An amazing, unapologetically digital delay for your pedalboard!

Red Panda Labs is a boutique pedal manufacturer famous for the granular delay, the Particle that was initially released 10 years ago. Since then, Red Panda has created a small and powerful lineup of pedals that also got updated to a V2 series. One of them is the Raster V2. The Raster is also a delay and is often overlooked because of the hype of the Particle, but today I plan to give it the credit it deserves.

The Raster V2 is a fully digital delay with numerous features like pitch-shifting, LFO modulation, and a very innovative way to handle the stereo field of the delays. While it is a very capable standard delay pedal, its extra features make it a very deep and fun pedal that will unlock so many creative paths. It is a clean 1600 milliseconds delay that can go to self-oscillation when the feedback knob is past 3 o’clock with a lot of modulation options and waveforms that can be used to create a lot of effects like tremolo, glitchy delays, or some wow and flutter effects. It’s also a pitch-shifting delay where you can go up & down an octave for those sweet pitch-shifted swarms of delay we all love!

So let’s go through our favorite things about the Raster V2:

Shift Function

The Shift function is what makes this pedal come alive. Without using this, you’ll get an awesome digital delay that is still great but when you start messing with the shift functionalities you’ll open up a whole new world. There are three shift modes, Transpose, Detune, and Frequency shift.

On Transpose, Raster acts like a pitch-shifting delay with +-12 semitones. A classic, beloved effect that needs a bit of tweaking to become musical. When you hit the right note, a pitch-shifted delay is great to enhance a plain melody, and just like the Particle V2, the Raster is also amazing for those sounds.

Detune mode is not based on semitones. Instead, you get a fourth down to major third up smooth detuning. This mode is perfect for some wow & flutter effects since it can be very mild while detuning the delays.

Frequency Shift gives you +-500 Hz of frequency shifting. This is a very unique effect that often sounds like your delay is passed through a ring modulator and on lower settings, it’s way more subtle but still adds harmonics that make a difference.

Stereo Field

Red Panda decided to take full advantage of the stereo field with the Raster. You can set the right and left channels to have different pitch/ frequency-shifting, levels, etc. You can also treat each channel completely independently but that needs to be turned on using MIDI. By using the center toggle switch on its ALT function you can set the two channels to be parallel, ping pong, or series.

So combining the different delays on each channel, the results are very interesting and not just a ping pong delay we are used to seeing on many pedals.

Modulation

The Modulation on the Raster V2 is also another huge part of its sound. You have access to so many waveforms that can be used to modulate the Delay time which also affects the pitch and can be used to create all sorts of time-based effects like Chorus, Flangers, and more. Another thing you can modulate is amplitude. That can be used to create a tremolo effect for your delays and it’s one of my favorite ways to use the modulation section. If timed right it can sound like a side-chained delay line and if you use a random waveform the rhythmic patterns can be very interesting. Lastly, the modulation can be routed to the Shift function of the pedal. That means the modulation will turn the Shift knob for you. Since the Shift affects pitch or frequency that will result in a lot of different melodic delay lines but it needs a bit of adjustment to stay musical. Very fun to use though and a great happy-accident generator.

Web Editor

If you still didn’t notice, the Raster V2 can do a lot. Actually more than a lot. As you get familiar with effects and how they’re made, you’ll understand that the delay as a time-based effect is the foundation of so many other effect types. When you combine that with Pitch it gets even more creative. To make your life easier, Red Panda also has a great web editor for the Raster V2 where you can change every parameter on the pedal and also have access to some hidden features that are only available via MIDI or the editor.

Using the editor, you can make some very complex presets and store them on the pedal itself waiting for you every time you use it. Also having access to everything without any button combos makes things so much easier but at the same time, forces you to use the computer.

Overall Experience

The Raster V2 is a great pedal. Probably the best digital delay pedal out there right now. It’s excellent for some standard stereo digital delays but once you start using its extra features and the modulation options it starts to shine. I love the fact that instead of having multiple modes, as a lot of digital delays do, it’s a simple & clean delay with a ton of options to shape the sound coming out of it. You won’t find any analog emulation algorithms or echoes. Just a pristine delay that can be as complex as you want it to be.

At times, the Raster reminded me of the Microcosm but with a completely opposite approach to using it. While the Microcosm has everything pre-made for you in countless presets, the Raster V2 is a pedal that you have to put in the work and effort to program and find the exact sound you want. It takes some time to get used to it and learn all the button combinations, but it pays off in the end.

Conclusion

I feel like the Raster V2 does not get the credit it deserves. When it comes to Red Panda, the Particle V2, and the Tensor are getting most of the spotlight but the Raster V2 is also a great option and is way more than a digital delay. I love the fact that it embraces the clean sound of digital delays and takes them further than we used to. It can be very wild and quirky or just a great ping-pong delay. It’s always up to you to explore and find all the hidden sounds it can deliver and that’s something I really like on a pedal.

On the other hand, its wide set of features and functions can scare someone away. And the truth is that it will take time and effort to know what you’re doing. Being just a small form factor pedal means it has a ton of secondary functions and it’s so easy to get lost in the way without the ability to go back where you started. So if you want your instruments to be dead-simple, this might not be the best choice for you.

If you are an explorer that loves to experiment and wants to create your own unique effects, the Raster V2 is one of the best hands-on pedals you can find. Having a pitch-shifter on top of a delay opens up so many possibilities and options that will make you stay up late making sounds in your studio. So if you want a digital delay on your board, I would easily recommend the Raster V2. It’s a perfect delay for simple tasks while at the same time having a lot of room for experimentation when you want to go wild.

Buy it from Red Panda's Website