Walrus surprised me with this one...

 The Walrus Fundamental series is something I’ve been aware of for a while, but I’ve not really paid much attention to Walrus pedals as a whole. Not because they lack impact or quality — far from it — but simply because they tend to sit outside my usual budget-pedal playground. They’ve built a devoted fanbase and consistently release excellent gear. I just let them go about their boutique business while I rummage around in the bargain bins.

That changed when Walrus announced the Fundamental Series, their take on the stripped-back, affordable format (as was the style at the time, in glorious Abe Simpson voice). This was, of course, made popular when JHS dropped the 3 Series . Wampler soon followed with the Collective Series. Suddenly, “budget-friendly but properly designed” became a trend — and Walrus jumped in with their own signature twist.

The most immediately noticeable difference?

Sliders instead of knobs.

It seems minor, but it’s actually the first clue that Walrus weren’t content to just make a cheaper line of pedals. The sliders give it a studio rack-style vibe and hint at the thoughtful engineering lurking inside. It’s a tiny detail, but it foreshadows the surprising level of care they’ve put into the Fundamentals despite their more than reasonable price point.

And that brings us to today’s pedal: the Walrus Fundamental Ambient Reverb.

With a name like “Ambient,” you’d expect big, atmospheric trails and modulated texture — not usually my realm. I’m a subtle reverb kind of person. A little space, a little sparkle, and I’m good. Big ambient washes don’t tend to get me all that excited.

So my excitement levels were running low when I first went to plug this one in.

And I was completely wrong.

This thing is fantastic.

Deep Mode

The first mode I tried was Deep, going in completely blind with no manual reading, no prep. As I mentioned before, I wasn't really vastly excited so I had a bit of apathy going on, but also I do like to respond to the pedal naturally instead of having a preconceived idea of how I should be playing it.

Deep mode is huge. Thick. Cavernous. There’s an ominous low-end presence that immediately transforms your guitar into something vast and cinematic. It feels like you’re playing in some ancient underground cathedral.

Only after checking the manual did I realise why: there’s a low octave subtly blended into the reverb trail, adding that subterranean rumble without overwhelming your actual tone.

It’s clever. It’s tasteful. And it sounds gorgeous straight out of the gate.

Lush Mode

Where Deep is dark and brooding, Lush is the complete opposite — airy, breathy, bright.

There’s a synth-like, pad-like quality to this mode that feels weightless. Subtle use gives you a really smooth, expanded everyday reverb, but push the mix and it becomes a full-on feature of your tone. This is proper cinematic ambience, with the top end shimmering beautifully instead of getting icy or artificial.

It’s incredibly musical and very easy to lose yourself in. In fact, this mode was the one we opted for recently over on Pedalboards of Doom when doing a live stream. Absolutely blooming glorious tone it was, worth checking out at least.

Haze Mode

At first, Haze seems like the more neutral of the three — not as cavernous as Deep, not as ethereal as Lush. But the longer you play with it, the more the subtle grit and texture reveal themselves.

A quick glance at the manual confirms it: Haze is a lo-fi reverb with reduced sample rate and added crispy grit.

It’s a character verb through and through — slightly degraded, slightly warped, beautifully imperfect. Pair it with a vibrato pedal and you can get a deliciously warped-vinyl sheen to your playing.

Final Thoughts

I genuinely wasn’t expecting to enjoy this pedal as much as I did. I walked into this review thinking it would be just another day at the office, but the tones are so well-crafted that they forced me to take notice.

What impressed me most was the subtlety. Plenty of budget brands throw in modulation or pitch effects, but they’re usually blunt tools — incredibly noticeable. Here, the low octave in Deep mode was so well-integrated that I only realised what was happening after reading the manual. It enhances the reverb without taking over, and that level of finesse is what sets Walrus apart.

The Fundamental series could easily have been generic circuits with minor tweaks and a Walrus badge slapped on. They’d still have sold well. But Walrus clearly aren’t about that life. They’ve put real thought, engineering, and musicality into these pedals, giving the Fundamentals the same care and attention as their flagship line.

It’s a smart move — because if the budget pedals sound this good, what’s the main line going to be like?

Walrus, you have my attention now.

