The Walrus Audio Janus tremolo/fuzz pedal that allows you to enrich your tone with an eclectic palette of guitar effects, ranging from heavenly enigmatic mellow tremolo sounds, all the way to roaring fuzz from the depths of raw rock ‘n’ roll spirit.
Thanks to dual joystick controls, the product gives the user freedom to control both the X and Y sonic axis and therefore provide a far greater array of sounds than via regular control knobs.
This is a type of device that can become a staple mark of your sound if properly utilized. It offers a well-rounded audio output on every front with little effort, but still requires advanced skills and a trained ear to achieve maximum potential.
Janus is capable of covering numerous amount of genres and musical style, but needless to say, fuzz is one of the crucial aspects of rock music, hence the rockers are likely the crowd that will appreciate this baby the most.
Controls, Features, Specs
As noted, the focal point of this pedal are the two joysticks. When it comes to the tremolo, the Trem stick gives you full control of depth on the X axis and sound rate on the Y axis. In the Fuzz department, the grittiness, or the fuzz itself, is assigned based on the X axis commands, while the Y axis controls the tone.
The two switches in the middle offer the choice of three clipping modes on the Mode switch, and a fuzz bass boost or cut on the Bass switch. The fuzz segment also has its Blend control knob to preserve dry signal if needed.
Additionally, each effect has its own Level control and an on/off switch. The Level function is particularly handy when utilizing both effects, as it allows you to give only one of them extra prominence.
The true bypass function is of course also included, allowing you to implement only one or both effects at the same time. Although both the Tremolo and the Fuzz operate at a very high level, we wholeheartedly recommend utilizing both for a true sonic adventure. Besides, if it’s only one you need, they why buy both in the first place, right?
Tone and Sounds
It’s an all-analog device we have here, and a top-notch one, too. The sound of the fuzz can be very dirty and dry, but also massive and chunky if that’s how you like it. The tonal controls allow you great versatility, but regardless of the settings you implement, the audio output will always sound very natural and organic, so there’s not even a hint of that plastic digital vibe here.
The tremolo function delivers sort of a vintage sine wave sound, and much like the fuzz effect, it’s very versatile and easy to control.
The Janus really shines the most when packed with both effects. The mix is not only first-rate quality, but quite unique if you know how to handle it. In the hands of a gifted or well trained musician, this pedal is the ingredient that creates sonic character, and that’s not something every pedal can boast with.
The device fits it the most within the realm of classic rock or hard rock music. You can shift it towards the side of heavy metal, or mellow it down to gritty blues with ease as well, but since it’s fuzz we’re talking about here, it’s not exactly a must have for the pop realm.
Road-Worthiness Durability
Much like any Walrus Audio product, this pedal comes with a very sturdy casing and tightly connected components and inner circuits. This ensures great durability and reliability. You can take the pedal out on the road, give it a lot of tumbling in the van and quite a bit of stomping on stage, and it will still work like a charm. Just don’t abuse it and it will serve you very well for quite a long time.
We’d also like to mention here that the use of an isolated power supply is recommended for powering all Walrus Audio Pedals. Daisy chain power supplies are not recommended.
Overall Rating
In a nutshell, this is a killer pedal. If the description above suits you, we highly recommend considering it as one of your next purchases. Janus is a roaring rock ‘n’ roll pedal that offers two high-quality effects within a single package, and when that is taken into consideration, we have to point out that this device delivers a killer bang for the buck. It’s a beast you will love to control. Highly recommended, a thumbs up from here.