With the help of numerous performing professionals and electric guitar heavyweights, Chaos Audio has tweaked the original design, resulting in a “more versatile, more affordable and more intuitive” offering.
Described by the brand as “the perfect effects solution for beginner and advanced guitarists alike”, the updated Stratus boasts the same innovative app-controlled interface that lets users dial in, sculpt and stack a variety of different effects on demand.
Current offerings include a range of distortions, overdrives, fuzzes, reverbs and delays, as well as an array of modulations such as phaser, chorus, wah and flanger.
(Image credit: Chaos Audio)
In action, users connect the pedal to a dedicated Chaos Audio app, which in turn can be used to send effects signals to the Stratus. Players can then choose whether to select one or up to five effects to play through at once, with the brand saying that entire digital pedalboards can be easily curated.
Aside from the effect-manipulating properties, the compact pedalboard-friendly fixture also boasts a five-minute looper, controlled via the parameter control knob, and an on-board tuner.
Final updates to the Stratus include a fresh aesthetic design, more tactile footswitch, quieter internal electronics and a cleaner mobile app user interface.
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Said Chaos Audio CEO Landon McCoy, “Stratus retains the features that made it exciting in the first place. The looper, tuner, intuitive smartphone UI, and device customizability are all intact and we’ve made noticeable updates to the pedal’s design.”
According to Chaos Audio’s Kickstarter page, the Stratus has already smashed its financial target, receiving over $23,000 from multi-effects fans around the world despite setting a preliminary goal of $10,000.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
