The Old Blood Noise Endeavors Setback is a reverse delay pedal, taking an audio signal in and sending it out backwards in real time. Throughout OBNE history, we’ve played with reverse delay algorithms, always nding interest in the way reversed audio can be textural and surpris ing. To us, the e ect has never really been delay, but simply reverse. Setback plays a lot with the textural side of reverse: while you are encouraged to tap in a tempo to set the timing of the delay, you are also encouraged to freely play with the Clock and Speed knobs, and see how those a ect timing while also creating pitch shift and lo e ects. Let’s get into the details now.
KNOBS
MIX sets the wet/dry mix, from 100% dry to 100% wet, with equal blending at noon.
SPEED adjusts the playback speed of the reverse, creating pitch shifting e ects. It has seven settings, from counterclockwise to clockwise: octave down, fth down, fourth down, unison, fourth up, fth up, octave up.
DIV sets the subdivisions of the delay time. It has seven settings, from counterclockwise to clockwise: sixteenth note, eighth note triplet, eighth note, quarter note triplet, dotted eighth note, quarter note, half note. Subdivisions are always active, regardless of how delay time is set.
CLOCK sets the sample rate of the reverse delay, which determines both the delity of the signal and the available delay time. This control runs from 500Hz to 48kHz. At 500Hz, signal is signi cantly degraded, and reverse delay timing can go up to roughly 24 seconds. At 48kHz, signal is clean, and max delay time is .25 seconds.
There are two alt controls, accessed by turning a knob while holding AUX.
VOLUME (accessed via MIX) adjusts the overall volume, from -6dB to +6dB, with unity volume at noon.
TIME (accessed via CLOCK) linearly adjusts the delay timing within the given clock setting, from essentially ring mod fast up to maximum delay available.
FOOTSWITCHES
On/O turns the pedal on or o . A short press latches it on or o . A long hold momentarily switches on or o while the switch is held, then returns to the previous state on release.
Aux has two functions.
- By default, AUX is a Tap Tempo. By pressing the footswitch twice, delay timing is set according to the time between presses, with a maximum tap time of 3 seconds. If the delay time is too long for the given sample rate (set by the Clock knob), the sample rate will automatically be adjusted downward to the highest delity possible that allows for the full delay time. The user is encouraged to set their general timing with this Tap Tempo switch, then adjust further using Clock and Div.
- In this mode, when the footswitch is held, it also engages feedback of the reverse: output is fed fully back into input, creating direction-changing pads of rising, falling, or degrading delays, depending on other knob settings.
- Alternatively, it is a Preset Switcher. In this mode, pressing the footswitch cycles through the on-board presets (indicated by the three preset LEDs) and live mode (no preset LED lit). To assign the Aux function, hold Aux and press either the Presets switch (to engage preset mode) or the Bypass switch (to engage tap tempo mode), then release the switch. This assign
ment will be saved globally.
instruction manual page 02
The Expression Jack can be used to externally control any combination of knobs on Setback, using a TRS expression device. To assign the Expression control, simply turn a knob or knobs while holding the On/O footswitch. The knob position when you press the footswitch will be the expression heel position, and the knob position when you let go will be the expression toe position. If a knob wasn’t moved, expression will not a ect it. Expression settings are saved per-preset.
The OBNE Scooch (or a similar momentary footswitch) can be used as an external tap tempo switch. To engage or disengage this function, press the Aux switch while holding down On/O . This will allow the Expression jack to accept a footswitch input, overriding any expression settings. Use a TRS cable, even if the footswitch only requires a TS connection.
Presets are accessible via the Preset Switch. Press the switch to cycle through stored presets. The LEDs will indicate whether you are on Preset 1 (top LED), Preset 2 (middle), Preset 3 (bottom), or live mode (no LED is lit). To save a preset, hold the Preset switch for ve seconds until the preset LED starts blinking. Cycle through the presets using the switch to choose which slot to save your preset to. If you do not want to save, cycle to live mode (no LED lit). Once you’ve made your selection, hold the Preset switch for ve seconds again until the LED stops blinking.
The Routing of Setback can be Mono, Stereo, or Mono-In-Stereo-Out. To choose routing, hold down the On/O switch and press the Preset switch to cycle through options. The preset LEDs will blink to indicate the current setting: Mono (top LED), Mono In Stereo Out (middle LED), or Stereo (bottom LED).
Additionally, Setback can be true bypass or Bu ered Bypass with Trails. To set this, hold down the Preset switch for ve seconds while assigning stereo/mono routing. A faster blinking LED indicates trails are on, a slower blink indicates trails are o .
The routing and trails settings will save globally.
Note: in Mono-In-Stereo-Out mode, Setback acts as dual mono, sending the same output signal to both left and right sides. It will not create stereo spread, but can be used to split your signal in two to drive multiple amps or stereo pedals down the chain.
To Factory Reset your Setback, hold On/O and Aux for 10 seconds until all LEDs begin blinking. At this point, you can cancel the reset by pressing On/O . To con rm the reset, press Aux. All LEDs will light, then count upward as all settings and presets are returned to default, then light once more, then return to normal operation. This will delete all user settings and set all presets to their factory state.
