While some lo-fi pedals out there recreate the sonic artifacts of vinyl record players, the Glowfly Albert takes things one notch further by giving us the sound of the record player’s grandpa: the gramophone.
You can reduce the frequency bandwidth of your tone to make it sound thin or phone-like by using the low- and hi-pass filters, add some warbly modulation through the Depth and Rate knobs, and add hum and crackling typical of those machines through the Noise and Dust knobs.
Separate Wet and Dry knobs allow you to balance the original signal with the “gramophoned” one for more subtle effects.
The little twist in the circuit is here represented by the touchpad placed on the bottom left, which allows for momentary pitch-bendy effects.
Have a listen to the Glowfly Albert’s old-timey effects in the videos below, we added it to our comprehensive article about the best lo-fi pedals.
Glowfly Albert Gramophone Simulator, Builder’s Notes
- Lofi vinyl record simulator
- Recreates the dusty warbly timbres of times long since passed
- A chorus / vibrato with high pass and low pass filters to eke out those eerily delicate gramophone vibes
- Two noise generators (white noise and dust crackle) for an authentic atmospheric backdrop
- A touchpad for pitch-bendy fun
- Independent dry and wet volume knobs
- Your signal a whisper from history
- All pedals are lovingly handmade, true bypass and take +9v centre negative power supply (the standard pedal one). Textured black case and waterproof/scratchproof labels
