Walrus Audio Melee Wall Of Noise Reverb/Distortion Pedal Overview
The Walrus Audio Melee is a highly-interactive, shoegaze-ready effects pedal that combines a high-gain distortion with reverb. Outfitted with a tactile joystick, The Melee: Wall of Noise is the perfect hybrid stompbox for guitarists who want to make a big sonic statement.
The Melee is a hybrid distortion and reverb pedal from renowned pedal builder Walrus Audio. This pedal is capable of generating ethereal washes, crushing walls of sound, evocative textures, pure filth and more by combining these two quintessential guitar effects. Walrus Audio also give you the option to alternate the signal chain and choose whether the distortion runs into the reverb or vice versa with the flick of a toggle switch. The Melee can take on a dramatically different personality depending on how you order the effects.
Tactile Joystick
In addition to its singular sound, what makes the Melee stand out from the rest is how inspiring it is to interact with. Looking at the pedal for the first time, you’ll instantly notice the tactile joystick. This arcade-style control allows you to manipulate the amount of distortion by moving it up and down as well as the reverb mix by moving it left and right. With this joystick at your fingertips, exploring the depths of the Melee is effortless fun.
Simple & Effective
On top of the D>R | R>D switch, there are two more three-position toggle switches that can be used to sculpt the Melee’s sound. The Tone switch controls the tone of both the distortion and reverb, ranging from normal to darker to brighter. The Decay switch affects the reverb’s decay time, with minimum, medium and max decay modes. Holding down the bypass and adjusting the Decay toggle introduces modulation or feedback amount when in Reverse Reverb mode.
3 Reverb Algorithms
The Walrus Audio Melee features three distinct reverb modes - Ambient Reverb (massive reverb capable of long trials, perfect for aggressive soundscapes, shoegaze-y chord progressions and lush lead lines), Octave Down Reverb (similar to the Dark mode in the Walrus Audio Slö reverb pedal, suited to dark and atmospheric textures) and Reverse Reverb with feedback (ranges from gentle reverse trails to feedback-driven chaos).
Changing between the three reverb programs can be done on-the-fly by pressing the bypass and sustain switches at the same time.
Ramp Up & Latching Reverb
Walrus Audio equip their Melee effects pedal with a sustain switch that can introduce an element of excitement to a performance. First, you can press and hold the sustain switch to gradually ramp the reverb’s trails. Releasing the switch will ramp the trails down to where the decay switch is set. Pressing and releasing the sustain switch captures and sustains the current reverb decay to create a pad-like texture underneath your guitar tone.
- High-Gain Distortion and Reverb combo
- Controls: Vol, Tone, Decay, D>R|R>D (determines order of effects), Joystick (distortion level + reverb mix), bypass, sustain switch
- Joystick control to meld reverb and distortion and inspire a wealth of creative output
- Joystick controls reverb mix (x-axis) and distortion level (y-axis)
- Switch signal-chain-order of distortion- and reverb-effect
- D>R (distortion into reverb) or R>D (reverb into distortion)
- D>R mode: traditional set up. Notes and chords remain their clarity
- R>D mode: notes and chords are muddied to create a wall of sound
- 3 different reverb programs: Ambient, Octave and Reverse
- Ambient Reverb: Huge reverb with massive trails
- Octave Reverb: Lower octave on reverb trail. Like “Dark” mode on Walrus Audio Slö.
- Reverse Reverb with Feedback: Add reversed reverb trails or push into reverse feedback overload.
- Tone 3-way-toggle-switch sets the tone of reverb and distortion: normal, dark, bright
- Decay 3-way-toggle-switch sets time of the reverb: minimum, medium, maximum
- Set modulation via secondary control (decay 3-way-switch): none, slight (33RPM), high (45RPM)
- Use momentary bypass to create a moment of texture
- Sustain switch ramps up reverb trail to maximum or latches current reverb decay
- 3 bypass modes: DSP bypass, DSP+ true bypass, true bypass
- 9-volt DC, Center Negative, 200mA minimum
- Power Supply not included
- Designed and assembled in the USA
- The Melee comes coated in a glossy neon pink enclosure with white, yellow, and green inks with art by David Hüttner.
- The die-cast enclosure’s exact size is 3.62” x 4.79” x 3.14” (including joystick height).
- Three bypass modes, DSP, DSP+True, True Bypass
- Power requirements are 9VDC, center negative (200mA minimum).
- The use of an isolated power supply is recommended for powering all Walrus Audio Pedals.
- Daisy chain power supplies are not recommended.
- Power supply not included.
