The Polar Bear Petrichor Delay is a pedal based on a chip that fortunately seems to be readily available in these days of supply chaos: the PT2399. Like most pedals emplying this device, the Petrichor is a lo-fi delay pedal, but its circuit features an extra creative tool: a step sequencer.
The three top knobs and the Tap Tempo footswitch control the familiar parameters found on 99% of delay pedals: Mix, Repeats and Delay (which controls the time/speed of the repeats). But just under the knobs, a series of 6 toggle switches hint at the fact that this is no normal echo pedal.
The first 4 switches on the left control the delay time division of the 4 steps of the sequencer, which are therefore independent for each repeat and can be full note, half note or dotted half. Each has an LED that flashes when the corresponding step is active.
The 5th switch controls the number of steps of the sequence, which can be 3 or 4. The bottom setting activates a Random mode in which the timing of the 4 steps is randomized (there’s also an even more random mode that can be activated by holding the Tap Tempo footswitch when turning on the power).
The 6th knob, finally, controls the duration of each sequencer step in delayed quarter notes, which can make the delay twice faster or slower at the flick of a switch.
Here are some videos of the Polar Bear Petrichor. We added it to our list of the best creative lo-fi delay pedals. Check out also our categories of pedals with a step sequencer and creative pedals.
Polar Bear Petrichor Delay, Builder’s Notes
Petrichor is a lo-fi delay sequencer pedal based on 2399 chip. Max delay time is ~1.1 seconds.
MIX controls the blend between clean and delayed signal.
REPEATS controls the number of delay repeats.
DELAY controls delay time and sets the speed of the sequencer in quarter notes.4 left toggles control the delay time divisions of the sequencer. Each LED indicates one of four sequencer steps. First LED always flashes with the tempo of the delay.
Fifth toggle controls the number of steps.
4 is normal mode in which all 4 sequencer steps are active.
3 will bypass 4th step of the sequencer.
SHUFFLE ICON activates RANDOM mode in which all 4 steps are active, but the sequence is random.
For activating the second RANDOM mode in which timing of the steps is more random and unpredictable, hold the TAP TEMPO footswitch when plugging in the power. Flashing LEDs on power up will indicate the RANDOM mode change.
Sixth toggle controls the duration of each sequencer step in delayed quarter notes.Left footswitch is BYPASS.
Right footswitch is TAP TEMPO.Power
This product should be used with a high-quality isolated power supply. It uses 9V DC negative center 2.1mm barrel. Unregulated power supplies as well as higher voltages may result in suboptimal noise performance and even damage your unit, voiding the warranty. Our products don’t use batteries.
Current draw for this pedal is ~110 mA.Size (L x W x H)
12.6 x 6.6 x 6 cm
4.96 x 2.6 x 3.36 inch
125B enclosure
