Caline Devilfish Dual Chorus and Delay Review

Caline continues to dominate the affordable pedal marketplace with this functional and fun dual pedal.

Cost: $69.99 from Amazon.com

Overview:

In the world of affordable effects pedals there are few companies with a better reputation than Caline. They tend to have better enclosures, cleaner sounding circuits, and only slightly more expensive price tags than most budget pedal options. The Caline Devilfish is no different and houses both Caline Wave Machine Chorus and Caline Blue Ocean Delay circuits in one box. Having both in one box does save you a few patch cables, a power supply, and maybe even some board space. Both circuits have standard controls for their classic effects. Delay sports controls over the length and frequency of delay, while the “echo” control serves as a master volume. On the chorus side of things, you have your standard rate and depth controls with an overall master volume control as well. Manipulating the master volume can engage the vibrato portion of the chorus pedal as well.

Review & Opinion:

While the sounds of the Devilfish aren’t extraordinary, they are perfectly useable and cover a good bit of ground. Players who are looking for expansive and creative delay tones should not consider this an alternative to modern echos like the Mood or Meltdown. But for beginners or musicians who only require classic delay and chorus tones, this is a perfectly suitable tool for the stage or studio. The chorus side of things can go from warbly vibrato to very subtle shimmer and shine. I was impressed by the delay time, which is usually very short on affordable delay pedals like this. I wouldn’t describe it as too long or adventurous, but you can cover a lot of ground and induce some cool self-oscillations. The Devilfish is a great example of working musician’s pedal.

Final Conclusions & Score: 7.0 out of 10

Overall, Caline’s Devilfish is a perfectly serviceable and nice sounding pedal. It is unspectacular but the value for the money is impressive. It is never noisey, feels far more premium than it is, and covers a lot of ground. The market for the Devilfish should mostly center around beginners and guitar players who rarely use these effects as the basis of their rig. I also really like the idea of throwing this pedal on my live board, as it will save some real estate in terms of cables and provide me with a solid option for chorus/delay. It seems Caline has cracked the code on making affordable pedals that work great for many musicians.