Walrus Audio Fable MKII Gray

The Fable is a stereo ambient creation machine built around delay and granular processing. Five Modes, each one pairing two effects that feed into each other through separate feedback paths, so the sound keeps developing instead of repeating. Long reversed textures, bright double-speed cascades, glitchy clouds, and randomized pitch scattering. All of it in stereo, with MIDI, expression, and savable presets.

There are old stories of a forest in the far north, hidden beyond the places most travelers dare to wander. Once each spring, beneath the first new moon, strange sounds rise from within its depths. No one knows where they come from, but wherever they spread, the forest begins to shift. Things splice and twist back together. Familiar things become unfamiliar. Those who have witnessed it speak of another sight, a flicker of light between the trees, a tiny winged figure disappearing into the darkness before it can be seen clearly. The old stories call them… The Fable. Let your storybook adventure grow with the Fable Granular Soundscape Generator.

The Fable generates its wonder with a dual feedback path developed by DSP engineers at Walrus Audio. Your signal runs through two separate effects in series, independently controlled by the Feedback and Regen knobs, and then runs back through both again before heading to the output. What does that mean? Artists will discover unique soundscapes ranging from smooth, flowing ambiance; to bizarre, organic reverberance; to chaotic, glitchy swarms.

What exactly is this granular effect and why is it a magical experience when combined with delay? Granular is a digital processing technique of micro-sampling, wherein short samples called grains are read from a delay buffer. In the Fable, players can adjust these grains by manipulating their sampling length, position, and the buffer size they are read from. They can be played at double or half speed for pitch-shift and time-stretching effects, played in reverse, read from multiple positions, and more to achieve different effects. It's a powerful but complex technique, and we've created five streamlined Modes in the Fable that explore different aspects of its sonic range.

Modes

• Mode I - Reverse Delay into Reverse Granular: Mode I runs a reverse delay into a reverse granular algorithm, where sampled grains play backward. Reversal and re-reversal build up in the feedback paths, creating a complex and organically shifting soundscape. Turn grain size (X knob) down for long, smooth reversed transients, and grain size up for stuttering reverse glitch madness.
• Mode II - Forward Delay into Octave Up Granular: Mode II runs a forward delay into an octave-up granular Mode, where sampled grains play at double speed. Swarms of double-speed grains build up in the feedback path for bright and airy cascades of sound.
• Mode III - Analog Delay into Octave Down Granular: Mode III runs a warm, dark analog-style delay into an octave-down granular Mode, where sampled grains play back at half speed. Slowed-down repeats combine with analog-style processing to create deep, thunderous footfalls and thick, murky ambiance.
• Mode IV - Multi-Tap Granular into Multi-Tap Granular (Grain-Verb): Mode IV runs two multi-tap granular algorithms in series, in which multiple samples are played back from each granular buffer simultaneously. Multiple points of sampled sound build upon each other in the feedback paths to create glitchy clouds and unique organic reverberance. Time in this Mode controls time-stretching of both granular algorithms, changing both the length and tonal character of the granular effect.
• Mode V - Forward Delay into Randomized Pitch Granular: Mode V runs a forward delay into a randomized pitch granular Mode, in which each grain is played back at a randomly selected speed and direction, varying between pitched up double speed, pitched down half speed, normal speed, plus forward and reversed playback from grain to grain. Pitch changes with each new grain, so play with the X knob in this Mode to control the rate of randomized pitch modulation.

Features

Tweak - One knob, five jobs. Press the Tweak button to cycle through Width, Mod Rate, Mod Shape, Shift, and Ramp, then turn the Tweak knob to set the selected value.

• Width - Sets how far the wet signal spreads out between the left and right channels. Keep it narrow to stay focused, or open it all the way up and let the ambiance wrap around you. Running mono in and stereo out is an easy way to make one guitar sound huge.
• Mod Rate - Sets the rate of the modulation LFO, anywhere between 0.1 Hz and 5 Hz.
• Mod Shape - Selects the shape of the modulation LFO: sine, square, or random. Random is a good time.
• Shift - Sets where Dive / Rise lands, anywhere between 0.5x and 2x. Set it below 1x, and you dive. Set it above 1, and you rise. In Mode IV, the Time knob is already working on the same sample rate, so keep Time and Shift on different values or Dive / Rise will have nothing left to do.
• Ramp - Sets how long Dive / Rise takes to travel between normal speed and your Shift target, from 50 ms to 5000 ms. At 50 ms, it is a near instant jump. At 5000 ms, it is a long, seasick glide.

Momentary Feature: Dive / Rise - Holding down the tap tempo switch will momentarily shift the clock rate of the pedal down or up and will hold it at that rate for as long as the switch is pressed. Use the Tweak button and knob to adjust Shift and Ramp.

Presets - Save and recall three presets right on the pedal (red, green, blue), plus a live mode (white) for when you just want to turn knobs. Another 127 presets are available over MIDI. Expression assignments save with each preset.

MIDI and Expression - MIDI clock controls delay time from 100 ms to 1000 ms in Modes I, II, III, and V, and drives the sample rate stretch in Mode IV. Every knob is available over MIDI CC, along with Mode select, bypass, and tap. Any knob can also be assigned to the expression input, or you can set the jack up as an external tap instead.

Bypass Modes - Run in Trails to let the feedback decay die off naturally when you turn the pedal off, or No Trails to cut it off abruptly. The Fable ships in Trails mode.

The Fable uses our proprietary digital processing platform, MDSP. Designed in-house by our talented engineering team, MDSP sets a new benchmark for high-fidelity audio and innovative design, delivering decades of inspiration to creators seeking practical yet forward-thinking gear.