The Blue Colander Astronomy Domine is a reverb and distortion pedal that blends a spring reverb with a dirt circuit built around a wavefolder. A wavefolder is a circuit borrowed from synthesiser gear that creates distortion by folding the sound waveform instead of the classic clipping used in most dirt pedals, which the maker says provides unique harmonics and a much different response compared to a typical guitar distortion sound1. It also carries a momentary Crash footswitch that engages self-oscillation, with the oscillation speed adjustable via an internal trimmer1.
The controls
The Astronomy Domine separates its dry and reverb channels, with a tone control over the whole pedal1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| DRY | Volume of dry channel |
| REVERB | Volume of reverb channel |
| SPACE | Length and "size" of reverb |
| COLOr | Overall tone control of the pedal |
| VOLUME | Overall volume of the pedal |
The switches
Three switches shape how the circuit behaves. The SPACE switch is a three-way gain selector: the left setting, marked with a sine wave symbol, is low gain with high headroom and no clipping; the center setting is medium gain with soft clipping; and the right setting, marked with a square wave symbol, is high gain with hard clipping1.
The COLOr switch is a three-way frequency shaper. The left setting keeps the full frequency range on both channels, the center setting applies a treble boost and bass cut on the reverb channel before the reverb, and the right setting engages an additional treble boost on both channels at the input stage1.
The FEED/FOLD switch routes the reverb signal: the left position sends it back to the input, the right position sends it to the wavefolder circuit, and the center position sends it to both the input and the wavefolder circuit1.
Internal clipping options
An internal DIP switch sets the hard clipping type used in the right position of the SPACE switch. ON is LED clipping, described as the classic distortion sound and the factory setting; OFF disconnects the diodes entirely1.
Changing the clipping type means opening the pedal to reach the internal DIP switch, and the Crash footswitch's oscillation speed is also set by an internal trimmer rather than a panel control1.
Where it sits in Blue Colander's range
The Astronomy Domine pairs reverb with wavefolder distortion, a different approach from the maker's distortion-focused designs such as the Blue Colander Grimrobe, a dual cascaded Rat-style distortion pedal1. Players comparing it with other dirt pedals can see how it differs from conventional circuits on the Distortion Pedals and Reverb Pedals pages.
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Questions
What is a wavefolder distortion?
A wavefolder is a circuit borrowed from synthesiser gear that creates distortion by folding the sound waveform instead of the classic clipping used in most dirt pedals. According to Delicious Audio, this provides unique harmonics and a much different response compared to a typical guitar distortion sound.
What does the Crash footswitch do on the Astronomy Domine?
The Crash footswitch is a momentary switch that engages self-oscillation. Its speed can be tweaked via an internal trimmer, so the character of the oscillation can be adjusted inside the pedal.
What does the FEED/FOLD switch do?
The FEED/FOLD switch routes the reverb signal. The left position sends the reverb signal back to the input, the right position sends it to the wavefolder circuit, and the center position sends it to both the input and the wavefolder circuit.
Can the diode clipping be turned off?
Yes. An internal DIP switch sets the hard clipping type used in the right position of the SPACE switch: ON is LED clipping, described as the classic distortion sound and the factory setting, while OFF disconnects the diodes entirely.
Who designed the Blue Colander Astronomy Domine?
The pedal was designed by Juliusz, the company owner and circuit designer at Blue Colander, according to Delicious Audio's announcement of the pedal.
Sources (1)
- New Pedal: Blue Colander Astronomy Domine Reverb + Distortion, Delicious Audio, 2024-04-29
