The Texan vintage guitar effects reproduction specialist Warm Audio has unveiled another two pedals that offer today’s player a compelling taste of yesteryear’s electric guitar tones, the WA-C1 Chorus Vibrato and Pedal76.
If the names still leave you guessing, the pictures should jog the memory as to what Warm Audio is recreating here. The Pedal76 is a compressor pedal that takes its inspiration from the Universal Audio Urei 1176LN, translating this iconic piece of rack-mounted studio hardware into pedalboard-friendly enclosure.
The WA-C1 Chorus Vibrato, meanwhile, is based on the legendary CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, much-loved by… Well, pretty much everyone who has played one, if not just for its rich BBD-driven analogue chorusing but its tone-enhancing preamp. The thing is, these typically sell for mega-bucks on the used market and it’s not like you can just pop round John Frusciante’s house and ask to borrow his.
This might just be the next best thing, and it features a reproduction of that musically honeyed preamp, with independent chorus and vibrato sections each with their own Depth and Rate controls and a footswitch to toggle between the two modes. A second footswitch bypasses or engages the effect.
Around the back of this retro chorus pedal you will find outputs to run the WA-C1 in mono or stereo, and a slider switch marked “hi-z” that toggles between a classic ‘70s voicing of the sound or ‘80s, the latter given the more polished sheen of some upper-mids and high-end content. Think new-wave guitar sounds, more headroom, more hairspray.
“With the WA-C1, you can go beyond the limitations of vintage pedals by dialing in more subtle depth and the same varying rates for a larger palette of chorus tones,” says Warm Audio.
And this is not just for your guitar. The WA-C1 would work very nicely with you electronic keyboard.
“This launch is exciting and unique for us,” says Bryce Young, founder and president, Warm Audio. “We’ve applied the Warm Formula to deliver the OG of bold chorus sounds and we’re thrilled to authentically bring that tone back to pedalboards.
“The WA-C1 Chorus Vibrato not only brings back that iconic, lush chorus sound and rich, three-dimensional vibrato, but the high-quality preamp inside delivers pure, all-analog tone that just can’t be replicated by digital emulations.”
Now for the Pedal76. That too works on more than one instrument. It’ll handle your guitar and bass guitar alike. There is is no shortage of high-quality compressor pedals on the market but when you look at the specs of this one and contemplate the tone-gussying miracles it will perform for you on a regular basis, then it looks like one sweet stompbox.
“With Pedal76, we’re excited to bring the high-quality circuit and premium components of our WA76 studio compressor to pedalboards for controlling dynamics on stage without squashing character,” says Bryce. “With the added features and stage-friendly circuit, we’ve ensured that Pedal76 plays nice with both your rig and a live sound mixing board, while providing additional boost as needed. We’ve intentionally designed Pedal76 to be the ultimate all-analog compressor pedal for guitarists and bass players.”
It is a reassuringly chunky pedal, with over-sized dials for Ratio, Output and Input/Comp, smaller dials for Attack and Release. At higher settings (ratios of 12:1 or 20:1) the Pedal76 performs as a limiter.
Around the back of the unit, you’ll find switchable bypass, a 1/4” balanced output with ground lift, input sensitivity controls, high/low gain modes and a pad switch for line level, all of which makes it suitable for going direct onstage or in the studio.
Under the hood is where the real magic happens, applying a FET-driven compression circuit to marshal your transients. Warm Audio’s build quality is always on-point so you can expect similar here, with “premium components” including a CineMag USA transformer.
Performance-wise, this will give you a little bit of flattering overdrive just like the original units it is based on, and, its USP, is the promise of portable, studio-quality compression for just £259/$269.
The WA-C1 Chorus Vibrato is similarly attractively priced. It will set you back just £/$189. When you think that the originals trade for upwards of 700 bucks, that’s a very attractive price. Find out more at Warm Audio.
