Walrus Audio MAKO Series M1 High Fidelity Modulation Machine

To start out, I play guitar and don't run this through synths or my daw, it is on my pedal board. Initially I had this pedal in my FX Loop, because it has things like rotary, space reverb (hidden), phaser, chorus, and a lot of those normally I'd put in my FX loop before my delay and reverb. I wish I could rate this 4.5/5 I didn't want to give it a 4, because I think it is almost perfect. The only downside is when you put it in the FX Loop you get a SUBTANTIAL volume drop. Even a 2db boost in the loop wouldn't fix it really. Now, if they made a version 2.0 that had maybe a 3db boost toggle, then it could live in the FX Loop. However, I put the M1 right before my compressors/gain and it is AWESOME!! I bought it for the killer Trem, and Chorus but found myself in love with the Filter function, to make like side-chain effects, very cool for intros and improvising with a looper. My advice is just to put IN FRONT of your amp, and not in your FX loop if you don't want to deal with heavy volume drop.

When I first got it, I updated the firmware and then jumped in and started playing around. All of the options are daunting as it has a plethora of secondary functions. I was a little disappointed at first as I didn't understand how to adjust the dry/wet mix and the overall preset effect volume which is very important with modulation effects.With the latest firmware, you can adjust dry/wet mix by holding the bypass switch and turning the rate knob. And you can adjust overall volume by holding the bypass switch and turning the Depth knob. I was then able to set up my presets perfectly.This pedal has everything I'll ever need for modulation. I highly recommend it for this alone.But....as soon as you start diving into the lo-fi options...wow....you can add so many different ambient effects and textures. And the space option is incredible, it's a basic reverb but very high fidelity and sounds incredible. It's kind of like getting an extra reverb pedal with your purchase you didn't even expect. The more I use it, the more I like it. This will be a permanent fixture on my board.

For multi mod pedals, I always have a short list of questions.1) Can it replace my favorite analog pedals? YES: Catlin Bread Callisto chorus, Supro Tremolo, Crazy Tube Circuits Cyclone phaser.2) Can it make ______ sound? YES: Choppy square wave tremolo, warbly chorus ie. Chase Bliss Warped Vinyl, Fender tube amp vibrato—black or brown.3) Do the programs all sound the same? NO. The rotary speaker doesn’t sound like the chorus, the harmonic tremolo doesn’t sound like the phaser, I might even say the vibrato has a different feel than the chorus.4) How’s the user interface? Above average. There’s no alpha-numeric display, but it’s reasonable. Read the manual.5) Is it ready to plug and play. YES. The factory presents are well designed.

Very artificial sounding and not very variable amongst its settings. Maybe you can fool someone that hasn’t been a musician for barely a year, but you can’t fool a professional musician that’s been playing for 50 years.Back to the drawing board guys.