26 thoughts on “New Generation Loss MKII – The Boards Of Canada Pedal?”

1. I guess I’m really old. I don’t know what this Boards of Canada reference means, though I did preorder this pedal.

   1. Boards of Canada is a synth-based duo from Scotland that has been releasing albums since 1995. A good deal of their “sound” can be described as running everything through a beat-up VHS deck using old tapes.

      Just curious… you’re on a synth-centric site, and yet you haven’t heard a single song or read a single story that references Boards of Canada? Where do you live… the northern reaches of no man’s land Canada? (I jest)

      1. Never heard of it either. But that pedal is mine!

      2. I had heard the name before. For some reason I thought they were a folk ensemble from…Canada. Now that I’ve heard some of their music, I get the reference.

   2. Boards of Canada is a Scottish electronic music duo that’s known for using analog tape as an effect with their music, using it to create a sound that’s sort of nostalgic for the futuristic sounds of the ’70s.

      Here’s an example:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jTg-q6Drt0

   3. Not old enough to remember Boards of Canada.

2. I recently went “rack only” and pedals like these do not make it easy 🙁

3. I despise this pedal with a passion, at least as a studio effect. A digital algorithm that simulates authenticity by emulating physical wear and tear, wrapped in a physical object for just the same purpose. A romantic escape fantasy of naturalness and uniqueness that sounds as artificial and generic as the plastic succulents and Norwegian sweaters it often comes with. 20 bucks and a trip to the thrift store will buy you more dirt, grit and authenticity than this boutique pedal ever could.

   1. i threw up in my mouth a little because the boc reference but it’s not cb fault…

      1. LOL yeah. It’s not that I hate on CB for making this. I love divisive gear, it’s fun to dislike things just as it is to love them. Just a question of taste.

4. Is this loss?

5. Boards of Canada.. weird cartoons on bbc2 about 40 years ago about 6.30pm..

6. Clever design and nice sound, though I wonder how long those dip switches are going to hold up to frequent changes.

7. Joseph,
   You can buy a rack shelf and instead of putting it inside, mount it on the outside of your rack. Then you have a shelf where you can put pedals and such.

   I ordered this some weeks ago when I first saw the demo vid.

8. Their stuff looks quite cool and interesting. But very pricey. Not sure the average pedal user is a very good target for them. Not that 500~$ pedals are unheard of, but this smells a bit too much like a one-trick poney imo.

9. I would rather have a pedal that sounds like Orbital, The Orb, or Underworld.

10. The El Capistan does similar things. It’s an alternative to consider. Or just route a bit of LFO to pitch (or slop, or analog feel, or whatever your synth has), add a touch of reverb, and you’re mostly BOC, if you want to copy them, anyway.

    1. but what about the talent?

       1. Talent varies. 😉 I’d say people should blaze their own trail, whether it’s good or not. Just have fun.

11. El Capistan does similar things? Maybe you should watch the demo vids linked above.

    I have that Strymon pedal. I love it. But it doesn’t model video or cassette tape. These are two entirely different things, similar only in that they both model something called “tape”. I guess you could say that a Strat and banjo do similar things in that they both use “strings”.

    1. Wow and Flutter is on the Strymon, as are features that duplicate generation loss (tape bias, etc). No, the Strymon doesn’t have some of the functions of this pedal, but as an alternative, it’s viable.

       1. I owned the El Cap for years and absolutely loved it. Cranking the wow & flutter was my favorite part of it, and most of the time I didn’t even use the actual delay function. Having said that, this Gen Loss pedal is on an entirely next level.

12. “as artificial and generic as the plastic succulents and Norwegian sweaters it often comes with.”
    lol!!!

13. “No, the Strymon doesn’t have some of the functions of this pedal, but as an alternative, it’s viable.”

    I’m aware of what features exist on the El Capistan. I did mention owning one above. It doesn’t come close to have the same features as the Generation Loss. As an alternative, how is anything to be gained? They both cost 400 bucks.

    Wow and flutter do not duplicate generation loss. Generation loss is what happens when you copy tape over and over. Each generation loses some fidelity. Hence the term. Wow and flutter are artifacts caused by motor speed variations during playback.

    Kids these days!

14. interesting to see this pedal not revered as much here on a synth site, kind of refreshing to hear unbiased reactions to Gen Loss. in the pedal world this is a culmination of years and many iterations of this pedal and is one of the most sought after, the previous limited Chase Bliss version being listed for $3000 at one point, and actually selling for $1500, kind of the Klon of vibey digital effects. so the fact that this is not a limited run and it’s stereo and has the algorithm of the original is pretty awesome for those of us who have followed its journey. and for those of us who love the Gen Loss, even though there’s lots of tape emulations out there, there’s just something magical in these ones and zeros.

15. We recently added our take on this pedal, and we tried to go beyond the usual gear review.
    It might be an interesting read for those who are considering to add Gen Loss to their setup, and even for those who already did.

    https://audionewsroom.net/2024/03/beauty-in-imperfection-chase-bliss-generation-loss-mkii-review.html