Inspired by a visit to ice caves formed by a glacier in Austria, the Rocket Surgeon Ice Caves is an ambient reverb/delay pedal with some original features, like the Ice and Ambiance knobs, which interact to control the amount of feedback from subtle background to oscillation madness.
It also has a toggle switch that transforms it into a delay, routing the feedback loop in the Echo part of the circuit only:
it functions like an analog delay and will self oscillate just around noon.
Here’s a video by Demos in the Dark.
History: A few years ago Dr Von Fuzzbrauer visited the Dachstein glacier in Austria and explored the dark and glistening depths of it’s ice caves. The experience in the cave was so magical and awe inspiring that it had to be captured and harnessed through his guitar. Now, you can visit the caves of Dachstein without having to take a trip. The magic is right there packaged up in a nice little box so you can experience the mystic and wonder on your own or with your audience. Ice Caves is the result of countless hours of designing, prototyping and testing. Enjoy.
This pedal’s controls are highly interactive. It will go crazy with everything maxed out, but by having such extreme settings on each you can really fine tune some great icy sounds. There is also a trimmer inside the pedal that allows you to adjust the overall volume of the pedal when activated. Out of the box it is set at unity gain. But you can make it louder or quieter if your rig demands it.
There is also a trimmer inside the pedal that allows you to adjust the overall volume of the pedal when activated. Out of the box it is set at unity gain. But you can make it louder or quieter if your rig demands it.
- Level – Controls the level of the wet signal
- Depth – Sets the reverb space, low levels for classic reverb sounds. Turn it up to go deep in the caverns.
- Echo – This is a pre-delay before the reverb. As you turn it up the wet signal will be delayed and then reverberated.
- Brightness – Low pass filter, as in it cuts the highs, all the way up for full brightness and all the way down when you are down in the murky depths of the cave.
- Ice – This is the feedback control it goes hand in hand with the Ambiance switch. All the way down for no feedback and all the way up for oscillation madness.
- Ambiance – This switch controls how the Ice knob behaves in the circuit.
- Off – Ice knob is disabled
- Delay – The feedback loop is in the Echo part of the circuit. Really it functions like an analog delay and will self oscillate just around noon. To keep it under control keep the Ice control under 12 o’clock.
- Reverb – The feedback loop is for the whole circuit. When the Ice knob is above 12 o’clock it will begin to drone in glorious icy ambiance.
