"So, ladies and gentlemen, if I say I'm an oil man, you will agree." - Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, There Will Be Blood (2007)
Why don't we back things up for a minute? Let's throw it back a couple decades to the '50s or so. Around this time is about the general era where people started getting fancy with their audio effects. One of the main movers of this new wave of audio recording effects is delay. Prominently, at this time, an audio effect like delay is the domain of the tape reel*. These mechanisms created an audio delay repeat effect by writing audio to a physical tape reel and running it through a box of tiny, motorized components.
Hey, like what we were talking about last week with the Strymon EC-1. Funny, that.
A "pro" of this exciting, new form of device? A groundbreaking new effect driven by a commonplace medium, tape.
A "con" of this exciting, new form of device? Heavy, expensive, delicate, and an overall pain in the neck.
It's inevitable in the realm of invention that things become (some configuration of) smaller, faster, cheaper, and better, and that's exactly what spawned the oil can delay. This new device utilized oil within a tuna can-shaped case that worked through a belt mechanism and a special disk apparatus that played back charges of audio data, like a tape echo. The story doesn't stop there, however. The story continues on to 2025 where a wily band of effect-slingers tap the oil can delay pot once again for a thoroughly modern oil can delay effect experience. Where does this land us, now?
This is the Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain Stereo Delay.
Shop the Old Blood Black Fountain Stereo
There Will Be Old Blood
Introducing the Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain Stereo
So, the gang over at Old Blood Noise Endeavors are no strangers to oil can delays. They actually first struck liquid gold with their very first pedal, the Black Fountain, way back in 2014. This forward-thinking oil can effect loaded in three distinct modes all in celebration of the foundational delay effect. The Black Fountain was eventually expanded on and evolved through subsequent V2 and V3 versions, the third of which being released in 2020, marking notable improvements like an expanded sonic palette, added connectivity and control features, and more. While it's been five years since the last Black Fountain update (though it's obvious to say now), it's clear that Old Blood never forgot about the pedal that first made them famous.
Is it any wonder that Old Blood would return to their first pedal to bring on new ideas and innovations? No, we don't think so. In their most recent (and first) foray into evolved versions of their classic pedals, we were treated to the Dark Star Stereo Reverb, a wonderfully dark and ambient reverb, so it makes enough sense that their Black Fountain would follow suit. Is this a sign of exciting things to come? Who's to say?
Let's talk about the pedal at hand, the Black Fountain Stereo, and see what Old Blood has dug up for us.
Gold in Them 'Thar Hills
Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain Stereo Delay Sounds
If this is your first experience with oil can delays, let's start there. What can you expect from an oil can delay?
At the onset, the oil can delay initially set out, as we said, to minimize and streamline the delay effect experience from the large and cumbersome tape reel delay devices of the day. Though it accomplished its task, it did also inspire a new type of delay altogether. Oil can delays did in fact minimize on the method of creating delay effects, though not without defining a new sound of delay in the process.
Oil can delays differed from tape echo delays by being inherently murky, mellow, and modulated due to the design of the device. The resulting output of oil can delays veered heavily toward more shallow and shadowy compared to the crisp tone of tape echoes. Old Blood dropped in with the Black Fountain with a spiritually authentic and faithful version of oil can delays with their own burgeoning brand of weirdness, really making the effect their own.
Today's Black Fountain Stereo equips players with faithful Black Fountain oil can delay tones perfect for lo-fi, modulated delay trails to really soak your signal in a special soup of Old Blood sauce. Totally, the Black Fountain Stereo plays with exceptional muddiness and murkiness that is sure to make oil can delay fiends proud. While we're on the topic, let's get into some basic setup.
Drilling to the Core
Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain Stereo Delay Controls
The Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain Stereo lays it all out principally with a set of familiar controls and dials. Onboard, we have dedicated sections for controlling the delay, the tone of said delay, and the modulation of said delay (among a few other controls). Let's start out slow.
Old Blood Noise Black Fountain Stereo Delay Controls
- Time – Starting out here, we have our Time control for our delay. You might notice there are two of these controls, a left and a right, but for now, this will lengthen or shorten the time between delay repeats. Crank this control for drawn out, lasting delay repeat trails or roll this control back for shorter, more compressed repeats. We'll come back to the "L" and "R" in a minute, don't you worry.
- Feedback – Right here, we have our Feedback control for our delay. Simply, this harnesses the amount of repeat feedback in the signal, dictating how many times our repeats will repeat. Turn the Feedback up to increase the number of times our delay will repeat, pushing it into outrageous infinite-repeat-bordering territory, or bring it down to create more reserved, modest trails.
Old Blood Noise Black Fountain Stereo Modulation and Tone Controls
- Depth – The Black Fountain's Depth control is something of the heart of our whole experience as it dictates the amount to which our oil can delay effect will modulate. This control hints at Old Blood's new approach to modulation, formally handled by the one Fluid control present on previous Black Fountain versions, this split of Fluid into more controls allows at square one for more nuanced and careful control over the modulation capabilities the pedal has to offer. Working in tandem with our Rate control, we have access into wildly modulating delay trails that undulate like an oily tidepool or wash like an oily tidal wave.
- Rate – Our Rate control changes the speed at which our delay trails modulate. Turn this control up for tighter modulation movement that wobbles in relation to the faster speed set, turn this control down for more considered wave of movement that can crash against your proverbial signal shore. These controls for modulation are deeply affected by a couple new characters added to the cast with the Black Fountain Stereo.
