Chase Bliss has unveiled its first-ever signature model, collaborating with Billy Strings on a retooled and resurrected Wombtone, a envelope-controlled analogue phaser that has been a pedalboard ever-present every since the Michigan-born bluegrass virtuoso first heard heard it.
Strings’ epiphany came close to home, with a friend and from Greensky Bluegrass blowing his mind with his electric guitar tone. This Wombtone was no ordinary pedal.
“I think the first time I heard a Wombtone pedal was at the Kalamazoo Theater,” he says. “David Bruzza had this one here. And the way it was like just going ‘Wow-ow’ around the room I was like, ‘What is that!?’ So I grabbed on and it has been an essential part of my thing ever since, and that was back in 2014 or something.”
2014 was the year of the Wombtone’s release. There was, however, a problem with being a Wombtone fan a decade on, and that is because it is discontinued. Strings’ reliance on them, which sent him to various channels and second-hand gear spots to secure a steady supply on them, was just enough impetus for Chase Bliss to make another.
“It instantly felt like such a natural fit,” says Joel Korte, Chass Bliss’ founder. “I’ve always been a bit cautious of doing any sort of artist ‘signature’ type of thing but in this case I could clearly see the impact Wombtone was having on Billy’s live set. There was just no mistaking that sound swirling away right in the middle of it all. It felt right.”
You could call the Wombtone a phaser pedal but like all Chase Bliss creations it defies easy categorisation. What it does do is let your dynamic guide the modulation, so what you are playing and, more importantly, how you are playing can determine how it will sound.
There’s lots of ooey-gooey warble on offer. There is a cornucopia of dipswitches arranged along the top of the pedal (a signature move of Chase Bliss) that demands some time with the manual, or a long afternoon spent experimenting. And ultimately, there are not going to be that many of these made.
The run is limited to 3,000 units – and sadly, it is a US exclusive, for the same reasons that Chase Bliss is discontinuing its Preamp MKII, Thermae, Warped Vinyl HiFi, Dark World, and Condor HiFi, with existing stock selling exclusively in the US.
It’s all do to regulatory compliance surrounding an LDR, or opto-isolator, which is a shame, because those pedals did something that no other pedals can do – and this Billy Strings Wombtone sounds incredible.
Priced $399, it is available to order, shipping mid-September. See Chase Bliss for more details.
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