The Rocket Surgeon Ice Caves is an ambient reverb and delay pedal with some original features, launched in December 2018 at a $199 street price12. It is a compact unit whose sounds are shaped by five knobs, Level, Depth, Echo, Brightness and Ice, plus an Ambience toggle switch3. What sets it apart from most reverb pedals is that its reverb and delay presets are both built around a feedback loop, controlled by the Ice knob working together with the Ambience switch4.
The pedal's inspiration is literal: a few years before the launch, Rocket Surgeon's Dr. Von Fuzzbrauer visited the Dachstein glacier in Austria and explored its dark and glistening ice caves, and the pedal is designed to capture that experience, injecting what Guitar.com called "chimey trails" into your tone13.
How the Ice Caves works
The core of the pedal is the interaction between the Ice knob and the Ambience switch. The Ice pot controls a feedback loop, and the Ambience toggle decides where that loop goes: in one position it only affects the echo function of the pedal, in the other it runs through the entire circuit4. Delicious Audio described the pair as controlling "the amount of feedback from subtle background to oscillation madness"1.
The two positions give the pedal its two personalities:
- Delay preset: functions as an analog delay. It will self oscillate with the Ice knob just around noon, so keeping the control below noon keeps things manageable13.
- Reverb preset: functions as a feedback loop. Turning the Ice knob above noon produces what Guitar.com called a glorious "icy" ambience3.
The feedback loop function can also be deactivated, giving you a more conventional effect without the loop in the circuit4.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Level | Controls the level of the wet signal1 |
| Depth | Shapes the reverb's depth3 |
| Echo | Controls the pre-delay of the reverb4 |
| Brightness | A low-pass filter that can be used to trim the highs4 |
| Ice | Controls the feedback loop, from subtle background to oscillation14 |
| Ambience switch | Toggles between delay and reverb presets36 |
Inside the pedal there is also an internal trimmer that lets you change the overall volume of the pedal when it is activated, useful for matching the effected level to your bypassed signal3.
Power and bypass
The Ice Caves has no battery option. It can only be operated with a 9V barrel adaptor, and with a current consumption of around 90 mA it draws more than many compact analog pedals, so a dedicated power supply output is the practical choice25.
The pedal is true bypass, so your dry signal passes through untouched when it is off62.
Who makes it
Rocket Surgeon makes the Ice Caves65. Each unit is individually hand-wired, assembled, signed and serialized by Dr. Von Fuzzbrauer himself, which places it among hand-built boutique effects rather than mass-produced pedals2. The company's own mythology, as Premier Guitar's review put it, is part of the product's identity5.
What reviewers said
Premier Guitar reviewed the Ice Caves in August 2021 and listed its "flexible feedback loop functionality in ambience mode" among the pedal's pros, with the street price still at $1995.
"Flexible feedback loop functionality in ambience mode."
At launch, Guitar.com highlighted the pedal's compact size and its suite of haunting, mysterious sounds, noting the self-oscillation behavior of the delay preset and the "icy" ambience available above noon on the Ice knob in the reverb preset3. Gearnews pointed out the Ice pot's role in feeding either the echo function alone or the whole circuit, and the option to deactivate the loop entirely4.
Videos
Demos In The Dark
Ambient Endeavors
Anne Sulikowski
Questions
Does the Rocket Surgeon Ice Caves take a battery?
No. The pedal has no battery option and runs only on a 9V barrel adaptor. Rocket Surgeon's reasoning was that it consumes a good amount of power, around 90 mA, and batteries would be wasteful. You will need a power supply or a pedalboard power block to run it.
Is the Ice Caves true bypass?
Yes, the Ice Caves is true bypass, so with the pedal off your dry signal passes through without buffering. It draws roughly 90 mA when engaged, so plan a power supply output that can cover it.
What does the Ambience switch do on the Ice Caves?
The Ambience toggle switch selects what the feedback loop affects. In one position the loop only feeds the echo function, working as a delay; in the other it runs through the entire circuit as a reverb-style feedback loop. The loop can also be deactivated entirely if you want a more conventional effect.
Does the Ice Caves have a delay mode?
Yes. With the Ambience switch in its delay position, the pedal functions like an analog delay, and it will self oscillate with the Ice knob around noon. Keeping the Ice control below noon keeps the repeats manageable.
Who makes the Rocket Surgeon Ice Caves?
Rocket Surgeon makes the Ice Caves. Each unit is individually hand-wired, assembled, signed and serialized by the company's Dr. Von Fuzzbrauer, whose visit to the ice caves of the Dachstein glacier in Austria inspired the pedal.
Sources (6)
- Rocket Surgeon Ice Caves Ambient Reverb, Delicious Audio, 2018-12-12
- Rocket Surgeon Introduces the Ice Caves Ambient Reverb, Premier Guitar, 2018-12-11
- Rocket Surgeon unleashes the Ice Caves Ambient Reverb, Guitar.com, 2018-12-14
- Rocket Surgeon Ice Caves Ambient Reverb: Glacial ambience for the adventurous, gearnews.com, 2018-12-13
- Rocket Surgeon Ice Caves Review, Premier Guitar, 2019-09-24
- Rocket Surgeon Introduces New Ice Caves Ambient Reverb, Guitar World, 2018-12-12
