The Caroline Arigato is an analog phaser/vibrato pedal approached the way the South Carolina-based company approaches each effect it builds: from a personal creative angle. It’s not the replica of a “legendary” vintage unit, but rather the recreation of what circuit designer Philippe Herndon dreamed his very first pedal (a phaser) did and what he imagined it could do if it only had a few more knobs and switches.
The Arigato sports a 4-stage circuit and a Mix knob (upper left) that lets you blend wet and dry signal. At 100% wetness, you get the vibrato effect. The three other knobs control Feedback, Speed and Aim/Frequency, which sets the color and intensity of the flanging.
Two toggle switches give you extra options, with the Wave toggle offering triangle and square LFOs and the Mod toggle, which, when set in the down position, delivers an asymmetrical pulse and a different frequency character.
As usual, Caroline included a momentary Havoc footswitch, which takes the speeds to the maximum setting.
Check out the videos of the Caroline Arigato below, we added it to our article about the Best Phaser Pedals.
[Wanna get this baby and be supportive? Buy it through our Perfect Circuit affiliate program – at no extra cost.]
Caroline Arigato, Builder’s Notes
A phaser even for people who don’t normally like phasers, Arigato™ delivers incredible modulation, range, and warmth.
ARIGATO neither seeks to recapture the sounds of the past, nor to be state of the art. It is a snapshot of a future we were promised as children. It is our way of saying thank you to customers who for years asked us for a phaser. (Really? A phaser???)
While capable of the airy psychedelia of classic units, this one is meant to rumble, wobble, shake, rattle, and roar. It is also capable of going fully wet for interesting vibrato sounds, max feedback for auto-wah sweeps, and a wide range of responsive shades throughout each control as they interact with the others.
We’re pretty excited about this release; the first pedal Philippe ever owned was a phaser, our team is a bunch of phase shifting nuts, and releasing this feels like coming home.
For those of you who didn’t think you’d like a chorus, but fell in love with our Somersault™ pedal – we think you’re going to really love this thing too. While we love classic one-knob units and their ALL CAPS WHOOSH approach to phasing, there’s a world of subtle shading and different movement to be explored, and Arigato is here for it.
