The crew at Malekko Heavy Industry have always been up near the forefront of companies creating effects pedals that defy logic, expand minds and throw all caution to the wind. Today’s achievement holds nothing back, either, producing a slew of unorthodox and unusual sounds, twisting and warping your brain as you step into another dimension of time and space. The Thicken does thicken your tone, it’s true, but it does so much more, blending elements of chorus, reverb, delay and more into a tornado of auditory bliss, expanding musical notation and adventure while we explore this effect.
The “C” knobs control the chorus side of things on the Thicken, while the “S” knobs set the delay functions. C Rate provides control for the chorus’ speed, C Depth sets the intensity and C Vol adjusts the overall volume. The chorus sounds are sweeping and rich, full of warm echoes and powerful modulation at any settings.
The delay section features a volume control, too, as well as the Spread knob for the actual delay mode. Here, you can use either two fast delays (CCW) or two slower delays (CW), widening the delay times the more you turn each section up. You can also set this control to a hidden Random mode, by holding down the bypass switch when powering the pedal on. This turns the delay sweep from smooth to aggressive, widening the sonic palette even further.
There’s even a Preamp knob that sets the input gain level, perfect for evening out any signal loss in your chain, or giving this beastly pedal a bit of an overdriven boost-ish tone. Plus, you can connect an expression pedal to control any combination of the on-board parameters, and it works with CV (control voltage) input, too. The Thicken is a wonderfully weird and exciting effect to use, experiment with and decipher just where it fits into the chaotic pedal universe, but hey, that’s what gear is supposed to be for, no? If you’re looking for a great but different chorus sound, along with a hint of wacky delay and expression control, here’s your guy. Thanks to the innovative crew at Malekko for once again proving that anything is possible in the world of music – check out their site for a TON of other intriguing gear!
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