NAMM 2023: News of Walrus Audio’s Fundamental series first leaked online, when some of the pedals were accidentally shipped ahead of their formal announcement. Now the firm has gotten ahead of the curve by announcing the immediate availability of the range in stores.
The Fundamental series is big news as it sees the boutique firm enter the lower-budget end of the market, creating simple, high-quality, USA-made products at a price point that places them into direct competition with the pedal world’s mass-production giants.
On the price front, Walrus has confirmed that all of the pedals in the series will launch at either $99 or $129 – meaning that, in some situations, they’re hundreds of dollars cheaper than the firm’s usual offerings.
The series is launching with an eight-strong range that includes Delay, Reverb, Drive, Distortion, Phaser, Chorus, Tremolo and Fuzz pedal options. Each unit has the same basic control layout: three parameter sliders (which obviously vary by unit) and a three-position mini switch that toggles between modes.
Alongside the announcement, the firm has detailed the specs for each unit, so let’s take a quick look over the range…
Fundamental Drive
$99
A three-mode overdrive with Smooth, Crunch and Bright settings. It uses silicon diodes, with the Smooth mode described as a “a classic soft-clipping silicon overdrive.” The Crunch adds more low-end, alongside a hard-clipping silicon diode, while Bright takes the Crunch mode but trims off much of the low-end.
Fundamental Distortion
$99
This is described as covering “a wide range of sounds from dark and doom through sharp cutting leads.” Dark mode uses asymmetric silicon clipping and cuts the highs for a menacing, dynamic tone. Si mode is all about hard-clipping “compressed and crunchy” sounds, while LED mode is “crunchy and dynamic”.
Fundamental Fuzz
$99
Walrus says this fuzz is happy anywhere in your chain: “hit it with your favorite overdrive or push it into another crazy distortion.” Tones range from “gated and starved” to classic scooped Fuzz Face sounds, or the mid-boosting Mids+ mode.
Fundamental Tremolo
$129
Described as a “classic optical tremolo”, in this case the mode switch offers a choice of three wave shapes: Sine, Rectangle and Random. These run from the classic and smooth to wilder, glitch-laden territory.
Fundamental Chorus
$129
A digital take inspired by traditional analog BBD chorus sounds, the new Fundamental unit reportedly offers an array of tones running from “gentle modulation to ’80s tri-chorus.”
Fundamental Phaser
$129
As with the chorus, this is a digital emulation of ‘classic analog phaser’ tones (usually industry-speak for the MXR Phase 90). Modes on offer are simply labeled Light, Medium and Heavy. The latter is a multi-voiced phaser “with lots of experimental sounds”, so that’s fun.
Fundamental Delay
$129
In the era of the Strymon TimeLine et al, it’s almost refreshing to see a delay that boils things down to three simple modes. As such, the Fundamental Delay offers a straight down the line set up of Digital (think the Edge), Analog (BBD style, degrading repeats) and Reverse delay options. Holding down the bypass button also engages a handy tap tempo option.
Fundamental Reverb
$129
Walrus’s Slotva is a rival for the title of ‘the ultimate bells and whistles reverb‘. Here the brand goes the opposite direction, offering the essentials: Hall, Plate and Spring settings. You can also disengage the trails by holding down the footswitch to create abrupt stops.
So that’s your lot. Eight new pedals, made in the USA under the watchful eye of a boutique builder – all available for less than a Boss DD-3. We look forward to seeing what kind of reception they get.
For more information and to order direct, head to Walrus Audio.
