The Phantom Limb is a compact pedal from Discomfort Designs, a boutique company out of Tucson, Arizona, that combines a digital delay with nine randomized microloopers running at the same time12. Pedal of the Day reviewed it in August 2024 as the Phantom Limb Delay Looper, a combination delay and looper in a single enclosure3. It sits in the experimental corner of the delay pedal and looping pedal world, and Guitar Pedal X placed it as somewhat adjacent to the Chase Bliss Mood and Hologram Microcosm, and to some Pladask Elektronisk and Drolo pedals1.
What it does
The looper side is not one looper but nine separate loopers, each with individual random playback triggers23. They run at fixed relationships to your playing: two at 1x speed, two at 2x speed, two at 1/2 speed, two at a harmonic 5th, and one at 4x speed1. Once per second, a random selection of them fires off, some activated and some not, and once per second the direction flip-flops between forward and reverse playback1.
The delay channel follows the looper and offers three algorithms: Clean, drifting Modulation, and Pitch-shifted2. Pedal of the Day describes the same three modes as clean, drifting modulation, and pitch shifted3.
Controls
The pedal keeps player control deliberately loose. As Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio put it, all you can do to steer the loopers is set their length and their probability of triggering2.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Length | Determines the length of the loops3 |
| Chance | Controls the probability of triggering of the nine loopers' random playback3 |
Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson noted there is scant documentation for the pedal beyond a deep dive demo that does not dive deeply into all the options1.
Buffer and stereo
The loop buffer runs 15 seconds as standard, and an x2 / x1 / x4 multiplier switch extends buffer playback to 30 and 60 seconds1. The pedal is mono only, with no stereo inputs or outputs, which Karlsson said would mean placing it in a different position in his rig than where he has tended to deploy stereo time effects1.
Price and availability
The Phantom Limb retails for $295, per Guitar Pedal X's September 2024 coverage of its Reverb listing1. Karlsson also noted an additional $45 shipping cost to the UK, plus import duties and taxes, for overseas buyers1. At that time the pedal had been recently re-stocked but was in high demand1.
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day's reviewer found the pedal immediately far out: "this one takes off into outer space the minute you plug it in"3. The same review called it "a wacky machine, to say the least, but it opens up a whole new avenue of exploration" for a player's approach to music creation3. In Guitar Pedal X's year-end roundup of time-based effects, Karlsson summed it up as "A pretty unique 9 random layers Microlooper with accompanying Multimode Delay," while noting that being mono only made it not really suitable for his own rig4.
Discomfort Designs is a boutique company out of Tucson, Arizona5. The Phantom Limb sits in a particular corner of the market: Guitar Pedal X described it as "somewhat adjacent to the Chase Bliss Mood and Hologram Microcosm - and some of the Pladask Elektronisk and Drolo pedals"5. The same reviewer noted it is mono only, which he found "not really suitable for my rig," and that the pedal had "just been recently re-stocked - but then gain they are in high demand!"5. It lists at $295 USD4.
Videos
Discomfort Designs
Discomfort Designs
Discomfort Designs
Questions
Is the Discomfort Designs Phantom Limb stereo?
No. Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson describes the Phantom Limb as a mono pedal and notes its lack of stereo inputs and outputs, saying it would need to sit in a different position in his rig than he usually deploys stereo time effects. Players with stereo setups would need to plan around that limitation.
How long is the Phantom Limb loop buffer?
The loop buffer runs 15 seconds as standard. An x2 / x1 / x4 multiplier switch extends buffer playback to 30 or 60 seconds, according to Guitar Pedal X's coverage of the pedal.
What does the Chance knob do on the Phantom Limb?
Chance sets the probability that each of the nine loopers will trigger its random playback. Alongside the Length knob, which sets how long the loops are, it is one of the main ways to steer how much of the randomized looping activity comes through, per Pedal of the Day and Delicious Audio.
Is the Phantom Limb Delay Looper the same pedal as the Phantom Limb?
Yes. Pedal of the Day reviewed it in August 2024 as the Phantom Limb Delay Looper, a compact combination delay and looper pedal, and it is the same Discomfort Designs product covered under the shorter name Phantom Limb elsewhere.
How much does the Phantom Limb cost?
The Phantom Limb retails for $295, as reported by Guitar Pedal X in September 2024 via its Reverb listing. Guitar Pedal X also noted an additional $45 shipping cost to the UK, plus import duties and taxes, for buyers ordering from the United States.
Sources (5)
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-09-19
- Discomfort Designs Phantom Limb Dual Delay/Looper, Delicious Audio, 2025-01-13
- Discomfort Designs Phantom Limb Delay Looper, Pedal of the Day (www.pedal-of-the-day.com), 2024-08-03
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2024-12-20
- Discomfort Designs Glow Cloud Toxic Delay Device, Pedal of the Day, 2021-05-14
