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JSA Pedals Auld Spark Custom Delay Review – What a custom delay pedal sounds like!
Introduction
This is a super special review today! This is something I have been waiting a while to do – our first custom pedal! A year or two ago, I reviewed the amazing Atmos Delay from JSA Pedals (full review here). After I reviewed that pedal, JSA Pedals made me a dual version! Since owning that pedal, he has updated his delay circuit and added some new features to it. So, I sent our delay pedal back and let him have his way with it. What did I get in return? The JSA Auld Spark Custom Delay pedal!
The Auld Spark Custom is an incredible, fully analog, dual-channel delay that not only sounds amazing but looks just as good – and it’s so simple to operate! So, I thought I would put together a quick article on our thoughts and show you some sounds.
This isn’t going to be a full review, as most of it is the same, but I will go through the new sounds and new features! So first, why don’t I dive into the pedal itself – the controls and updated features!
JSA Pedals Auld Spark Custom Delay Pedal
So what is this pedal? JSA Pedals recently updated their delay pedal to include some extra features and upgrades (like infinite repeats). This pedal includes two of those circuits in one enclosure, with a channel footswitch to swap between the two! This allows you to set up two presets and switch between them. You have full control over the tone, repeats, and mix level on each preset!
So what controls does the JSA Auld Spark Custom have? Well, looking at the pedal, it looks like it has a lot – but it’s fairly simple when you break it down. You have a red side and a blue side. The controls for each are exactly the same, so we are only going to go through one side.
Channel Knobs
- Mix: This controls how much of the delay signal is in the chain. Turn it up to increase the delay volume.
- Time: Sets the delay time for the repeats. Turn to the left for faster repeats and to the right for slower repeats.
- Tone: This shapes the tone of the repeats. To the left will darken the repeats and to the right will brighten them.
- Repeats: This knobs allows you to control how many repeats you get before the sound stop. From a single repeat all the way to almost infinite.
Foot Switches
- Channel: This foot switch allows you to select what channel (or side) of the delay you want active! This LED will still lite even if the pedal is off!
- Infinite: While this is held down the pedal will do infinite repeated and feedback into itself.
- Bypass: This foot switch turns the pedal on and off.
More on the JSA Pedals Auld Spark Custom Delay
As mentioned above, the channel switch will stay lit even when the pedal is bypassed! This means you can switch presets while the pedal is off, with a clear LED showing you which channel is activated. The channel LED also matches the colour of the knobs, so you know exactly which side is active and which knobs to adjust.
My version comes in a nice blue enclosure with red and blue knobs. It runs on a standard 9V power supply and has top-loaded jacks and power input! The pedal will cost around £200 to have built. This will be a “custom” order if you want one, so it will be built to order – but this also allows you to pick colours and possibly the layout.
The Sounds
For the main demo, we used the Custom RD Amplification amp with the JSA LNS Screamer (Full Review) into the front end for one of the solos. For the other solo, we used the RD amp and a Fuzz Face for the solo sounds! I must say, the second solo has a proper nasty solo sound – love it! I used both the Vintage VSA500 and the LT Custom Strat for the guitars.
For the sound samples, we kept it simple! We ran the JSA Auld Spark Custom Delay into the front end of the Custom RD Amplifier. We go through two different sounds: clean and crunch! Guitar-wise, it didn’t matter too much, but for this demo, the Vintage Guitars VSA500 (full review here) was used.
Drop us a comment on the YouTube video to let us know what you thought of the sounds! Did you like them? If not, what didn’t you like about them? We would love to hear your thoughts on this pedal. If you like what you heard, you can subscribe to the channel – it really helps push our content and keeps us creating videos!
What are my thoughts?
The Design
Well, as always, JSA Pedals created the perfect pedal! He made it blue for me! The knobs were my choice, as I wanted them to match the LED to show which side you were on! This way, you can easily match up the LED to the knobs to make adjustments on the fly! Although it may look a bit complicated and you might think “that pedal has a lot of knobs,” in reality, once you know it’s just two versions of the same pedal, it all makes more sense! There are only four knobs! So to use and adjust it is really easy and quick!
"Not to use all the buzzwords people throw around, but this is the first delay pedal where I’ve noticed an organic and almost “living” sound from it!"
The Sounds
How does it sound? Well, easily the best delay pedal I have ever used! So simple and organic to use! The delays are lush, and using the mix and tone controls helps them sit in the mix really well (or not, if that’s the sound you want). You get that nice analog tail-off if you crank the repeats up! I think I’ve struggled with some delays in the past because they wouldn’t sit or sound nice while I played. With the Auld Spark Custom Delay, I don’t have that issue!
The Auld Spark Custom Delay can do those big, ’80s-style delay sounds! Crank the time and the mix, and you get a huge delay sound perfect for those big solos. Yet, I’ve actually been enjoying using it to get a nice slapback sound – just a great tone to fatten up your guitar! Perfect if you’re the only guitarist in your band, as it gives your sound a nice little bit of ambience!
More on Sounds
Not to use all the buzzwords people throw around, but this is the first delay pedal where I’ve noticed an organic and almost “living” sound from it! It reacts beautifully to its controls and allows you to sculpt the sound to fit exactly what you need!
When the pedal arrived, I thought I wouldn’t use the Infinite Repeat switch. However, once you learn how it reacts and works, it can be super useful! It helps you fill out space or use it as a swell or build-up – just gives you a great extra tool on your board for your sound!
The Drawbacks
Nothing! I have no issues with this pedal! This pedal is designed and built exactly how I wanted, so I don’t have any critiques! It’s easy to power, a good size, and fits on my board nicely. Everything is well-made and laid out. It’s quickly becoming the best delay pedal I have ever used!
If I wanted to be super picky, it might have been nice to have a Tap Tempo. I did speak to Simon about it, and it would have been a lot of work and would complicate the circuit. So, I decided to leave it out. Honestly, I haven’t really missed it! I have two presets on the pedal and found that to be enough. Nice, simple, and easy to use – trying to remove the over-complication of a pedalboard and make it so you don’t have to think about operating pedals and can just focus on playing!
"Having the two presets is just perfect! Setting up two presets and flip-flopping between them is so useful and stress-free!"
Final Thoughts
As far as delays go, this is up there as the best-sounding delay pedal I have ever played! So natural to play! For something with such simple controls, you can alter and adjust the tone so much! Having the two presets is just perfect! Setting up two presets and flip-flopping between them is so useful and stress-free!
This isn’t a pedal that JSA Pedals will regularly build; however, if you do want one, he will build it! Maybe we should get him to do a run of blue and white ones for the site? Our first “signature” pedal? Let us know what you think about that idea!
Conclusion
So that is our review of our new JSA Pedals Auld Spark Custom Delay pedal! Such a great pedal, and it really helps to “simplify” the wet section of my rig! However, we’ll talk more about this in an upcoming article. This delay pedal will be on my board for a long, long time now – it’s instantly become my go-to delay pedal!
Huge thanks to Simon from JSA Pedals for building this outstanding pedal! Also, thanks to him for putting up with my constant hassling and questions – I was very excited to get this pedal! We also have a few other pedals from JSA Pedals, including some very special ones and a fun little project we did together (although Simon did 99% of the work). If you’re after any kind of pedal, I highly recommend you check out his Instagram and give it a look – there’s something there for everyone!
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