. However, no other device has been able to deliver such an impressive combination of quality and diversity. After several years of presence on pedalboards of numerous pro guitarists, we can clearly say that this is arguably one of the most amazing modulation pedals you can find on the market.
Simply, the Strymon Mobius is extremely strong in all fields. It offers an impressive range of modulation effects, which includes pretty much everything you can imagine. However, that’s not all, each of these effects has been built with such precision and they closely resemble some of the most legendary pedals of all time.
Even though effects are digital, the sound is impressively natural, on par with any analog device around, even better than many of them. Add to this the easiness of use and pretty transparent controls, as well as lots of options for expansion, and it’s legal to say that this is one of the most versatile pedals on the market. It is a true stereo pedal, with true bypass, so live performers will definitely love it.
Features and controls
The first thing we should mention about this pedal is that it features an impressive collection of modulation effects. There are 12 of them in total, including chorus, tremolo, flanger, phaser, vibe, rotary and more. Things become even more impressive once you realize that each of these effects has several different types, so you may actually count on a huge bank of effects. As we are talking about a digital pedal, one of the biggest benefits is that you can store your settings on any of 200 empty slots.
On the front panel, you can count on some pretty typical controls, as well as on a couple of interesting, quite useful knobs. The first knob you’ll notice is on the left side, which lets you dial the effect you want. As I’ve already mentioned, there are 12 of them.
In the upper row, you can see three typical knobs, common for most modulation pedals. Those are Speed, Depth and Level and I think there’s no need to waste words on them. On the other side, the fourth knob in the row, positioned on the left, is quite interesting. It is called Value and it allows you to assign any of offered parameters (the list depends on the chosen effect) to Param 1 or Param 2 knobs, which are positioned under the first row of knobs.
Finally, you will find three footswitches in the lower section. These three are pretty typical and allow you to choose different preset, bypass or to manually set the effect speed via Tap footswitch. Of course, I should also mention a nice LED display, which is pretty transparent and show all necessary information, such as preset, parameter, bpm settings etc.
From the backside, you will find typical jacks. This is a stereo pedal, so there are two inputs and outputs. Also, there is a 1/4” jack for the expression pedal and MIDI In and Out. Of course, there is also a power supply jack. Speaking of the power supply, a 9V power adapter is included. Speaking of the MIDI connection, it’s good to know that all parameters can be controlled in this way, and you may also count on patch selection and tempo/LFO sync.
Another interesting detail we should mention is that the aforementioned Value knob can be assigned to an expression pedal. This means you can count on various kinds of foot-controlled gradations, depending on the assignment.
Tone and Performance
Despite the wide range of effects and excellent functionality, the sound quality is the thing that impresses most. Although we are talking about a digital multi-effect processor, the quality of the sound on this pedal is on par with analog pedals, even better than many of them, including expensive boutique stompboxes.
Of course, the core of this pedal is a mighty 32-bit Sharc DSP processor. It features a 24-bit 96kHz A/D and D/A converters, as well as a 32-bit floating-point processing. Such combination ensures premium, analog-like sound quality. Also, the pedal is extremely quiet and features a true bypass, which means your dry guitar signal will remain untouched.
The diversity of tones is impressive on this pedal. You can count on a wide range of effects that go from common vintage modulation effects to modern, experimental sounds. The best thing is that all of them sound great.
All effects on this pedal sound great but engineers put special attention to those that are used most frequently. Classic effects like chorus or flanger are characterized by beautiful and very rich textures, no matter the mode you choose.
Speaking of modes, there are five types of chorus effect – dBucket, Multi, Vibrato, Detune and Digital. When it comes to a flanger, you can choose between six different algorithms. The same thing goes for vibe and tremolo effects, which bring a genuine flavor of the ‘60s. Phaser is highly flexible and we like all those amazing LFO waveforms.
Modern effects sound equally amazing. For example, the Quadrature features advanced frequency shifter, AM ring modulator and FM modulator, all with selectable waveforms. Another amazing effect we love Formant, which emulates the human vocal, as well as synced pattern tremolo. Autoswell, Filter, Destroyer and other effects sound amazing as well.
Given all the features and impressive range of amazing tones, it’s not hard to conclude that this is one of the most impressive modulation pedals on the market. No matter if you like to use all those effects, or just a couple of them, this pedal will serve you well. Not only that it sounds amazing and offers a lot of possibilities, but the Strymon Mobius is also a very practical pedal, as it replaces a lot of stompboxes on your pedalboard.
The price tag may seem high for a digital stompbox, but keep in mind that this unit replaces multiple pedals. Once you see all the things this pedal can do, you will realize that the price is actually a real bargain.
Strymon Mobius Conclusion
Strymon products are truly amazing pedals that every guitar player could completely reinvent their sound with. The Mobius is no exception, a breathtakingly dreamy modulation pedal that delivers unworldly modulated sounds. We fully believe that the Strymon Mobius is fully worth the price, due to its seemingly unlimited functionality and array or sounds.
This pedal could easily replace a chorus, flanger and phaser pedal from your pedalboard and still offer you more diversity to your sound. Give it a try, we don’t think you’ll be disappointed!
Customer Review Rating
The Strymon Mobius modulation has a rating of 4* out of 5* on Amazon – >>>Check out the Latest Amazon Customer Reviews of the Strymon Mobius<<<
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