Crazy Tube Circuits V2 White Whale Tremolo and True Spring Reverb

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To quote Dictionary.com a white whale is "slang for relentlessly or obsessively pursuing an object that's difficult to achieve." If putting a real spring reverb on you pedalboard is your white whale, Crazy Tube Circuits is your Captain Ahab. The CTC Version 2 While Whale is a true analog spring reverb and tremolo in a single package. While we've all been pretty happy -- mostly -- with digital reverb stompboxes, nothing quite replicates the delicate shimmer and airiness of a real reverb. The White Whale can be subtle and sophisticated, or rich and watery. And with the V2 there is now the option of a short or medium tank 2-spring reverb or a long tank 3-spring reverb. And it's a fully featured Reverb with Dwell, Mix (wet/dry), Tone and Volume. We particularly liked the medium 2-spring setting which struck us as the right blend of shimmer, echo and control. The ability to adjust tank size, mix and tone makes the White Whale vastly more functional than the typical analog "less/more" knob on most guitar amps. Even if you already have a spring reverb in your amp, the While Whale will most likely outperform it.

And if that was not enough, the White Whale V2 now covers your modulation needs with three analog modes of tremolo: Harmonic, Opto, and Tube. And the tremolo can now be placed before or after the reverb. The controls are pretty simple -- intensity, speed and volume -- and you can think of volume essentially as mix. The Opto and Tube are both amplitude modulation circuits while the Harmonic tremolo is a frequency-based modulation using shifting high and low frequencies. While the Harmonic Tremolo sounds more compelling and has less pronounced volume swells, we found the tube setting the most lush and hypnotic. But the pulsations of an amplitude tremolo may not always be the best fit, and harmonic tends to sit in well with many musical styles. But luckily you have three all-analog choices at the ready. 

The While Whale now has a companion external footswitch to activate independent tremolo or reverb bypass via a TRS connection. But any momentary accessory footswitch will work. There are also expression pedal inputs to control Reverb mix and Tremolo speed.

Digital has come a long way, and the amount of functionality, and control features you can pack into digital is impressive. But the richest and most organic tones still come from analog devices. While the White Whale may seem large, it's really is two completely separate pedals....and after all there are springs in that box! The While Whale V2 is one of the best and quietest tremolos we have heard, analog or digital. And regarding the White Whale's reverb section: There is really nothing like it at this size or price.

Even if your amp already has a spring Reverb, the While While makes a good argument for ditching it. And if all you have is digital it's a solid upgrade. Combined with it's excellent tremolo side, the While Whale is a prized catch.

Power consumption: 180mA, 9VDC tip-negative power.


In the words of Crazy Tube Circuits.....

Inspired by the match-made-in-heaven of vintage effects found on 60s American amps, White Whale V2 sets out a new objective to pack bigger real spring reverb and tremolo sounds in the same pedalboard friendly enclosure (17 x 12,5 x 7,5 cm).

The 3-spring reverb tank assembly housed inside White Whale’s enclosure has remained the same, but we have upgraded the power amp driving the springs for increased headroom and wider frequency response. Following the signal topography of vintage units we have also upgraded the dwell control to allow you to dial the right amount of signal that goes into the springs for a mellower or splashier reverb sound. Real spring reverb found in 60s American tube amps and external reverb units featured a tube power amp driving the spring assembly via an output transformer, so we have delicately tuned an analog circuit to emulate the tube and output transformer saturation that was produced on higher dwell settings.

Each of these vintage units had its own reverb effect qualities so we tried to categorize them according to the most emblematic ones with a toggle switch selecting the size and decay.  The user can select between the milder reverb qualities of a short to medium 2-spring reverb tank, the liveliness of a medium to long 2-spring reverb tank as found in most blackface amp designs and the dense reverb qualities of a long 3-spring reverb tank assembly. A reverb’s tone control comes after the recovery stage at the output of the reverb tank and affects only the wet sounds for lively and drippy or smooth and mild reverb tones. Use the mix control to blend your desired amount of wet signal on top of the dry guitar signal. Higher reverb mix settings tend to get lost in the mix, so we’ve made sure you’ll be heard loud and clear by incorporating a volume control capable of up to 20db boost.

