Mirror, mirror...
In 1999, Spike Jonze and Charlie Kaufman made their feature debuts as director and writer of Being John Malkovich.
(Give us a second.)
Jonze, primarily known for his directing of music videos, and Kaufman, before the film a television comedy writer, put forth a surrealist, fantasy dramedy with Malkovich. The film delves comedically and artistically into questions of celebrity, identity, the mechanics of social performance and the ramifications of running wild in someone else's shoes. Throughout the film, the consciousness of in-universe actor John Malkovich – played by Malkovich – is metaphysically hijacked by a host of people seeking to live out Malkovich's life as a connected or disconnected extension of their own ego.
But let's not drag this out too long – this isn't Turner Classic Movies, after all.
Sometimes as an artist, you're meant to take a step out of yourself. We all play different parts in one way or another – though sometimes you need the right tools. Playing parts, seeing your reflection getting warped? Sounds familiar. Luckily for us, today, we've got just the tool for the job. Ready for a close-up?
This is the Electronic Audio Experiments Mirror House V2.
My Mirror Staring Back at Me
Introducing the Electronic Audio Experiments Mirror House V2
Our story begins with Boston's Electronic Audio Experiments. This wily gang of musicians and engineers is known for their wide range of analog and digital effects ranging from overdrives to preamps to delays to reverbs and many fun fixings in between. In short, there's a reason you've likely heard of EAE before and a reason to check them out if you haven't. The brand's original Mirror House pitch shifting pedal was born out of a close collaboration with the indie rock band Pile. The band, a distinctly noisy outfit, never was shy about their use of modulators to generate excitement in their sound. This characteristic drove their collaboration with EAE to create a pitch-shifting modulator pedal that was warped, wobbly, and endlessly inspiring.
Today's Mirror House V2 is the latest version of that original collaboration effect. The Mirror House V2 comes at the heels of further design refinements, quality-of-life updates, and tonal exploration. With a number of expansions and refinements to the original's core design, there's plenty for current fans of EAE, Pile, and the first Mirror House to sink their teeth into, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Kick your shoes off, stay a while. We've got plenty to talk about.
Our House
Electronic Audio Experiments Mirror House V2 Design and Controls
The EAE Mirror House V2 expands on the original with four control parameters and a three-way mode toggle. This design builds up from the last Mirror House with, again, a few key quality-of-life improvements. To kick this house party off, we have new relay-based, soft-touch footswitch and a lower noise profile, the kind you'd want out of a good modulator pedal. These two basic additions lay the foundation for a modulator that is not only expressive but reliable.
At the center of the Mirror House is a three-way conversation between the pedal's Detune, Flutter, and Shift modes. With three distinct modulating effects sharing space under the hood of the Mirror House V2, we've got a delectable smorgasbord of modulating on our hands. Let's talk about our four control dials for a second.
Electronic Audio Experiments Mirror House V2 Controls
Onboard the Mirror House V2 is a four-dial setup with Mix, Amount, Voices, and Animate controls – more on this in a moment. These four controls stay relatively uniform across the three effect modes with a few changes from mode to mode.
Mix
With Mix, we're treated to a clean signal blend. This control can be utilized to either reel in the pitch-shifting effect or bring it to the forefront. This is probably a good place to mention that the Mirror House V2 is not just a funhouse – it's a powerhouse. There is quite a bit of modulated heavy lifting to be done here, so the Mix dial can be incredibly helpful and effective in making the effect play more nicely with others or be the star of the show.
Amount
Let's play the "Picture It" game for a second. Picture your signal in the center – Mirror House on but Amount set to its minimum position. At this position, you have one signal. Gradually turn up Amount and you'll see the reflections expand to its left and its right. One of these reflections is your signal pitch-shifted upwards, one is your signal pitch-shifted downwards. Turn the Amount up even further and see those reflections move further away from the center. The Amount signal will change its parameter between two of the modes, but we'll touch on that in a minute.
Animate
These two reflections are symmetrical, but not static. If you're looking to add some motion to this mirrored commotion, we have Animate. On two of the Mirror House's modes, Shift and Detune, Animate will control an envelope-based LFO that is reactive to playing dynamics. On Flutter mode, the LFO is random. Turning up the Animate control will increase the amount of modulation in the effect.
Voices
And while these images are mirrored, they can be offset. What this means is, through the Voices control, the Mirror House V2 can elevate one of the pitch-shifted signals over the other. At noon, both pitch-shifted voices will appear at the same level. Before noon, the lower pitch will be more present – after noon, the higher pitch will take the lead.
Now we've got our controls, let's talk about sounds.
Life in a Mirror House
Electronic Audio Experiments Mirror House V2 Modes and Tones
We've got three* pitch-shifting modes to go over here, all with their own distinct quirks and uses. In classic EAE fashion, they've got their use cases both musical and discordant.
False ProphetAcross these three modes in the Mirror House V2, we've got a little bit of a "secret sauce" to mention. Rick Maguire of Pile is not without his influences. One of such particular influences, one that found its way into the Mirror House, is the "Slop" oscillator control from the Sequential Prophet XL synthesizer. Slop, an oscillator dedicated to detuning signals and giving "dissonance in places (Maguire) couldn't find it otherwise," was a key inspiration to the Mirror House's static detuning capabilities. The synth-born function played a pivotal role in Mirror House's design as the pedal sought to capture similar atonal capabilities brought on by the Slop control.
