The Death By Audio Disturbance is a digital filter, flanger and phaser pedal built around one unusual idea: a lockable LFO. An LFO, or low-frequency oscillator, is the signal that sweeps a modulation effect back and forth, and the Disturbance lets you freeze that sweep at any point with a footswitch, holding the effect in place like a stopped clock face1. Death By Audio describes it as an innovative filter, flanger and phaser pedal offering what the maker calls unparalleled modulation1.
The Disturbance was due on the Death By Audio webstore on May 25, retailing for $2502. It is available now, priced $2501, and the maker's list price is $250.001.
Three modes: Filter, Flanger and Fazer
A three-way switch on the pedal selects the modulation type: Filter, Flanger or Fazer, Death By Audio's name for its phaser mode14. Each mode is really a pair of voicings, because the Tensity knob gives two distinct intensity options within each one.
Filter mode is all about deep swells and can be set up as high-pass or low-pass, with what Pedal of the Day called piercing resonance available at the extremes54. For players coming from wah or fixed filter pedals, this is the mode that behaves most like a resonant sweep you can park anywhere.
Flanger mode creates a classic modulation sound with a duality to it. MusicRadar and the maker both describe a range from watery, multi-tap delay matrixes on one side to a screaming flange with distorted feedback on the other54. That delay-matrix side is unusual for a flanger pedal and is closer to a short delay texture than a traditional jet sweep.
Fazer mode is a psychedelic 8-stage phaser sound, with mellow filtered scoops available on one side of the Tensity range and a combination phaser/flanger blend on the other5. MusicRadar summed up the mode's range as running from blissfully mellow filter scoops to full-on trippy psychedelic sounds4.
| Mode | What it does | Range within the mode |
|---|---|---|
| Filter | High-pass or low-pass sweep with resonance | Deep swells to piercing resonance54 |
| Flanger | Classic flange with feedback | Watery multi-tap delay matrixes to screaming flange with distorted feedback54 |
| Fazer | 8-stage phaser | Mellow filtered scoops to phaser/flanger blend5 |
Controls and the Tensity knob
Alongside the mode switch, the control set includes a Speed knob for the LFO rate, a Center Point select dial, a Width knob, and the Tensity knob4. Guitar Pedal X also lists a Wave Center Point control that moves the center point accent of the wave2.
The Tensity knob is the one that does the most work. Death By Audio says it adjusts feedback and effect structure, providing two distinct intensity options for each unique modulation1, and Pedal of the Day describes it as changing the feedback amount and structure of all effects, with two totally different intensity options to choose from for each modulation5. Designer Oliver Ackerman describes the "-" and "+" Tensity settings as near different voicings2, which is why each mode behaves like two effects rather than one.
Freezing the LFO with the Trip footswitch
The Disturbance's signature feature is the Trip footswitch. Death By Audio says this stomp freezes the LFO at its current position, and pressing it again resumes the LFO cycle wherever it left off1. The maker describes the custom-designed modulation core as allowing you to freeze the LFO mid-cycle, creating what it calls captivating frozen modulation effects1.
In practice this means you can let a sweep run, catch it exactly where you want it, and hold that filter, flanger or phaser position for as long as you like, then release the sweep from the same point. MusicRadar describes the Trip footswitch as stopping the LFO sweep in its tracks4, and Guitar Pedal X notes you can freeze it at any point in the curve2.
CV OUT: controlling other gear
Beyond its own three modes, the Disturbance has a CV OUT jack that sends the modulation control signal to other pedals and devices1. Pedal of the Day puts it colorfully: the jack lets the modulation control signal be sent to whatever device dares let it in5. For a player with other CV-compatible pedals, the Disturbance can act as a controller as well as an effect, driving external parameters with the same LFO you can freeze with the Trip footswitch.
What reviewers said
GuitarPlayer's Dave Hunter reviewed the pedal and found a lot to explore, with an overall verdict of3:
"A pedal you could likely explore for a lifetime without getting bored"
He also noted the practical limits: there is no programmable or preset feature in the pedal, so revisiting any favorite settings discovered likely requires noting the knob positions yourself3. The review describes the housing as a rugged metal box with a mirrored finish, adorned with retro-leaning red graphics3.
A note on power
The Disturbance requires a standard 9V DC power supply with a 2.1mm negative center barrel and draws 67 mA1. There is no battery option, so it needs a spot on a powered pedalboard.
Videos
Death By Audio
Pedal of the Day and Death By Audio
collector//emitter
News
Questions
Is the Death By Audio Disturbance analog or digital?
It is digital. GuitarPlayer's reviewer describes it as bolstering a digital circuit that does the heavy lifting, which is what makes the lockable LFO and its precise freezing behavior possible. Death By Audio, a maker better known for analog fuzz and filter designs, built this one around a custom-designed digital modulation core.
Is the Disturbance true bypass?
Yes. MusicRadar reported at launch that the pedal is true bypass, so with the effect disengaged your signal passes through without buffering. Input and output are mono and mounted on the front face of the box, which is worth knowing before you plan pedalboard placement.
Does the Disturbance have presets?
No. GuitarPlayer's review notes there is no programmable or preset feature in the pedal, so revisiting a favorite setting means noting your knob positions manually. The Tensity knob does give two distinct intensity options per mode, which widens the range you can reach from a single knob setting.
What can the Disturbance CV out control?
The CV OUT jack sends the modulation control signal out to other pedals and devices that accept a control voltage. That means the Disturbance's LFO, including its speed and shape, can drive parameters on compatible gear rather than only modulating its own filter, flanger and phaser circuits.
How much power does the Death By Audio Disturbance draw?
It runs on a standard 9V DC power supply with a 2.1mm negative center barrel and draws 67 mA. That is modest by digital pedal standards, but the barrel requirement means you will want a proper pedalboard power supply rather than a battery.
Sources (5)
- DISTURBANCE, Death By Audio
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2023-04-18
- Death By Audio Disturbance Lockable LFO Modulator Pedal Review, GuitarPlayer, 2023-07-19
- Create “strange worlds of modulation frozen in time” with Death By Audio's Disturbance, MusicRadar, 2023-05-26
- Death By Audio Disturbance Lockable LFO Modulator Filter Flanger Phaser, Pedal of the Day, 2023-06-06
