Walrus Audio Pedals: 5 Amazing Hidden Features

Here are some awesome sounds and features you might never have known you could access with your Walrus Audio pedals. It might even sway you to pick one up in the near future...

Cian Hodge

Cian Hodge

Boutique pedal brand Walrus Audio are known for creating some of the most inspiring contemporary guitar stompboxes. But what separates them from everyone else? When it comes to Walrus Audio, there is often more than meets the eye.

We’ve picked out five of the coolest features you might have missed. Strap in and be inspired.

About Walrus Audio

Based in Oklahoma City, the company build their pedals on the basis that their engineers and artists make what they’d want for themselves. In turn, they’ve been shaping some of the most experimental and unique sounds out there today.

While some larger companies lean towards building versatile pedals in order to cater to a larger market, smaller stompbox brands tend to put more focus on niche tones. Walrus themselves state it’s their aim to create interesting effects to both look at and play, and they’re certainly doing a top job.

From punchy overdrives to distortion, ambient reverb to tremolo and swirling phaser to chorus, there’s a wealth of effects to discover. Let’s take a look at the intuitive features Walrus Audio are serving up.

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Tap Tempo Sync

Any Walrus pedal with a tap tempo switch can sync up with another tap tempo pedal. This means rather than setting an accurate tempo for each individual pedal, you can use a Walrus pedal’s switch to set it for both, saving yourself a few extra very precise taps.

You’ll find the nifty feature on the ARP-87 digital delay, Monument tremolo and all-encompassing Bellweather analogue delay. This function normally works with any tap tempo stompbox with an open switch and active low. Simply connect the two with a patch cable and you’ll be right on beat.

Jupiter Fuzz Adjustable Noise Gate

The V2 Jupiter model introduced a number of exciting hands-on and decorative additions to the gritty, thick-sounding fuzz pedal.

As well as an increase in gain, higher sensitivity tone knob and hot new artwork, the V2 has an internal trim pot gate control you could use either to dial down the aggression or implement hard cut-offs for a stuttering ‘dying battery’ effect. This way you don’t have to power the Jupiter from a noisy non-isolated source or use a virtual battery for the same effect.

Fathom Reverb’s Huge Momentary Burst

Create a massive surge of decaying reverb that’s great during a crescendo or intense ending to a song. Not only is the Fathom a super adaptable reverb, but it can also turn your tone into a chaotic, swampy, beautiful noise.

With your Fathom turned off, press both the bypass and sustain switches at the same time. This will turn the pedal on abruptly (yet still smooth in transition) and hit you with a trail of reverb longer than where you’ve set the decay knob.

Monument V2 Tremolo Ramp up

Ramp is a hidden feature that’s normally exclusive to boutique pedals. And if you skipped on the instructions when you opened the Monument V2 there’s a good chance you’ve been missing out.

Hold down the bypass to progressively speed up the rate of the tremolo. It makes for some extremely climatic moments in your playing. There’s a gradual build time too, so it’s satisfying to set the base tempo very slow and gradually ramp from plodding to frantic. Let go of the bypass for the rate to drop back down to normal.

walrus audio

Smart Momentary Bypass

All Walrus Audio’s most recent releases, including the incredible Lillian phaser and ambient Slö reverb, pack smart momentary bypass.

Essentially, you can hold down the bypass switch as long as you want the effect active. Release and it reverts to your original signal. There a couple of reasons why this should come standard in most pedals. First off, it means you don’t have to press twice for a simple short burst. It’s more accurate if you want to emphasise a couple of lingering notes.

Secondly, ambient pedals like the Lillian and Slö benefit greatly. You’re able to form a bed of trailing phaser or reverb and then add layers of playing on top. Check out Rabea’s Slö demo for some inspiration.

Make sure to have a browse of our Industry and Learn articles!

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Cian Hodge
Cian Hodge
Cian is a writer for the Andertons team. He shares his birthday with Muse frontman Matt Bellamy and believes he will one day reach the same level of stardom. Cian is a big metal fan so naturally loves Bare Knuckle pickups and pointy guitars.

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