Boutique effects pedals built with optical circuits, analog soul, and obsessive attention to every stage of the signal path.
A faithful optical Univibe circuit built the right way — a real incandescent lamp driving four matched LDR stages for that living, breathing speaker-rotation character you can't fake with an LED. The ATtiny85-driven tap tempo LFO means you lock to the room, not a knob. Rate, depth, blend, and a mode switch for vibrato or chorus voicing.
Named for the weight of its attitude, not its chassis. Warm, sagging germanium fuzz with a bias control that takes you from velvet sustain to total meltdown. One knob to rule them all, two to keep the wreckage musical.
Sharp, articulate overdrive that cuts through a mix without losing warmth. Stacks beautifully before anything in the chain. The boost mode is clean enough to use at the front of your whole board.
She doesn't commit to one character — and that's the point. Multi-stage drive with three tonal modes ranging from glassy clean boost to full harmonic saturation. Seductive at every setting.
4-stage optical phaser with incandescent lamp modulation. Slow, hypnotic sweeps or fast rotary shimmer — the LFO breathes with analog warmth you can feel all the way up the neck.
True incandescent lamp Univibe with ATtiny85 tap tempo. Four matched LDR stages deliver that swirling, speaker-in-the-room character that every digital Univibe is still trying to replicate.
Dual-voice analog chorus with independent LFO rate and depth per channel. From subtle doubling shimmer to deep liquid modulation — stereo spread that fills every corner of the room.
Every circuit is discrete. No digital shortcuts. The character comes from the components — the sag, the harmonics, the way a lamp heats under load.
Where the design calls for it, we use real incandescent lamps and matched LDRs — the same approach that made the original Univibe sing. You can hear the difference.
Every pedal is built when you order it. No warehouse inventory. Your serial number is the first time that circuit has ever been powered on.
SwellAudio is a single workshop in North Texas. One builder. One standard. Nothing leaves until it's right.
"Every pedal I make is an argument that the analog signal path still has something to say — something that DSP hasn't touched yet."— Steve Ealy, Founder, SwellAudio
Every build starts from an original circuit designed and simulated in LTspice before a single component is ordered.
Each part chosen by spec — NOS where it matters, modern equivalents selected by ear and measurement.
Boards stuffed and wired by hand. Every solder joint inspected before the enclosure closes.
Every unit bench-tested and played through real speakers at real volume before it ships to you.
New builds, limited runs, and behind-the-scenes from the workshop. No noise — just signal.