The Pladask Elektrisk BAKVENDT is, in the maker's own words, "a granular synthesizer masquerading as a reverse delay"1. It works by chopping your signal into short grains and playing them back in ways a normal delay never could: reversing them, time stretching them, freezing them, or shifting them up or down in octave intervals1. It is a mono pedal with a small control set, and it is a limited device: the manual describes it as "a limited device made for the good people of ILF"1, and when Delicious Audio covered its introduction in October 2018, the site reported that "the pedal is extremely rare (only 40 of it exist at this stage)"2.
What it does to your sound
The manual lists the pedal's core abilities: "It can delay stuff in reverse, time stretch stuff in reverse, freeze stuff, pitch stuff upwards in octave intervals" and pitch stuff downwards in octave intervals too1. The reverse delay effect itself is built from grains, the short slices of audio the pedal reassembles, and the GRAIN switch decides which way those individual grains play back. Forward grains give what the manual calls "a more vanilla/safe sound," while reverse grains add clicking sounds that depend on the TIME and LOOP knob settings, and are described as harsher, with more fluidity at high looping feedback and more texture at high direct feedback1.
The OCTAVE control selects an octave for the reverse delayed signal: up yields an upper octave, down a lower octave, and the middle position adds no pitch shift1. There is a trick hiding in that middle position: with full clockwise regeneration, the manual says the pedal will "crush the signals offset resulting in a sort of distortion effect," though runaway oscillation is not available1.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| TIME/STRETCH | Delay time and time stretch. From full counterclockwise to noon, delay time rises from about 100ms to about 950ms. From noon to full clockwise the pedal time stretches, and at full clockwise the audio freezes1 |
| LOOP/REGEN | Decay. At noon there is no regeneration. Counterclockwise adds non-destructive looping feedback, repeating audio indefinitely at full counterclockwise. Clockwise from noon adds destructive direct feedback1 |
| GRAIN | Grain direction: sets the playback direction of the individual grains that create the faux reverse delay. Up is forward, down is reverse1 |
| OCTAVE | Selects an octave for the reverse delayed signal: up, down, or middle with no pitch shift1 |
| MIX | Dry/wet mixer1 |
| LEVEL | Master volume. Unity gain is around noon, maximum gain is +16dB1 |
The BAKVENDT runs on 9VDC center negative power and draws 100mA, and the manual states there is no battery operation1. Plan a supply output that can deliver the full 100mA.
A rare pedal, and where it sits
The BAKVENDT is a limited device made for the good people of ILF1, so most players will encounter it secondhand or not at all. Pladask Elektrisk built it around a small set of controls: a LEVEL master volume, a LOOP/REGEN decay parameter, and a GRAIN switch that sets the playback direction of the individual grains that combine to create the faux reverse delay effect1. For the wider field, see the site's Delay Pedals page.
Videos
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Questions
Does the Pladask Elektrisk BAKVENDT run on batteries?
No. The manual specifies a 9VDC center negative power supply and states plainly that there is no battery operation. The pedal draws 100mA, so it needs its own supply output rather than a low-current daisy chain.
Is the BAKVENDT mono or stereo?
The BAKVENDT is mono. The manual describes the IN and OUT jacks as mono audio input and output sockets, and no stereo operation is documented for the pedal.
What does the Grain switch do on the BAKVENDT?
The GRAIN control sets the playback direction of the individual grains that combine to create the faux reverse delay effect. Up gives forward grains, which the manual describes as a more vanilla, safe sound, while down gives reverse grains, which are harsher and add clicking sounds depending on the TIME and LOOP settings.
How much current does the BAKVENDT draw?
The manual lists the current draw at 100mA at 9VDC, center negative. There is no battery operation.
How long can the BAKVENDT delay time get?
Turning the TIME/STRETCH knob from fully counterclockwise to noon increases the delay time from about 100ms to about 950ms. Past noon the knob switches to time stretching, and at full clockwise the audio freezes.
How many BAKVENDT pedals exist?
Very few. When Delicious Audio covered the pedal's introduction in October 2018, it reported that the pedal was extremely rare, with only 40 units in existence at that stage. The manual describes it as a limited device made for the good people of ILF.
Sources (2)
- BAKVENDT_Manual.pdf, Pladask Elektrisk, 2023
- Pladask Elektrisk BAKVENDT Reverse Granular Pedal, Delicious Audio, 2018-10-29
