Swindler Effects Mineshaft Reverb

The Swindler Effects Mineshaft Reverb is a compact reverb pedal that puts two separately adjustable reverb settings in one small box. Swindler Effects describes it as producing "rich, spacial tones that can range from a subtle wash to a thick, ambient soundscape"¹. You set two different reverb mixes and two different tone levels on stacked dual knobs, then flip between them from a footswitch mid-song, which makes it useful for players who want a subtle wash for verses and a big ambient wash for choruses without bending down to twist knobs.

The pedal was created by New York designer Matt Kraus and belongs to Swindler Effects' Functionalist Series². It is no longer in production: the maker's pages list both the Signature version and the V2 as sold out or unavailable¹³.

Two reverb settings in one box

The core idea of the Mineshaft is the dual setting. As the maker puts it on the V2 page: "Yep. That's TWO reverbs in ONE small box."¹ Each of the two settings has its own Reverb mix and its own Tone level, set on stacked knobs, so you can dial in a quiet room and a cathedral and jump between them with a tap of the left footswitch.

Pedal of the Day framed the same feature in player terms when the site reviewed the pedal in December 2016: you can "flip-flop back and forth between 2 reverb setting of your choosing"². The reviewer found the result "spatial, rich, bold and cavernous reverb tones," and concluded that its "usability and dual functionality make it an important piece of gear for any pedalboard or audio setup"².

The controls and footswitches

The control layout is the same on the Signature version and the V2. From left to right the knobs are Reverb, Tone, and Feedback, with the Reverb and Tone knobs stacked as dual knobs¹³.

The Feedback knob is a single knob shared by both settings, while the Reverb and Tone pairs are independent. Pedal of the Day described the top and bottom knob rows as setting "the Reverb and Tone for each setting," with the Feedback control working across both modes².

What the red and blue lights mean

The left footswitch toggles between the two settings, and the lights tell you which one is live. A red light means the upper knobs are active; a blue light means the lower knobs are active¹. Pedal of the Day used the same naming in its review: "Red is Mode 1, which utilizes the Top knobs, while Blue, or Mode 2, makes use of the Bottom knob settings"².

Runaway oscillation from the bypass switch

The Mineshaft has a hidden trick built into its bypass switch. Holding down the soft-touch, true-bypass on/off switch throws the reverb into a runaway oscillation, and how wild it gets depends on where the reverb level is set¹³. Pedal of the Day covered this in its 2016 review, noting the effect appears if you hold down the true-bypass footswitch².

For a player, this is a performance tool rather than a defect: hold the switch and the reverb builds into self-oscillation, then release to drop back to your normal sound. Because the intensity tracks the reverb level setting, the two stored settings give you two different oscillation characters as well as two normal sounds³¹.

History and versions

The Mineshaft Reverb appeared in Swindler Effects' Functionalist Series, and Pedal of the Day featured it on December 5, 2016, with a full review following on December 7, 2016⁴². The pedal was created by New York designer Matt Kraus².

Two versions exist:

• Signature version: sold with the maker's Signature line of graphics. That graphics line was discontinued on Black Friday, November 24, 2017, and the Signature Mineshaft page now shows the pedal as sold out³.
• V2: the updated version, listed at US$200.00, with SMD circuit construction that the maker says brings "increased reliability and consistency"¹. The V2 page lists the pedal as unavailable¹.

Power and practical notes

The V2 runs on a 9V center-negative supply and draws 100mA¹. That current draw rules out a battery and means the pedal needs a proper isolated or adequately rated output on a power supply; it is heavier than many analog drives and fuzzes, though normal for a digital-style reverb. The enclosure measures 4.7 x 2.6 x 1.5 inches, small enough to sit in a tight pedalboard row¹.

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