Dreadbox Komorebi

The Dreadbox Komorebi is a full analog chorus-flanger built around bucket-brigade device (BBD) chips, the same delay-line technology behind the classic chorus and flanger sounds of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Dreadbox describes it as a "Full Analog BBD Chorus-Flanger with 3 LFO Waves", and it is designed to sit equally well on a guitar pedalboard or in a modular synth setup, accepting signal levels from guitar to modular¹. It belongs to the wider family of chorus pedals, but with a BBD time range that reaches into flanger territory.

What it does

The Komorebi uses BBD chips as its delay lines, with a low-frequency oscillator modulating the delay time to create chorus and flanger effects. The BBD time can be pushed from 2ms up to 30ms¹²: the shorter settings sit in chorus territory, while longer delay times produce the through-zero-style sweeping of a flanger. Three LFO waveforms shape that modulation², giving different movement characters depending on the wave selected.

Dreadbox also describes a control that sets the balance between what the BBD controls⁴, letting the player blend how much of the effect character comes from the BBD section.

Controls and patch points

The pedal carries a single ON/OFF footswitch⁴ and is built as a stompbox, but it goes further than a standard guitar pedal in how it connects to other gear:

• Three patch points, which Dreadbox describes as being "for modular fans"¹
• One of those patch points outputs the LFO, so it can be routed around a larger rig²
• Input designed to accept signal levels from guitar up to modular level¹

That combination is what sets the Komorebi apart from most chorus pedals: it can handle everything from guitar to Eurorack signals, and the LFO output turns the pedal's modulation into a source for the rest of a modular system².

Power and connections

The Komorebi runs on a Boss style 9VDC center pin negative power supply, which is not included with the pedal¹. RockBoard's PedalPedia lists the current draw as 100mA³, worth checking against a shared supply before adding it to a daisy chain. Audio is mono throughout, with a single unbalanced 6.4mm TS output jack⁴.

The name and the look

Komorebi is a Japanese word with no direct English translation. Pedal of the Day describes it as "an untranslatable Japanese word, which eloquently captures the effect of sunlight streaming through the leaves" of trees⁵, and Dreadbox chose the same image for the pedal. Robin Vincent of gearnews noted the Japanese influence on the pedal's aesthetic when it was announced at NAMM 2019².

What reviewers said

The Komorebi was announced at NAMM 2019 as an analog BBD chorus-flanger covering guitar through Eurorack signals². Robin Vincent of gearnews returned to it later with a warm verdict: "Drool.... The Komorebi is wonderful."⁶

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