NPD Ramblin! - Audio Cultivation Project - Fourth
Posted: Thu Jan 16, 2025 4:51 pm
Our boy Alec of Mask Audio shared this new distortion pedal Fourth by Audio Cultivation Project on Instagram right before the new year. Trashy note decay possible? Interesting harmonic content? Abusing Op amps??? I was very intrigued, slept on it, and ordered it in bed the next morning. (I am very proud of my 12 hours of restraint) Anywho it became an immediate favorite and I think it is something most of us ILF fam would enjoy. So here's my mildly indulgent "I don't know who needs to hear this but this thang is tickling my pepper" post.
Here's the main page for Fourth: https://audiocultivationproject.com/pro ... istortion/
My ramblings from within the hype phase:
So far, a tight responsive distortion/overdrive that pulls out fun harmonics and those harmonics can be strangled so they fight to get through which leads to fun and interesting note decay. Definitely has a natural gate to it but not one that necessarily has to limit your sustain. It can be more open gate/transparent but the real fun is using the clever ways you can boost low end in one gain stage and cut/clip it in the next. It's hard to compare it to anything in my collection other than the Infanem Improbability Drive. It sits in that same realm texturally where it's like an overdrive with the character/timbre of a classic octavia. Fourth has way more EQ range though. Chord clarity AND fun intermodulation happening on note attack/decay? That's my jam.
Speak of the devil, a lot of the design reminds me of Infanem pedals. The choice of what controls you're given is smart. Aesthetically very clean layout. And overall it's just as easy to "set it and forget it" as it is to be imaginative in the moment because the controls are intuitive. It's clean and dead simple and I love it. I really enjoy the three way (little more/neutral/a lot more) switches that are appearing on pedals lately.
It is low to mid gain in the same range as ss/bs Fuck/Mini, EAE Halberd, or DOD Boneshaker. Volume is unity at 9 o clock on most settings so there's a whole heap of extra volume on tap as well for slamming whatever the hell you're running it into. Boosting it with the tube voice in the Dude Incredible is veryyyyy satisfying. The natural gating that happens in the Fourth makes for super tight drop tuned riffing. It enjoys a compressor before it as well. (thank you again aedes for the mini ego!)
There is gobs of low end available which can be used as-is or strangled out of the circuit. You can also go full bass cut and treble blast folks. And of course you can follow the middle path and unlock the secret third option: find your DSM-5 certified place within the CLANG GANG spectrum.
But yeah, I don't envision anyone feeling limited by the range of EQ here.
Pedalboard pic below. This thing sounds GOOD with the Boss PS-2. Op amp abuse and hard style digital go well together. I'm excited to pair it with other pedals and see what happens. I love goosin' around with gates.
So yeah this thing rips and adds something fresh to at the very least my line up of dirt. Curious if anyone has something in mind that's comparable and more accessible than "Infanem Improbability Drive low gain settings"?
Will try to report back if I make a video with it or after I plug it into a table top synth/drum set up!
Here's the main page for Fourth: https://audiocultivationproject.com/pro ... istortion/
My ramblings from within the hype phase:
So far, a tight responsive distortion/overdrive that pulls out fun harmonics and those harmonics can be strangled so they fight to get through which leads to fun and interesting note decay. Definitely has a natural gate to it but not one that necessarily has to limit your sustain. It can be more open gate/transparent but the real fun is using the clever ways you can boost low end in one gain stage and cut/clip it in the next. It's hard to compare it to anything in my collection other than the Infanem Improbability Drive. It sits in that same realm texturally where it's like an overdrive with the character/timbre of a classic octavia. Fourth has way more EQ range though. Chord clarity AND fun intermodulation happening on note attack/decay? That's my jam.
Speak of the devil, a lot of the design reminds me of Infanem pedals. The choice of what controls you're given is smart. Aesthetically very clean layout. And overall it's just as easy to "set it and forget it" as it is to be imaginative in the moment because the controls are intuitive. It's clean and dead simple and I love it. I really enjoy the three way (little more/neutral/a lot more) switches that are appearing on pedals lately.
It is low to mid gain in the same range as ss/bs Fuck/Mini, EAE Halberd, or DOD Boneshaker. Volume is unity at 9 o clock on most settings so there's a whole heap of extra volume on tap as well for slamming whatever the hell you're running it into. Boosting it with the tube voice in the Dude Incredible is veryyyyy satisfying. The natural gating that happens in the Fourth makes for super tight drop tuned riffing. It enjoys a compressor before it as well. (thank you again aedes for the mini ego!)
There is gobs of low end available which can be used as-is or strangled out of the circuit. You can also go full bass cut and treble blast folks. And of course you can follow the middle path and unlock the secret third option: find your DSM-5 certified place within the CLANG GANG spectrum.
But yeah, I don't envision anyone feeling limited by the range of EQ here. Pedalboard pic below. This thing sounds GOOD with the Boss PS-2. Op amp abuse and hard style digital go well together. I'm excited to pair it with other pedals and see what happens. I love goosin' around with gates.
So yeah this thing rips and adds something fresh to at the very least my line up of dirt. Curious if anyone has something in mind that's comparable and more accessible than "Infanem Improbability Drive low gain settings"?
Will try to report back if I make a video with it or after I plug it into a table top synth/drum set up!