I suspect I’ll be picking up a few more Fundamentals before long.

If you'd like one of your own and also to support the channel whilst doing so, consider my affiliate link below:
https://thmn.to/thoprod/588240?offid=1&affid=2735

When you want Shimmer on a Budget, you gotta Gokko for this one...

 Gokko Divine Shimmer Reverb Review – Sparkle on a Budget

When you think of shimmer reverb, your mind probably jumps to the high-end powerhouses of digital effects: companies like Strymon, Eventide, or maybe one of the more recent boutique builders pushing the boundaries of ambient guitar tones. Shimmer has long been one of those “premium” effects, the kind of sound manufacturers like to use to show off the capabilities of their top-shelf algorithms. It’s lush, complex, and notoriously hard to get right.

At the budget end of the pedal market, attempts at shimmer have been patchy to say the least. The Mooer Shimverb is a classic example: the room and spring modes are perfectly fine, but the shimmer? Let’s just say it didn’t win many fans. So when Gokko asked if I’d like to try out their Divine Shimmer Reverb, I approached it with a healthy dose of scepticism. Could a budget pedal really pull off one of the most difficult reverb styles convincingly?

Plugging it in, though, was a very different story.

The Layout – Simple but Purposeful

The Divine is built around two main components: the reverb itself and the shimmer effect that sits on top - both of which are controlled independently.

The reverb control alters the dwell, giving you a snappier, tighter ambience at one end or stretching out to a huge, expansive wash at the other. On its own, the reverb is solid but fairly neutral. It’s not dripping with character like a vintage spring or cavernous plate, but that feels intentional. If the base reverb was too colourful, it would end up fighting against the shimmer and creating a confused mess of sound. By keeping the core reverb more restrained, it provides the perfect canvas for the shimmer to shine.

And make no mistake—the shimmer is the star of this show.

The Shimmer Effect – From Subtle Sparkle to Organ Swells

Shimmer, at its core, is an octave effect layered onto the reverb trail. In the Divine, this manifests as a delicate overtone that can either add a gentle sparkle or morph into something far more dramatic depending on how you set it.

At low settings, the shimmer gives your playing a beautiful, airy top-end. It doesn’t overwhelm the note, but instead adds a glistening halo around your sound. It’s subtle enough to use in everyday playing without feeling self-indulgent, the kind of touch that can lift a clean tone or add dimension to chords in a mix.

Push the control past halfway, though, and things get interesting. The shimmer starts to dominate, transforming into something that feels less like reverb and more like an instrument in its own right. There’s an overpowering overtone and a bit of an organ-like quality to it, reminiscent of a Wurlitzer filling out a ballroom. In fact, it reminded me of the iconic organ sound in Blackpool Tower Ballroom—lush, majestic, and unmistakably “big room.” As a side note, if you ever get the chance to visit that ballroom in person, it’s worth it. Even if dancing isn’t your thing, the atmosphere and sound are something to experience, a true slice of British culture (the afternoon tea is banging, btw).

With everything cranked—reverb, shimmer, and level—the Divine even veers into self-oscillation territory. This is the first reverb I’ve used that genuinely starts to feedback into itself in a musical way. It’s chaotic, sure, but in the right hands, it could be a goldmine for experimental players.

The Level Control – More Than Meets the Eye

One of the most intriguing aspects of the Divine is its level control. At first glance, it behaves like a standard mix knob, blending your dry guitar signal with the wet reverb + shimmer. But spend a little more time with it and you’ll notice it’s capable of going fully wet.

That opens up a lot of creative possibilities. By running the pedal in fully wet mode and splitting your signal with an ABY box beforehand, you can keep one chain completely dry while sending the other into ambient oblivion. From there, add modulation, pitch-shifting, or distortion after the Divine and suddenly you’re sculpting textures that go way beyond traditional reverb use. It’s not how most players will run it day to day, but for soundscape enthusiasts, it’s a hidden gem of functionality.

Everyday Use – A Second Reverb With a Twist

So, is the Divine likely to kick your trusty Mosky Spring or TC Hall of Fame Mini off your board as your go-to reverb? Probably not. Its base reverb, while entirely serviceable, you would be doing it a disservice if you were to try and run it as a subtle, everyday reverb when it is capable of so much more - and honestly, I think the others have just a bit more charm about them, in this way of using it at least.

