Ghost Note Audio Swirls

The Ghost Note Audio Swirls is a multi-effect pedal from UK-based maker Ghost Note Audio, listed at £160¹. Guitar.com's reviewer found it delivers "phenomenally lush modulation, especially in stereo" and that "the compressor just makes it even lusher"¹. Its firmware can be swapped with Ghost Note Audio's other pedals via USB-C, and the firmware itself is free, with interchangeable faceplates available at £20 each¹.

The signal chain runs compressor first: the compressed signal feeds the tri-stereo chorus, with the detune effect layered on top²³. Delicious Audio describes the result as a three-part parallel-style chain in a compact pedal format².

A tri-stereo chorus with detune and compressor

The chorus section is an emulation of the Dyno-My-Piano Tri Stereo Chorus, the vintage rackmount unit favored by 1980s session players, and Pedal of the Day reports that Ghost Note tuned it against a Fulltone TERC unit¹³. Delicious Audio calls it a lush tri-stereo chorus "meticulously tuned to emulate the sought-after Dyno-my-piano and Fulltone TERC units" for wide, swirling modulation².

The three stages work like this:

Ghost Note describes the compressor as "very fast and aggressive"¹. Pedal of the Day found the pitch shifter "produces a thick, chorus-like sound, but without the movement of a traditional chorus, caused by the low frequency oscillator" found in conventional chorus circuits³.

The pedal runs in a wide stereo field, and while it can run in mono, Pedal of the Day's reviewer was blunt about where its appeal lies: "while you can run Swirls in mono, the stereo spread here is why you buy pedals like this in the first place"³. Players comparing it with an analog alternative can also look at the AceTone Electronics CSW-01 California Swirls Analog Chorus, a bucket-brigade chorus built on a different circuit philosophy⁵.

The controls and secondary functions

The Swirls has six knobs arranged as two rows of three, plus a middle button that unlocks secondary functions¹. Guitar.com's reviewer suggests the key to understanding the layout is to see the two rows as separate effects:

• Top row: controls the main chorus. Its secondary functions adjust the left, center and right channels of the chorus individually¹.
• Bottom row: controls the detune effect. Its secondary functions run the compressor¹.

Secondary functions are accessed by holding down the button in the middle¹. In the tri-stereo chorus mode, the pedal exposes Rate, Input and Mix controls, plus Manual, and On/Off switching for the Left, Center and Right channels⁴.

All parameters of the three effects can be controlled externally via expression pedal or MIDI⁴³. The pedal stores two user presets¹.

Firmware, presets and the Daedalus series

The Swirls is one of three pedals in Ghost Note's Daedalus digital effects series, a line inspired mostly by 1980s rack units, alongside the 3 Bit Fuzz Crusher and the Amverb Reverberator⁴. The three share hardware, and their firmware is interchangeable: as Guitar.com's review explains, "if you want to change one of them into another, all you have to do is download the firmware and pipe it in via USB-C"¹. The firmware is free, while interchangeable faceplates cost £20 each¹.

The pedal also connects to a computer for Ghost Note's web-based editor, which controls real-time parameters, performs firmware updates and swaps effects³.

What reviewers said

Guitar.com published a review on 7 January 2026, rating the Swirls 9 out of 10¹⁴. The reviewer's verdict on its sound:

The review praised the Swirls' modulation, calling it "phenomenally lush modulation, especially in stereo" and noting that "the compressor just makes it even lusher"¹. For players weighing it against other chorus pedals, the review's framing is that the Swirls is not just a chorus pedal but a full 80s-style modulation and compression package in one unit¹.

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