Walrus Audio's new Eras pedal has almost limitless drive tones on offer

03 Sep 2021 by Jef | Approximate reading time: 3 Minutes

Walrus Audio Eras · Source: Walrus Audio

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With the Eras, Walrus Audio has crammed five distinct high-gain distortion voices in one compact red-coloured pedal. You potentially have limitless drive tones on offer here, as these five clipping circuits are accompanied by a handy blend control, letting you mix in your dry tone with each mode.

Walrus Audio Eras

This new bright red pedal from Walrus Audio has a an angry-looking winged bull emblazoned across the front, so I’m expecting some hot-headed drive tones. The pedal actually uses five different clipping options, accessed via the Mode knob. These, combined with the Blend control, are the heart of this raging bull. Elsewhere the Eras has your obligatory Vol and Gain controls, plus an EQ section that consists of individual Bass and Treble knobs. The layout is simple and, I would imagine, should make for an easy-to-use drive pedal.

Walrus Audio Eras

The Five Clipping Modes

Okay, so let’s take a closer look at these five clipping modes and see what they have to offer. First up is number I. Tight mode, which is billed as having a slight mid-cut, and uses LED hard clipping, along with internal volume compensation. Walrus Audio recommends this mode for palm muting, as it has a fast response time. Next in line is II. Tight mode. This setting uses silicon hard clipping and, again, is voiced with a slight mid-cut. This mode should give you added compression for a smoother ride.

This is followed by III. Dual clipping mode which essentially combines the first two. So you get both silicon and LED hard clipping at once. This one should be ideal for sustain and offers what is described as a rich and full tone.

The fourth mode, IV. Rhythm mode, once more uses LED hard clipping, but with a deeper mid-cut, and that internal volume compensation to give you scooped mids and a tight response. Last up is the V. Rhythm mode, with silicon hard clipping and a deeper mid-cut. This setting should be warm and full, and perfect for rhythm duties where you want a fuller sound.

Once you have chosen your desired mode, you can blend in your dry signal to taste and create your sound. This will, in theory, give you practically limitless drive tones from the one pedal. So if you like the overall tone, this pedal could be of great value.

The selection of demo videos below should give you a good overview of the types of high-gain tones you can expect to get from the new Eras. If you seek less gain, then you should also check out the Walrus Audio Ages, as it is more overdrive based and uses the 5 modes setup as well.