KMA Audio Machines Cirrus

The KMA Audio Machines Cirrus, billed by the maker as a Spatial-Temporal Modifier, is a two-sided digital delay and reverb pedal: the delay lives on the left-hand side of the enclosure and the reverb on the right, with three modes for each and a set of adjustable parameters on both sides¹². It was announced in September 2019 as KMA's first fully digital effects pedal, with a recommended price of USD 229, GBP 185 and EUR 199, and shipped from mid October 2019³⁴.

What sets the Cirrus apart from a straightforward delay-plus-reverb box is dynamic sensitivity: every delay and reverb mode has a sensitivity control, so your picking attack alters the effect as you play, and you can set that sensitivity to match your playing style³⁵. KMA also added a serial FX loop, letting you insert any pedal in front of the delay and reverb line to shape the repeats¹⁵.

The controls

The delay side has the familiar Time and Repeats controls, with Time running up to 1.5 seconds, while the reverb side has Decay and Damp: Decay sets the reverb's decay time, from a small room to what Pedal of the Day described as an infinite space, and Damp sets the high-frequency response of the tail¹⁵². Each side also has its own mix control, so the two effects can be balanced independently¹⁴.

Guitar World's reviewer, Trevor Curwen, described the reverb side as a hall reverb with knob control over the decay time to help set the perceived size, plus damping to adjust the tail's top-end EQ⁶.

Delay and reverb modes

Each side of the pedal offers three modes, and each mode carries the sensitivity control that lets the effect respond to picking dynamics³⁴.

Delay modes:

• Modulated Delay: standard pitch modulation for movement in the repeats⁴²
• Sample & Hold: a sequencer-like filter before the delay, which Gearnews described as creating synth-like textures³⁴
• OCT: blends in a high octave as your notes decay, for added shimmer³⁴

Reverb modes:

• MOD: adds smooth modulation for movement in the reverb³
• LP: an opening low-pass filter³
• HP: a closing high-pass filter³

Guitar World's review noted the same set from the player's angle: the delay can also have an added upper octave or a sample-and-hold effect, while the reverb can have high-pass or low-pass filtering applied⁶.

Routing, tap tempo and expression control

The Order toggle is the routing heart of the pedal. Set it to "Reverb" and the delay runs into the reverb; flip it to "Delay" and the signal path reverses, so the reverb feeds the delay¹. MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley pointed out the practical difference: switch the order and put reverb into delay for a more out-there effect².

Tap tempo gets its own dedicated footswitch, with a further toggle to set the tap subdivision¹³. Holding the tap-tempo switch maxes out the repeats for infinite echoes¹⁵. The Engage footswitch bypasses the pedal when it is not needed, and it has multiple modes of its own, including a quick tap that gives a burst of the effect, working like a momentary switch³.

For hands-free control there is an expression pedal input with a standard TRS connection and a selector switch that chooses which parameter the pedal controls¹³. Guitar World's reviewer listed "Easily implemented expression pedal control" among the pedal's pluses⁶.

The serial FX loop sits in front of the delay and reverb line, so any pedal you insert feeds the repeats and the reverb tail¹. MusicRadar's Cirrus ICE coverage described it as an effects loop for incorporating other effects to augment the repeats².

Versions and where it came from

The Cirrus was announced on 20 September 2019 as KMA Audio Machines' first fully digital effects pedal, with Gearnews calling it "a two-sided digital delay and reverb pedal, with hints of dynamic sensitivity"³. MusicRadar reported it the same month, noting the three modes per side and the expression input for controlling parameters on the fly⁴.

Since then KMA has issued limited editions of the same circuit:

What reviewers said

Guitar World's review summed up the pedal's appeal for soundscaping, and its verdict on the practical side was positive on expression control⁶. Gearnews billed it as "a Spatial-Temporal Modifier, this pedal will take you beyond the realms of reason and back!"³. Pedal of the Day highlighted the blendable delay and reverb sides, the FX loop for inserting pedals before the delay and reverb sounds, and the tap tempo switch that sets delay time and maxes out the delay when held down⁵.

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