Old Blood Noise BL-82 Chorus

The Old Blood Noise Endeavors BL-82 Chorus is a chorus pedal built around a Mix knob, which allows the player to fine-tune the amount of dry and wet signal¹². It is engaged or bypassed with a soft touch footswitch¹. Where most chorus pedals give you fixed rate and depth knobs, the BL-82 keeps its controls focused on blending the effected signal against the dry one, and the maker describes the result as a pedal that "challenges the definition of chorus, managing to be both lush and grimy"³.

Under the hood, the BL-82 is built on two delay lines modulated by opposite synchronized LFOs, combined in parallel¹. That is the classic architecture of a chorus taken to an extreme: instead of hiding the delay lines, the Clock slider lets you stretch their timing until the modulation stops being subtle and becomes the effect itself. Guitar World's Michael Astley-Brown noted that its tones span "chorus, flanger and modulated delays"².

The controls

The BL-82 keeps its control set small: three knobs and one slider. The slider is the heart of the pedal²⁴¹.

The Clock slider is the control that makes the BL-82 unusual. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio described it as varying "the effect's slight delay that's at the heart of the modulated sound," producing effects that range from shimmering chorus to wild modulated delay, and affecting the effect's depth and speed at once, along with the quality of the delay, which tends to degrade at longer settings¹. He also noted that a control of this kind "is rarely found in choruses"¹. In the maker's words, "The Clock slider moves from a shimmering three-dimensional mono chorus through to a long, deeply modulated delay, with many textures in between"⁴.

The Feedback knob works differently depending on where the Clock is set: at chorus settings it sets the intensity of the chorus, while at high Clock settings it controls the amount of delay repeats¹. Volume handles the overall output level of the effect¹⁵⁴.

Power: 9V DC, 110mA

The BL-82 requires a 9V DC center negative 2.1mm jack power supply capable of 110mA, and the supply is not included with the pedal⁴. There is no battery option, so it needs a spot on a powered pedalboard.

A follow-up to the BL-44 Reverse, in a retired line

The BL-82 is part of Old Blood Noise's BL line, and it follows the BL-44 Reverse, a reverse pedal the maker describes as "simple in control and surprising in sound"⁴⁶. The two pedals share the diagonal fader layout: the BL-82 "sports a diagonal fader just like the one found in the builder's previous release, the BL-44 reverse pedal"¹. Gearnews also noted the BL-82 is related to the maker's earlier BL-4 Clock Reverse Effector in terms of layout⁵.

The BL-44 itself was based around clock manipulation, using the same idea of a slider that warps the timing of the circuit⁷. Where the BL-44 plays your sound backward, the BL-82 uses its clock control to stretch modulation from chorus into delay. Both pedals run on the same power requirement, 9V DC center negative at 110mA⁶⁸.

The BL-44 Reverse is a reverse pedal within the BL line, based around clock manipulation⁷⁹. It was a new release from Old Blood Noise Endeavors at the time⁷⁶, and it was offered in a Retirement Black color option alongside the standard finish⁷. Like the BL-82, it carries the line's shared approach of clock-based effects, with the BL-82 Chorus pairing that idea with a Mix knob that allows the player to fine-tune the amount of dry and wet signal¹².

The Retirement Black colorway

The BL-82 was offered in a limited Retirement Black colorway alongside its standard finish⁴. The BL-44 Reverse was likewise available in Retirement Black and Standard colors⁶.

The artwork

The painting on the surface of both the BL-44 and the BL-82 is by Brandy M. Patterson of Manchester, New Hampshire¹. The maker confirms the art of the BL-82 is by Brandy M Patterson⁴.

What reviewers said

Coverage at launch was largely descriptive of the pedal's unusual approach. Guitar.com reported that OBNE says the BL-82 seeks to unapologetically "tear apart the common definition of a chorus pedal"¹⁰. Gearnews found the demos gave "a good indication of what to expect from this unconventional chorus effect"⁵.

On price, the maker's page lists the BL-82 at $179.00⁴. At launch, Gearnews reported it at $199.00 / £183.00 / 209.00€ at Thomann⁹, and a 2025 Gearnews buying guide still listed it at 209 euros from Thomann¹¹.

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