The Hologram Microcosm is a granular effects pedal from Hologram Electronics that takes your playing apart and puts it back together in new shapes. Hologram describes it as a pedal that "rearranges and reinterprets your sound in new and exciting ways using a variety of sampling, pitch-shifting, delay, and looping techniques"1. In practice that means cascading micro-loops that can be locked into tight, tap-tempo synced rhythms, diffused into glacial ambient textures, or woven into hypnotic drones, all from one box1.
It is not a conventional delay or reverb pedal. Delicious Audio characterized it as a multi-mode granular looper, delay and phrase looper with added filter and reverb2, and Gearnews described it as a granular effects pedal with MIDI sync plus delay, reverb, pitch shifting, modulation, micro-sampling and looping3. It was slated for release in April 20204, as Hologram's third creation after the Dream Sequence and Infinite Jets pedals2.
As of late October 2026, the maker's product page lists the Microcosm as sold out across its UK, EU, US and AU store variants1. Hologram Electronics has since released the Chroma Console multi-effects pedal.
What the Microcosm does
The pedal's effects are organized into four banks, each holding multiple effects with four preset variations apiece5:
| Bank | Effects | Variations per effect |
|---|---|---|
| Micro Loop | 3 | 4 |
| Multidelay | 2 | 4 |
| Granules | 3 | 4 |
| Glitch | 3 | 4 |
MusicRadar's reviewer noted that the three modes most like reverb sit under the Granules presets section6. Several of the individual effects work in distinctive ways, as Hologram describes them5:
- ARP: Sequenced runs of samples create arpeggios.
- SEQ: Looping samples are rearranged into new rhythmic sequences.
- MOSAIC: Overlapping loops play back at different speeds.
- PATTERN: Delay taps are arranged into four different rhythmic patterns.
- WARP: Delay taps are manipulated using filters and pitch shifting to create spacious textural effects.
Beyond the effect banks, the Microcosm adds an expansive stereo reverb with four reverb styles, ranging from room reverb to a massive ambient wash5, plus adjustable pitch modulation5. A hold sampler freezes the effect in its current state and sustains it indefinitely until released5.
The looper is a 60-second stereo phrase looper5 with flexible routing. Hologram says you can route it before or after the effects, capture rapid-fire loops with one tap of a footswitch, record layers of time-synced effects, or use it completely independently of the effects bank5.
Controls, presets and connections
The internal clock can be controlled three ways: the onboard tap tempo, MIDI, or a manual tempo control5. An expression input is mappable to many controls5, and the pedal's MIDI implementation runs deep. The Voes MIDI reference lists CC mappings including Activity (CC 6, range 0 to 127), Shape (CC 7, with square, sawtooth up, triangle and sawtooth down ranges), Subdiv (CC 5, with values for 1/4, 1/2, tap, 2x, 4x and 8x), tap tempo (CC 93), save preset (CC 46) and bypass (CC 102, where 0 to 63 bypasses and 64 to 127 engages)8. Program change messages select effect presets across the factory banks, for example PC 1 through 4 for the ARP effect's A through D variations8.
The 16 user preset slots save favorite effects, settings, configurations and recorded loops for recall later5. On the rear panel, connections consist of a single mono/stereo TRS 1/4-inch input and left/mono and right 1/4-inch outputs7.
What reviewers said
Reviews were largely positive, with price and complexity as the recurring criticisms. MusicRadar's Alex Lynham praised its "incredible effects that veer nearly into being an instrument in its own right" and its studio-grade sound quality, while listing it as complicated, expensive and large among the drawbacks6. Guitar World's review was blunt on cost, calling it simply "Pricey."7 Pedal of the Day went the other way entirely:
"This thing is an experimenter's dream machine"
Pedal of the Day, May 20209
Delicious Audio's readers took a similar view: the Microcosm took 1st Place with 5 points in the site's best pedals of 2020 roundup, where it was also the number one pedal by searches on the site that year10.
Where it sits among alternatives
For players weighing the Microcosm against other routes into granular and ambient processing, Gearnews has covered it as part of a wider field of granular pedal options3. Within Hologram's own line, the Microcosm sits alongside the Chroma Console, a multi-effects pedal whose effects are spread across rearrangeable modules, where the Microcosm keeps its focus on granular looping and texture. For background on the broader category, see multi-effects pedals, looping pedals and reverb pedals.
Videos
Hologram Electronics
Hologram Electronics
David Hilowitz Music
Questions
Is the Hologram Microcosm true bypass?
It can be. The Microcosm lets you choose between true bypass switching and buffered bypass with trails, so repeats and reverb can continue to ring out after you disengage the effect. The choice is selectable on the pedal itself.
Does the Microcosm have tap tempo?
Yes. The internal clock can be controlled three ways: the onboard tap tempo footswitch, incoming MIDI clock, or a manual tempo control. Tap-tempo synced rhythms are one of the pedal's main modes of use, and MIDI CC 93 also controls tap tempo remotely.
How many presets can the Microcosm save?
It has 16 user preset slots for saving effects, settings, configurations and recorded loops for later recall. MIDI program change messages can also select presets across the factory effect banks and user banks.
Can you control the Microcosm with an expression pedal?
Yes. It has an expression input that is mappable to many of the pedal's controls, so you can sweep parameters like Activity or Shape by foot while playing.
Is the Hologram Microcosm still in production?
As of late October 2026 the maker's product page lists the Microcosm as sold out across its UK, EU, US and AU store variants. Hologram Electronics has since released other pedals, including the Chroma Console multi-effects pedal.
Can the Microcosm run in stereo?
Yes. It has stereo input and output, with a single mono/stereo TRS 1/4-inch input on the rear panel and left/mono and right 1/4-inch outputs. The 60-second phrase looper records in stereo as well.
Sources (10)
- Microcosm, Hologram Electronics
- Hologram Microcosm Multi-Mode Granular Looper/Delay, Delicious Audio, 2024-09-09
- Hologram Microcosm Alternatives for Creating Soundscapes, gearnews.com, 2024-09-26
- Hologram Electronics Microcosm Granular Pedal: Huge potential (and not just on guitar), www.gearnews.com, 2020-02-19
- Microcosm, Hologram Electronics
- 5 great reverb pedals guitar players need to try, MusicRadar (www.musicradar.com), 2021-10-12
- Hologram Electronics Microcosm review, Guitar World, 2023-03-22
- Voes | MIDI-CC, Voes, 2024
- Hologram Electronics Microcosm Granular Delay Looper, Pedal of the Day, 2020-05-27
- The Best Guitar Pedals Of 2020 according To The Internet Experts, Delicious Audio, 2021-01-21
