“One of the most intuitive, efficient and convenient devices ever”: KMA Machines’ expansive Endgame pedal might just be the ultimate pedalboard problem solver, with an AI-informed double-track effect

NAMM 2024: KMA Machines has announced the Endgame, its ambitious all-in-one solution for bringing studio sophistication to the stage. The Berlin-based pedal maker is calling it a “powerhouse for your board” and it’s easy to see why with its raft of features.

Those features focus on stereo wizardry, with a dual cabinet and power amp simulation that’s aided by Celestion IRs alongside its newly designed track doubler and stereo effects loop. There are also Aux and Bluetooth input capabilities and pro-level XLR outputs.    

“It’s no secret that stereo pedals have become a huge part of many musician’s rigs, but why is it so hard to use them either at home or on the stage?” asks the Berlin-based pedal maker. As such, it believes that the Endgame becomes “a superb problem solver and a convenient creative companion” for gigging guitarists.  

There are two footswitches ready to be stomped on. The first is for its stereo effects loop, which can be used before or after Endgame’s in-built IR loader and doubler. Usefully, it is buffered for long cable runs to optimize signal clarity. Whilst KMA Machines admits this isn’t a new feature, it’s calling its version “the most usable” on the market.  

The second footswitch is where it gets interesting. Its True Double Tracker is designed to authentically replicate a studio-grade double-track effect live and on the fly. Armed with a width control knob, it allows players to fine-tune the size of the doubled track it unleashes upon audiences.

The German firm adds that this doubler effect works differently from the norm. Where doublers typically delay one signal with a dash of modulation, this pedal adds “nuance and thickness” to the doubled track to give a more lifelike multi-tracked impression. 

“KMA has carried out extensive research on how to make double tracking sound exactly how we think it should perform,” it explains. “In the process, we’ve spent hundreds of engineering hours working on our proprietary technology, even developing our custom neural network AI with onset detection in the process in our algorithms.”

The Endgame also allows players to simulate a dual cabinet output without having to lug two physical cabinets about. These come via a dual mono IR loader with three Celestion-powered presets.

There’s also a USB-C input for users to load their favourite IRs into the pedal, with two customizable preset slots to hand. The pedal, therefore, helps offer huge output options without the hassle that doing it for real can bring.  

Using the rotary switch, players can choose between its in-built presets, which are based on V30, Creamback and Greenback 4x12 speakers respectively. They’re paired with Celestion Digital technology for authentic tone replication.  

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Its exhaustive array of features continues with the fact there’s a switchable tube amp simulation for those who crave a specific tube tonality. Players can choose from 6L6, EL34 and KT88 tubes. Further to that, there’s also an ambience control feature for tailored room simulation.

Built with analog, high-impedance circuitry, it boasts a high-headroom input. This is bolstered by the ability to aux or Bluetooth input extra devices and can be tweaked with aux, main mix and blend controls.

Its fully balanced XLR DI stereo out, meanwhile, offers ground lift and variable level controls. There are also dual headphone outputs with a dedicated level control.

For users utilizing IEM systems, the pedal offers an alternative way to blend monitoring levels. This also helps counteract any delays between their signal’s output and what comes back from the monitoring mix.

“We wanted to make an easy-to-use product that gives the essentials of good tone,” says KMA Machines. “The Endgame is deceptively simple to use, despite the huge complexity of what’s going on inside. It represents one of the most intuitive, efficient and convenient devices ever for the final stage of your pedalboard.”  

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The pedal runs on your standard 9V power supply and offers true bypass. It is expected to ship in late March 2024 and launches with a price of $379.99.

For more information, head to KMA Machines.

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