Recently, I was presented with a fun opportunity to spend some serious time playing around with the Walrus Audio Demo board thanks to a good friend and, owner of ZStringMusic.com. As shared in my review of the MAKO D1 Delay, both of us are self-confessed Gear Nerds and musicians, having enjoyed many an in-depth conversations and debates about pedals, amps, guitars, and all things music. Over a period of a few weeks, I spent some quality time playing with the Walrus board as a whole while also pulling off some of my favorite selections to see how well they would integrate into my current rig. What follows are some quick thoughts and reflections — not intended to be an in-depth review.

The Basics

Walrus Audio makes some great sounding pedals with fun themes, playful graphics, and thoughtful controls that tend to provide some versatility while expanding the range of resulting effect. Yes, the basics are all accounted for – Chorus, Phaser, Tremolo, Delay, Reverb, Gain, etc. – but each pedal then provides some unique and meaningful twists. Solidly built, these are great options for one to consider when looking to expand their effects repertoire.

The Unexpected Favorite Pedal: The 385 Overdrive

This particular pedal was the one I was most intrigued about, especially after learning the fantastic backstory of its origins – it didn’t take long before I was smitten. A clean design, straightforward control mechanics and, with playful graphics that give a nod to its inspiration. Once engaged, the 385 provides a discernable mid-boost that provides a nice foundation of warmth. In addition, more felt than heard, there is a touch of sag/chewiness with the response (read: tube-esque). The pedal excels at boost/cusp-of-breakup settings, so very responsive to one’s playing dynamics. From that point, it can find comfort with more overdriven tones. The Low and High EQ controls provide some fine-tuning of its voice while, helping to adapt the pedal with the other gear being used in the chain. Out of all the pedals on the Demo Board, this was my favorite and may one day be acquired.

Modulation with a Twist

The next two pedals I enjoyed most were the Julia and the Lillian. Both provide the fundamental effects and options thereof; chorus and phasing with control over depth and rate, each with a hybrid blend/mix knob, providing a nice range from a less intense effect to full vibrato. In addition the Julia includes a lag control that really speaks to providing a feeling of depth up to about noon on the dial, to then sink further into some seasick wobbliness. Users are also given a choice of wave type. As to the Lillian’s additional controls, it provides a Feedback dial and, choice between 4 and 6 stages, allowing one to explore some more unique phasing effects. I found the core/resulting voice of both to be rather neutral — not too dark or bright.

The AGES: An Introductory to Overdrive

A solid pedal with a plethora of gain options and sculpting controls, the AGES Five-State Overdrive feels like an introductory course of gain structure and circuit techniques for guitarist. Not to be viewed as a negative, the options and differences thereof all felt a bit nuanced between many of the choices (excluding the amount of gain) — perhaps something a clipping style aficionado would greatly appreciate but, was a bit lost on me. As this pedal covers a great deal of ground in the variety of gain stages, I can certainly see this securing a spot on the board for those who don’t want to overcrowd their board with numerous drive pedals. Additionally, if one is simply trying to find an overdrive that best fits into their current rig and musical styles, the Ages could certainly be an ideal answer due to its great flexibility. In addition to normal EQ and Gain controls, the AGES also provides a unique [DRY] control allowing one to blend/mix back in some of the unaffected dry signal for some interesting results.

The SLO: Lush & Dreamy Reverb

With all the reviews and industry accolades this pedal has received, what else is there left to say? I will just confirm that it is indeed a great reverb; one that specializes in ethereal landscapes. As one can see in the picture above, I have the Night Sky which can cover all of the same ground so … I really don’t have a pressing need for the Slo. That said, I would share for others that, the resulting reverbs that can be dialed in compare very well in quality to the Night Sky and other high-end reverb pedals I’ve owned. The Slo certainly specializes in either the dark and moody realms – or – angelic clouds kissed by moonlight; trying to dial in something subtle is achievable but not the intended purpose of the pedal. There are some very nice secondary controls and functions, some being unique per mode, that really help take this pedal to the next level in allowing the artist inside us to explore and create.

The Mako D1 Delay

My only note to share here is that I already reviewed this pedal (link here) and, in revisiting it a few months later, it confirmed my original thoughts: a great sounding multi-delay pedal provided in an uber-compact form, without sacrificing depth of control. Some of the design choices made pertaining to control mechanics still left me a bit flustered; this, especially as it relates to powering up to a preset and not WYSIWYG settings.

The Deep Six & Monument

A bit more standard fare, each provides a touch more depth in their control options in comparison to other options available on the market Both are solid pedals that would work well on most any pedalboard if one needed such effects. The Deep Six remained rather silent although I do tend to keep to light/blended compression. My only knock on the Monument — for some reason it seemed more intense than any other of the pedals — the LEDs (especially the blinking one) were a distraction if not blinding. Something easily addressable, and certainly an opinion, I do think that blinking LEDs which, tend to represent secondary functions like rate, should be a bit softer.

Conclusions

All around, these are fantastic pedals, I don’t think one can go wrong. The decision to purchase/keep will probably come down to preferences over controls and effect options. High Build Quality throughout, most all of them have fun themes and clever graphical designs that look great. Sound quality is excellent. The 385 Overdrive was something special.

I would like to thank my friend at ZStringMusic.com (a great boutique/online music store founded by a musician and for musicians <–my thoughts) for making this possible; an experience thoroughly enjoyed! As always, I will come back to edit and update. Certainly, if anyone as any questions, I am happy to provide insight and answers as best possible and based on my experiences.