Pigtronix releases Gloamer polyphonic amplitude synthesizer pedal

August 10, 2022 · 4 sources

Pigtronix announced the Gloamer on August 10, 2022, an all-analog pedal that the company describes as both a polyphonic volume swell and compressor and an amplitude synthesizer¹. It is available now at $279¹².

The pedal alters the attack and decay time of any sound source without sacrificing the fidelity of the original tone, according to [Guitar World]¹. Its attack function produces a pick-triggered volume swell, which the report describes as a "slow gear" effect with timing from extremely fast to very slow³. When the Decay function is engaged, notes fade out once the attack cycle is complete, and an auto-reset begins the attack again as long as there is audio input, producing asymmetrical tremolos at slower settings and stutter effects at faster ones³. An onboard optical compressor, controlled by a Compression knob, can add punch or sustain¹³.

Controls include Attack, Decay, Volume, Blend, Compression and Sensitivity¹². Volume sets the maximum amplitude peak of the swell, Blend layers uncompressed dry signal with the effect, and Sensitivity sets how much input signal is needed to reset the Attack/Decay cycle¹². The Gloamer has a dual-footswitch enclosure: one switch engages the effect, the other toggles Decay, and LEDs indicate when the cycle is primed¹. Jacks are top-mounted, with 1/4-inch ins and outs plus a sidechain input for an external control source¹². It runs on 9V DC, center negative, and the circuit is analog⁴.

Sources describe the pedal's function differently. [RockBoard's PedalPedia]⁴ calls it an optical compressor and volume swell pedal with controls for Bloom, Sensitivity and Volume, while Guitar World and Gearnews list Attack and Decay controls¹². Gearnews compared it to the discontinued Boss Slow Gear².