Chaos Audio Unveils New Stratus Multi-Effects Pedal
The Stratus's makers call it "the guitar pedal re-imagined."
Florida-based startup Chaos Audio has unveiled the Stratus, a pedal it says can serve as an “intelligent, all-in-one multi-tool" for guitarists.
A Bluetooth-enabled online multi-effects platform, looper and guitar tuner currently being funded on Kickstarter, the Stratus can act as a substitute for any pedal, or create new sounds itself should users wish to chain effects together.
The Stratus is controlled via the Chaos Audio App for iOS and Android, which can also be used to create pedal board presets, access a number of different tools and download new effects.
The pedal itself features an LED panel to help users tune and keep time with its metronome, a USB-C port to connect to the app and two 1/4-inch mono jacks. Its single parameter knob also functions as an effects and tuner on/off, and a footswitch for the looper.
"Stratus is the guitar pedal re-imagined," Landon McCoy, the founder and CEO of Chaos Audio, said.
"Think of it more as a computer than a stompbox. Stratus has all of the amenities guitarists have come to know and love from other smart devices including internal memory, a rechargeable battery, USB-C, Bluetooth 5.0 and a functionally aesthetic LED light strip used for the tuner and other tools."
The stock price of the Chaos Audio Stratus – which features a DC power input and a rechargeable battery with up to seven hours of use – is $249, but early bird discounts on the pedal are currently available.
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For more info on the pedal, stop by its Kickstarter page.
Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com and GuitarPlayer.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
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