Old Blood Noise Endeavours Bathing Liminal Delay

The Old Blood Noise Endeavours Bathing Liminal Delay is a stereo delay pedal that combines delay, phase and flanger modulation, chorus and reverb in one unit. At its heart is a central delay line processed through multiple all-pass filter stages, adjustable from 2 to 12, which reshape the repeated signal as it circulates¹. Gearnews described the result as "a cascade of up to twelve allpass filter stages that smear, smear, and morph your sounds"². It is the third installment of OBNE's Square series, following the Dark Star Stereo Reverb and the Black Foundation Stereo Delay, and it is largely based on the company's Dweller phase repeater³.

The name is deliberate: Guitar Pedal X notes that "Liminal here means 'Both and In-Between', which alludes to the multiple nature of this singular effects pedal"³.

A delay run through up to twelve all-pass filter stages

The core idea comes from the OBNE Dweller, a pedal built around what the company calls phase repetition. The Bathing Liminal Delay takes that concept and expands it into a stereo unit³. Where a conventional delay pedal repeats your signal more or less unchanged, the Bathing passes each repeat through a cascade of all-pass filters, which shift phase rather than cut frequencies. The more stages you dial in, the more the repeats smear and diffuse into something closer to modulated ambience than a clean echo.

The pedal combines elements of delay, modulation and reverb in the one unit³, with modes covering delay, a phaser/flanger effect, and multi-tap reverb that produces diffused, scattered echoes¹. Gearnews found that the design "offers sounds and effect possibilities you get nowhere else"².

The controls and presets

The control set splits between the delay engine, the filter stages and the modulation engine.

The modulation engine is deep: Gearnews reports multiple LFO waveforms as well as envelope modes that react to playing dynamics². The Dimension control adds a shimmering stereo chorus or mono vibrato to the wet signal². Delay time offers six divisions³.

Onboard are presets 1 to 3, with further preset control over MIDI³. An expression port allows expression control over all parameters, and MIDI gives control over every parameter, including sync to an external clock²³. Two footswitches handle Tap / Aux and On/Off functions³.

Power and connections: 9V, 350mA, stereo and MIDI

The rear panel carries In (TS / TRS), Out (TS / TRS), MIDI In, MIDI Out, USB-C, Expression and the 9V DC power port³. It runs on an optional 9V DC power supply, center negative, 2.1 mm, drawing approximately 350 mA, with the supply not included³.

Stereo input and output use TRS jacks, with the option of mono or mono-in, stereo-out routing³, and the pedal supports both mono-to-stereo and a fully stereo signal path². MIDI clock input and output handle external tempo syncing³. Switching is selectable between buffered trails and true bypass, with analog dry-through keeping the dry signal analog²³.

How it differs from the Dweller

The Dweller put OBNE's phase repetition concept in a compact mono pedal. The Bathing Liminal Delay is a massively expanded take on the same idea³: stereo I/O, MIDI in and out, onboard presets, a wider control set, and the multi-tap reverb mode. Guitar Pedal X also credits it with a low noise floor and an expansive stereo field³.

What reviewers said

Gearnews positioned the pedal within OBNE's habit of unusual designs, writing that with the Bathing Liminal Delay the company "continues its journey into building the world's weirdest-sounding" pedals². The same review highlighted the modulation engine and concluded that the pedal "offers sounds and effect possibilities you get nowhere else"².

Delicious Audio called it a sonic exploration tool that defies traditional categorization, suited to ambient musicians, experimental guitarists and synth producers seeking textural, evolving sounds¹.

Guitar Pedal X was more measured, noting that the launch details were thin without the manual, but still calling it a very compelling effect³.

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