Where the Divine really makes sense is as a second reverb option. Paired with a standard verb, it becomes your “special effect” pedal—the one you kick on when you want to step outside the norm and dive into more atmospheric territory. Think of it as the equivalent of owning a classic car. Sure, you could drive it on the school run every day, but that’s not really the point. The joy is in pulling the top down on a sunny day and letting the experience take over.

Dial it back, and you can make the Divine work as a general-purpose reverb. But to buy this pedal and not use the shimmer would be missing the point. The whole charm lies in those sparkling overtones and the ability to push your guitar into organ-like territory or even into feedback loops of ambience.

Value and Positioning

At this price point, shimmer reverb is still something of a rarity. Gokko (who, for context, have taken "inspiration" from Caline’s Wonderland pedal here - thanks for those in the comments who've made me aware of this) have managed to bring a usually “premium” sound into the budget space with surprising success.

Of course, if you’ve played the top-end shimmer reverbs, you’ll hear the difference. The Divine isn’t as polished or endlessly tweakable as something like a Strymon BigSky. But then again, it’s not trying to be. What it does is capture the spirit of shimmer in a way that’s inspiring to play, fun to experiment with, and accessible to players who don’t want to spend several hundred pounds on a pedal that they might only use occasionally.

Bottom Line

The Gokko Divine Shimmer Reverb is not your everyday, bread-and-butter reverb pedal. It’s not trying to be. Instead, it’s a gateway to a whole other palette of sounds—sparkling overtones, organ-like swells, and even chaotic self-oscillating feedback if you’re bold enough to push it there.

Is it flawless? No. The base reverb is fairly plain, and if you’re looking for one reverb pedal to cover all situations, this probably isn’t it. But as a second reverb to stack with your mainstay, or as an affordable way to explore the shimmer effect without diving straight into the high-end market, it’s a strong option.

If you’re curious about shimmer but have been put off by the price tags attached to the big names, the Divine is a refreshing surprise. It’s not perfect, but it’s fun, it’s inspiring, and it shows that shimmer doesn’t have to be reserved for the elite end of the pedal world.

Sometimes, a little sparkle is all you need.

Too good to be true? Sonicake Levitate

 Sonicake Levitate Review – Budget Ambience Done Right

When it comes to budget pedals, reverb and delay can often be hit or miss. Affordable delay pedals some diamonds within the fold, with classics like the Donner Yellow Fall or the Mooer AnaEcho punching well above their weight. Reverb, on the other hand, tends to be a lot more difficult to find great examples in the budget space. Occasionally you stumble across a gem like the Mosky Spring, but more often than not budget reverbs feel a little flat, a little lifeless, and ultimately uninspiring.

Sonicake clearly decided that wasn’t good enough. Ambience is such a vital part of modern guitar playing that there needed to be a proper go-to option for those on a budget. Enter the Sonicake Levitate—a compact dual reverb and delay pedal that aims to deliver practical, great-sounding ambience at a fraction of the cost of the big names.

Breaking Down the Levitate

The Levitate is essentially two pedals in one, split between its reverb side and its delay side. Both are controlled independently via their own footswitches, making it a versatile addition to any pedalboard.

On the reverb side, things are kept simple. You get just two controls: Reverb (which works as your mix knob) and Decay (which sets the length of the reverb). At shorter decay settings, you’re working with a modest reverb—subtle, natural (like the sound in the room), and perfect for adding a touch of space without overwhelming your dry tone. Turn the knob the other way, and it blooms into a spacious ambience that starts to take on a life of its own. Paired with the mix control, you can set it anywhere from “barely-there” airiness to “drenched in reverb” soundscapes where the effect becomes as important as the guitar itself.

The delay side, however, offers a few surprises. On paper, it looks standard enough, with Time and Feedback knobs to control the length of the repeats and how many you get. But here’s where Sonicake gets clever. Instead of a single mix knob, they’ve given the delay independent controls for the dry and wet signals.

