Imagine you’re out on the road. Those ‘get outs’ are still a nightmare. You’ve played gig after gig after gig, and by now you’d be juggling cables and pedals and making sure the all important guitars are put away and safe and sound. Thermion, a boutique pedal company based in Spain have taken the stress out of the ‘get out’ and allowed you to literally breathe a sigh of relief after your gig. Your effects pedal chain now comes in one easy and intuitive pedal. Is this all the ambience you will ever need?
The Breathe pedal combines three effects; a 15 dB boost, a really nice reverb and a beautiful analogue delay, all housed in one unit. This allows for quick and easy set ups and more importantly, pack downs after a gig, which will give you more time to chat to the adoring crowd and maybe even flog a few CDs or a t shirt or two!! But, practicalities aside, how does it sound?
Firstly the boost; I really like it. It gives extra oomph without distorting your sound, allowing you to crank it up without losing the sonic quality of your tone. You have the option to run it independently, or you can choose to pair it with either the reverb or the delay with the onboard toggle switch.
The reverb is beautiful. There are three sizes, S, M and XL – all three create a different ambience. The S setting is great for rhythm, emulating a small room. It never gets too busy and just adds that extra warmth to your tone. M is really nice for lead work especially if you engage the boost as well. It sounds glorious and then the XL is full on ambiance! It’s so expressive. Think of dreamy soundscapes and you’re in the right ball park.
There is also a Stay On dial which allows you to have reverb on, even when the foot switch is disengaged and the level can be independently manipulated, meaning that even if you’re on the XL setting, you can set it to a ‘rhythm level’ and then with a tap of the foot switch, you can take your tone to another realm!
The delay is superb. A warm analogue sound that can be timed using the tap tempo function which also doubles up as the boost button if you hold it in place for a second! As with the reverb there are lots of different sonic options available. You can alter the note duration (you get the choice between a 1/4, an 1/8 and a dotted 1/8) and also the delay character.
You can choose between Bright, Dark and Natural. The Bright setting maintains more of the top end, giving your tone that extra bit of sparkle. Ideal for solos that you want to cut through the mix. If you want something a little less punchy, choose the natural setting. A nice delay that keeps the natural quality of your guitars tone, whereas dark setting recreates a more classic delay sound, with the tone getting darker as it repeats, I think the dark setting is somewhat more subtle and definitely my favourite!
Who is Thermion Breathe pedal for?
This is the ideal pedal for a musician who is short on space. Because it is three effects in one, it would suit a jobbing musician who doesn’t want to spend hours unravelling cables and setting multiple effects up. If space is limited, perhaps you are travelling and living the van life, this is ideal – pair it with the Cream T Aurora with its interchangeable pickups and you have a stadium ready rig, with multiple tones, that you can fit on your back!
This is a great all in one effects bundle, giving you reverb, delay and a boost pedal in one robust unit. I have thoroughly enjoyed the Thermion Breathe pedal and if you are looking for that ‘all in one’ solution, it should be a serious consideration!
