Walrus Audio Julia Analog Chorus/Vibrato

The Walrus Audio Julia is a fully analog chorus and vibrato pedal, made in the USA by Walrus Audio¹². Where most chorus pedals give you a toggle that snaps between chorus and vibrato modes, the Julia puts the whole range on one knob: Walrus describes it as able to produce "mild smooth chorus, to seasick vibrato and everywhere in between"¹. MusicRadar's Trevor Curwen called it "a new take on analogue chorus that rewards exploration"³.

The pedal first appeared in 2016, when Pedal of the Day reported that "the crew over at Walrus Audio unleashes a new pedal release" and credited Colt at Walrus Audio with the design⁴. It was updated for 2020 as the V2, and it sits in the Walrus lineup alongside the stereo Julianna chorus/vibrato and the digital Mako M1 modulation machine.

What the Julia does: chorus to vibrato on one knob

Chorus works by mixing a slightly delayed, modulated copy of your signal with the dry signal; vibrato is the same modulation with the dry signal removed. The Julia's central control, the D-C-V (Dry-Chorus-Vibrato) blend knob, exploits that relationship directly. It changes the ratio of dry to wet signal sent to the output: at minimum you hear no effect, at noon you get equal parts dry and wet, which is the classic chorus blend, and at maximum the pedal is 100% wet, which is pure vibrato¹.

Pedal of the Day highlighted this as the pedal's distinguishing feature, praising it for "utilizing a smooth knob to seamlessly blend these modes, instead of the typical toggle switch that selects the mode"⁴. At full wet, the same reviewer found "intense and sparkling vibrato tones"⁴. MusicRadar described the knob's travel as going "from fully dry through a 50/50 chorus blend at midway to totally wet vibrato at its extreme travel"³.

The rest of the control set:

The pedal also has two LEDs, one each side of the footswitch, with the right LED flashing in time to the LFO speed so you can see the modulation rate at a glance³.

The Lag knob

The Lag knob is the Julia's other unusual control. It sets the center delay time that the LFO effect modulates from: at lower settings you get smooth and tight modulation, and at maximum the effect becomes a warbling detune¹. Pedal of the Day called it "a fun one" and noted the same range, from "a smoother and tighter modulation at lower settings, to warbling detune at maximum"⁴. In practice it changes the character of the modulation rather than its speed or depth, which is what makes the pedal cover ground from subtle chorus to seasick pitch wobble.

Sine or triangle wave

The Wave switch is a mini-toggle between sine and triangle LFO waveforms⁵². The waveform is the shape of the modulation signal: a triangle wave moves linearly up and down, while a sine wave rolls more smoothly. Walrus Audio notes that triangle generally sounds more appealing for chorus and sine generally sounds better with vibrato⁵. MusicRadar counted the choice among the pedal's extras, "plus you also get a choice of sine or triangle LFO waveforms"³.

The circuit is all analog. On That Pedal Show, the presenters described "the Julia again all analog circuitry"⁸, and Walrus Audio's own pages call it "a fully analog, feature-rich chorus/vibrato"¹. There are no presets: MusicRadar noted that "preset lovers may not be keen on the purely analogue operation, which means that you have to physically dial in the sound"³.

Power and bypass

The Julia runs on 9V DC with a 100mA minimum current draw⁵. The Craftsman Series page specifies center negative polarity⁷, and Walrus notes the power supply is not included¹. That 100mA minimum draw is worth noting if you run a compact isolated power supply: it is modest by digital standards but more than some analog pedals ask for.

The pedal is true bypass across the V2, Platinum Edition and Craftsman Series versions¹⁶⁷, and the V2 uses soft switch bypassing¹.

Versions: V2, Platinum Edition and Craftsman Series

The Julia was updated for 2020: Walrus Audio says the V2 "now has top mounted jacks, soft switch bypassing and updated art from Adam Forster"⁵. Top mounted jacks sit on the upper edge of the enclosure rather than the sides, which makes the pedal easier to fit on a crowded board.

Beyond the standard V2, Walrus has issued two special versions:

Walrus has also sold blemished Platinum Edition units at a discount, with the blemish being "cosmetic only such as scratches or dents in the finish of the pedal"¹. Both the Platinum Edition and the Craftsman Series were listed as sold out as of October 2026⁶⁷.

On bass

The Julia is not bass-specific, but its blend control is what makes it workable on bass. The D-C-V knob changes the ratio of dry to wet signal sent to the output: at minimum there is no effect, at noon it is equal parts dry and wet, and at maximum it is 100% wet¹. Keeping some dry signal in the mix preserves the fundamental, and the blend can be dialed back as far as needed.

What reviewers said

MusicRadar's Trevor Curwen found the Julia produces "a well-rounded tone, warm in the midrange with no frequencies obviously missing or prominent," along with a slight volume boost, and summed up its sound as "classic analogue sound"³. guitar.com's Michael Watts reviewed the V2 in February 2020, giving it 9 out of 10 and concluding:

Michael Watts, guitar.com²

That review listed the V2's UK price as £179 at the time². On That Pedal Show in October 2019, the presenters walked through the pedal's all-analog circuitry and its place in the Walrus lineup⁸.

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