The tremolo section has also been upgraded to feature harmonic tremolo, besides the opto and tube bias found in the previous incarnation of our “marine mammal”. This hypnotic and mesmerizing effect originated on certain models of the brown and blonde era amps and does frequency-based modulation by shifting between high and low frequencies compared to the amplitude-based modulation (opto and tube bias) that shifts between volume levels. We’ve made sure to include the two most significant variations of harmonic tremolo, as found in the original amps, that differentiate in the range and sweep of pulsating frequencies. The depth control sets the intensity of modulation while we’ve extended the range of the speed control beyond the span of vintage amps’ to make sure we’ll maximize your creativity. The volume control will boost the signal, if needed, even in the hardest throb settings.

Another upgrade found in the White Whale V2 is that the two effect sections are now completely independent and you can select the effects order so that the tremolo effect comes before the reverb or vice versa. This gives you the option to make heavenly combinations as optical and tube bias style tremolo usually sound better when placed after (post) the reverb effect while the harmonic tremolo usually sounds better when placed in front (pre) of the reverb effect. The two onboard footswitches are used to engage or bypass each effect section and feature a power-up bypass/engage pre-set function. That way you can select which state your pedal will go to when you plug the power supply. White Whale V2 also features a remote switcher input jack where you can control the bypass state of each effect section remotely via your favourite external effects switcher or via the matching artwork remote control dual footswitch (sold separately). Reverb’s mix can also be controlled via an expression pedal and tremolo’s speed can be controlled by either an expression pedal or external tap tempo footswitch (expression pedals / tap tempo footswitch are not included).

The surf-friendly light green colour adds to the overall drippy experience of a real spring reverb and tremolo that will fit on your pedalboard. If your amp setup doesn’t have these effects by design, you have now found your perfect match.

CONTROLS:

REVERB 

dwell: controls the strength of the signal that is going into the power amplifier that drives the spring tank. Affects the “drip”, tonal quality and decay of the reverb effect. (1)

tone: controls the presence/brightness of the reverb effect.

mix: blends the amount of wet (reverb signal) into dry.

volume: set the master volume of the reverb section. Use it to boost the signal if needed on higher mix settings.

reverb size toggleswitch: select the size and decay of the reverb effect. Select between the reverb qualities of a short 2-spring reverb tank, a medium 2-spring reverb tank and a long 3-spring reverb tank assembly.

reverb soft-clickfootswitch: true bypass (via a high-quality relay) or engage the reverb effect.

TREMOLO 

speed: set the rate of the tremolo effect. We’ve extended this control’s range beyond the standard amp style tremolo effects, from slower to faster to maximize your creativity.

depth:set the intensity of the tremolo effect.

volume: set the master volume of the tremolo section. Use it boost the signal if needed on higher depth settings.

tremolomode/circuit toggleswitch: select between a tube bias shifting style tremolo, an optical tremolo as found in blackface amps and two variations of brownface style harmonic tremolo.

harmonic tremolo hard/soft switch: affects the range and sweep of pulsating frequencies. Select between a wider range and more pronounced sweep from high to low frequencies (hard) to a smoother sweep and gentler throb (soft). Reflects the harmonic tremolo circuit variations as found in the original brownface amplifiers.

tremolo fx order toggle switch: select the order of tremolo effect in relation to the reverb section. Optical and tube bias style tremolo usually sound better when placed after (post) the reverb effect. Harmonic tremolo usually sounds better when placed in front (pre) of the reverb effect.

tremolo soft-click footswitch: true bypass (via a high-quality relay) or engage the tremolo effect.