INCREDIBLE Band Context Reverb! Alexander Space Force | Secret Weapons Demo & Review

[@michaelcraig9449]

How does this one compare to the Strymon Big Sky, or Empress pedals for example? I am looking for one pedal that has all the different types of reverbs.

[@vladimirpavlovic9488]

I like how most of the signal chain stays the same video after video so we can have a good perspective on how something new sounds over your standard and familiar base setup. And still, it is never boring, because you change parts of it every now and then. It's a very good balance!

[@robdavies9478]

I've long been intrigued by Alexander Pedals, and this feels like the moment where everything sort of comes together for them. Great sounding and versatile pedal.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

I am relatively new to the Alexander world and it really feels like they're on a very dramatic upward trajectory right now.

[@mooseyard]

Good price too! About what I paid for my Slö a few years ago, and this one does so much more.

[@bassimprovjams3772]

This intro was so awesome!! I wish I could jam with you!! You deserve to be at a million subs Mark!!!

[@amsterdamned6209]

Realistic spaces and absolutely not shiney or cheesy! Amazing!

[@rockcrusade]

I’m going to be buying this. Got a chance to demo one in person, the UI is guitar store noodling simple, algorithms sounds great, covers all the reverb mainstays in a small footprint. Killer. You’re demo is the best sounding one I’ve heard. I had watched some other demos and was kind of worried that the algorithms would sound “plasticky”, but in person it doesn’t at all. Yours is the only demo that does it justice I’ve heard so far.

[@zackkrivonak]

I just received this pedal today and I was so overwhelmed until I watched your video. Thank you so much! This is a great explanation and demo!

[@MaTTheWish]

I just bought this pedal due mainly to your in depth demo. Now I'm on my third time watching. Thanks brother, always love youre artistry.

[@thefrankly]

Been enjoying your posts immensely! I’ve made some really informed pedal purchases thanks to you, and honestly they have all over delivered more than I expected. Now get Valhalla to make us a shimmer pedal 😎

[@markjohnstonofficial]

Thanks so much. “Well informed” is absolutely some of the highest praise you can get when you’re demoing gear.

[@budgetbarista]

Fantastic demo! I've been a fan of Alexander Pedals since 2015 when I first heard their Golden Summer Reverb. I owned one of the early production models and deeply regret selling it when I switched to a Kemper rig. I'm back to using real amps at home and amassing pedals again. This reverb is so cool, especially for the size. It blows my mind that a pedal this compact is able to compete with the Bluesky and Space. It's on my list!

[@PedalboardoftheDay]

This was a great video Mark. I learned a lot. Love the shoegaze at 32:14.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

That was a sleeper mode for me that I heavily came around on. Some really killer sounds in there

[@adde65]

Just picked one up. I find the presets kind of "sensible" rather than the instant ear candy that you get from certain other brands, but maxxed out it can definitely get very lush and ambient. The sounds also remain usable when "size" and "mix" are high on the dial. Its modest form factor and onboard control is perfect for people who prefer to tweak sounds on their pedals vs using software. Lots of options within every reverb type, with the ramping/tap button almost making an expression pedal redundant. This is my first Alexander pedal, but won't be the last (Rewind delay is now near the top of my list). Note that the Space Force definitely wants an isolated power supply, you'll experience a very noticeable digital buzz if it's not (which I haven't found with e.g. Source Audio Collider). Re TRS stereo insert patch cables, what cable brands are people using? So far I've found EBS and the more affordable Warwick Rockboard ones to be the main contenders. Wondering if anyone makes shorter ones?

[@alexfletcher9915]

In addition to tons of useful info your demos also deliver some of the best in context applications. Absolutely excellent opening track!

[@andrew_franz_noise5903]

Such a good demo, as always! I'm seriously considering this to replace my Strymon Nightsky (I'm just not finding myself using all its functions and tricks to really justify keeping it). I'm also a sucker for trem-verb, and that lo-fi algorithm is magic!

[@stuartdennis8506]

Brilliant intro!

[@lucasrreboucas]

What makes you feel like this reverb stands out for a band context? Awesome video, as always! And the pedal sounds great too, with all these functions!

[@markjohnstonofficial]

The mix taper. Some reverbs get really “wet” really quickly. The Alexander reverbs feel like they prioritize keeping your dry signal at the forefront of your signal for a lot of the range of the mix control. I good comparison would be to listen to my First Impressions video on the CBA CXM1978 and listen to how low you can set the mix and still have the reverb feels like its enveloping everything.

[@lucasrreboucas]

@@markjohnstonofficial Thanks! What do you think about the R1 on this topic? Is it good for a band context? Live & Studio.

[@studieslessonstheoryetc141]

@@lucasrreboucas R1 is cool. This is better.

[@ReddenDoom]

@@lucasrreboucas the R1 can sit nicely behind playing but often really struggles to sound like an actual space. Alexander pedals have massive functionality, the R1 really excells at washy sounds and the latch is incredible - bit more of a reverb based 'effect' but pretty tasteful.

[@wyndsrfr16]

I'm curious about the flexibility of the "mix" settings. It looks like on most or all modes the mix goes from full dry to around 50% wet, then jumps to full wet. Is it possible to get a setting that's more like 75% wet?

