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If I had to pinpoint a single quality of Spacemen stompboxes that makes them worthy of the hype and sky-high resale prices, it’s a sense of feel. Of course, that doesn’t pinpoint much of anything, because the “feel” component of a Spacemen pedal experience typically transcends any one meaning of the word. Certainly there’s the physical heft and solidity of the pedals themselves, and the engraved panels and gem lamps that evoke ’60s outboard studio gear and aviation-spec instruments. There’s the immediacy and responsiveness that makes single notes and overtones feel startlingly alive. And the way the pedal’s controls interact with your tones and each other—a nebulous, drifting, exploratory feel that paradoxically enables super-precise tone sculpting.
Though the Mercury IV Harmonic Booster delivers satisfying experiences on each of these fronts, it’s the last two—those sensations of fluid, illuminated musical and mechanical interaction that distinguish this latest evolution of the Mercury line. Mercury IV enhances the sound of your guitar, amp, and other pedals in overt ways and barely perceptible ones too. And its capacity for exciting and enlivening guitar tones can make Mercury IV feel as powerful as an expensive outboard compressor or preamp.
Instrumentally Speaking
I’ve written at length about the quality and aesthetics that distinguish Spacemen pedals in other reviews. It’s more of the same with the Mercury IV. The engraved panel makes you feel like you’re dialing in a vintage Fairchild limiter aboard an X-15 cleaving the stratosphere. The switches and knobs respond with precision and smooth, perfect resistance. Inside, the circuit board is a feast for the eyes—all well ordered and immaculately seated components on a reflective foil surface that looks lifted from Warhol’s Factory circa ’66. The myriad components also hint at the depth and complexity of the tones within.
That the tactile pleasures of navigating the Mercury IV are numerous is a good thing, because the function of individual controls is not always clear. The “boost” knob, which enables access to as much as 35 dB of extra kick, is the easiest to grasp. The “harmonics” control, however, can be subtle, even vague, depending on the context. The “high” and “low” toggles, with positions marked by small hash marks of varying thickness, are ultimately easiest to sort through trial and error. The set of hash marks under each one indicate areas of EQ emphasis— with thicker hash marks corresponding to the bassiest sounds, and so forth. But there is little specific explanation of what you’re adding or subtracting with these switches. If you savor the experience of navigating controls intuitively and letting your ears be your guide, the Mercury IV is a joy. Players that prefer knowing what frequency they’re manipulating down to last megahertz may be less thrilled.
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