Alexander Pedals History Lesson Vol 3

The Alexander Pedals History Lesson Vol 3 is a compact delay pedal that packs what Delicious Audio called "three decades of delay with added mo[dulation]" into a small box, with tap tempo on board¹. Introduced in February 2021, it is the third version of a pedal line Alexander Pedals began with the original History Lesson, and it doubles the delay modes from three to six while adding the preset, MIDI and expression features of the company's Neo Series¹.

The pedal has since been replaced in the lineup: in September 2023 Alexander Pedals introduced the Rewind as its new flagship stereo multi-mode delay, "replacing the History Lesson"².

Six delay modes in one pedal

The core idea of the History Lesson has stayed the same across versions: one pedal that covers the major eras of delay technology. The original pedal, a Chicago Music Exchange exclusive reviewed by Pedal of the Day in 2016, was described as "a small, normal-sized delay pedal" with a Mode toggle switch selecting from three delay modes, each tied to a year³.

Vol 3 expands that to six modes, and each one aims at a different delay technology¹:

The modulation character changes with the mode: Delicious Audio notes that "the modulation is slightly different for each mode"¹. The earlier three-mode versions give a sense of the lineage. Pedal of the Day described the 1963 mode as sounding "like your classic tape echo, warm and rich, with the Mod knob acting as a control for the virtual t[ape heads]", the 1977 mode as giving "off an analog delay vibe, dark and saturated throughout", and the 1984 mode as representing "the digital delay era, producing bright and crisp delay tones, slicing through the mix"³.

Because the delay time can be turned all the way down, the pedal can also be used as just a chorus or vibrato pedal, which led the reviewer to call it "basically a 3-In-1"³.

The controls and tap tempo

The main control panel follows the layout Pedal of the Day described on the original: Time, Feedback, Mix and Mod knobs³. Vol 3 adds extra parameters, Tone, Level and Modulation Rate, adjustable via the Alt button in the center of the pedal¹.

Tap tempo is on board, with three tap divisions denoted by the main LED color¹.

The Multijack on the pedal is the connection point for external control, and it accepts three kinds of hardware¹:

• An expression pedal, which can perform multiple parameter changes in real time¹
• A footswitch, to easily ramp between settings¹
• A 1/4" MIDI controller like the Disaster Area qConnect¹

Preset storage comes from the Neo Series platform: the pedal holds 4 onboard presets without any other hardware, or 16 with a MIDI controller connected¹.

From Vol 2 to Vol 3

The History Lesson Vol II was described by RockBoard's PedalPedia as "a loving homage to the best echoes the past has to offer", a delay with modulation that the maker characterized as "majoring in Echo with a minor in Modulation"⁴. Vol 2 added stereo outputs, an improved mixer section and a tone control over the original⁴.

Vol 3, introduced on February 15, 2021, brought the pedal onto the Neo Series platform¹. As Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio put it:

The practical differences for a player:

• Modes: three in Vol 2, six in Vol 3¹
• Presets: 4 onboard, or 16 with MIDI, on Vol 3's Neo Series platform¹
• External control: Vol 3's Multijack takes an expression pedal, footswitch or 1/4" MIDI controller¹
• Extra parameters: Tone, Level and Modulation Rate via the Alt button on Vol 3¹

Delicious Audio added the History Lesson Vol 3 to its list of Best Compact Multi-Delays¹. In 2023 the pedal was superseded by the Rewind, which featured 10 delay modes versus the History Lesson's 6².

Videos

Click to load

Click to load

Click to load

Questions