If you’ve ever tried to execute consistent volume swells that perfectly track your notes or chords, then you know it’s no picnic. You could use a volume pedal, of course. Or if you’re playing a Strat, you could wrap your pinky around the volume knob and hope for the best. Either way, it’s a lot of work to develop a technique and produce a result that’s inconsistent at best, and distracts you from your playing at worst. Enter the auto-swell pedal. This is one of those cool effects that made a brief appearance in the ’70s and then disappeared before guitarists had a chance to discover its myriad charms. Today, rare vintage pedals occasionally pop up on the used market, and they are pricey — if you can find one in working order. Now, the swell effect is probably not one you’ll use constantly, but when you need it, it’s a lifesaver. Wouldn’t it be great if somebody made this classic effect available in a modern pedal that works flawlessly, sounds awesome, and is ridiculously affordable? Well, you’re in luck: Music Experience is delighted to present the TC Electronic Crescendo Auto Swell pedal.
Creating changes in dynamics adds interest to your music. For guitarists, there are many ways to achieve this, from altering your pick attack to manipulating data in your DAW. But none are as accessible as the Crescendo’s auto-swell effect. Simply plug in, and the Crescendo does the rest. Two knobs — Sensitivity and Attack — give you quick and total control over the effect’s behavior. Crescendo Auto Swell brings this iconic effect back to life in a robust, attractive pedal with reliable, high-quality components, state-of-the-art performance, and a generous warranty. All at a price that won’t even put a dent in your wallet.
Crescendo Auto Swell works much the same as a noise gate, but in reverse. Rather than clamping down on the tail of a signal, Crescendo mutes the initial attack before swelling up to full volume. Essentially, it eliminates your pick attack and blooms into a fully blossomed note. Based on your Sensitivity and Attack settings, the effect is fully responsive to your playing and is ideal for churning out hauntingly beautiful guitar lines onstage with no effort on your part — other than choosing the right notes! Crescendo Auto Swell also works great on keyboards and other instruments as well. You’ll never run out of creative uses for this value-packed little pedal.
Given the Crescendo’s extremely alluring price point, you might assume corners were cut somewhere — but this is TC Electronic we’re talking about. Accordingly, Crescendo Auto Swell is built tour-tough for the long haul with a rugged all-metal chassis. It’s fitted with dedicated input and output jacks and features True Bypass circuitry, so it’s both roadworthy and pedalboard friendly. You can power it with a 9V battery, or use TC’s convenient Powerplug 9V adapter.
Every once in a while an effect arrives ahead of its own time, and before guitarists can figure out what do with it, it’s no longer available. As a result, and in spite of their high retail price, they become extremely valuable because of their rarity. CRESCENDO AUTO SWELL brings one of those iconic and rare effects back to life, and makes it readily available, affordable and built to withstand a lifetime of abuse.
Just like the musical term, crescendo means to start at a low volume and then swell to a much louder level, which is similar the sound of a violin being bowed. Now you get those sweeping swells from your guitar, without searching high and low for hard-to-find vintage gear, and we’re talkin’ about a brand new, in the box CRESCENDO AUTO SWELL pedal that is backed by one of the most generous warranty programs. Try to get that at a garage sale!
Thanks to just 2 knobs (Sensitivity & Attack) and a true bypass switch, CRESCENDO AUTO SWELL is easy to use and functions much like a noise gate, only in reverse. Instead of clamping down on the tail of your signal, CRESCENDO AUTO SWELL mutes the initial attack and then swells up to full volume. Put simply, it removes the pick attack and blooms into a beautiful swelling note.
