Earthquaker Devices Dispatch Master review

Two for the price of one?

  • £169
  • €205
  • $185

MusicRadar Verdict

Perhaps not as versatile as two separate pedals, but for the space-savvy, this is a good shout.

Pros

  • +

    Two pedals in one!

Cons

  • -

    May not serve you as well as two separate pedals.

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So, you want to add a bit of ambience to your sound and are looking at getting a delay or reverb pedal?

Perhaps you want both, but are concerned about pedalboard space? Well, here's a compact, single-footswitch pedal that fits the bill.

While the Dispatch Master delivers a mix of both effects at once, you can also have delay only or reverb only by respectively setting the Reverb and Time knobs to minimum. The delay is nicely voiced and offers delays up to 1.5 seconds, while the reverb is reassuringly dense and deep.

Both together provide a hugely practical range of sounds.

Delay and reverb in one pedal is a great idea. As both effects combined share a set of controls, you'd get more sonic variation by using two pedals, but the Dispatch Master's format has other advantages and it's great for cloaking your sound with ambience and space with one footswitch press.

Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he's also mimed it on the UK's Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.