Count 'em, three
Electronic Audio Experiments Mirror House V2 Modes
Detune
The Mirror House V2's Mode toggle switch in the downward position will bring you to Detune mode. This mode can probably be called the "primary" effect on the pedal, if it were to have one, as it captures what is likely the pedal's most representative sound. On Detune, we have our central effect experience with two simultaneous pitch-shifted reflections of our signal, creating our main effect profile.
Bouncing back to our Animate control, the Detune mode features a playing dynamic-detecting envelope. What this adds up to is a way to work in responsive, additional pitch-shifts in playing where digging into a note or chord will cause a stark ramp pitch bend upwards or downwards, in relation to where the Voices control lands. What this all means is, through your playing, you can create incredibly expressive engine-revving vibrato bends to compound upon the already intriguing pitch-shifting effect mixes possible with the Mirror House V2 from square one.
You might notice something while taking the pedal's functions for a spin. What you might be noticing is the pitch-shifting effect's somewhat lo-fi and warbly character – and that's for a reason! By design, the Mirror House's pitch-shifting effect is based off algorithms from the 1960s and 1970s which themselves carried the DNA of tonal effects from tape reel machines designed years prior. This ultimately coalesces in a pitch-shifted effect that is intentionally somewhat murky and warbly for all you lo-fi junkies out there.
"It's got this sort of shimmery, vibey character to it. There's a bit of lag. All very intentional and something we really leaned into." - John Snyder, Electronic Audio Experiments
Flutter
At the Mode switch's middle position, we have our Flutter mode. Probably the most straightforward and traditionally musical function on the Mirror House, Flutter differs from Detune in its LFO utilization. In essence, where Detune's LFO is dynamic in responding to your playing, Flutter's LFO is random. This randomness makes the Mirror House's pitch effects play closer to a more traditional chorus or vibrato effect. In short, if you're looking for something a little closer to an '80s shimmer or indie-rock warble, you can turn to Mirror House's new Flutter mode and arrive at a familiar place.
Shift
Our final stop on this tonal expedition brings us to Shift mode. At the upward position of the Mirror House V2, Shift mode was voted "Most Likely to Cause an Atonal Ruckus" in its high school superlatives. Okay, dumb joke, though there is some definite truth to it.
Mirror House's Shift mode expands upon the pitch-shifting capabilities established by Detune mode. Essentially, we're going off-roading. Pushing past the more subtle warbling and detuning put forth by Detune mode, Shift puts the pedal to metal and expands the pitch-shifting up to full octave ranges. With Amount, Shift will push the effect in half-step intervals from unison pitch to a full octave up and/or down. This all may sound well and good, but the real magic behind the pitch-shifting here is in the details. Each half-step offers its own flavor of stabilization and destabilization to the mix, so start at zero at work your way up on the Amount dial to see what we mean.
As the Amount dial is turned up, you'll hear the pitch-shifting work in symmetrical directions (in relation to your position on the Voices dial) arriving at designated intervals. However you're playing, you're likely to find an interval that is completely agreeable and harmonious to your playing. There is a non-zero chance of hitting an interval that actively isn't and that's completely by design. You didn't think we'd have all this talk of detuning and not eventually ruffle a few feathers, did you?
In true noisy, indie rock style, Shift mode offers players a trip into their own warped kaleidoscope of tonal refractions. It's no overstatement to say that with Shift mode, you're likely to find a part of yourself that doesn't adhere to the plot. With Shift mode, you go rogue, but we can't lie and say that isn't part of the fun. You're sure to find some compelling character development along the way when pushing the Mirror House V2's boundaries through Shift mode. You heard it here first, folks: Atonal pitch-shifting is so in.
Electronic Audio Experiments Mirror House V2 Final Thoughts
Here's the corridor out of the Mirror House V2. We're almost done. Let's reflect.
EAE's Mirror House V2 is an exceptional pedal for those seeking something fresh and somewhat challenging out of their effects. It's no secret that pitch-shifting effects can get pretty out there and wild, so we don't think it's any surprise to tell you that the Mirror House V2 follows in such an example.
Is the Mirror House V2 for the faint of heart? Well, yes, in a way. It certainly has the power to get detailed, nuanced and more subtle with your pitch-shifting. The Mirror House V2 is entirely musical for shimmery pseudo-choruses, tightly-wound vibratos, and your classic over-the-counter, cloudy, lo-fi, modulated indie slackerism, so don't worry about that. However, it absolutely has the pitch-shifting daredevils of the world covered, too. You want to jump Snake River Canyon? Grab a Mirror House V2 and stick your landing, chief.
Falling in line with EAE's classic design ethos, the Mirror House V2 is a thoroughly powerful and expressive effect primed for so many different types of playing. Whether you're touring with Pile, sound-designing for cacophony, or feeling out for new tonal boundaries, the Mirror House V2 is a marvelous pick for any player to look outward, inward, and have fun along the way.
What is it about playing a new role that is so compelling, to look in the mirror and see something different? You can ask a method actor, though they might not give you a straightforward answer – artsy types, right? You can also grab a Mirror House V2 and maybe just feel it for yourself. The way out is down the hall and to the right. Or is it the left?
