The Black Fountain is a delay pedal from Old Blood Noise Endeavours that emulates the sound of a vintage oil can delay, which the maker describes as "warm, modulated, and a little gritty"1. It was the first pedal the company released, back in 2014, when it arrived as a boutique emulation of the famed and elusive oil can echo units that predated digital delay2. The line has since evolved through a tap tempo V3 to the current Black Fountain Stereo, which adds stereo input and output, presets and full MIDI control.
The pedal's enclosure carries an oil rig icon because it replicates the sound of vintage oil can delays, echo devices built on a short-lived but characterful technology from the 1950s in which the signal was processed through actual oil3. Those units emphasized a chorus-like modulation on the repeats and a warm repeat cycle, and the Black Fountain brings that character to a pedalboard-friendly format2.
What an oil can delay is
Before digital delay, echo came from tape machines, magnetic drums and, briefly, oil can units. The Black Fountain is a digital recreation of that last category, capturing what Old Blood Noise Endeavors called "the warm, modulated sound of vintage oil can delays with a modern feature set"5. The dark modulation those units put on their repeats, originally generated by running the signal through oil, is available here as a control rather than a fixed artifact7.
The pedal works in three modes, selected by a central toggle switch, each modeled on a different class of vintage hardware7:
| Mode | What it emulates | Delay time |
|---|---|---|
| Modern | Classic long delay oil can units such as the Morley EDL, Tel-Ray Model 10 and Fender Echo-Reverb2 | 800 milliseconds8 |
| Vintage | The shorter vintage oil can units8 | 800 milliseconds8 |
| Organ Tone | The Deluxe Organ Tone effect, including a simple reverb mimicking its single-spring tank2 | Fixed at approximately 20 milliseconds, as on the vintage units8 |
In Organ Tone mode, the Mix control can dial a 100% wet signal, so the fixed short delay produces a vibrato effect rather than an echo2.
The controls
The control set has grown with each version, but the core idea has stayed the same: Time and Repeat controls mimic the functions of the vintage units, while the Fluid control introduces the modulation those units got from the oil2.
On the current Black Fountain Stereo, the maker lists these controls1:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Time | Sets the delay time5 |
| Feedback | Sets the overall feedback amount, for the number of repeats19 |
| Wet | Sets the volume of the delay1 |
| Tone | Shapes the warmth of the repeats1 |
| Grit | Sets the amount of drive in the repeats1 |
| Rate and Depth | Set the modulation speed and amount1 |
| Fluid | Sets the modulation amount (V3)5 |
The Stereo model also offers expression control over every knob1.
Versions: from the 2014 original to the Stereo model
The Black Fountain's history tracks the growth of Old Blood Noise Endeavours itself. The company launched in 2014 with this very pedal as its first release4. The original sold for $1994.
V3 + Tap Tempo. The third version, released in late 2020, added tap tempo and subdivisions410. Its delay time was greatly expanded relative to its predecessors, now reaching 1 second, up from 30ms11. In practice it goes from around 30ms up to around 1s of delay4. The V3 kept the Modern, Organ and Vintage modes of the earlier pedals7 and carried art by Sam Larson5. A limited colored version was available for a short time from the blackbobbin.com site4.
The Black Fountain V3 is discontinued and has been replaced by the Black Fountain Stereo5. The V3 product page is listed as sold out5.
Black Fountain Stereo. The current version, introduced in 2025, evolves the compact Black Fountain Oil Can Delay in the same way Old Blood Noise evolved its Dark Star Stereo6. It is a stereo pedal with analog dry through, presets, and MIDI control over everything in the pedal, including MIDI clock in and out for external syncing1. It comes in three colourways: Cream (standard), Terracotta and Slate6, with artwork by Nathan Price1.
The Stereo's port list gives a full picture of its connectivity: TRS In, TRS Out, MIDI In, MIDI Out, USB-C, Expression, and 9V DC power at 350mA6. That 350mA draw rules out a standard 9V battery and means it needs a proper isolated output rather than a small daisy chain.
The Stereo version's Organ Tone mode carries over a detail from the original Deluxe effect it emulates: Old Blood Noise Endeavours describes it as featuring "a simple reverb the mimics the single-spring tank in the original Deluxe Organ Tone ef"2. Of its control set, the maker's documentation lists:
"There are some really clever controls in the mix here - which give you all manner of interesting new and more granular capabilities"6
Where it is made and what it costs
The Black Fountain Stereo is hand-made in Oklahoma, USA6. It sells for $329.001, with a UK price of £29912. That is a step up from the $199 original4 and reflects the added stereo I/O, presets and MIDI of the current model.
For players weighing the current model against the discontinued V3, the Black Fountain Stereo adds stereo routing, presets and MIDI syncing, while the Black Fountain V3 + Tap Tempo and the Black Fountain V3 remain the simpler mono versions, now sold out at the maker's store15.
Videos
Old Blood Noise Endeavors
The Pedal Zone
The Pedal Zone
Questions
What is an oil can delay?
An oil can delay is a vintage echo device built on a short-lived 1950s technology in which the instrument's signal was processed through actual oil. These units produced a chorus-like modulation on the repeats and a warm repeat cycle. The Black Fountain is a digital recreation of that sound, with the oil can's dark modulation available on a Fluid control.
Is the Old Blood Noise Black Fountain discontinued?
The Black Fountain V3 is discontinued and has been replaced by the Black Fountain Stereo, which Old Blood Noise sells for $329. The V3 page is listed as sold out. The original Black Fountain from 2014 was the first pedal the company ever released.
How long is the Black Fountain's delay time?
On the original 2014 pedal, the Modern and Vintage modes both offered 800 milliseconds of delay, while the Organ Tone mode used a fixed delay of roughly 20 milliseconds, matching the vintage units. The V3 expanded the range to about 30 milliseconds up to around 1 second.
Where is the Black Fountain made?
The Black Fountain Stereo is hand-made in Oklahoma, USA, by Old Blood Noise Endeavours. The company launched in 2014 with the original Black Fountain as its first pedal.
Does the Black Fountain Stereo have MIDI?
Yes. The Black Fountain Stereo has MIDI control over everything in the pedal, including MIDI clock in and out for external syncing. Its ports include MIDI In, MIDI Out, USB-C, expression, TRS input and output, and 9V DC power at 350mA.
Sources (12)
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors, Old Blood Noise Endeavors
- Old Blood Noise Endeavours Unveil The Black Fountain Pedal, Guitar Interactive Magazine, 2014-08-11
- EVERTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OLD BLOOD NOISE PEDALS, JHS Pedals
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain V3 + Tap Tempo: Oil Can Delay with new features, gearnews.com, 2020-10-10
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors, Old Blood Noise Endeavors
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2025-03-26
- Old Blood Noise Black Fountain V3 Delay, Delicious Audio, 2020-12-11
- New Black Fountain Delay Pedal by Old Blood Noise, Premier Guitar, 2014-08-05
- “Perfect for chorusing, doubling, slapback, and long rhythmic delays alike”: Old Blood Noise Endeavors' Black Fountain Stereo is an oil can delay emulation pedal packed with modern features, MusicRadar, 2025-03-25
- The 3 Best Delay Pedals Per Type, In 2023, Delicious Audio (delicious-audio.com), 2023-08-25
- Old Blood Noise Endeavors launches the oil can delay-inspired Black Fountain V3, Guitar World, 2020-10-21
- Strymon Olivera review, guitar.com, 2026-02-02
