The Frost Giant Electronics Eidolon is a fully integrated digital delay, reverb, and boost pedal, a three-in-one box aimed squarely at guitar solos1. It teams a clean boost with a digital delay of up to 1 second of repeats and a modulated reverb that can stretch from a short room-style decay to near-infinite ambiance, all engaged together with a single footswitch1. Frost Giant Electronics released it in collaboration with Dave Davidson of the metal band Revocation, whose Eidolon circuit first appeared in 202012.
The signal path runs boost, then delay, then modulated reverb, in that order, and the boost applies to the final mix of the dry signal together with the delay and reverb signals12. That makes it a solo pedal in the literal sense: one step on the switch and your lead gets louder, carries repeats, and sits in a wash of reverb at the levels you set beforehand.
Controls and how it works
A single on/off footswitch activates all three effects at once, though each level is controlled independently with its own knob3. The boost has a separate knob but no dedicated footswitch of its own2. Delicious Audio describes the pedal as "essentially a 3-in-1 pedal for guitar solos"2.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Boost | From 0dB to 21dB of clean gain1 |
| Delay | Level of the delay's effected signal1 |
| Time | Delay time, overridden by the Tap switch1 |
| Mod | Engages modulation on the delay repeats1 |
| Reverb | Amount of reverb mixed in with the effected signal1 |
| Tap switch | Tap tempo based on the two most recent taps1 |
The delay offers up to 1 second of repeats with tap tempo control, and its repeats are described as crystal clear1. The reverb morphs from a short room-style decay to a near-infinite ambiance1. In the Frost Giant edition, the reverb size control is called Color, and it does the same job, tweaking the length of the reverberation from room-size to near-infinite2.
The boost is worth a closer look for lead players. It sits at parity gain at around the 60 percent position, and past that it can add up to 21dB of flat IC gain, which Delicious Audio calls "perfect for solos and for driving" the front of an amp2. Because it boosts the final mix of dry and effected signal, everything gets louder together rather than just the repeats1.
Origins and the Eidolon Delay edition
The Eidolon began as the Dunable Eidolon, a creation from the mind of Dave Davidson of Revocation, offered by Dunable Guitars and released in 2020 in collaboration with Electronic Audio Experiments24. The original circuit was designed by John Snyder at Electronic Audio Experiments1. Premier Guitar reviewed that version as "a streamlined multi-effects pedal from guitar, amp, and effect builder Sasha Dunable"3.
The Frost Giant Electronics Eidolon is a re-release of that same circuit, brought back in a new collaborative edition with Davidson12. Delicious Audio frames it as a circuit Davidson "had already released with Dunable (and in collaboration with Electronic Audio Experiments) [back in 2020]"2.
A few details differ between the editions. The original Dunable version was credited with up to 20dB of clean boost in press coverage at the time5, while the Frost Giant edition is rated at up to 21dB675. The Frost Giant edition also renames the reverb size knob as Color, doing the same thing2.
The circuit
The Eidolon employs the Spin FV-1 chip, the same DSP used in a large percentage of current reverb, delay, and modulation pedals, as Premier Guitar's reviewer noted of the original3. That places it among the many digital pedals built around that platform rather than an analog delay design, which is consistent with its crystal clear repeats13.
For players comparing it against separate boxes, the Eidolon trades flexibility for simplicity: one switch, one box, and a fixed boost, delay, reverb order, versus stacking a standalone boost, delay, and reverb pedal in whatever order you choose32.
Videos
Ola Englund
Dave Davidson
Eric Merrow
Questions
Does the Frost Giant Eidolon have tap tempo?
Yes. The delay time can be set with tap tempo, worked out from your two most recent taps on the Tap switch. Tapping the left footswitch overrides whatever delay time the Time knob is set to, so you can dial in repeats to match the tempo of a song on the fly.
Does the Eidolon's boost have its own footswitch?
No. The boost has its own knob but not a dedicated footswitch. A single on/off footswitch activates all three effects at once, while the levels of the boost, delay, and reverb are each controlled independently with their own knobs.
How much gain can the Eidolon boost add?
Up to 21dB of clean gain. The Boost knob runs from 0dB to 21dB, and it sits at unity gain at around the 60 percent position, so anything past that lifts the final mix of dry and delay/reverb signal for a solo boost.
How long can the Eidolon's delay repeats run?
Up to 1 second of repeats. The delay is digital and its repeats are described as crystal clear, with delay time set by the Time knob or overridden by the Tap switch, and a Mod knob that engages modulation on the repeats.
Who designed the Eidolon?
The original Eidolon circuit was designed by John Snyder at Electronic Audio Experiments, and it was conceived by Dave Davidson of the metal band Revocation. It was first released in 2020 as the Dunable Eidolon, offered by Dunable Guitars.
What is the order of effects in the Eidolon?
The signal runs boost first, then delay, then modulated reverb, in that order. The boost applies to the final mix of the dry signal and the delay and reverb signals, so it lifts everything at once for solos.
Sources (7)
- Frost Giant Electronics Eidolon Dave Davidson Delay Reverb Boost, Pedal of the Day, 2024-04-27
- Frost GIant Electronics Eidolon Delay, Delicious Audio, 2024-07-26
- This Minimalist Multi-Effector Is Made for Metal, Premier Guitar, 2020-02-23
- Dunable Eidolon Boost + Delay + Reverb, Delicious Audio, 2020-04-20
- Dunable teams up with Revocation's Dave Davidson for the Eidolon boost, reverb and delay pedal, Guitar World, 2019-09-24
- Dunable reveals the three-in-one Eidolon pedal, Guitar.com, 2019-09-23
- Dunable serves up some secret sauce for your leads with the Eidolon pedal, MusicRadar, 2019-09-20
