Klowra Whorl Rotary effects pedal

General

With the Klowra Whorl Rotary, you can give your sound the swirling movement of a classic rotating loudspeaker. This digital effects pedal uses physical modelling to replicate the movement, mass and inertia of the treble horn and bass drum. This gives you not only modulation, but also the characteristic Doppler effect and the gradual changes in speed typical of such a mechanical system. Think of psychedelic sounds from the late 1960s or a spinning blues sound. The RATE control sets the rotation speed, whilst BAL determines the volume balance between the bass drum and the horn. The accompanying indicator flashes in time with the horn’s speed: handy when fine-tuning.

Three tone characters, three playing styles

The Voice switch offers three sound characters: a balanced rotary sound, the fuller low-end response of a larger cabinet, or the more spacious impression of a microphone positioned further away. You can also choose from three control modes. RPM Step lets you switch between two speeds, Spin responds to your playing dynamics, and Brake gradually brings the virtual rotors to a halt. The TWEAK knob takes on a different function each time: setting the second speed, trigger threshold or braking duration. With ACC, you can determine how quickly speed transitions occur. Hold down the built-in footswitch for the assigned function, or use an external TS momentary footswitch via CTRL. This allows you to fine-tune the movement whilst playing.

Compact pedal with advanced signal processing

Under the bonnet, Klowra’s WildSeed Engine features 32-bit floating-point DSP and 24-bit AD/DA conversion. You connect the pedal via a mono 6.35 mm TS input and output. You can choose between true bypass and buffered bypass, depending on your preference and pedalboard setup. The soft-touch relay switching ensures silent switching, whilst the compact housing saves space on your pedalboard. Firmware updates can be carried out via USB-C. A 9V DC power supply is required for use; power consumption is 150 mA. The Whorl is part of the Budding Bloom series, featuring hand-drawn, psychedelic illustrations centred on Asian mythological creatures and sacred objects. Its appearance, too, has a distinctive character.