Pro tip for Deco users: instead of setting the wobble on static value, try controlling the "wobble" knob with an expression pedal. That way you can control the wobble depth and "place" flutter on strategic notes. It works so well that I have a dedicated expression pedal purely for this purpose.
Have you tried the secondary functions on the Deco? More specifically, the HPF and LPF within the saturation side? I have a hunch it would be useful when crafting these lofi tones.
They seem really cool, but are they able to do anything other than be really weird? I mean, can they be used in music that isn't so experimental? (And I like weird music--don't get me wrong--but I don't want to JUST play weird music.)
@@profd65 Sure. It can add some 'breath' and a-symmetrical character to your tone and the mood your sound puts out in a subtle and nuanced way that you immediately notice sounds lacking when it's removed.
I'm surprised how well the Deco holds up against the two with that wobble lo-fi feel. It's way less dirty and more open but you can pull some nice musical and wonky sounds out of that.
This is incredible sounding and you could've let this go on for another 20 minutes and I'd still just be swaying gently with that Rhodes. Thanks for this =D
Hey thanks for doing this comparison demo. Its perfect & theres no jammy wanker shit going on. Thank you. I wish I would've seen this before purchasing the shallow water (which I sold for more than I paid for it. People are crazy). I tried the generation loss next & realized it does so much more. Its what I've been looking for as far as getting an immediate "quality lo-fi" sound. I'll be getting the deco next because I've been able to achieve the effect it creates with my El Capistan.. but I want the El Cap's sole purpose to be lo-fi tape delay.
Personally combining the deco and the shallow water seems perfect for what I want. The shallow water adds a bit of boost and the lpg can add that watery sound. The deco adds this corus and can add in extra wobble with expression. Or be used for double delay or rich lush stereo chorus over the shallow water. The gen loss becomes to degraded for me and its expensive as the lord.
@@damienhorn1706 Well, the Deco is so incredible on it's own I've decided to keep them as two separate stereo warbling chains. :) I'm so happy with how the saturation and double tracker work together. Even knowing how good the Strymon's stuff is this has been such positive surprise.
@@atuanoiniin thank you very much. which pedal would you recommend between the deco and the shallow water sound wise ? If the shallow was stereo it would be a no brainer for me so I am considering the two options
@@damienhorn1706 That's a tough one bcs they're so different. For the price definitely the Deco. If you can afford two SW's then I'd say get those. It really depends on the source, for guitar I'd probably pick the Shallow Water for the LPG tonal shaping capabilities and the sweet c-cassette/BoC vibe, and bcs my amp is mono. For synths the Deco really makes everything sound nice and lively, even if the source sound is quite static, I also love the ability to gradually shift the phase of the right channel so that the warble is at zero, bcs then you can dial in the exact stereo width you want without the warbling. It's worth mentioning that my judgment is biased bcs the Deco is still new for me. :) I hope this helps.
I have a deco and I love it for the taper fax but it doesn't add a lot of age to the signal---I would love to try these other two pedals in tandem with the Deco!!!
Definitely, as soon as you go past a certain point on the lpg it gets a little hissy from the BBD chip (I think). That was probably my biggest issue, was that it had to be so dark to reduce the hiss.
thistownneedsmusic I find that I only get hiss with harsh picking dynamics. The high pitches squeal from the rate knob has gone now, so I think it’s an issue with my pedal. I hope it’s not an intermittent issue, as it was unusable while the squeal was there.
I think they're all great. But just too expensive. Cheapest one starts at 225,- Does anybody know a PCB or DIY pedal that comes close to that VHS effect?
They're more expensive if you purchase them online or from somewhere like guitar center. Go to a locally-owned guitar shop where they'll give you a better deal because they want your business. I bought my shallow water for like $60 less than what it goes for online. It's worth the money, my man!
Funny enough the $60 zoom pedal multi effects pedal can kinda come close, if you want a more expensive emulator then the Source audio nemesis sounds even better. They still don't have what these pedals have though but can in a mix get you pretty close
The Deco is the best by far, if you run vibe or modulation after it you get the sound of the others anyway. The deco is more true to tape, the others are hipster pedals that are vastly over exaggerated versions of tape and most of that is just poor quality digital vibrato that you can get from any pedal, the zoom 50g stompbox has shallow water patches that sound almost identical so Deco for the win, quality over hipster hype any day of the week and twice on a Sunday!
