Walrus Audio Mako R1 High-Fidelity Stereo Reverb Instruction Manual

Spring

Emulates an excited spring reverb commonly found in tube amps with loads of bouncy drip. Experiment with the decay knob for more reverb. The X knob controls the size of the Spring, from smaller “shorter spring” sounds at lower settings to an overtly slap-back as you increase the X control.

Hall

Provides the acoustics of large live sound spaces like concert halls to arenas. Longer decays and higher X knob settings result in a massive wash of ambiance. Shorter decay and lower X settings allow for a more intimate reverb expression. The X knob controls the size of the room.

Plate

Emulates a smooth analog plate reverb with nice even diffusion inspired by famous plates like the EMT 140. The X knob adds gentle warm grit to the front end of the program simulating driving a hot signal into the plate.

BFR

A no holds barred, big, f______ reverb. More than a giant arena reverb, it's a hall-esque reverb with rich and lush decay in a vast cavern. The X knob controls the amount of diffusion applied to the delay network; at lower settings, delay taps are more apparent, and at higher settings, they are smoothed out to create a soft bed of reverb.

Rfrct (Refract)

Allows for lovely, charming, and glitch-like textures hovering over a largely diffused reverb. The Rate controls on RFRCT change how often the glitch effects occur, while Depth controls the maximum temporal range for the glitching granular buffers. The Pre-Delay knob controls the size of the grain delays. The X knob controls the amount of diffusion applied to the reverb.

Air

Offers a larger diffused reverb with a subtle shimmer but has a more “crisp” clarity to its decay. Explore slow-building sounds that don't get in the way of your playing. Air complements keys and synths well. The X knob controls the amount of a positive reverb Octaving; at zero, the effect is off. Turning clockwise increases the volume of the +12semitone effect.

Decay

Sets the length of the reverb decay. Set lower for short natural sounding decays or higher for longer, more ethereal sounding reverbs.

Swell

A Bi-Polar control. Below noon engages a volume envelope applied to your Wet and Dry guitar signal, creating a gentle volume swell. Lowering the control to 0 increases how long it takes to fade in the guitar and reverb signal. Above noon introduces a Ducking effect that reduces the output of the Wet signal when proportional to signal present in the Dry path.

Mix

Sets the ratio of dry to wet signal. At minimum, no reverb is heard. At maximum, no dry signal is heard. Equal parts dry and reverb can be found around the 3 o'clock position. Use this knob for maintaining a healthy reverb level.

Tweak

Offers creative control over three different parameters. Move the toggle below the knob to select the parameter, then use the Tweak knob to dial in the amount:

• Rate: Adjusts the speed of the modulation applied within the reverb.
• Depth: Adjusts the amount of the modulation applied within the reverb.
• Pre-Delay: Adjusts the amount of pre-delay applied to your guitar signal before it enters the reverb. Useful for shaping how the reverb responds to your playing; short settings provide immediate reverb, while longer settings create separation between notes.

Prog (Program)

Selects the desired R1 reverb program. Refer to the REVERB PROGRAMS section for details.

Tune

Offers creative control over three additional parameters. Move the toggle below the knob to select the parameter, then use the Tune knob to dial in the amount:

• Lo: Adjusts the amount of low frequencies in the reverb. Turn up for a thicker reverb and down for a thinner sound.
• High: Adjusts the amount of high frequencies in the reverb. Turn up for a brighter sound and down for a darker sound.
• X: Controls a different effect depending on which program you are using.

Stereo Width

Built-in control for dialing in how wide or narrow a stereo image you desire. This setting is saved per preset. To access, set the Tune switch to the X position, hold down the Bypass switch. Once the Bypass LED starts flashing, turn the X knob to change the width (from very narrow at minimum, to stereo at noon, to enhanced stereo above noon).

A | B | C Bank Switch

Offers three banks for storing presets. Each bank holds three presets for a total of nine accessible without MIDI. Bank A is presets 0-2, Bank B is 3-5, and Bank C is 6-8. The presets in each bank correspond to the Red, Green, and Blue preset LED.

Bypass Switch

Used to turn the pedal on and off. Click to turn the pedal on and click again to turn the pedal off.

Bypass LED

Indicates if the pedal is on or off by illuminating solid when on, and off when the pedal is off.

Sus/Latch Switch

Allows you to momentarily sustain the current reverb sound by pressing and holding. You can also latch the sound by clicking this switch on and click again to unlatch. Anytime you sustain a reverb, your guitar signal is rerouted through an identical reverb so anything you play over the sustained sound will have the same reverb applied to it that was sustained.

Sus/Latch LED

Lights up the color of the selected preset – Red, Green, or Blue. When a knob is turned, this LED turns purple to indicate the preset has been modified. When that knob crosses its saved position, the LED changes back to the color of the currently selected preset.

Audio Input and Output

The Mako R1 offers multiple input and output configurations:

• Mono In / Mono Out
• Mono In / Dual Mono Out (Only available when using DSP bypass mode)
• Stereo In / Stereo Out
• Stereo In / Mono Out (Only available when using DSP bypass mode)

Bypass Mode

The R1 offers three bypass modes: True Bypass, DSP+True Bypass, and DSP Bypass.

• True Bypass: The R1 uses relays to bypass the pedal.
• DSP+True Bypass: The R1 uses relays to bypass the pedal after the reverb decay dies out.
• DSP Bypass: The R1 locks the relays on and uses the DSP to bypass the pedal.

The R1 ships in True Bypass mode by default. Use the following procedure to change the bypass mode:

1. Hold down the Bypass switch while applying power until the preset LED lights up a solid color. The Bypass LED will also flash until a selection is confirmed.
2. Press the Bypass switch to scroll to the color corresponding to the desired bypass mode:
   • Red: True Bypass
   • Green: DSP+True Bypass
   • Blue: DSP Bypass
3. Press the Bypass and SUS/LATCH switches simultaneously to confirm selection.

Factory Reset

To reset the pedal back to factory settings, hold both stomp switches while applying power to the pedal for longer than 10 seconds. After 10 or more seconds, release both stomp switches and the pedal will be reset to factory default settings.