Red Panda catapults its Raster delay pedal in version 2 into new wild sound areas with more pitch & freq shifting options, mod engine & more
If you are into experimental guitar effect pedals, the company Red Panda from Detroit, Michigan (USA) plays at the top for many. Instead of developing bread and butter effects, they infuse very unique algorithms in their pedals. No matter if the Particle 2 granular delay, Bitmap 2 bit crusher, Conext 2 reverb … all very special effect processors.
The Raster delay, also one of the well-known Red Panda pedals, got a significant update for Summer NAMM 2021 in the form of a new Raster 2.
Red Panda Raster 2
The new Raster 2 pedal is described as a digital delay with a pitch and frequency shifter integrated into a feedback loop. Raster 2 is the next generation of its Raster 1 (2015) pedal with upgraded hardware. This adds longer delay times, modulation power, presets optionally tweakable via an editor, MIDI support, and stereo operation. The latter one is probably the biggest improvement that opens up new sonic possibilities.
The core is based on a digital delay with up to 1600ms with a pitch and frequency shifter integrated into the pedal’s feedback path. The pedal has three delay ranges allowing you to dial in precisely your sounds and instantly change delay time with rhythmic shifts. Controlled self-oscillation sounds, here we come.
Raster 2 hosts a tone control that sweeps between darker analog-style repeats through to digital clarity. So you can achieve crazy repeats that fit in your tracks or those with more attacks. Handy, you can change the left and right delay in sync with a single knob. Plus both channels can run in series, parallel, or ping pong.
Pitch & Frequency Shifting
And the new Raster 2 also gives you deeper pitch shifting options on the repeats including up, down, and in semitone steps. Great for arpeggiator style or wild effects. Additionally, you can detune in micro pitch shifts for chorus repeats. Also here you can shift the left and right channels by the same amount, ratio, or opposite directions.
Beyond pitch shifting, a combination phase/frequency shifter creates subtle evolving repeats, dissonant harmonies, and barber pole flanging. It can be pushed to extremes for ring modulation and inharmonic shifted delays that distort and break apart.
Modulation & MIDI
Red Panda also introduces modulation in the new Raster 2 pedal. It offers seven waveforms that can be assigned to the delay time, pitch shift, or effect level. The developers also thought of experimental, noise musicians. It includes two random waveforms which are perfect for glitchy, tape deck-style, or experimental effects.
The MIDI support is also one of the big improvements in the second version. It has clock synchronization and full implementation with additional parameters over USB or TRS. Cool, RP shops it with a new web-based editor for editing presets and accessing hidden parameters. Taking about presets, it has 4 onboard user prests via the front pedal and 127 via MIDI.
There is currently no demo for the new version. Here is one of the first generation to check out.
Raster Delay 1 Demo
At first glance a very big feature update for the Raster delay pedal. Above all, the deep pitch/frequency shift functions but also the modulation bring the pedal into new sound areas. Audio outputs via TRS are not perfect, but is due to the small, compact design.
Red Panda Raster 2 will be available for $299 USD in late summer/early fall. The developers say that release has been delayed due to the global chip shortage.
More information here: Red Panda
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