The Henretta Engineering Planetarium is a reverb and phase shifter combined in one box, made by Henretta Engineering in collaboration with Chicago Music Exchange. Pedal of the Day described it as a combination of Henretta's Moody Blue Reverb and Golden Years Phaser, built as a bigger pedal with control knobs, unlike Henretta's mostly no-knob small-footprint pedals1.
Pedal of the Day reported in September 2017 that the Planetarium was only available at Chicago Music Exchange1.
The controls
The Planetarium keeps things simple: one knob for the phaser, two for the reverb, and two toggle switches that shape how the two effects behave together1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Speed knob | Adjusts the overall pulse and intensity of the phase shifter effect1 |
| Decay knob | Reverb decay control1 |
| Intensity knob | Reverb intensity control1 |
| Order toggle | Picks the order of the effects, either Phaser > Reverb or vice versa1 |
| Reverb tail toggle | Chooses whether the reverb tails off after the effect is bypassed1 |
The reverb side is inspired by classic amp spring reverb tones. Pedal of the Day wrote that the Decay and Intensity controls give a range "from subtle and lightly-tone-coloring to full on wall of ambient bliss"1.
The reverb circuit
The reverb portion uses a Beltron "brick" digital reverb module. Pedal of the Day noted that it is "surrounded by all-analog circuitry, however, keeping your original signal uncolored or affected by and digital processing"1. For a player, that means the dry signal path stays analog while the reverb itself is generated digitally.
Where it sits in Henretta's range
The Planetarium was not the only pairing Henretta Engineering built from its smaller pedals. In a 2019 review of the Henretta Engineering Tremble Tank, a tremolo and reverb combination, Pedal of the Day referred back to "the Planetarium, which paired up the Moody Blue Reverb and Golden Years Phaser"2. If you are after the reverb half on its own, the reverb pedal type page covers standalone alternatives, and the phaser pedal page does the same for the phaser side.
Videos
Pedal of the Day
Questions
Where can I buy the Henretta Engineering Planetarium?
When it was reviewed in September 2017, Pedal of the Day reported that the Planetarium was only available at Chicago Music Exchange, which collaborated with Henretta Engineering on the pedal. As a collaboration exclusive, its availability outside that retailer was limited, so it is worth checking current listings if you are hunting one secondhand.
Is the Planetarium's reverb analog or digital?
The reverb portion is digital. Pedal of the Day notes that it uses a Beltron "brick" digital reverb module, but that the module is surrounded by all-analog circuitry, which keeps the original signal uncolored by digital processing.
What phaser is the Planetarium based on?
According to Pedal of the Day, the phaser side of the Planetarium is based on the Phase 45 phaser from MXR. Its single Speed control adjusts the overall pulse and intensity of the phase shifter effect.
Can the reverb tails continue after the Planetarium is bypassed?
Yes. A toggle switch on the pedal lets you choose whether the reverb tails off or not after the effect has been bypassed, so you can decide between a natural decay and a hard stop when you switch it off.
How is the Planetarium related to the Moody Blue Reverb and Golden Years Phaser?
The Planetarium is a combination of Henretta Engineering's Moody Blue Reverb and Golden Years Phaser combined into one box. Pedal of the Day later described it as the pedal that paired up those two effects, in a 2019 review of the related Tremble Tank.
Sources (2)
- Henretta Engineering Planetarium Reverb Phase Shifter, Pedal of the Day, 2017-09-15
- Henretta Engineering Tremble Tank Tremolo Reverb, Pedal of the Day (www.pedal-of-the-day.com), 2019-06-29
