Third Man Hardware is back with another super exciting pedal collaboration, and Andy Martin is in the studio to check it out. This time, Jack White's effects company is partnering with French company Anasounds, known for their excellent boutique effects dressed in some of the most gorgeous chassis designs on the market.
The result of the brands' collaboration is the stunning La Grotte—an analog mechanical reverb pedal that embodies everything Jack White (a longtime user of the brand's popular and innovative Element Reverb) wants from a spring reverb effect in a more compact enclosure.
The La Grotte features an internal three-spring reverb tank built right into the pedal—which sounds warmer than classic spring reverb due to its three springs. The La Grotte is also packed with a warm and characterful preamp based on Tampco's Tone Oven, as well as a really useful two-band EQ specifically for the reverb.
The most discerning tone-tweakers will appreciate that the La Grotte splits the volume section into two separate level knobs for direct sound and effect sound so that you yourself can dial in your ideal blend. Another functionally useful feature is its two-mode bypass, which offers both buffered bypass to allow for the tails of your reverb to elegantly die out in time and true bypass, which will cut your signal abruptly.
Be sure to check out resident Reverb guitar expert Andy Martin's great demo above to hear exactly what this pedal can do and hear more about its set of great features.
The La Grotte is available now in the Third Man Hardware Reverb Store in two colorways. The black-chassis variant is the standard edition of the La Grotte, while the the limited-edition black and yellow swirl variant is only available in limited numbers exclusively on Reverb.