The Specular Tempus: Almost Too Good To Be True

Even in a long 20 minute video, I had to pick and choose features to cover. If you're still on the fence, DO look into the additional functionality, as this little pedal is extremely versatile.
All of the specs, editor software, and various guitar demos can be found on GFI's website: www.gfisystem.com/specular-tem...
Timestamps!
Monologue: 1:45
Algorithm tests: 4:05
Synthesizers + Tempus: 11:45

[@xislost]

To the random viewer comming across this video or the fan comming back, you can be absolutely certain that you're in the right place to learn about a tool when the person featuring it in his video is that passionate.

[@MusicDiscoveryLab]

THANK YOU for running synths through this thing and not just guitars. I use my effects with my synths and electroacoustic instruments so this is so much more helpful to me than most of the other demo vids.

[@CharlesFerraro]

God it's extremely rare to come across a channel that actually goes in depth with a product where the user has more than player experience but actual sound designer/engineer knowledge.

[@9DragonTao]

thats why i subscribe here... he speaks my language

[@hvidhajster]

HAHAHAHA. When that graph turned 3d.... That was awesome. No less. Happy days everyone.

[@museovations]

Jeez, I couldn't even finish watching the video without ordering one.

[@MASDistro]

Unreal in-depth look at this fabulous pedal. Awesome work Benn!

[@sweetswing1]

I don't know how I missed this review until now. I was one of the people asking you to review it, thanks so much. Another great review.

[@xythantiopps]

For anyone choosing between this and the Empress one thing to consider is that the Empress has control knob's "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" which means that you need to memorize what these "Things" do for each algorithm (there isn't a ton of crossover) and also which color LEDs represent which sub-algorithm. I think that overall I prefer the sound of the Empress but the screen on the Tempus is worth a ton to me. I was finding that if I didn't use the Empress frequently, I wouldn't remember what did what which made it harder to dial in. The save function on the Tempus is also more straightforward and even tells you what the value of a parameter was as you change it in case you want to go back. I think the ergonomic design is much better overall. It reminds me a bit of rack gear.

[@Raumweiter]

so you own both and find the GFI more useful? I´m a rack gear type of person, but i´m seriously considering this gfi pedal as a drone/ambient machine.

[@xythantiopps]

@@Raumweiter I owned both but I ended up selling the Empress because I preferred the ease of use and the LCD screen of the Tempus so much. I think the Empress has slightly more realistic "straightforward" algorithms ex. Room, Hall, Soft Modulation etc but for ambience/drone stuff I would go with the Tempus 100%

[@Raumweiter]

@@xythantiopps wow, thanks for your helpful answer

[@Sam9wilson9]

❤

[@wychwoodmusic]

THIS. I loooove the sounds I can get out of the Empress but the fact I have to pull out the manual or a cheat sheet I made to figure out what two knobs do - or even what sub-algorithm I'm in - really inhibits my on-the-spot tweaking and creativity. I like or at least can appreciate the screen-less aesthetic, but damn does it decrease the intuitive functionality and ease of use of the pedal. I'm going to have to take a long, hard look at the Specular Tempus. Thanks for the comment and to Benn for such great videos.

[@marcelfrehse]

this is the VERY FCKING BEST video about this unit. no telling, just showing patches and parameters! excellent!

[@homelessballoon]

Lovely, deep, rich quality sound! Thanks for sharing!

[@andreievkalupniek5717]

It makes the cheesiest patch sound like angels in heaven!

[@onitvideoproductioncharles9102]

What a wonderful pedal review video. This is fantastic.

[@iskariot3180]

Thank you! I wish more people demoed fx pedals with line level instruments Sometimes you get a small synth demo at the end of a long guitar video, or you get a 2min jam without explanation. Video's like this are the holy grail for me!

[@vondoom2876]

Yes had to return more than a few pedals that crap out when placed after a synth...

[@JapanoiseBreakfast]

Thanks for existing.

[@MikkelGrumBovin]

those Volca´s are HUGE sounding ! :-O Im flabbergasted......Glittering C-Beams - RIP Rutger !

