The Blush is a stereo shoegaze delay and pitch shifter pedal from Maneco Labs, built in collaboration with the pedal company Pedal Partners. Maneco Labs describes it as "a unique, truly multi-function delay, perfect for creating the ethereal textures shoegaze is know for," combining stereo panning delays, polyphonic pitch shifting, vintage digital delay tones, oscillation, and modulation in one box1. It sits alongside the maker's other delay designs such as the Maneco Labs 4AD, which blends reverse delay, pitch shifting and modulated reverb2.
The pedal lists at $279.00 USD as of the maker's product page dated 26 October 20261.
What the Blush does to your sound
Maneco Labs positions the Blush squarely at shoegaze players. The maker says the pedal creates "our signature shoegaze delays with analog saturation & lofi textures"1. Its feature set covers stereo panning, polyphonic pitch shifting, vintage digital delay, vintage digital oscillations, shoegaze modulation, incremental pitch shifting, custom modulated delays, custom pitch shifted delays, delay hold, and tap tempo1.
Two parts of the design carry most of the character:
- Vintage digital technology. The original circuit includes 12-bit circuitry, vintage filters, and emphasis and deemphasis. Maneco Labs says that "with our vintage digital technology, we can create unique sounds that simply aren't available anywhere else," and that incremental pitch effects appear when the shimmer or pitch shift is blended in1.
- Soft Nostalgia modulation. Described by the maker as "our ethereal multi-voiced shoegaze modulation effect," it can be blended with the Blush's delays, with settings at 0%, 50% and 100% to add what Maneco Labs calls euphoric chorus tone3. Players looking at that side of the sound may also want to compare dedicated Chorus Pedals.
Controls
The Blush uses sliders rather than knobs for its main shaping controls, and a footswitch that handles both tempo and freeze functions1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Drift slider | Controls the delay time and sample rate for the entire pedal. Lowering it slows the delay and dials in a more lofi, nostalgic sound as the sample rate drops; gliding upwards speeds up the delay time and raises the sample rate1 |
| Shimmer slider | Glide from -1 octave through to +1 octave to shift between pitches1 |
| Shimmer blend knob | Blends in shoegaze shimmers and low octave effects with your delays1 |
| Soft Nostalgia blend | Choose between 0%, 50% and 100% to add euphoric chorus tone3 |
| Footswitch | Selects between tap tempo (red LED) and hold (blue LED); used simultaneously the LED turns pink, and hold instantly freezes the notes you play1 |
| Signal LED | Helps you maintain a healthy signal level; when it lights up you are clipping1 |
Tap tempo is confirmed by the maker, with the red LED indicating tempo mode1. The pitch shifting side of the pedal overlaps with what players would find on dedicated Octave & Pitch Pedals, but here it is built into the delay path so shifted voices can be blended with repeats.
The Blush draws 150 mA at 9V1. That is a heavier draw than many pedals, so it is worth checking what your power supply can deliver before adding it to a board.
Bundles
Maneco Labs sells the Blush in two bundles. The Dreamgazer bundle pairs it as part of a shoegaze-focused setup4, and the Shoegaze Delay & Reverb bundle combines the Blush with the Mesmeriser stereo reverb, described by the maker as "our mesmeriser stereo reverb & blush delay / pitch shifter pedals"4. For players building a larger board, the Blush can also sit alongside other Delay Pedals or stereo effects.
Who built it
Maneco Labs says each Blush is "authentically engineered by maneco labs in collaboration with paige, becca & luca of pedal partners"1. The artwork and layout were designed by Pedal Partners1. For enquiries and technical support, the maker directs players to contact Maneco Labs at manecolabs.com1.
Videos
Drones and Other Tones
Questions
Is the Maneco Labs Blush analog or digital?
Maneco Labs describes the Blush as all analog except for the memory and the analog-to-analog and digital-to-analog conversion. The design is original and includes 12-bit circuitry, vintage filters, and emphasis and deemphasis, which the maker says is what gives the pedal its vintage digital delay character and lofi textures.
What does the Drift slider do on the Blush?
The Drift slider controls the delay time and sample rate for the entire pedal. Lowering it slows the speed of the delay and dials in a more lofi, nostalgic sound as the sample rate drops. Gliding it upwards speeds up the delay time and raises the sample rate.
Does the Maneco Labs Blush have tap tempo?
Yes. The footswitch selects between tap tempo, shown by a red LED, and hold, shown by a blue LED. You can use both functions simultaneously, at which point the LED turns pink. Hold instantly freezes the notes you are playing.
What does the Soft Nostalgia setting do?
Soft Nostalgia is Maneco Labs' ethereal multi-voiced shoegaze modulation effect. You can choose between 0%, 50% and 100% to add what the maker calls euphoric chorus tone, and it can be blended with the Blush's delays.
What power does the Maneco Labs Blush need?
The Blush runs on 9V and draws 150 mA according to Maneco Labs. That current draw is worth keeping in mind when planning a power supply, since it is more than many daisy-chain outputs deliver.
Sources (4)
- Blush stereo shoegaze delay/pitch shifter pedal, Maneco Labs
- New Pedal: Maneco Labs 4AD, Delicious Audio, 2023-11-22
- Blush & dreamgazer bundle, manecolabs.com
- Shoegaze delay & reverb bundle (mesmeriser & blush), MANECO LABS
