Reverb was lucky enough to have our friend Denver Dalley, most known for his collaboration with Conor Oberst in Desaparecidos, drop by to let us in on some of his most asked about pedal tricks. Though his pedalboard is extensive, Denver demonstrated the innovative ways he uses just six different pedals, both separately and stacked, to produce some super crazy sounds.
First, Denver walks us through the glitch effect used in “City on the Hill,” which he creates by hitting his Boss DD-6 Digital Delay quickly on one note. The grinding synth sounds you hear in some Desaparecidos songs comes from Dalley’s Tape Worm pedal by Sitori Sonics, though he mentions the Tapeworm is comparable to main.ace.fx Bad Tina oscillator/synth pedal. When used in tandem with the EarthQuaker Devices Organizer, it creates an extremely dirty oscillating distortion.
One of his favorite pedals is the EarthQuaker Bit Commander, used in several Desaparecidos songs including “Ten Steps Behind.” And, as you can see from Denver’s shirt, he’s a fan of Red Panda pedals and uses both the Particle and the Context concurrently to make some atmospheric transition sounds. Watch the video to hear all of his unique tricks and tones and see exactly how he achieves them, and be sure to check out Desaparecidos’ new album Payola.
