Rumors of this pedal have been flying around since 2015; it has appeared at the last two winter NAMM shows in various forms; but is only now available as Curt Malouin will release no pedal before its time. A while back we touted the Hologram Infinite Jets Resynthesizer as the ultimate modern guitar pedal, and for sheer variety of  non-traditional sounds available in a single pedal it may still reign. But coming up fast is the Red Panda Tensor, with its more board-friendly size, MIDI capability, ease of use, and ease on the pocketbook.

Go to 7:27 to jump to the playing.

As mentioned in my 2018 NAMM report, I had a chance to sit in the booth with the pedal long enough to realize you could spend a lifetime thinking up creative ways to use it.  If there is a perfect person to demonstrate this it is Nick Reinhart. He and Juan give a thorough and clear description of how it works and are unabashed in their enthusiasm.

What they don’t go into in depth is its MIDI capability so here is what the manual says: The Tensor is a class-compliant USB device, which allows you to control all parameters and access additional hidden parameters. The Tensor works with any USB MIDI host, including: Macintosh and Windows computers, where it shows up as a MIDI device and is available to all programs; and Apple iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone using the Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter.  Red Panda provides TouchOSC templates for download from the web site. Standalone USB MIDI hosts allow you to connect the Tensor to hardware with 5-pin DIN MIDI connectors without the use of a computer. The Tensor receives in omni mode (all channels) and transmits on MIDI channel 1.

By the time you finish watching the video you will no doubt need one. The website says they are out of stock already, but you may be able to find a dealer (try Eastside Music Supply). I fully expect to see this pedal on more and more boards of modern guitarists as time goes on.