Carl Martin Ottawa Vintage Optical Envelope review

The long-established Danish brand Carl Martin refreshed its pedal lineup in 2018. Slick-looking anodized enclosures were the order of the day, with pedalboard placement made easier via top-mounted input and output jacks. 

Among these was the Ottawa, a redesign of the Classic Optical Envelope, and it runs with a standard nine-volt supply that connects on the top edge of the pedal, next to the input and output jacks.

Ottawa? We wondered why this pedal was named after a Canadian city until we said it out loud – ‘Auto Wah’! Yes, this is an old-style envelope in the Mutron vein. 

The Level knob sets the output level, but the other three knobs define the effect’s intensity and tonal quality: the Attack knob sets sensitivity to your pickups and playing dynamics; the Tone knob progressively filters out high frequencies affecting the tonal ballpark of the effect; and the Q knob adjusts the bandwidth from something soft and rounded to sharper and more dramatic, typically from a ‘wah’ to a more pronounced ‘wow’. 

Filter type is selectable. Band Pass offers a more conventional wah, High Pass loses body for a scratchier funk sound, while Low Pass is warmer and fuller. Whether it’s tight rhythmic wah or quacky/vowel-y single notes, it’s all dialled in easily here.  

Specs

• PRICE: £119
• ORIGIN: China
• TYPE: Envelope pedal
• FEATURES: Buffered bypass
• CONTROLS: Tone, Attack, Q, Level,
  HP/BP/LP switch, Bypass footswitch
• CONNECTIONS: Standard input,
  standard output
• POWER: 9V DC adaptor (not supplied)
  30mA 
• DIMENSIONS: 60 (w) x 115 (d) x 50mm (h)
• CONTACT: Carl Martin