Crazy Tube Circuits Sidekick JR | All the Reverb, Delay + Modulation tones in detail! Review & Demo

This is the Crazy Tube Circuits Sidekick JR – a three-in-one modulation, delay and reverb pedal that promises professional quality guitar tones in a compact, simple and easy to use package!

Get the Sidekick JR here: https://thmn.to/thoprod/575730?offid=...
Get the Crazy Tube Circuits XT Footswitch here: https://thmn.to/thoprod/558345?offid=...

Crazy Tube Circuits released the original, larger Sidekick back in 2019, and the Sidekick JR takes all the good stuff about the original, improves the sounds and algorithms, and puts it all in a smaller, pedalboard-friendly box.

In theory, the Sidekick JR has everything you need to play live, apart from an amp (and a guitar, of course!). There are three modulations on board, two delays, and six different reverbs, and you can use each effect independently, or up to all three simultaneously. The modulations – Dimension, Flanger and Ensemble – are inspired by the classic Boss DC-2, BF-2 and CE-2 stompboxes respectively, and you control them via Depth and Speed knobs.

On the delay front, you get a pristine 80s-style digital delay, and a tape delay with a fresh new tape in it. There are three knobs to control the delay section: More (for the volume), Tail (for the number of repeats), and Time (for the length of the delay – note, there is no tap tempo option).

The six reverbs are Shimmer, Hall, Exciter, Spring, Gated and Plate, and each is controlled via Mix and Excite knobs. Mix controls the volume of the reverb in your signal, while Excite is different for each reverb, basically giving you more of whatever makes the current algorithm unique… you’ll get the gist as you listen!

Coming in at €289, the Sidekick JR is not the cheapest pedal around, and you will probably want to get the additional Crazy Tube Circuits XT Footswitch (for another €40/50ish) to get complete control (you can access all of the sounds without it, but an extra switch gives you independent switching options for all three effects). However, the Sidekick JR feels extremely high quality – it’s made in Greece, by the way – and I would challenge you to find three separate pedals that will deliver the same tonal performance and versatility for the same price or less. Suggestions in the comments there please!

But anyway, there’s a bunch of tones and sounds to get through here. I’m using the excellent Maybach Stradovari Superfly HSS Start-type guitar today, and to keep the rig as compact as possible, I am running the Sidekick JR straight into the Walrus Audio ACS1, with some drive as required from the Walrus Audio Fundamental Overdrive pedal.

We run through all the sounds and algorithms here, in as many musical styles as possible, from ambient and pop to indie, rock, and more. And, at the end, I run an ambient loop where we really get to twist all the knobs on the pedal, try out different combinations and find out how truly versatile the Sidekick JR can be!

Here are some links to the various playing samples and info bits:

00:00 Hello!
00:17 Introduction to the Sidekick JR
01:39 Pedal controls and features
05:05 Today’s rig and plan

07:04 Modulation sounds
11:23 Delay sounds
14:34 Reverb sounds
19:21 Mixed sounds
26:25 Overdrive test
26:46 Post rock/wall of noise test
27:29 Ambient guitar loop with tonal tweaking

38:04 My thoughts
38:34 Sounds discussion: Modulation
39:57 Delay
40:28 Reverb
42:30 Controls and ease of use
44:00 Things I like: price, build quality, size
45:22 Things I don’t like
46:21 No presets: good or a problem?
47:15 What other similar pedals are out there?
48:58 A note on the Walrus Audio ACS1
49:20 My conclusions on the Sidekick JR and why you should buy it

My setup was as follows: I ran the Sidekick JR straight into the Walrus Audio ACS1 Amp + Cab Simulator, and I used the Walrus Audio Fundamental Series Drive pedal for the overdrive sounds. The ACS1 went directly into my Focusrite Scarlett 2i4, which went into Logic Pro X. That's it. No post-processing on the sounds was done. Oh, and I used my Boss RC-10R to play the loop.

Here’s some links to those bits of gear:

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Walrus Audio ACS1: https://thmn.to/thoprod/511898?offid=...
Walrus Audio Fundamental Series Drive: https://thmn.to/thoprod/564325?offid=...
Boss RC-10R Rhythm Loop Station: https://thmn.to/thoprod/470055?offid=...
Focusrite 4i4 (the new 2i4): https://thmn.to/thoprod/467952?offid=...
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Enjoy!

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Backing music from the YouTube Audio Library: Duck In The Alley – Track Tribe.

#CrazyTubeCircuits #SidekickJR #DelayPedal #ReverbPedal #ChorusPedal #42GSFive #42GearStreet


Note: certain links in the description are affiliate links. If you click said links and purchase anything as a result, I will receive a small commission. This doesn’t cost you anything extra, but it does help to support the channel. So, if you do that, thank you very much!

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