Every Note, Everywhere, All At Once:
Habit by Chase Bliss
Meet your newest collaborator!
Click the pic to watch on YouTube
Every once in a while, a pedal comes along that challenges me. These pedals can, on the surface, appear to offer very little to a player like myself. (I play heavier rock styles and less avant garde styles, in case you're wondering)
And given my station and reputation, I have to meet these pedals head on and discover the what lies beneath the surface. Most times I'm surprised. But rarely do I get inspired.
This time it's different. This time the magic is real, sustainable, tangible. And the inspiration is new every time.
If you've been watching my videos for any length of time, I should not have to introduce you to Chase Bliss Audio...or is it just Chase Bliss now? Regardless, since the first time I played a Warped Vinyl mkII pedal I have sung the praises of Chase Bliss over and over. Every time CB puts out a new pedal I immediately take notice and look forward to the day I can hold one in my hands. My love for this brand runs so deep that they've released my "Pedal of the Year" for the last two years!
But that's not to say SOME of CB's pedals have left me going "what the hell?!".
I've never played a Blooper...it just doesn't seem like something for me...and when I first got Thermae and had no clue how to EFFECTIVELY take advantage of the magic. So don't think I'm some dude who just JUMPS in and makes videos without REEEEEAAALLLY being about to make some music with a product. (BTW...I have yet to make a video about Thermae, even though I have one and love its weirdness)
And Habit certainly seemed like it was going to fit into the whole "this is gonna be tough" category. But then the pedal arrived and I was pleasantly surprised. But first, what the heck is Habit?
Chase Bliss calls Habit the ECHO COLLECTOR...which sounds pretty cool and tells you more than you think. But allow me to break that down:
ECHO - at it's core, and SIMPLEST mode of operation, Habit is an adventurous digital delay pedal. You get clean echoes to add to your guitar sound and delay times from as short as 1ms to as long as 60 seconds. You even can get Infinite repeats for crazy pad generation. In addition, Habit gives you six (6) different "special effects" (MODIFIERS as they're called) you can add on to "flavor" you echoes. If you want to stop here, you can have A LOT of fun with Habit. But then there's...
COLLECTOR - Habit contains an internal, 3-minute long "tape loop". This tape loop records EVERYTHING you play into it and, using Habit's SCAN and SPREAD controls, allows you to layer ANY portion of that three-minute loop back onto your echo sound. It's like a constantly working sampler & looper.
A digital delay & looper that can randomly, or strategically, play back parts of a loop to layer onto your guitar sound...gee, sorta sounds like you could make music JUST using Habit. Hey, what do you know YOU CAN DO THAT!
One of the things Chase Bliss has been pushing quite a lot with Habit is the idea that the pedal can be used as a compositional tool. And I can attest: it's all true!
With this video, I did my best to illustrate what you can do with Habit right out of the box. What's great is that it's VERY easy to get something fun out of the pedal without diving TOO FAR into the manual. But I must say, Chase Bliss did a wonderful job creating the FIELD GUIDE for Habit. It's laid out in a concise and logical fashion that explains the information in a "plain English" kind of way. Chase Bliss really did the homework for you.
I think it's because of this Field Guide that I was able to effectively make something fun with Habit's song creation and looping features. Combine all that with the delay Modifiers and I was supremely inspired. As a matter of fact, I released a few composition that centered around my usage and exploration of Habit and it's capabilities...
As you can hear, there's a TON of inspiration in this pedal. It might even be the most inspiring pedal I've played this year. But it's only August...so who knows where the year will take us from here. Having said that, Habit is NOT a pedal for everyone. Your old-school rock n rollers won't find much here. But hey, I wasn't so sure I would get anything out of Habit...and here we are.
Much like MOOD, I highly recommend you take the leap and try Habit for yourself. And remember, you can always hit me up in the comment section with question OR email me through the Contact page here on my website. I anticipate a lot more Habit seasoned music coming throughout the rest of the year.
Thanks so much for checking out my website, my videos and for your support!
Wishing you Great Tone & Happy Stomping! - SPJ