[@professortrog7742]

15:00 turing shit into gold. Amazing.

[@tracebrem]

A new firmware update has been released recently with a few new algorithms (including tape-delay), some workflow improvements and fixes..

[@teikomat]

Your obsession convinced me. I watched videos on YT for weeks about this pedal and of course had regularly a look on the item in an online shop. Finally I could not resist this beautiful sound and bought it. Today I saw the item is not available anymore at Thomann. Seems I got the last unit ? I am soo happy, Thank you so much and please keep on doing what and how you are doing it ! :)))

[@sssilverman]

Am buying one based on this great demo, thanks!

[@MindfulProgramming]

Dual Gold is the Golden Ratio algo. ya know, so the amount of taps/heads per beat increases by the procession of the Golden Ratio. preeeetty awesome.

[@inertiatic88]

The SK-5 really comes to life at 15:28. Impressive.

[@johnkrummrich4948]

Just finding you Chanel Awesome reviews and nice to see someone who has a brain and a sense of humor

[@8thlvlMage]

That swell is hauntingly beautiful. My goodness...

[@soundion]

Great Test with a Awesome Effect Device! Thanks

[@zloboslav_]

oh i like this shimmer too, it's not harsh and overbearing like most and that leaves room for the melody, very nice :)

[@wychwoodmusic]

Right?!

[@78awhite]

I know I'm a little over two years late to the party on this video (not the Specular Tempus), but the apologizing cave is the funniest thing I've heard in a while... seriously, your sense of humor is vast (see what I did there).

[@brainlego]

You made me buy one. Thanks man. Thanks a lot! :)

[@EdwardCashin]

What a great video! Entertaining and informative.

[@georgearmstrong6424]

this is what got me into music, this beauty

[@SleepingCocoon]

i was really impressed by the anti-shimmer and infinite modes, but "dual gold" absolutely blew my mind, incredible!

[@CapriciousBlackBox]

Dammit!!!!! Why didn't I know about this channel sooner!!! I have been a fan for some time now....and to have some reviews/tutorials too......fantastic!

[@V3nom7]

In the anti-shimmer test is missing the "doppler" effect, which is not "preseted" by default, and only accessible through Speclab software. This effect do like doppler, fading the sound while decreasing smoothly the pitch like a fall into hell. (nice example on the test on Brett Kingman's channel) I asked Henry (the developper), it seems impossible to developpe an update that could allow changes to "virtual" parameters (only "real" param are accessible directly on the pedal). BUT : they will soon work on an improved Specular Tempus version with dual engine, that allow to combine any effects (not only the presets ones), and to change any parameters directly on the pedal. They hope to release it next year. About the Infinity preset, what you later call the "freeze trigger" is in fact the main feature of Infinity : you can record and loop a small part, and with speclab, you can choose if you erase and record a new one by pressing again... or overdub your pads... limitless...

[@jean-pierrejoubert6140]

The beginning of this video is even better than the pedal seems, and the pedal seems pretty fantastic.

[@DeconTheMonkey]

I thought i knew a little about reverb but after watching your vids about the few reverb pedals on your channel...i hit the subscribe button.

[@jaramemitchell6383]

why am i only just now finding this channel?!?!?!?!?!?! bravo sir, bravo! you've got a subscriber (well, another one i mean)

[@joshbabbitt9243]

Don't feel bad, I just found it now 😂

[@drgwon]

Good video and great review! TOP

[@JeremyJames_studio]

Excellent video - thanks

[@buyukberber]

Such a “fun” video! And that IS a compliment

[@yongamusic]

Ha!

[@bobz1736]

Brilliant demo... never did a Casio sound so good 😀

[@jvf6257]

You will stop the search the day you own a Briscati M7, thanks for your videos, I’m happy with the Zoia pedal

[@ericpeters0n]

JVF Mastering whole different class but you're right, I mean, hey why not pair the Brixton Bricasti with a 480L and call it a day ;)

[@ton3929]

Glad I've found this video! Need a reverb unit to replace the not so good reverb on my Waldorf Blofeld synthesizer ;-) The Specular Tempus seems an incredible good value! I've ordered one and this will definitely improve the sound of this little monster synth! Thanks for this in depth review!