[@Michael_Is_Avg]

I had the Alexander rewind, and while it was really solid, I didn't really enjoy the workflow (I also didn't know about the global config to not have it jump back to page 1) and parted as I am a bit pickier and would have loved more of the controls on the face and not jump screens to get to things and see how it interacts. I'm much more simple with Reverb, so this might be a great fit. I really usually just got for a plate verb. Was curious if you had any Reverb pedals that have your favorite plate sounds on it?

[@kenny6920]

Band context for reverb is everything, it gets lost so quickly on most pedals ive used

[@roar140]

Hi Mark! How are you powering the pedal? Mine has a lot of noise using Truetone CS7..

[@BishopEddie5443]

He switches guitars LIGHTNING FAST!

[@MaTTheWish]

This pedal sounds amazing...

[@MaTTheWish]

And forget to mention nhow great of a job you did demoing. Super informative and tasteful. Thx

[@Okgosana]

Im still stuck on the intro replaying it. I haven't finished the video

[@mooseyard]

Damn, that Lo-Fi demo sold me. The modulation seems more Brad Laner than Kevin Shields, but it sounds so good with the dirt. The spring is nice too - I’m tired of spring reverbs that don’t drip! I’m not convinced the drip in this one is totally accurate; I’ll wait for 60-Cycle Hum to weigh in. Brilliant UI with the little screen too. My only nitpick with your truly epic demo is that I wish you’d broken each reverb type out into its own chapter. I kept wanting to skip right to Lo-Fi and Spring but couldn’t find them while scrubbing 😡

[@markjohnstonofficial]

When Ive got some time I’ll go through and add chapters in

[@josephestes7076]

This or the R1... decisions decisions. The trem after the spring may be worth it just on its own. Other tones are great also, but that's nice.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

In earnest if Alexander had just dropped their own mini Flint with just “spring into this multi wave form trem” I still think it would be worth buying. That sound is GREAT

[@jbmaggs]

@@markjohnstonofficial Wondering if you've had a chance to try out firmware update 1.11 on the R1? I feel like a lot of people moved on from the R1 too soon, and this update makes some SIGNIFICANT improvements, but I don't see it getting much love...sort of flew under the radar.

[@lucasrreboucas]

@@jbmaggs I was searching also people on youtube showing this update on R1. But it seems to be something not many youtubers usually do, to keep making videos about firmware updates on gear. (at least not the famous ones). What do you think about this update? Could you say more about it? I sold my R1, thinking about buy it again, or this space force, still deciding.

[@jbmaggs]

@@lucasrreboucas I'd say look at some of the secondary features of those two pedals to see which is a better fit for you. I held out with the R1, even though I wasn't totally satisfied, because of the auto-swell feature...in my mind, that's what sets the R1 apart. I'd say now with the update, the algorithms compete well with other reverbs. The Space Force looks like a great alternative, and the various modifiers on the different types of reverb are pretty neat. Being able to monitor levels using the different screens makes the SF easier to work with on the fly IMO.

[@studieslessonstheoryetc141]

Great as always. What frame rate you shoot at to avoid display flicker?

[@jonnylee8856]

Great video. So are you not using the ACS1? You mentioned the DAW plug-in. Just curious. Thanks for the amazing demos!

[@wheresallthezombies]

Man that song in the beginning was awesome. What do you use for video editing?

[@AD-ij2wj]

Nice pedal!

[@eugenemoore1202]

Is the a pedal that can switch guitars for me that fast? 😀

[@patrickr6505]

Very interesting pedal.. Atari comes to mind..!

[@GarryHuta]

Dammit I just bought a reverb pedal...

[@VTReconcileD]

Hard to tell since I'm listening without headphones, but is there any type of stereo image? For example, with the analog or echoverb algos, is there any type of ping pong or movement of the reverberations?

[@markjohnstonofficial]

The only algorithm in this pedal that is mono is the delay in the Echoverb. Everything else is stereo.

[@AD-ij2wj]

This is ola if he never went metal

[@vladimirpavlovic9488]

but does it ambient?

[@lemzilee6061]

not to be that guy but it kind of seems like they copied or were at least heavily inspired by gfi's release last year.

[@markjohnstonofficial]

As a longtime fan and HEAVY user of the GFI stuff I can't help but wonder what you think is a "copy" here. Different enclosure, different port locations and configuration, different algorithms, MIDI, USB, Different menu navigation system. About the only things they share are the inclusion of a screen, the fact that they're both reverbs, and that they're roughly the same size.

[@lemzilee6061]

@@markjohnstonofficial of course the Alexander pedal is different and basically improves on everything that the gfi pedals have. My point is the form factor as well as the functionality of the foot-switches and knobs is very similar the the gfi pedals. I just can’t help but wonder how different this pedal would look If gfi didn’t release the skylar and orca a year ago. Or maybe it would look exactly the same. Who knows. This is arguably the better pedal for the money though.

[@bobisadrummer]

@@lemzilee6061 They're not really copying GFI, they're just utilizing technology that didn't exist previously. I wouldn't be surprised if more companies didn't come out with similar pedals.