Benson Florist Dynamic Modulation

In late 2023 we met Dave Jordan of Non-Human Audio at a pedal event in OKC. We were drooling over his unique Slow Loris modulated slap back effect and very excited to meet him. Chris and Dave were chatting about the Loris and Chris wound up offering to help him get the effect in a different and possibly more controllable way…mostly because it sounded fun.

Fast forward a couple swapped schematics and a few wild tangents and the Florist was born. We were both so inspired with the possibilities of the new approach that Dave suggested we keep pushing it into new territory and release it as a collaboration.

While the Florist starts with the core idea of the Slow Loris, it is something else entirely and is not a revision or modification of the original. For instance, the delay range on the Florist is way faster than the original. We also redesigned the signal path for higher fidelity, and use a compressor type detector circuit for controlling the delay speed. We add a second delay channel using its own different detector to try to achieve some through-zero flanging and tri-chorus sounds. The two wet signals and the dry signal have independent volume control (DRY, WET A, and WET B) to blend the signals together. The two wet signals have independent intensity controls (INTENSITY A and INTENSITY B) corresponding to the respective volume controls.

Finally, we add a latching footswitch feature called GHOSTS which creates feedback right on the verge of oscillation in both of the delay lines, leading to some very odd sounds.
The result is a versatile effects box that yields both borderline conventional sounds (it can sound great as a chorus or slapback) and a vast array of weirder sounds that defy categories... flanging, modulated reverb, notes flying everywhere in unpredictable ways, swirling high frequency sighs etc. It’s so weird and unique that it creates a scene whenever people try it out for the first time.

We are especially excited to see how people apply it to music production...vocals and drums and synths...the possibilities seem wild and endless.