Recording - January 2021 - 60

REVIEW

Death By Audio
Rooms Stereo
Reverberator
This is not a room-it's a funhouse!
REVIEW BY PAUL VNUK JR.

D

eath By Audio hand-builds effects pedals in an underground
warehouse in Queens. With names like Apocalypse, Supersonic
Fuzz Gun, Robot, and Deep Animation, Death By Audio tackles
drive, modulation, delay, and reverb pedals, all with a twist. The newest
member of the family is the unassumingly named Rooms, and in true
Death By Audio fashion, it moves beyond the norm.

Step on up

Rooms is a stereo stompbox measuring
3.75 x 5.75 x 2 " tall. It's solidly built with
great-feeling switches and pots. A pair of
latching-style footswitches emit healthy
clicks when stomped on. Rooms is powered
by an external 9v adaptor (not included).

Dialing in the space

Onboard are six reverb-based algorithms selected by a six-position rotary
switch and tweaked with three parameters: Freq, Depth and Time. The output is
adjusted by individual Dry and FX knobs.
These allow for detailed blending of your
effected sound, and each one is capable
of +20dB of added gain, so output levels
are never an issue with Rooms.

Room by room

The Freq and Depth controls perform
different functions depending on the
selected algorithm, while Time is always
reverb decay time.

The six algorithms:

ROOM is a classic reflective, slightly
metallic space. It can go from minimal
ambience to super-long and deep. Freq
sets the tone of the decay from bright
and sizzly to thick and rumbling. Depth
controls predelay. This is the most
'normal' reverb of the bunch.
60 RECORDING January 2021

DIGIT is a filter matrix reverb that uses
tight echo/delay to create a resonant,
grainy reverb. Freq controls the delay
time, and Depth is feedback.
PEAK is a big spacious ambient reverb
with a bandpass filter; Freq sets the frequency and Depth controls the filter resonance.
GATE  is a classic 80s gated reverb
throwback. At longer times, it moves
into controllable freeze territory. Freq
controls the reverb tone, while Depth adjusts the response time of the gate.
WAVE adds a pitched vibrato to the reverb tail for old-school subtly swimming
reverb tails, up to full warped mayhem.
Freq controls the modulation frequency,
and Depth alters the modulation depth.
GONG is the most unique of the algorithms. Besides being a big spacious
reverb, it adds saturated, dusty metallic
waves of ring-modulated goodness to
the sound. Again, Freq controls the modulator's frequency, while Depth adds
aliasing when set counterclockwise and
full-blown ring modulation when set
clockwise. [love this -Copy Ed.]

Double melting and morphing
Rooms also contains three small thumbknobs labeled F, D, and T, and a second
stomp switch. These are duplicate parameter controls. With them, you can set up an
alternate variation of the selected algorithm.

As you step on the second stomp switch,
rather than instantly jumping to the new
settings, it morphs from one to the other
with a sound similar to speeding up or
slowing down an analog delay-think
rubbery and organic. I especially liked it
on the DIGIT setting, where the shifting filters add cool synth-like sweeps. I also like
this feature on Gong for similar reasons.
For more tonal bending, you can attach
an expression pedal for realtime control
of Frequency or Time.

In Use

I enjoy using pedals in the studio.
Rooms does not disappoint, offering
traditional reflective rooms perfect for
a drum kit, acoustic guitar, percussion
and vocals; the ROOM algorithm is also
fantastic on harmonica. GATE is excellent on snares and toms for a classic 80s
pop sound. The other algorithms take
Rooms into full-on sound design territory,
perfect on synths, drum machines, trippy
vocals and soundscaping.
From a guitarist's perspective, our
copy editor Mike Scheibinger spent an
afternoon with Rooms. In addition to
the standard reverb effects, his favorite
algorithms were the chorused vibrato
sound of WAVE, as well as the long ring
mod droning of GONG.

Wrap-up

If you're after an ordinary reverb pedal, Rooms may be a bit over the top.
However, Rooms is a beautiful, inspiring
atmospheric fun-house if you're after wild,
unusual, effected spaces with stunning,
multi-dimensional sound quality.
Price: $395
More from: deathbyaudio.com
http://www.deathbyaudio.com
Recording - January 2021

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