The Dwarfcraft Devices Happiness is a multi-mode filter pedal announced at Summer NAMM in July 2016. It is a set of resonant filters in a blue box, offering low-pass, band-pass and high-pass filtering, each of which can be modulated by an internal triangle-based LFO or by external control voltage (CV)12. Dwarfcraft describes it as a set of synth-inspired effects for guitar and bass1.
The controls and filter modes
The Happiness offers three filter modes: low-pass, band-pass and high-pass. Each mode can be modulated by the pedal's internal triangle-based LFO or by external CV, which lets a player sweep the filter automatically or drive it from outside the box1.
The pedal's two main sound controls are the Filter control and the Scramble control, and each has its own CV input2. Gearnews described the pedal as:
"a really fun little blue box and has something almost synth-like about it"23
Gearnews, July 20162
The reviewer added that it appeals to an experimental player rather than the average rock guitar player2. Later that year, the same writer named it among the top five "weird and wonderful" pedals of 2016 so far, calling it "a warm pedal" and "this little blue box of joy"3.
CV, expression and LFO connections
The Happiness is built as much for connection as for its own sound. Alongside the CV inputs for the Scramble and Filter controls, it has an output for the internal LFO2, and expression jacks for filter cutoff and LFO speed are onboard1.
Delicious Audio's buying guide for pedals with CV in and out notes that the Happiness features an LFO out tied to the filter rate, so adjusting the rate of the filter changes what the pedal sends out to other CV gear4.
- CV inputs: Scramble and Filter controls2
- Expression jacks: Filter cutoff and LFO speed1
- LFO output: Tied to the filter rate4
In a demo video published in August 2016, Knobs ran the Happiness with an Arturia MicroBrute synthesizer, showing the pedal's CV connections in action, along with a Danelectro Dead on 67 guitar through a Fender Blues Jr. amp5.
Videos
ProGuitarShopDemos
Premier Guitar
Questions
Can the Dwarfcraft Happiness be controlled by a synth?
Yes. The Happiness has CV inputs for both the Scramble and Filter controls, so a synthesizer with control voltage outputs can sweep the filter directly. In a demo video, Knobs ran it with an Arturia MicroBrute. It also has an LFO output tied to the filter rate that can drive other CV gear.
Does the Dwarfcraft Happiness work on bass?
Yes. Dwarfcraft Devices describes the Happiness as a set of synth-inspired effects for guitar and bass, so it is designed for both instruments. Its low-pass, band-pass and high-pass filter modes work the same way with a bass signal.
How much did the Dwarfcraft Happiness cost at launch?
MusicRadar reported that the Happiness would be available from August 2016 for $275. When Gearnews first covered the pedal at Summer NAMM in July 2016, pricing had not yet been made public.
What does the Scramble control do on the Dwarfcraft Happiness?
The Scramble control is one of the two main controls on the Happiness, alongside the Filter control, and it has its own CV input. The press coverage of the pedal does not detail exactly what it does to the sound, treating it as part of the pedal's experimental character.
Sources (5)
- Money can buy you Happiness, MusicRadar, 2016-07-14
- Dwarfcraft Devices' Happiness filter pedal: A Delight of a Device?, Gearnews, 2016-07-04
- Weird guitar pedals, gearnews.com, 2016-09-13
- The Best Pedals For Synths With CV In/out In 2022, Delicious Audio, 2020-10-01
- Dwarfcraft, Knobs (YouTube), 2016-08-21
