"Scatter ye Rose-buds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying" - 'Dead Poets Society' (1989)
Check it out – it's a picture of Marilyn Monroe. Zoomed in? It's actually hundreds of pictures of Marilyn Monroe assembled in a collage. Who doesn't love one of those pieces, right, but how do you put together an art piece like that? Do you start with the whole and work backwards? Do you start with one picture of Marilyn Monroe and just add another, and another, until you're done?
Today, we're talking about a similar concept. A bunch of tiny things adding up to something big. Maybe we're not making a Marilyn Monroe, but hang tight. We've got something just as pretty in store.
This is the Electronic Audio Experiments Scattering Reverb.
Shop the EAE Scattering Reverb
Nothing Even Scatters
Introducing the Electronic Audio Experiments Scattering Stereo Reverb
For Boston's Electronic Audio Experiments, the big picture is always made of many tiny decisions, to continue on with the metaphor. Their lineup of effect pedals masterfully executes on striking analog and digital designs on the biggest and smallest scales – from the most straightforward and simple to the most complex and calculated. If you're a fan of no-questions-asked analog drives and distortions with more muscle than you'd know what to do with, EAE's got something for you. If you're a lab rat in service of an ever-ballooning MIDI, stereo, and expression-enabled rig, EAE's got you covered there, too. Today's new EAE creation straddles these two worlds seamlessly, as the brand is oft to do.
Scattering is a classic Electronic Audio Experiment if there ever were one. Something of a spiritual successor to their coveted early reverb model of similar design, Hypersleep, Scattering is surely something long awaited for truly devoted experimenters.
A hybrid analog and digital reverb centered around pure analog muscle and crack digital controls, Scattering utilizes authentic bucket brigade delays to fire up massive reverb clouds. The pure, imperfect analog tone of these bucket brigades is then sculpted through intensive digital architecture. What this all adds up to is a reverb that swings just as easily from traditional, rock-'n'-roll-forward reverb tones all the way to monstrous, noisy, and ambient squalls perfect for your next drone experiment. A reverb so powerful, artistic, and off-the-wall? From Electronic Audio Experiments? Who'da thunk? Let's talk about it.
Sample Scatter
Electronic Audio Experiments Scattering Stereo Reverb Design and Controls
If you can believe it, Electronic Audio Experiments' classic mastery of analog authenticity and digital horsepower shines all throughout Scattering. The heart of the pedal is fired up by a set of analog bucket brigade delays built up with advanced digital scaffolding. Inherently dark and murky, Scattering's bucket brigades are designed to quickly snowball into a reverb cloud, thus, the Scattering Stereo Reverb. Let's talk about what we've got front-facing with Scattering.
Electronic Audio Experiments Scattering Reverb Controls
- Space – The size of the reverb cloud. Clockwise for more, counterclockwise for less.
- Mix – The amount of effect present in the signal. Clockwise for more, counterclockwise for less.
- Preamp – The gain of the pedal's stereo analog input gain stage. Quickly kicking up forceful analog saturation, Scattering's preamp drives ahead with confidence.
- Filter – The cutoff of an analog two-pole low pass filter. This control will prove pretty influential for smoothing the resonance of Scattering or letting it run wild.
- Dwell – The feedback amount of the reverb. Capable of inching into self-oscillation territories, Scattering runs wild when given the chance.
- Rate and Amount – The controls for Scattering's onboard LFO modulation. Paired with a two-way waveform shape selector, either regimented or random, the LFO works quirky chorus and vibrato modulating.
- Mode – Scattering features four distinct reverb algorithms. Throughout, each mode produces a unique multi-tap or reverb cloud sound with options for a basic, six-tap bucket brigade reverb, a double-length multi-tap delay, an infinitely-resonating parallel reverb, and a swelling envelope reverb.
Operation: AlternativeSomething that we hope we can sufficiently communicate is just how powerful EAE's Scattering is. We may very well be here all day listing out every last bell and whistle onboard this compact reverb, so we won't get too ahead of ourselves, suffice to say, the Scattering loads in many more functions for its reverbs. Many of these functions are linked to the pedal's Alt functions, which include control over the pedal's stereo spread, its master volume cap, its second onboard LFO, and its AUX footswitch effect parameter ramping. Morphing is actually a pretty prominent feature of Scattering, where parameter changes can be programmed and automated via a stomp of the AUX footswitch.