[@mooseinbeesocks2700]

You are hilarious! I wish there was a comedy nigh somewhere just for audiophiles you would kill haha. Great review on this pedal as well. The fact that you are super critical of reverbs as a whole and decided to go so in depth with this one really suggests to me this is something ....You read me right.

[@Jason75913]

lol

[@LordoftheBadgers]

You made me buy one eventually Mr Jordan!

[@pawnotdaw4559]

Your product demos are the best out there!

[@orryfishburne5326]

This pedal sounds amazing. Thanks for doing such a in depth review on it. I think im going to buy this one. Its either between the Tempus or Empress, but i think the Tempus takes the cake. Its smaller, cheaper in price, has delay, and pretty much sounds just as good as the Empress. Im sold. As soon as my paycheck comes in today im ordering one. 😁

[@Unifono2012]

Great reverb, great video. I miss my Nord rack

[@DanJohnson]

Sounds great! I jumped on the Hungry Robots Stargazer V2 recently and love it for what I need, but this obv has a lot more in the locker.

[@goodboid]

That was a great walk through! I so wish you'd do one for your Nord Rack too. The older Nords get no love on youtube.

[@christophertodman8254]

Damn, that was a great review.

[@MusicDiscoveryLab]

That clenches it. I need this thing.

[@vrancaasangma3716]

Perfect demonstration 👍 you caught my attention Buddy 😂

[@TheToneWork]

Great video. I learn something everything I watch. Would love to hear your thoughts on some of the newer reverbs out there like the Walrus Audio R1 or the Source Audio Ventris.

[@drfluffy3983]

Nice, i think i will take one for my synths

[@Fedor_Tkachev_Music]

Honestly, this vid made we want this pedal, even if I'm plugins-only kinda guy

[@ISOTROPOSPHERE]

Ben, love your videos, outstanding review, never heard a Casio sk-5 sound so good but please for the love of cheebus, clean that thing.

[@krasiviyzver]

you're amazing

[@jeremycharlerie7523]

Dear Benn, love your channel and your detailed video on the speculation tempus. I am convinced. PS: any thoughts on the module known as the rainmaker?

[@bensonhon]

Instant sub!

[@jacksprat3009]

This video and one other changed my mind from the Big Sky to "Spectacular Temper." To be honest i chad crossed off Big Sky reduced to Specular Tempus and Ventris Dual Reverb. My only concern was the menu diving, but the demo with the three synths did it for me because as a guitar player looking to synths I'd be controlling with my hands more than my feet. The tone, although not to be trusted through a computer, sounds so smooth & rich - sooo....mine's coming in 2 days. Thanks...

[@jamiesingleton5558]

How did you find it? I'm thinking of getting one soon

[@toi_techno]

I love messing with gear and I'm a huge admirer of people who make serious/signed music with gear but the people who make the gear are like wizards working beyond the ken of mere mortals.

[@kierenmoore3236]

Thought "Prove It" was heralding an A/B comparison of the ST and the Empress ... :| A follow up, maybe? :)) I wasn't expecting to like the ST at all, but have to agree with you re the Shimmer setting (I couldn't stand the others I've heard), and most of the others you noted - it doesn't seem to have that Strymon trebly-sheen thing throughout its algos. Particular interested to hear how you thing the Modulated Reverb of the ST compares with that of the Empress? A level-matched A/B of select, key algos would still be great, though - seeing as you are now pretty-much the YT reverb king. :) Cheers! Thanks for the vid! - Be well, K

[@Blacktarprophecies]

The anti-shimmer alone sold me on this...good god its glorious

[@dantahoua]

Great! Would like to see you playing with the SA Ventris... Just for fun and to compare!

[@cliffmerrill8525]

Bro! I'm right here bro! you're hilarious!! :) you just got a new subscriber!

[@nomadicexplorers]

Awesome video. Subscribed for sure. I cannot find one in your videos. Can you recommend a couple or few great delay pedals?

