Chase Bliss Thermae

[Chankgeez]

I might be willing to smuggle some into Canada for a small price.

[Seance]

I might be willing to smuggle some into Canada for a small price.

What volume of maple syrup and donair would you accept in exchange for a Thermae?

[Chankgeez]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-c ... -1.4710308

[Seance]

[Chankgeez]

[D.o.S.]

Because you think half a grand is a bunch of money to pay for a modulated delay?

It definitely is.

Of course control is something that adds value.
Which is why rack delays from the days of yore still
fetch high prices. They offer levels and layers of
tweakability that a lot of pedals just don't.

This is true. Also as another ILFer said, there's added cost in keeping it analog, since the actual effect in question is fairly easily covered by/is not that revolutionary in digital pedals.

However it does sound pretty sweet, and CBA obviously make high quality gear.

[Muse FTW]

Played it over the weekend and couldn't be happier (on a trip now so I am away from home at the moment).

Both the sequence and step modes offer a lot of options when playing to create such different effects. I might have to move my pedalboard higher though, so that I can tweak it a little easier. As an analog delay by itself it sounds really good, but when you add in the pitch shifting it takes it to another level. It's very easy to create new melodies with this, or create an ambient wash of pitches. Step mode in particular can have a lot of performance based applications. Only used it with a guitar so far. Really want to use it with a synth, though.

Is it worth the $500? It's basically a Tonal Recall RKM + all of the pitch modulation options, and a really powerful Step mode. So I'd say yes.

[Gone Fission]

Is it worth the $500? It's basically a Tonal Recall RKM + all of the pitch modulation options, and a really powerful Step mode. So I'd say yes.

I've been wondering about that--anything the Tonal Recall, plain or RKM, has that the Thermae doesn't? I haven't dug in to deep because I've only gotten to "really want" and not "must have" so far.

[shikawkee]

Is it worth the $500? It's basically a Tonal Recall RKM + all of the pitch modulation options, and a really powerful Step mode. So I'd say yes.

I've been wondering about that--anything the Tonal Recall, plain or RKM, has that the Thermae doesn't? I haven't dug in to deep because I've only gotten to "really want" and not "must have" so far.

I had the RKM and sold it when I got the Thermae. The RKM is easier to deal with, tone control and more precise control of delay time and mod, but for me the Thermae is IT. It's definitely not for everyone though.

[Davin]

Is it worth the $500? It's basically a Tonal Recall RKM + all of the pitch modulation options, and a really powerful Step mode. So I'd say yes.

I've been wondering about that--anything the Tonal Recall, plain or RKM, has that the Thermae doesn't? I haven't dug in to deep because I've only gotten to "really want" and not "must have" so far.

I had the RKM and sold it when I got the Thermae. The RKM is easier to deal with, tone control and more precise control of delay time and mod, but for me the Thermae is IT. It's definitely not for everyone though.

Somewhere Joel outlined the differences. But I can't find it anymore. Basically they're similar in that they both use the MN3005 chips but the modulation is handled differently, the two pedals are voiced slightly different and the tone control is very different. The Thermae has a slightly resonant low pass filter while the TR os a more standard high frequency roll off. Aside from the sequencing options on the Thermae, that low pass filter is genius and I hope it shows up on more delay pedals. It makes for super cool synthy sounding repeats.

So, yeah. There's stuff you can do with one that the other can't do and vice versa.

EDIT: Found the post:

https://chaseblissaudio.com/2018/01/24/ ... al-recall/

[Gone Fission]

Thanks for finding that!

Sold. Don't give a rat's ass about dialing in perfect dotted quarter notes, love clock noise artifacts and ring-mod-ish weirdness. Digital lfo notwithstanding, the Thermae vibe is more "analog" in the almost broken, distressed ways I dig.

