The Spaceman Polaris Resonant Overdrive is a hand-made medium-gain overdrive from Spaceman Effects, built around a 2-pole resonant filter that can be controlled via expression pedal for filter sweeps. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio describes it as "a medium-gain overdrive, with incredibly flexible tone-shaping capabilities," and says its "smooth texture goes from just a touch of harmonics to full-tilt, live-wire overdrive on the brink of distortion."1
What it does to your sound
The Polaris sits in the overdrive camp rather than full distortion: its gain range runs from a light touch of harmonics up to an aggressive, on-the-edge overdrive texture, as described by Delicious Audio. What sets it apart from a conventional overdrive is the resonant filter, which the maker's press coverage describes as "a 2-pole resonant filter, controllable via expression pedal for filter sweeps and out-of-this-world overdrive tones."1 In practice that means the pedal can move beyond static tone shaping and become a performance tool, with the filter swept live under your foot.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Depth toggle | Selects between three different filter modes1 |
| Bass toggle | Three positions for keeping low frequencies under control: slight boost, slight cut or bypassed1 |
| EXP jack | Fully sweepable with a standard TRS expression pedal or expression device; all three filter options can be swept1 |
The three filter modes and the three-position Bass toggle give the pedal a wide range of voicings before you even touch an expression pedal, and the EXP jack makes all three filter options sweepable in real time.1
Build and hardware
The Polaris is built the way boutique pedals are often described but rarely specified. Delicious Audio notes that it is "completely hand-soldered and handmade in Portland Oregon to the highest degree of quality possible."1 Hardware details from the same write-up:
- Cast aluminum enclosure with a durable, engraved vinyl faceplate1
- Large jewel indicator light on top1
- Quality open-frame Switchcraft jacks for signal connections1
- True-bypass switching via a mechanical footswitch1
"Polaris utilizes true-bypass switching via the highest quality mechanical footswitch available."
Context in the Spaceman range
Delicious Audio introduced the pedal in December 2020 with the line, "If you think overdrive pedals are due for a facelift, you've got to check out the Spaceman Effects Polaris," followed by a fuller write-up in January 2021 covering the filter modes, toggles and expression capability.21 The Polaris belongs to a family of Spaceman overdrive designs covered elsewhere on this site, including the Apollo VII and the Aphelion Harmonic Overdrive.
Videos
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Questions
Is the Spaceman Polaris true bypass?
Yes. According to Delicious Audio's write-up, the Polaris uses true-bypass switching via what the maker describes as the highest quality mechanical footswitch available, and the signal passes through quality open-frame Switchcraft jacks.
What expression pedal works with the Spaceman Polaris?
The Polaris has a dedicated EXP jack that is fully sweepable using a standard TRS expression pedal or expression device. It controls all three of the pedal's filter options, so a single sweep can move the resonant filter across its range while you play.
Where is the Spaceman Polaris made?
The Polaris is completely hand-soldered and handmade in Portland, Oregon, which Delicious Audio describes as being done to the highest degree of quality possible.
Sources (2)
- Spaceman Polaris Resonant Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2021-01-04
- Spaceman Polaris Resonant Overdrive, Delicious Audio, 2020-12-17
