The AC Noises Ama takes your sound to new heights. Its lush reverb, enhanced by a built-in oscillator (LFO) and bit crusher give unparalleled atmosphere and intensity.
Hand-built in Italy by AC Noises, it’s become a favourite among shoegaze, post-rock, and ambient players. These are players looking for a reverb that does more than just add space.
This is a spectacular reverb in that the reverb itself is really sweet and the bit crush (optional!) on the reverb tails is dramatic.
Key Features
- Modulated, self-oscillating spring reverb
- Built-in bit crusher, placed after the reverb in the signal chain
- Three reverb-side controls: Oscillator, Mix, Reverb
- Two bit crusher controls: Resolution, Sample Rate
- TRS expression input, controlling the bit crusher’s Sample Rate parameter
- True bypass, using a soft-touch switch with a programmed relay rather than a mechanical footswitch
- 9V centre negative, 100mA minimum current draw
From Subtle Wash to Full Self-Oscillation
The Ama’s reverb isn’t just a decay tail. The Oscillator control lets you push it into self-oscillation making it synth like.
At its lowest setting you get a clean reverb. Wind it up and the reverb starts feeding back on itself.
The Ramp footswitch ties into this. Tap it and the oscillation speed ramps up or down.
Behind all of that sits a bit crusher. Engaged it with the Crush switch, that degrades your signal after the reverb rather than before it, so you’re crushing the reverb tail itself, not just your dry tone.
Resolution controls how aggressively the signal gets crushed, and Sample Rate shifts the crusher’s own internal oscillation frequency, brightening or darkening the character of the grit. Hand that Sample Rate control over to an expression pedal via the TRS input, and you can sweep the crusher’s tone in real time while you play.
Controls
- Oscillator (OSC): Sets how much self-oscillation appears in the reverb tail, from a clean tail at minimum to full noisy self-oscillation at maximum
- Mix: Balances dry and wet signal
- Reverb: Sets decay length
- Sample Rate: sets the bit crusher’s internal oscillation frequency, shifting the tone from darker to brighter; can be controlled via an expression pedal instead
- Resolution: sets bit crusher intensity — lower settings crush more heavily, higher settings sound less crushed
- Ramp (footswitch): ramps the oscillation speed up or down; ramp speed is set by the Oscillator knob
- Crush (toggle): engages the bit crusher, placed after the reverb in the signal path
Power
Runs on a standard 9V centre-negative supply, drawing 100mA minimum.
Who Is This For
Built for players who want a reverb that can genuinely misbehave — shoegaze, ambient, and experimental textures where self-oscillation and bit-crushed grit are the point rather than an accident. If you want a clean, predictable reverb, this isn’t it; if you want a pedal that can go from tasteful wash to noisy chaos with the same two knobs, it’s hard to beat.
Watch The AC Noises Ama In Action
FAQs
It’s a modulated spring reverb paired with a built-in bit crusher that degrades the reverb tail itself.
A standard 9V centre-negative supply at 100mA minimum.
True bypass, using a soft-touch switch
It ramps the reverb’s self-oscillation speed up or down
Yes. Use the TRS expression input to control the Sample Rate parameter
V2 reworked the bit crusher to sound more musical and added the Oscillator knob as a proper control. In the original, the oscillator was a simple on/off switch tied directly to the decay setting.
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