by Blood_mountain » Thu Nov 05, 2020 1:50 am
Settle in, this is a long one and I didn’t bother with a TLDR version...
Draume V1 vs V2
First impressions of the differences between Draumes V1 and V2. Keeping in mind that I’ve only had V2 for about 6 hours and am still very much in the honeymoon phase. V1 is a pedal I’ve loved, and the changes mentioned in the lead up to the pedal launch were enough to make me want to try out V2.
Reverb Algorithms
Hall
V1 is more resonant and clangy than V2, with V2 sounding smoother and mellower. There is less pronounced pre-delay in V2, tho it’s not crazy pronounced in V1 IMO. V1 hall sounds more digital to my ears, V2 more natural. V1 sits behind your playing, with more separation between dry and wet signals, whereas V2 blends in with the dry signal more so it sounds more cohesive.
Metal
In V1, there is a pretty significant volume jump when switching to Metal, and this has been fixed in V2. V1 metal is much sharper and colder, V2 is still resonant and metallic, but in a more subtle manner. V1 Metal has a much more percussive predelay to it, and borders on being overly metallic. It sounds like what I would imagine playing inside a metal drum would sound like. V2 again is softer and less pronounced. I think I’ll find the V2 more useable, but it’s less distinct from the Hall setting than the V1 metal vs hall.
Grain
The most obvious change in the modes seems to be in the Grain setting. V1 sounds like it’s pulled directly from a Fabrikat algorithm. It’s pronounced and jittery and a typically granular sound. V2 has a smoother, less glitchy and choppy sound. V1 is much more similar in sound to a multi tap delay/reverb/granular synthesis effect. V2’s grain setting is more subtle, smooth and diffused. Since I have Fabrikat, I appreciate that the grain mode in V2 has been made something more original to Draume, but if you don’t have a Fabrikat or other granular effect, the V1 probably gets you closer to what you’d imagine “granular” to sound like.
Other controls
Clock
Seems to operate identically on both pedals.
TXT
Much harsher, staticky and metallic on
V1. I often felt like I needed to dial back the TXT control and tame the high end a bit with the tone control. I always liked the sound of V1 TXT when i had it at between noon and 3 o’clock, tone way rolled off at about 9 o’clock and clock between noon and 9 o’clock. The V2 seems to have a more useable range with less overall harshness. Similar sound, but less up front, less like totally blown out speakers and more like only partially blown out speakers. I don’t know if I’ve found a sweet spot for the TXT on V2 yet, but listening closely I can hear some interesting high end harmonic activity going on and an almost sample rate reduction, bit crushing undertone that sounds promising and not overpowering.
FM
Probably one of the biggest improvements on the V2 IMO is the random frequency modulation. There is always a bit of digital sounding static/distortion present with the FM control on V1, and at some lower clock settings and with the tone rolled off, it can sound great and fitting - similar to the white noise/hiss of old tape or vinyl. At higher tone and clock settings that distortion becomes not unpleasant necessarily, but kind of distracts from the FM warble. On the V2 there is no distortion with this control and it’s much more suitable to my tastes. It feels more usable through the sweep range and more interactive with the TXT control.
AM
The random AM modulation control on the V2 has also apparently been updated with a bit of a different sound, tho I think most would not necessarily notice a major difference without a very close listen. The V1 is a slightly harder on/off square wave random tremolo sound, and the V2 is just very slightly rounded and more subtle. Very slight difference there tho I feel.
Tone
The changelog mentions the hi/lo emphasis tone control on V1 has been swapped for a 2nd order lo pass filter on V2. Both sound really good to me.
I love the V1 pedal, but will most likely keep the V2 and sell the V1 as the V2 suits my style of writing and playing better. Both are incredibly fun pedals and sound great.
Last edited by
Blood_mountain on Thu Nov 05, 2020 2:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.