States of Scatter
Electronic Audio Experiments Scattering Stereo Reverb Tones and Playability
The EAE Scattering is an enormously powerful pedal that swings between many different sonic palettes. Though the primary character of the pedal is thick, heavy reverb, there's plenty of places to go all within the bounds of Scattering on its own. Let's talk about just a few of these places.
Harrowed ResonatorThose in-the-know with EAE might find some charming similarities between Scattering and their Prismatic Wall. Something you're sure to get onto before long is Scattering's abilities as a big, brash, resonating reverb that overwhelms and trips over itself. Reminiscent of the Prismatic Wall's unique and haunting reverb tones, Scattering's bucket brigade delays are prime fodder for a reverb cold front that heaves and hos with the smallest of inputs to make for creeping, peculiar resonations.
Rock 'N' Roll Back SplashWhile Scattering is undoubtedly a reverb raring to get into noisy, ambient, and experimental frontiers, the authenticity of its bucket brigades and the closeness of its controls offer a striking, studio- or stage-ready reverb to give your tube amp a thick, loving pillow of 'verb. If you're after a reverb with deep customization and vivid analog character, there's something for you, here.
Interstellar GrumbleLike a lot of powerful reverbs, Scattering's central tonal character offers huge lifts for other effects in a signal – particularly drives. Hook Scattering up to an amp teetering on the edge of breakup and its bucket brigades work their magic to highlight and elevate (even exaggerate) saturated character to turn an existing sound into something else entirely. Playing off drives and distortions, Scattering gets hefty alongside its Preamp control for a mix of effects to drive a noise rock or drone set forward.
Set Phasers to Scatter
Electronic Audio Experiments Scattering Stereo Reverb Further Functions
Throughout Scattering, Electronic Audio Experiments really struts their stuff on all the smaller controls, connections, and nuances the nerdiest* of us are sure to have a field day with. Across the pedal, EAE packs enormous functionality for the stage and studio into the pedal's neat and clean casing.
- Stereo Routing – Though we may have not talked too much about it yet, Scattering is fully stereo-capable with TRS stereo-ready input and output connections. Quite a bit of Scattering's magic tricks come to light in the stereo field, so if you've got your stereo cables handy and a hankering for left-side, right-side audio imaging, Scattering not only meets you there, but is already ready and waiting for when you show up.
- Presets – Scattering does a lot (a lot) of things. It only makes enough sense that you'd want to leave a bookmark on your proverbial page to come back later to. Fear not! Scattering does not require a college-ruled notebook alongside it, though it'll surely welcome the sentiment, for it carries three onboard preset slots accessible via its front-facing push-button switch. You'll never believe how we're getting to the next thirteen.
- MIDI and Expression – As is the case with a good couple of Electronic Audio Experiments creations, Scattering is outfitted for full MIDI control via its ¼" CTRL jack. Every function of the pedal is accessible and controllable through MIDI signals, whether through CC or PC messaging. Try your hand with MIDI signals, control voltages, or good-ol'-fashioned expression controllers to mix and meld Scattering remotely and it keeps up all the way through.
No shade
Electronic Audio Experiments Scattering Stereo Reverb Final Thoughts
An Electronic Audio Experiment if there ever were one, Scattering is classic EAE in motion. Deftly wielding EAE's central design ethos, balancing the left-brain and right-brain thinking needed to mix analog bucket brigades and vast digital architecture so powerfully, Scattering is a champ of reverb. Scattering breathes and bursts with the kind of analog authenticity that any player can swoon over. Propelled by robust bucket brigade chip design and supercharged by the digital know-how EAE's become famous for, Scattering is surely sizing up for a long residency in the Electronic Audio Experiments lineup. Scattering is in good company among the Longsword, Prismatic Wall, and Greathammer. Those looking to top off their EAE-exclusive board with an end-of-chain reverb have had their prayers answered. Praise be.
