Walrus Audio MAKO Series R1 High-Fidelity Reverb

Boasting a feature set unlike any other stompbox-sized reverb, the Walrus Audio R1 is a new addition to the company’s groundbreaking Mako series. It provides users with six studio-grade programs — all tuned to provide a premium sound. No matter what sort of reverb you’re looking for, the R1 has it in spades. From subtle springs to climactic, cavernous creations, it’s all there.

And with its five control knobs and a trio of 3-way toggles, the R1 gives you the tools to experiment and dial in the perfect reverb for any occasion. Store custom patches within the nine onboard preset slots or use MIDI control to cycle through the 128 factory presets. Whether it’s part of your guitar pedalboard, or you use it with a synth, keyboard, or another source, the Mako Series R1 is guaranteed to fuel your creativity with its inspiring sonic potential.

The R1 comes with six built-in programs: Spring, Hall, Plate, BFR, Refract, and Air. The 3-way Tweak toggle switch opens the door for even more textures. Spring injects Southern California-like spring reverb into your signal. Hall instantly transports you into concert halls and arenas. Plate emulates a smooth analog sound inspired by an iconic ’60s plate reverb unit.

BFR — short for Big F@$%*!# Reverb — is described by Walrus as a “no-holds-barred” arena reverb in a “vast cavern filled with choirs of angels.” The Refract program provides glitchy sounds and diffused reverbs. Finally, Air is a low-building shimmer that gives your signal some more “air.” The Tune control offers greater control and a super-useful “X” control.

Set the Tune switch to X, and it will control a unique parameter for each program. Here’s how the X setting factors into the sound shaping possibilities.

• Spring: Adds extra warmth and grittiness to the decay
• Hall: Adjusts the size of the room; crank it up to increase the size
• Plate: Customizes front-end gain for driving hot signals
• BFR: Controls the amount of diffusion in multi-tap delays; the higher you set it, the smoother and more ambient it sounds
• Refract: Shapes the glitch effect’s tone from a lo-fi tape sound to bright and pristine
• Air: Controls the volume and amount of wind and shimmer elements