The Tone Charm Audio Into the Waves is a delay/distortion/modulation pedal with an added dose of reverb, hand made in Poland with the shoegazer guitarist in mind. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio describes it as a device that "works and appears as a single effect (a delay) with various extra functions (distortion, modulation, and EQ)", rather than three separated effects in one box1. In other words, you set it up and play it as a delay, and the dirt, modulation and reverb sit inside that one voice.
Controls
The knob set covers the delay and its modulation, with the Dirt toggle deciding where the distortion lands1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Delay | Delay time, up to 500ms |
| Feedback | Sets the number of delay repeats |
| Dirt | Distortion only on repeats, or distortion on dry and wet |
| Depth | Modulation depth |
| Dive | The modulation's rate, working in conjunction with the Depth knob |
| Volume | Output volume |
The modulation circuit is the pedal's distinguishing feature. Delicious Audio describes it as "unique modulation circuit controlled by input signal amplitude", meaning the strength of your playing drives the modulation, and the Dive control sets its rate alongside the Depth knob1. The maker's pitch, quoted by Delicious Audio, is: "Dive into the waves with this amazing and creative tool. Experience beautiful delay tones with unique modulation circuit controlled by input signal amplitude."1
The three footswitches
Into the Waves carries three footswitches, two of them momentary, which is unusual for a delay and central to how it is played1.
- Right: on/off, with true bypass1
- Center: a momentary footswitch that increases feedback length (a feedback gain increase) while held1
- Left: turns the modulation on, and doubles as a momentary footswitch affecting the modulation's speed, for manual modulation by foot1
The center switch lets you kick the repeats into a longer, self-feeding trail for a fill or an ending, and the left switch lets you push the modulation speed by hand while it is engaged1.
Internal DIP switches
Inside the pedal there are two DIP switches. One darkens the repeats, choosing between dark and bright repeats, and the other turns on an additional modulation sensitivity mode1. Both are set-and-forget adjustments rather than performance controls, so they suit players who want to tailor the character of the repeats and the input-driven modulation to their rig once and leave them.
What reviewers said
Delicious Audio's verdict, from June 2022: "The Tone Charm Audio Into the Waves is a cool creative pedal that will keep you happy for a while." The pedal was added to the site's article about the best advanced delay pedals with unusual features1. For context on where it sits, it belongs to the broader family of delay pedals, with the dirt side touching on what dedicated distortion pedals do and the modulation side on what chorus pedals and flanger pedals do, all inside one delay-first design.
Videos
Tone Charm Audio
Tone Charm Audio
Tone Charm Audio
Questions
Is the Tone Charm Audio Into the Waves true bypass?
Yes. The right footswitch turns the pedal on and off, and when it is off the pedal is true bypass, so your dry signal passes through untouched. The other two footswitches are momentary controls for feedback and modulation and do not affect the bypass path.
Where is the Tone Charm Audio Into the Waves made?
The Into the Waves is made in Poland and is hand made. Delicious Audio describes it as built with the shoegazer guitarist in mind.
What do the three footswitches on Into the Waves do?
The right footswitch is the on/off switch with true bypass. The center momentary footswitch increases feedback length for as long as you hold it. The left footswitch turns the modulation on and also works as a momentary control affecting the modulation's speed, for manual modulation by foot.
Can Into the Waves distort only the delay repeats?
Yes. The Dirt toggle lets you choose between distortion applied only to the delay repeats or distortion applied to both the dry signal and the wet signal, so you can keep a clean base tone while the echoes break up.
What do the internal DIP switches do on Into the Waves?
There are two internal DIP switches. One darkens the repeats, switching between dark and bright repeats, and the other turns on an additional modulation sensitivity mode, which relates to the modulation circuit being controlled by the input signal's amplitude.
Sources (1)
- New Pedal: Tone Charm Audio Into The Waves Modulated Delay + Distortion, Delicious Audio, 2022-06-09