[@mrbaiser4133]

This pedal needs a dual mono mode: delay to output a, reverb to output b. Delay for the main signal, shimmer reverb through a separate amp. That way, you could use a splitter in front of the Specular Tempus, to add an overdrive to the delay and a volume pedal to the shimmer (both have to be in front of the delay or reverb...

[@fraser21]

It would be awesome if you could post some links about where to find out more online about reverb at a mathematical level, I've always been fascinated by this stuff but for anything more than a couple delays lines the internet seems to have nothing.

[@MotokoKusanagi]

www.thermaxxjackets.com/sabine-modern-architectural/ but what is further - I don't know... I guess this is a question of the programming language being used + chipset...

[@atomictraveller]

sean costello (valhalla dsp) has made numerous efforts to open source reverb techniques during his market presence, threads and blogs worht reading. its one of those topics people make money off of, and other people feel incapable from. but amazingly i've just had a bit of a breakthrough. i'm xoxos, i've been very present in the audio dev community for a couple decades and "i've noticed a fair amount of information being withheld". eg. the very mysterious subject of transmission loss of sound in air was recently made clear to me by studying ultrasound beam propogation instead of audible sound (where the information is PROTECTED by mason assholes). but studying ultrasound, the information is much more tangible because its not infringing on anyone's "vst sales secret". the big, hairy formula for frequency dependent transmission losses that requires calculating coefficients for oxygen and hydrogen based on rH and temp... and other tasty stuff.. sound is highly nonlinear out of the audible range.. anyway. reflection of sound can be considered as specular or diffuse, and both follow cosine laws .. lambert's law pertains to diffusion (only angle from wall normal is considered) but some description i found also said specular reflection is cosine (and an obscure comment which seemed to indicate negative values, eg. dipole behaviour, are discarded, but i was unable to discern from the work if the sign was switched or the value just dropped.. i guess for abstract work, you can decide..) it looks like the standard procedure for architectural reverb modeling is to perform spectral calculations for eight frequency bands from 62.5hz to 8k i was having a fiddle with it yesterday, using spectral domain, generalising transmission gain at -.5dB/1m is a rough generalisation but is pretty handy. can't say i'm all that enlightened, atm i've split specular reflections from a single wall from the point of unity incidence (greatest reflection) and the reflection of one wall is shaped like two differently exponentially decaying envelopes.. both share the same "closest point" but tail off/truncate differently, and i am puzzling how to summate them and retain the truncation as meaningful. if that helps anyone who finds it :p

[@atomictraveller]

gotta amend, what i wrote thar is modeling acoustic spaces.. fuck all to do with good sounding reverb from my modest experience, huge chains of allpass filters

[@AleksanderLydkunst]

My one gripe is the missing dual DSPs, blocking out possibilities for seamless patch switching /: Sounds incredible though!

[@Raumweiter]

Hey Benn, love your channel and also enjoying your music! Thanks to your recommendation i recently got the Specular Tempus. I couldn´t be more happy! Actually thinking of buying 2nd GFI. The ST is discontinued and will mostl likely be followed by a ST2, with 2 engines at the same time and some improvements. Nethertheless i want to add more FX to my setup. Do you have an idea what would complement the GFI well? Having 2 of the same unit seems silly, as you always have a greater palette with two different units. I´m specifically looking for delays, but being open to basically all kinds of FX. Thanks

[@MadelnMachines]

It doesn't matter what synth you buy - any will sound amazing through this reverb!

[@TheAmazingSnarf]

you're so, so right. i could record a live instrument being unplugged, and the resulting speaker pop would sound like a gorgeous, over-the-horizon rumble of an atom bomb. it's just... wow. now i wouldn't want to brag: i'm likely the worst keyboard player on the planet. love love love music, played it my whole life. and yet, it took this little box from GFI to give me the confidence to start recording my own stuff, and assembling it as i saw fit. it's now a couple years later, and while i'm no better at phrasing, i love to sit down and play. and record. everything.