At first glance, that might not seem like a big deal. After all, most delays handle this with a single knob that blends between the two. But if you’re the kind of player who likes to experiment, this is where the Levitate reveals its hidden depth. By dialling out the dry signal completely, you’re left with nothing but the wet repeats. That means you can stack modulation, distortion, or other effects onto the repeats themselves while keeping your original guitar tone pristine and unaffected. It’s a trick usually reserved for more expensive studio gear, but here it is on a £50 pedal. For ambient players, this opens up some serious creative potential—thick, washy textures sitting under your clean playing, or glitchy experimental tones that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

Does it Rival the High-End Options?

No, no it doesn't. Next question... Ok, you want to know the details?  Here it is then. Is the Levitate going to rival a £300 Strymon reverb or delay in terms of tone and depth? No, of course not.  It offers more than you'd think though...

What makes the Levitate impressive is just how usable and musical it is for the price. At around £50, you’re getting a dual pedal that delivers reverb and delay of a quality much better than you’d expect. The reverb might not be dripping with the complex shimmer of a BigSky, but it’s solid, tasteful, and versatile. The delay, with its added blend functionality, is far more flexible than most budget offerings.

In short, it’s not about replacing your dream high-end ambient pedal. It’s about having a practical, reliable way to add ambience to your board without breaking the bank. For beginners or players just starting to explore ambience, it’s an ideal entry point. For seasoned players, it’s a surprisingly useful utility pedal that covers the basics with style.

Practical Features and Extras

Sonicake has a knack for cramming in extra features where you wouldn’t expect them, and the Levitate is no exception.

For starters, the delay footswitch doubles as a tap tempo when held down. That means you can lock your repeats to the tempo of the song—a feature that’s often missing from budget delays entirely. The method isn’t as immediate as having a dedicated tap switch, but it’s a clever way to pack in functionality without making the pedal larger or more complicated.

On the reverb side, holding the footswitch engages trails mode, letting the reverb decay naturally after you turn it off instead of cutting abruptly. Again, this is the kind of feature you often see missing even in pedals twice the price, and it makes the Levitate feel a lot more polished in use.

Then there’s the practical stuff: it’s compact for a dual pedal, it only takes up one output on your power supply, and it’s built solidly enough to stand up to regular gigging. It also only draws 92mA on your power supply, so you won't have to set aside one of the bigger draw outputs for this one.

Why the Levitate is a Budget Classic

Since this pedal landed at BPC Towers some years ago, I’ve been saying it: the Sonicake Levitate is a budget classic. In fact, day one of receiving it, I posted a short saying this exact thing and I am glad to say, I wasn't wrong. It’s not flashy, it’s not pretending to be a boutique pedal, and it’s certainly not trying to replace the Strymons and Empresses of the world. Instead, it focuses on giving players a strong, practical foundation for ambient tones at a price that makes it hard to say no.

Good reverb and delay are essential for most modern pedalboards. Whether you’re adding depth to a clean tone, filling out your solos, or creating lush ambient soundscapes, you need at least one of each. Having both covered in a single, compact, affordable pedal is a no-brainer.

The Levitate might not win awards for ground-breaking innovation, but it nails the essentials and sprinkles in just enough extra flexibility to make it stand out. For players curious about ambience but not ready to drop serious money, it’s a perfect gateway. For more experienced players, it’s a solid utility tool that can earn its place on a board as a backup or even a mainstay for smaller gigs.

Jerry Springer moment...

The world of budget pedals can be hit and miss, especially when it comes to ambience. But every so often, a pedal comes along that raises the bar for what’s possible at an entry-level price. The Sonicake Levitate is one of those pedals.

It combines solid, versatile reverb with a surprisingly flexible delay, throws in useful extras like tap tempo and trails, and packages it all into a compact, affordable unit. No, it won’t replace your £300 dream machine. But it was never supposed to. What it does is deliver dependable, musical ambience at a price that makes it accessible to everyone—and that’s something worth celebrating.

If you’re putting together your first pedalboard, or if you’re simply after a compact solution for reverb and delay without breaking the bank, the Sonicake Levitate should be at the top of your list.

If you'd like one of your own and you'd like to throw a bit of support to the channel too, consider using this link (use code:BudgetPedalChap for a saving too!):
https://www.sonicake.com/products/levitate?sca_ref=1425095.S0avGvl0i2