Crazy Tube Circuits White Whale Jr

The Crazy Tube Circuits White Whale Jr (also sold as the White Whale Junior) is a fully analog spring reverb and tremolo pedal with a real three-spring reverb tank inside the enclosure. It is a compact version of the company's White Whale line, built to put genuine spring reverb and an amp-style tremolo on a pedalboard without the footprint of the larger pedals. Crazy Tube Circuits describes it as "possibly the world's smallest (15,4 × 8,3 × 6,8 cm), fully analog, real spring reverb and amp style tremolo"¹².

The Jr uses the exact same three-spring reverb assembly as the original White Whale and the White Whale V2, driven by a dedicated analog power amp¹³. Because the springs are physical, they respond to movement, vibration and playing dynamics; the maker says they "become part of the instrument itself"¹. It was announced in June 2026 at a list price of $359².

Real springs in a smaller box

The mission, as Guitar Pedal X's reviewer Stefan Karlsson put it, was "to shrink down the White Whale V2 Tremo-Verb into a smaller, more compact and more pedalboard-frien[dly]" pedal². Where the White Whale V2 measures 17 x 12,5 x 7,5 cm⁵, the Jr fits the same three-spring tank into a narrower 83 x 154 x 68 mm die-cast box². The trade-off is simple: real springs take physical space, and the Jr is the smallest enclosure Crazy Tube Circuits has fitted them into.

The reverb side is not fully variable like the V2's. On the Jr it uses the long decay setting with the EQ of the V2's medium decay setting, so the reverb length is fixed rather than switchable². Delicious Audio's launch coverage confirms the Jr "uses the exact same three-spring assembly as its bigger siblings" and drives it with a dedicated analog power amp³.

The controls

The Jr keeps the control set simple, with independent footswitches for the reverb and tremolo sections²⁴.

Each section has its own footswitch, so you can run the reverb alone, the tremolo alone, or both together; the signal order is fixed with reverb first²⁴. MusicRadar's reviewer Alex Lynham found "the effects are easy enough to dial in"⁴.

A hybrid optical and bias tremolo

The tremolo is an amp-style circuit inspired by vintage optical and bias tremolo circuits, and it is a cross-mix of the two styles rather than a choice between them². Where the original White Whale offered two selectable tremolo modes (opto and bias shifting) and the V2 offers three (adding harmonic), the Jr has a single mode that blends the character of both⁷⁶.

Crazy Tube Circuits explains the thinking on its product page: rather than offer separate optical and tube bias modes, "we created a single musical voice inspired by our favourite qualities of both"¹. Guitar.com's reviewer Richard Purvis describes it as "a sort of optical/bias hybrid"⁶.

How it differs from the White Whale V2

The White Whale V2 remains the full-featured version of the circuit, and the Jr makes specific cuts to reach its size²⁶⁴:

• Tremolo modes: the V2 offers opto, tube bias and harmonic tremolo, with Hard/Soft options on the harmonic modes⁸; the Jr has one hybrid mode only⁶.
• Reverb decay: the V2 offers multiple decay settings; the Jr's reverb length is fixed⁶².
• Effect order: the V2 lets you choose the order of the two effects; on the Jr it is fixed at reverb first⁶.
• Power amp: the V2 has an upgraded power amp driving the springs for increased headroom and wider frequency response⁵.
• Dwell controls: the larger White Whale has multiple Dwell options; the Jr streamlines them to a single pot⁴.

The original White Whale is now discontinued and sold as old stock, with its B-stock listing marked sold out⁹. The Jr is the current compact option in the line, shipping in 5 to 6 days from the maker's store as of October 2026¹.

What reviewers said

Early reviews have been positive. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson called the Jr "a pretty magnificent device overall" and said of the sound: "this sounds truly amazing. The very embodiment of the word lush!"². Guitar.com's Richard Purvis found the build quality held up despite everything packed inside, writing that "this one is as solidly built as ever despite the unorthodox stuff going on inside"⁶. MusicRadar's Alex Lynham noted the pedal is compact and amp-like in character, with both sections easy to dial in⁴.

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