Three to OneFans of past Black Fountains might be surprised to find the three-way voicing switch for "Org", 'Vin", and "Mod" absent from the Black Fountain Stereo. Our Tone control starts to explain this absence. While the three-way voicing switch is nowhere to be seen, Tone starts to introduce Old Blood's alternative to the switch. Starting with the Tone dial, the Black Fountain Stereo can warm or cool the tone of the effect's repeats. This control leans into allowing players more freedom to blur the lines between the three original voicing modes to either revisit familiar delay sounds or forge their own mixes. This experience works in tandem with the Black Fountain Stereo's new Grit control, which harnesses the level of saturation present in the pedal's delay trails. Now with a dedicated knob to access the dirtiness of your delay trails, players have a means of fine tuning the character of their repeats even closer than before. This also points to the Black Fountain Stereo's move toward a more holistic approach to effect mixing, like the Dark Star Stereo before it. All your sounds pull from the same well, so to say, and this well has never been deeper or richer.
With all that groundwork out of the way, let's move on to more of the fireworks of this pedal.
“What was your always-on is now also your multi-tool" - Old Blood Noise Endeavors
Striking Gold
Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain Stereo Delay New Features
Perhaps the three most notable elements landing with the Black Fountain Stereo are its deeper control scheme, its evolved connectivity, and its expansion into the stereo realm. We've already talked about the deeper control scheme, so let's finish out that conversation.
Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain Stereo Further Features
- Subdivisions – Not the Rush song, but in a similar, progressive spirit, Old Blood has expanded the subdivision capabilities of the Black Fountain to include three more subdivision types from the pedal's previous version. Now bumping up into even more areas of unique delay repeats, players can access more intricate delay patterns to customize the sonic experience even further.
- Wet and Dry – Onboard the Black Fountain Stereo, we now have dedicated dials for adjusting the presence of our affected and unaffected signals in the mix. This can be a huge help in recording scenarios when you have the time and space to truly fine-tune your effect mix to your exact taste.
- Presets – Ah man, we're this far and we haven't even talked about the presets. With the Black Fountain Stereo, you can establish and save your own mix and setting presets. Recapturing some of the essence of the three-way voicing switch, you now have an option to save favorite effect settings and recall them with the Black Fountain Stereo's dedicated preset mode. These presets can be swapped between with its own front-facing push switch or through the...
- Aux/Tap Footswitch – The Black Fountain Stereo offers up expanded playability with its second footswitch. On this footswitch, we have the capability of utilizing a precise and reliable tap tempo or pushing the delay into an infinite self-oscillation at the press of a button. On top of being a thoroughly modern pedal through its delay effect brain, this footswitch inspires more on-the-fly playability in practice or performance.
Black Ocean Flumes
Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain Stereo Delay Connections
It might be obscured by the pedal's intriguing effect tone or its excellent playability, but the Black Fountain Stereo is also a marvel of connectivity. For one, its onboard 1/8" MIDI connections enable the pedal to be controlled via MIDI signals, bumping up this old '50s delay fossil into true twenty-first century modernity.
This modernity is compounded by the Black Fountain Stereo's expression connectivity which allows for the control over any (any!) parameter. Old Blood's classic expression control comes alive through this connection, enabling all you wild expression pedal weirdos to have a field day with remote control.
Okay, maybe we've buried the lede here, or maybe we saved the best for last, your call. Old Blood puts the "stereo" in "Black Fountain Stereo" through – you guessed it – full stereo functionality. Way back at the beginning of this, we hinted at the "L" and "R" Time controls. What we've saved mentioning until now, and what you've surely already figured, is that the Black Fountain Stereo can double up on its delay trails with independent stereo delay trails possible through its stereo in/out connections.
While the Black Fountain Stereo does not have dual outputs to segment its stereo output, they have got you covered either way with their full stereo input/output connections. What this means is that this pedal can be run in full stereo, mono, or mono-to-stereo, where a mono signal is split into stereo outputs. All of this adds up to the Black Fountain Stereo effectively doubling its effect capabilities, expanding its sonic world and opening up its fields of tone even wider than previously imagined. This makes the pedal exponentially more powerful, enabling experienced players of dual delays to get in on the oil can delay sound and inspiring players new to the form to get creative with the easily accessible expanded functionality the pedal offers.
Mono, Stereo, Parallel, SeriesThe Black Fountain Stereo's stereo delays are not solely the territory of strict stereo, however. Through different configurations, the Black Fountain Stereo's stereo delays can be run into a single delay trail, in parallel, or in series, meaning one delay runs into another, enabling even more dimensions of sound and playability to the effect.
Among the smaller features of the Black Fountain Stereo, we have an analog-through signal path among the pedal's digital architecture. This is utilized to preserve signals as they pass through to keep them authentically rich. This preservation is compounded by a quiet soft-touch bypass footswitch that keeps things easy and seamless swapping the effect on and off. Finally, the Black Fountain Stereo is powered by your usual nine volt DC center negative power supply – no fancy fixings here.
Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain Stereo Final Thoughts
The Old Blood Noise Endeavors Black Fountain Stereo is, understandably, a lot to take in. Narratively, it's a landmark pedal for Old Blood denoting more than ten years of effect pedal invention and reinvention. Functionally, it's a landmark pedal for the rest of us likely taking the oil can delay archetype places where it's never been before in terms of accessibility, features, and power. Sonically, it's just great, man.
As one of the oldest types of effect we know, the oil can delay hasn't been the among most prominent or typically celebrated delay effects among the many analogs, digitals, tapes and shimmers across time. Though through the Black Fountain, time and time again, Old Blood Noise Endeavors has shown us how this doesn't have to be the case.
Typically, it's usually only Oscar-winning movies that are described as "triumphs," but maybe we could cop that term for a second for the Black Fountain Stereo. We apologize if this is coming off as overly breathy or grand, but for oil can delays, Old Blood has undeniably upped the game, simple as that.
Let's borrow one more phrase from the Academy: "two thumbs way up."