[@rblossey]

that "Dual Gold" clip really caught my ear, I think I've only heard a similar pattern in one place before, right here: soundcloud.com/italoop/dig-2-pcm80s soundcloud.com/italoop/eventide-eclipse-the-cascading-echoes-library-eclipse-the-dig?in=italoop/sets/eventide-eclipse-the-cascading Italo was using the Eclipse (2 engines) and the PCM80+81 combos to do these, sort of emulating how the Strymon DIG's Ping-Pong mode works (which is very special and goes WAY beyond what normal Ping-Pongs do-actually it's two stereo ping-pong delays in series [and none of that typical sum-to-mono stuff you usually find in ping-pongs] + limiters/compressors/filters/bit reduction/etc., depending on which mode you're on), especially with the "Golden Ratio" times between the 2 delay sets (4 delay lines in total). Strymon did a great White Paper on this a while back: www.strymon.net/dig-digital-delay-technology-white-paper/ I'm still not 100% positive this is what's going on with the Specular Tempus, but the fact that my ears recognized that pattern right away (or at least I think they did, lol) + the name clue makes me think this is as good a guess as any. This is the first video I've seen of yours, and I'm looking forward to going back and seeing what else you have! Subscribed. By the way, do you program any rack FX? Lexicons perhaps? :)

[@kzm4275]

that's true, there's the golden ratio rule, 1.618. It always sounds amazing, isn't it? Tried it with my Empress Echosystem and it sounds out of this world!

[@Firstinversion899]

It’s like a synth for your synth! But I will be using it for live looping with amplified fiddle.

[@davidjazay9248]

Excellent review, like how they should be done. Informative but with sly wit, like when you used the SK-5... Thanks a million.

[@MadelnMachines]

You could cover you're favourite delay or two on synths? Also some kind of warming / subtle saturation pedals or devices.

[@SilentJayBird]

A simple appreciation: button switches appear relatively spaced from the twisty bits upon this model. Many a modern pedal looks & sounds great, but has footswitches dangerously near the controls. Being a full size guy with full size shoes, and having grown up with Boss & physically similar pedals, I've found if I'm not careful, I'll inadvertently change settings upon stompbox engagement. This saddens me. Also, bourbon intensifies the issue. .. the issue of knocking controls, not the sadness.

[@SilentJayBird]

Also, I believe this is the first I've seen of your videos; you've earned a subscription. Much thanks.

[@flaviob829]

Hi and thanks for the great demo! Am I right understanding that you can *either* use a delay effect *or* a reverb effect, but not both at once (like in series or parallel)?

[@bobbyhofermusic]

I have the H9 Max, but just bought the specular tempus...hope they play well together!

[@validcore]

Subd. I still use my old Peavey mixer for its built in reverb. What do u think about the Moog Grandmother reverb?

[@andreasfarmakis5422]

WOW you just sold me this thing! Subbed too. Can you make a short music video using any synth with tempus? Thanks.

[@TheAmazingSnarf]

thank you for this. liked/subscribed. actually, more like loved/subscribed.

[@beatnikcafe]

Great review! It’s been 4 years and I’d love to know, have you come across anything that eclipses your high rating you give to the Specular Tempus? I have the Echosystem which I consider a great delay with good reverb and the Specular seems to be a great reverb with good delay, and I think it will be a great counterpart to my Echosystem. Since it’s been a few years I wonder what else I might be overlooking. I’ll be running these in parallel on my board feeding different looper so it’s sort of important that I get a reverb + delay type of pedal mostly to conserve space and power requirements. Thanks!

[@sveltland]

How does Boss stack up against everyone else? The RV500 is pretty all encompassing as far as dialing in and preset creation. But does it's algorithms compete with strymon empress eventide tempus etc.?

[@brianreilly6545]

Hey thx for the vid👍🏼 I am having difficulty getting the ‘Infinity’ algo to hold (freeze). It just wont stick after release. Read the manual and tried different techniques all to no avail. Any advice?

[@rockstarjazzcat]

Omg, the SK-5!

[@jasonlitherland4270]

Bruh it totally legitimizes anything you put through it that’s incredible

[@davidjaberi]

Aye the intro..

