Analogwarm FX is a pedal builder based in Russia recognizable by their stylish and rigorously black and white pedal cases.
They have a handful of pedals in their roster (an overdrive, a fuzz, a tremolo and a chorus) but most of them are sold out, which is a good sign.
The Noir is their Multi-wave Optical Tremolo, sporting both a Harmonic and Normal mode and the always useful Tap Tempo functionality.
The Harmonic mode works in a rather intriguing way:
The input signal is divided into two parts, the first goes through a low-pass filter, the second through a high-pass filter. Then these two parts are separately modulated in loudness by waves in antiphase and summed. While the low-frequency component becomes louder, the high-frequency component becomes quieter, and vice versa. In this mode, you can get both the tremolo sound of old “brownface” Fender amplifiers, or use it as a full-fledged filter, thanks to a very flexible wave.
The top three knobs are your expected Rate, Volume and Depth controls.
The second raw offers a Waveform knob on the right, offering 8 different waves for the LFO, a Multiplier knobs on the left, and a Symmetry knob in the center, which makes the waves more or less symmetric, adding an infinite amount of variations to the LFO possibilities.
While the right footswitch deals with Tap Tempo, the Second Footswitch performs several functions, from on/off duty to changing the mode and the LFO wave.
Here’s a video of the Analogworm NOIR Optical Tremolo.
Noir is an optical tremolo with normal and harmonic mode, equipped with smart bypass on the relay and multi-function tap-tempo wave generator. Noir allows you to get a whole palette of sounds: from the classic “brownface” and “blackface” tremolo to tricky filters in harmonic mode and rhythmic structures in normal mode. Tap-tempo allows you to conveniently adjust the tempo to the rhythm of the song, and the compact size of the pedal is a huge plus when assembling the pedalboard.
