Built in the UK by a company true to its name for the colorful nature of its products, the Glowfly Pixel Dust is an intriguingly creative device with the potential to inspire guitarists that aren’t afraid to flirt with sonic weirdness.
The Pixel Dust has two modes: (triple) Looper and (tap tempo) Stutter. But it should be mentioned that it records at 8-bit, so anything you get out of it is rather lo-fi sounding.
In Looper Mode, the red button toggles between record and play, while the other three activate the loopers, which can record up to 2 secods each: hold them down individually to record a loop, and then tap any of them to play the individual loop cycle (holding the button will play the loop continuously.
The center knob changes the speed and pitch of playback of any loop that’s playing, while the side blue button will make the loop play in reverse when tapped.
In Stutter Mode the red button becomes the tap tempo control, while holding any of the other three buttons will record and instantly play a short loop. The center knob here works as tap subdivision modifier
The Left side knob is the output volume.
We added the Pixel Dust to our comprehensive article about the best Glitch, Stutter and Granular pedals. We also added it to our category of creative guitar pedals.
Glowfly Pixel Dust, Builder’s Notes
LOOP MODE: Red toggles between record (LED on) and play (LED off). Hold the other three big buttons record/play individual loops. Hold any of the three and move the centre knob to change speed (pitch) of playback for that loop, or tap the side button to toggle reverse playback. Each loop can be up to almost 2 seconds long at neutral pitch. Tap a button to play one loop cycle or hold to play continuously
STUTTER MODE: Red is tap tempo. Hold any other button to record and instantly play a short loop. Turning the centre knob while holding a button changes the tap division for that button/loop. The divisions are 1/2/3/4/6/8/12/16. Max recording time is 6 seconds ish
Recording in Stutter mode will delete any loops in Loop mode
Recorded audio is 8-bit so very much LOFI. Sounds good with guitar, especially amped up
Side knob is effect volume
Pedal is buffered bypass, dry signal passes through constantly. Takes +9v centre negative power supply (the normal pedal one!)Side button colour may vary
