The Chase Bliss Generation Loss MKII makes your guitar sound like a VCR

Tom Cooper (formerly of CooperFX) joined the ranks of Chase Bliss Audio back in November. At the time, Chase Bliss founder Joel Korte revealed that their first project would be a new version of their sold-out Generation Loss tape degradation emulator. And now it’s tantalising close…

The Generation Loss MKII is a “2-in-1 stereo magnetizer”, which, at first glance, looks a lot like the previous edition, featuring the expected Wow and Flutter controls, plus a series of mini-toggles. However, peer a little closer and the differences become clear.

Most noticeably, there’s now a Model dial. This cycles through more than 10 tape models, including VCR, cassette, camcorder and even toy cassette. These are reportedly based on some exhaustive frequency analysis and deconstruction of hardware, which seems to  account for much of the time Cooper has spent as Chase Bliss thus far.

Elsewhere, there’s now a volume dial, offering up to a 2x boost in overall output and an intriguing dial marked ‘failure’, which introduces an increasing level of tape-style malfunctions (sounds which now evoke nostalgia, as opposed to white hot rage) as it is turned.

As ever with Chase Bliss, there are loads of customization options available via a series of dip switches sneakily located on the side of the unit. Fans of the original pedal will be relieved to see there’s a classic mode, which repurposes many of the controls to secondary functions reflective of the MKI. In addition, the useful MISO (Mono In, Stereo Out) switch splits a mono signal into a stereo output.

As if that wasn’t enough, Chase Bliss has detailed four ‘hidden options’ that will allow players to fine-tune the pedal when they hold both footswitches.

The arrival of the Generation Loss MKII also marks the first pedal to be shipped under Chase Bliss’s new direct-to-consumer business model. As such, the firm is asking for preorders before it builds, in order to gauge demand.

You can preorder the Chase Bliss Generation Loss MKII for $399/€469 via the firm’s US and EU websites now. Expect it to ship around September to November.