Guitar World Verdict
A nicely affordable option of adding some atmospheric soundscapes to a standard guitar signal chain, and is a practical complement to a more conventional reverb pedal.
Pros
- +
Three reverb modes.
- +
Accessibly priced.
- +
Easy to use controls.
- +
Compact pedal.
Cons
- -
Not stereo.
- -
Not everyone will dig sliders.
You can trust Guitar World
Walrus Audio have been responsible for some pretty tasty pedals in the ambience field with the likes of the Slöer Stereo Ambient reverb, Slö Multi-Texture Reverb and the Fable and Lore Soundscape Generators, but they are not pedals that every player would be able to afford.
Now, though, there’s the opportunity for more of us to discover what the Walrus ambience is all about with the release of the Fundamental Ambient, a pedal in their budget-friendly Fundamental series.
The Fundamental Ambient is a compact pedal with an easy-to-operate interface consisting of three centre-detented sliders governing the reverb mix, decay and tone, plus a switch that selects one of three different ambient reverb algorithms – Deep, Lush and Haze.
While these are all in that same spacious and textured reverb ballpark that can provide a shifting pad of sound supporting your guitar, each has its own attributes that may lend themselves to different applications.
Deep is delivered with a low octave that’ll give you real dense girth in its low end – if you want to get doomy it’s your first call. Lush, by contrast, has a lighter vibe with a more open sounding midrange and is ideal where you need a really long, lingering reverb tail – it’s like an infinite reverb if you move the decay slider to maximum.
That Decay slider actually gives plenty of variation for all three algorithms, running from a relatively short but intense fadeout through to a tail that’ll just hang in the air.
For both Deep and Lush, the Tone slider controls the cutoff of a low-pass filter, offering plenty of range, brightening things up from right to left. For Haze, it operates as a band-pass filter which suits the reverb’s grainy lo-fi texture delivered by the distortion and sample rate reduction inherent in the algorithm.
OK, it’s not stereo like some of its more expensive siblings, but the Fundamental Ambient gives you a nicely affordable option of adding some atmospheric soundscapes to a standard guitar signal chain, and is a practical complement to a more conventional reverb pedal.
Specs
- PRICE: $129 / £125
- TYPE: Ambient reverb pedal
- FEATURES: Buffered bypass, switchable trails mode, choice of three algorithms
- CONTROLS: Decay, Tone, Mix, Deep/Lush/Haze switch, Bypass footswitch
- CONNECTIONS: Standard input, standard output
- POWER: 9V DC adaptor (not supplied) 100mA
- DIMENSIONS: 60 (w) x 116 (d) x 56 mm (h)
- CONTACT: Walrus Audio
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**
Join now for unlimited access
US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year
UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year
Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he's also mimed it on the UK's Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.
“It turned out so well there was some campaigning from John Lennon for it to serve as the A-side instead of Lady Madonna”: Paul McCartney was in bass peak form on this lesser-known Beatles gem
“There I was, 28 years old, playing with Stevie Wonder – and he makes the song a bass feature!” Did Nate Watts play on the most under-appreciated bass anthem ever?
“That thing is a little monster; so much tone and feel”: Supro makes a play for the top gig-friendly combo by placing “the iconic Supro sound” into the go-anywhere Montauk