Read the review: http://bit.ly/MooerOcean
A philosophical gear question: Are stompboxes musical instruments?
In one sense, duh—they’re devices that help us make music. But some effects simply get clicked on when you desire a particular color, while others reward practice and creativity with fresh sounds and surprises. Mooer’s Ocean Machine is definitely on the “play me like an instrument!” end of the spectrum.
The Ocean Machine is a collaboration between guitarist/bandleader Devin Townsend and China’s Mooer company. It’s a “four-effects-in-one” box, combining reverb, two independent delays, and a single-channel looper. The effects are digital, but an ambitious control scheme lets you pilot them in a hands-on, analog-like way. And “ocean” is the perfect metaphor for the watery soundscapes you can create and manipulate once you combine the four effects.
Mooer has crammed everything into a roughly 8" x 5" x 1.5" enclosure—not small, but quite space-efficient given what Ocean Machine can do. Gear marketers and product reviewers often use variations of the phrase “This one pedal could replace (insert number here) boxes on your pedalboard!” Sometimes it’s true, but rarely more so than here. The effects are genuinely independent, and you can use each one on its own in the conventional ways. But the real fun starts when you layer effects to conjure complex, ever-shifting sound collages.
Because it’s digital, Ocean Machine could have been smaller—but then you wouldn’t have the 16 knobs that give the pedal its tactile, analog-like feel. Nearly all the knobs have a single function, and with practice, you can tweak and mutate sounds almost instinctively. (In a promo video, creator Townsend says he plans to place the pedal on a stand and operate it by hand, which makes all the sense in the world.) The high-quality metal knobs are a nice plus for such a touch-intensive device.
Continue reading the review: http://bit.ly/MooerOcean