Described by some as a (Chase Bliss) MOOD “killer,” the Matthews Effect The Technician is a rather complex but intuitive dual channel stereo delay+reverb with added modulation effects, and looper functionality. Aka – as per the subtitle – an “Auditory Manipulator.” The pedal was released without fanfare at the end of 2024, but it’s sure a major accomplishment for this boutique US builder.
Reverb and Delay have four dedicated knobs each on the top of the pedal, including a Frequency control for the delay and a Clock on for the Reverb. There are also alternative functions for these four knobs which we will tackle later.
The Delay section of the pedal is by far the most creative and inspiring, with modes for Re-Sample, Granular, Reverse and the more regular Digital. The first one on the list replays the delay sample at different speeds without changing the pitch (or vice-versa). It’s also integrated with Tap Tempo functionality with 4 Subdivisions.
The Reverb also features two unheard modes on top of the classic Hall and Plate: “Chasm,” described as “an exploration into reverb design feedback networks that can allow for unnaturally large decay lengths,” and “Grim,” which mixes the Chasm’s algorithm with an Octave down.
The Delay and Reverb can be then assigned to a dedicated list of Modulators, controllable via two of the the alternative knob functions of the eight top knobs: Mod One and Mod Two. These effects include:
- For the Delay: Vibrato, Tremolo, Clock and a Mode Dependent Effect
- For the Reverb: Vibrato, Auto-Filter, Shimmer and Dampening.
The Looper functionality has three operating modes: Latching, Momentary, and Quantize. The latter works like latching but trims the loop to synch to the delay time, a rather interesting and unique function.
The pedal has many more features worth exploring that allow the various effects to interact with each other.
As expected, it’s Midi compatible and also has Presets and Expression Input.
Here are the few videos of it available at this stage.