[shikawkee]

BTW-I've confirmed with Joel at CB and Matthew from Disaster Area that a Faves can be hooked up to the DA Micro Clock and then sent to the Thermae so you can control presets AND tap tempo. Matthew will testing tomorrow. A special cable is required.

[zoooombiex]

Is it worth the $500? It's basically a Tonal Recall RKM + all of the pitch modulation options, and a really powerful Step mode. So I'd say yes.

I've been wondering about that--anything the Tonal Recall, plain or RKM, has that the Thermae doesn't? I haven't dug in to deep because I've only gotten to "really want" and not "must have" so far.

I had the RKM and sold it when I got the Thermae. The RKM is easier to deal with, tone control and more precise control of delay time and mod, but for me the Thermae is IT. It's definitely not for everyone though.

Somewhere Joel outlined the differences. But I can't find it anymore. Basically they're similar in that they both use the MN3005 chips but the modulation is handled differently, the two pedals are voiced slightly different and the tone control is very different. The Thermae has a slightly resonant low pass filter while the TR os a more standard high frequency roll off. Aside from the sequencing options on the Thermae, that low pass filter is genius and I hope it shows up on more delay pedals. It makes for super cool synthy sounding repeats.

So, yeah. There's stuff you can do with one that the other can't do and vice versa.

EDIT: Found the post:

https://chaseblissaudio.com/2018/01/24/ ... al-recall/

FWIW, they are more different than I had expected based on the descriptions and initial videos. The knobs video does a better job of showing the stuff that makes the Thermae distinct. There is certainly some overlap, but the Thermae has a lot of options that can get way out into weird territory, particularly for an analog delay, and the glide knob opens up some unique modulation options.

[baremountain]

Curious how y'all are using Modulation mode though. I tried it and literally could not make heads or tails of what was happening, and turning the depth/speed knobs didn't really do anything meaningful? Anyone got an example setting I could use?

I wish I had taken pics of the modulation settings I came up with before saving the preset so I could share it with you but if you click the mod switch it is possible. It didn't take me super long as I remember. Got a really beautiful mod setting out of it.

Okay wow I feel like a dang idiot, I had it in my mind that the modulation settings would be like auto-turning the interval knobs, so switching Modulation on would kill the current sequence and you'd get a ramp through the different intervals. But of course it's standard delay modulation, that makes about 1000% more sense than what I thought, and explains why the sequence kept going when I switched Modulation on/why I thought it wasn't working right.
I put it in Step last night (I have hardly explored this mode tbh) and finally understood what Modulation was actually doing and it sounds absolutely killer. The stepped/glitchy rising edge and standard tri/sin/sqr falling edge makes for a delightful combo for sure. I just wish it were easier to adjust the pitch sequence while in Sequence & Mod modes, but I accept the limitations.

Also turning Glide all the way up & diming the mix while in sequence mode makes for some delicious compressed melted tape sounds. My friend and I ran a mix of a jam through it last night & it sounded like a dying battery-operated carousel. The warble/travel has wildly different characteristics depending on the clock tempo/depth of interval changes as well.

I'm very much convinced this thing is worth every penny now. I'll probably be listing my Meet Maude shortly because of that. Does anyone know if you *must* get the CBA/Disaster Area MIDI Box to send MIDI clock? Or if there's any other way to sync via clock pulse? I plugged a MIDI cable into one of the MIDI to 1/8" adapters (like from the Beat Step or 0-coast) & then used a 1/8" to 1/4" adapter, but it seemed to be clocking at about 16x so I assume there's something else going on in that MIDI to TRS adapter box
Syncing this to my modular would be a dream, but at the very least I'd like to be able to send MIDI clock from my DAW to the Thermae so I can run it as an FX loop & do sequencing that's in time with a track. Not sure if I want that ability enough to spend $60 on a box that does literally nothing else for me though...

[shikawkee]

So tomorrow I will have the proper cable (TRS Y to split one tip, one ring) to have the Faves go into the Micro Clock into the Thermae and be able to control tempo and presets.