Musikmesse 2017: Positive Grid unveils the BIAS Modulation Pedal

MUSIKMESSE 2017: Positive Grid has unveiled the BIAS Modulation Pedal, the third in its new line of BIAS hardware pedals. This follows the Distortion and Delay offerings and, as with those, can work both standalone and as an integrated part of your PC, Mac or iPad setup.

The new pedal comes with nine time- and amplitude-based effects: Flanger, Chorus, Phaser, Tremolo, Vibrato, Rotary, RingMod, AutoSwell and Pan. These can be edited in the BIAS Pedal software, and your settings transferred to the hardware over USB on PC and Mac, or Bluetooth on iPad. You can also share and download presets on Positive Grid’s ToneCloud network.

You can have two banks of ten presets each, and three presets can be assigned to separate footswitches. There are onboard intensity, depth and rate controls, as well as tap tempo and an LFO. There’s an expression pedal input, too.

Specs are below and you can get an overview of the BIAS Modulation Pedal, which will retail for $349 when it’s released in the second quarter of the year, in the video above. Find out more on the Positive Grid website. 

Positive Grid BIAS Modulation Pedal features 

• Strongest possible build quality, with rugged, all-metal chassis
• Separate ¼” unbalanced (tip-sleeve), high-impedance instrument-input and line-level output jacks for left and right channels provide mono or wide stereo sound
• Expression Pedal input provided on ¼” TRS jack provides real-time control of any parameter
• Nine built-in modulation effects: Chorus, Vibrato, Flanger, Rotary, Phaser, Tremolo, Pan, RingMod and Autoswell
• Mix and match two modulation types (time/filter-based and amplitude-based) to create truly unique sounds
• Three preset banks store up to ten presets each for lickety-split recall
• Full complement of parameter knobs controls Intensity, Depth, (Output) Level, Rate and three types of LFO modification (Shift, Wobble and Offset)
• Sturdy switches control Tap Tempo (over a 40 to 400bpm range) and LFO’s waveshape: round (sine), sharp (sawtooth) or pulse (square)
• Comprehensive MIDI Mapping: MIDI Program Change switches presets, and MIDI CCs (continuous controller messages) adjust key parameter values
• Sync with other BIAS pedals using MIDI Clock, locking the tempo of all time-based effects across Positive Grid’s integrated pedalboard ecosystem
• Full integration across hardware, desktop and mobile applications: Micro USB port and Bluetooth respectively interface pedal with BIAS Pedal desktop software (PC and Mac) and iOS app for deep pedal customization, offline preset storage, remote control and access to thousands of modulation pedal designs via Positive Grid’s ToneCloud network
• Exports custom pedal setups into the effects chains for Positive Grid’s BIAS FX software
• Separate MIDI In and Thru connectors
• 9VDC power-input jack