More often than not, simple ideas are the best ones. The Onset, a collaboration between Vongon and Land Devices is a streamlined device with just two faders that does automatically what guitarists normally do using a volume pedal: the volume swell effect.
Easy peasy: the Attack control dials in the swell times, ranging from 100 milliseconds to 2 seconds, while the Sens one tweaks the level at which the signal starts getting processed.
The LED lights are a nice and useful touch, switching from purple to yellow when the circuit is active. What’s not immediately apparent is the high quality of this device, based on an all-analog high fidelity VCA (voltage controlled amplifier) controlled by a digitally generated exponential envelope.
Hear the Land + Vongon Onset in action, below.
Land + Vongon Onset Auto Volume Swell
ONSET is an auto volume swell effect with rise times ranging from 100 milliseconds to 2 seconds. Two sliders are used to control the detection circuit’s sensitivity and the volume fade length. The LEDs indicate the status of the volume swell, smoothly fading from purple to yellow. The signal path is an all-analog high fidelity VCA (voltage controlled amplifier) that is controlled by a digitally generated exponential envelope for the volume swell. When bypassed, a mechanical relay-based true bypass circuit is activated by the soft-touch foot switch
– 135mm x 73mm x 40mm
– 1/4″ mono jacks
– Input impedance: 1M?
– Output impedance: 1k?
– 2.1mm DC Connector
– 9VDC center negative power
– Current Draw: 100mA
– Soft-touch foot switch
– True bypass
