The Old Blood Noise Endeavors Minim is a reverb and delay pedal with a reverse effect built in, made by Old Blood Noise Endeavors, an Oklahoma based builder12. The maker describes it as "a reverb, delay, and reverse paired together," and Guitar World called it an "Immediate Ambient Machine" for building immersive soundscapes13. It was released in November 2019 and is built on the foundation of the Rêver pedal the company previously made with Datachoir45.
The Minim is currently listed as Sold Out on the maker's product page, which still shows a list price of $249.001.
What the Minim does
The pedal houses reverb on one side and delay on the other, run serially, with a toggle switch that lets you choose which effect comes first6. A third element, the reverse section, takes the signal from your guitar and plays it back after a half-second or so, producing backwards guitar stylings6. Guitar World's reviewer Trevor Curwen described the layout as "two effects blocks that run serially with a choice of which goes first"7.
The delay is a post-reverb modulated delay with 400ms of delay time68. The reverb side has a Decay control for the length of the reverb's tail and a Modulation knob that brings a harmonic tremolo into the decay: turning it clockwise speeds up the tremolo while reducing its depth, and vice versa6.
Controls and switching
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Reverb | Sets the reverb mix16 |
| Decay | Sets the length of the reverb's decay6 |
| Modulation | Adds harmonic tremolo to the decay; clockwise increases speed and decreases depth6 |
| Delay | Sets the level of delay versus dry; at two o'clock repeats and dry are equal volume6 |
| Delay time / Feedback / Volume | Set the delay's time, feedback repeats and level2 |
| Order toggle | Chooses whether reverb or delay comes first6 |
There are two footswitches. The main Bypass footswitch is soft-touch and gives true bypass with minimal switch noise1. The Reverse footswitch works in either latching or momentary mode: in momentary mode, the reverse effect plays only for as long as you hold the switch down, which lets you bring in backwards swells on demand167. An expression jack allows external control of the Blend parameter1.
The Minim requires a 9V DC center negative 2.1mm power supply capable of 170mA, and the supply is not included. There is no battery option, so it needs a proper pedalboard power source1.
Where it came from
The Minim was released in November 2019 and was available from oldbloodnoise.com at launch45. It takes up where the Old Blood Noise and Datachoir collaboration Rêver left off, built from the foundation that pedal laid out35. Gearnews reported it as based on the Rêver8. The enclosure art is by Timothy Elliott1.
What reviewers said
MusicRadar's review team found the Minim "a very cool, very unusual blend of reverb and delay," easy to use, with a footswitchable backwards effect that "can compete with some dedicated pedals offering the same effect"6. They also found the faster Modulation settings "add a lovely shimmer quality to the 'verb"6.
The same review flagged drawbacks: the effect stops as soon as you hit bypass, and the pedal "won't be to everyone's taste. It's too weird for regular users of delay and reverb"6. Their overall take was that the Minim works best as a complement to existing reverb and delay pedals, adding its altered ambiences rather than replacing them6.
"The Minim is more something that will complement those existing effects by adding in its altered ambiences."
Guitar World's Trevor Curwen reviewed it at $229 / £219, noting the reverse effect sits on its own separate momentary or latching footswitch7.
Videos
Old Blood Noise Endeavors
The Pedal Zone
collector//emitter
Questions
Is the Minim true bypass?
Yes. Old Blood Noise Endeavors fits the Minim with a soft-touch main Bypass footswitch for true bypass and minimal switch noise, so your dry signal passes through untouched when the pedal is off.
Can you change the order of the reverb and delay on the Minim?
Yes. The reverb and delay blocks run serially, and a toggle switch lets you choose which effect comes first in the chain, so you can feed the delay into the reverb or the other way around.
Is the Old Blood Noise Minim discontinued?
The Minim is listed as Sold Out on the maker's product page, which still shows a list price of $249.00.
What is the delay time on the Minim?
The delay section offers 400ms of delay time, with controls for volume, delay time and feedback. It is a short, ambience-oriented delay rather than a long echo machine.
Does the Minim reverse footswitch latch or work momentarily?
Both. The reverse section's footswitch can run in latching mode or momentary mode. In momentary mode the reverse effect only plays for as long as you hold the switch down.
Sources (8)
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors, Old Blood Noise Endeavors
- Old Blood Noise Minim Reverb Delay And Reverse, Delicious Audio, 2022-07-06
- Send your tone through space and time with Minim, the new reverse reverb/delay from Old Blood Noise Endeavors, Guitar World, 2019-11-26
- EVERTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OLD BLOOD NOISE PEDALS, JHS Pedals
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors reveals Minim Reverse Reverb & Delay, Guitar.com, 2019-11-22
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors Minim review, MusicRadar, 2020-11-19
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors Minim review, Guitar World, 2020-10-30
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors Minim: Reverse, Reverb and Delay effects in one pedal, gearnews.com, 2019-11-23