[@usualatoms4868]

This made me wanna buy one. But most importantly it made me want to try to create a nice reverb in Bitwig 3. Thanks for the inspiration! I'm sure I'll fail but that's not the point

[@super-ulitka]

Any success? 😏

[@robertsyrett1992]

I barely noticed this video was 20 minutes long.

[@dudymas]

same. what just happened. wow. suddenly my wallet is running awayyyy

[@TheMarkusHK]

Thanks for the awesome review! I am on an all analog trip right now but this sounds huge. Have you checked out the Meris Mercury 7? I would love to know how they compare.

[@BennJordan]

The Mercury7 has its own style for sure, it sounds more like a modified spring algorithm with the delay points stretched out and softened a bit. If that's the sound you're after, it's great. The Tempus and Empress are in a league of their own AFIK in terms of having clean algos so your sound is the character rather than the pedal.

[@TheMarkusHK]

Despite the difference in price, do you still prefer the Empress over the Tempus? I'm really considering buying one of those soon, thanks to your reviews mainly for my synth.

[@cdwhiley]

Great video. Mine is on the way. My only complaints are after looking at the manual and the latest firmware revision are the following. 1. Processing limitation prevents all the delay algorithms to be used with the reverb algorithms. Only about 3 different delays can be combined with about 3 different reverbs. 2. Only the four knobs are CC controllable. Developer tells me this is also due to processing limitation but I think it might just be that they didn't want to make a huge midi implementation....these things are usually very very low overhead. 3. Inputs and outputs are all TS unbalanced. It really should have been TRS balanced. An extra trace to ground wouldn't have cost hardly anything. (guitar centric design thinking). This pedals' closest competitor the Source Audio Collider does all these things. Any reverb can be combined with any delay. All i/o is balanced. All parameters are controllable via MIDI cc message. However, I already owned the Ventris and Nemesis so I figured there to be too much overlap and I wanted something different. :)

[@nikolajhansen15]

what does CC controllable mean? and what is the significance of the inputs and outputs being TS unbalanced?

[@ezrashanti]

No, this is doing a lot of complex processing. There are limitations to the power of the dsp chip.

[@SkeletonBeach]

This video, sir, may or may not have just made me spend money. 🤣

[@blackburn1111]

What's your opinion on using a sub-300 dollar rack reverb like an MX400/likewise instead of a Specular Tempus or Empress Reverb? I'm not sure but it looks like those racks have more control options for the bread and butter stuff but don't have the "non-traditional" stuff like shimmers, swells, etc.

[@bubbatoondeoyo1158]

Please use this pedal on the mother 32, would love to hear the shimmer effect on it : )

[@InnerPeaceSounds]

Most likely I will rather soon. My mother is waiting for some juicy ambient tails :)

[@ionianechoes]

Just review that Casio next! Merry xmas

[@niloben659]

Sounds great. This or the source audio collider?

[@roccstar973]

Can you do a vid about the Source Audio Ventris?

[@alessandrosegurini2216]

Brilliant review! How does it compare vs Source Audio Collider have you tried it? Its a wonderful combo unit too! Greetings from Italy

[@niloben659]

This what I'm trying to find out. I'm leaning towards the Tempus as that reverb sounds so good. I think the collider is more versatile though.

[@beatnikcafe]

It's a long shot but do you know of any Eurorack effect modules that are in the same league as the Specular Tempus. I have the Echosystem which I consider an amazing delay and decent reverb, and now I'm looking for the reverse, an awesome reverb with decent delay and to my ears the Specular Tempus does it. I would also like to find a Eurorack module that can do reverb + delay as well. I totally agree with your assessment that the pitchshifted reverb algorithms sounds really good. I like the one that comes in the Space pedal, and for some reason even though the H9 should technically be the same, I found it to be a little more "processed" sounding. I've never sat down and tried to do a perfect one for one match, but just the impression I get when using the Space pedal that it feels more organic and dare I say warm/less harsh.

[@eli14eli14]

THoughts on this vs Big Sky?

[@esongsore]

Thanks for this. I almost made a mistake of buying a Big Sky, if you know what I mean ;)