NAMM 2025: Walrus Audio has lifted the curtain on the Qi Etherealizer – a feature-rammed modulation pedal that has been developed in top secret over the past year with the help of Yvette Young.
Few players are pushing the boundaries of technique and tone quite like Young, whose forward-thinking fingerstyle approach to performance and composition over the past few years has cemented her as very much a guitar hero of today.
The Covet mastermind has a distinct approach to tone, and now she’s carried that ethos into her first-ever signature effects pedal, which marks something of a milestone moment for the Ibanez signature artist.
Teasing the release earlier this week, Walrus Audio shared a clip from an old Premier Guitar Rig Rundown, filmed in June 2023, in which Young can be heard describing what her dream signature pedal would be.
In what will come as a surprise to absolutely no one, that dream pedal has now been made a reality with the Qi Etherealizer (pronounced Chee Ethereal-izer) with the help of Walrus.
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It looks to be something of a modulation powerhouse, with a topography rammed with plenty of buttons, knobs and footswitches, all of which work to provide a comprehensive overview of chorus, delay, reverb and granular soundscape effects.
As per Young’s original wishes from that June 2023 interview, the magic of the Qi Etherealizer lies in its ability to mix and match all of the listed effects, as well as run them in series of parallel configurations, in order to tap into a “vast universe of sonic possibilities”.
Under the hood, Young’s signature stompbox features an all-new MDSP digital processing platform developed by Walrus, which looks to set “a new standard in high-fidelity audio”. The ARM-based Cortex M7 processor at its core places elite-grade algorithms in a compact, conventional-looking format to ensure “unmatched performance and limitless creative possibilities”.
To avoid running the risk of making this sound like a story about an ad for a new laptop, it’s probably best to defer to the demos – which, as you’d imagine from a Yvette Young-approved pedal – all sound exceptional.
Tones can be dialed through three footswitches – one of which serves as a bypass, while the others serve Freeze and Tap/Osc functions – as well as a litany of parameters that tweak the delays, reverbs and grains.
Overarching mix knobs allow players to blend in effects as they see fit, while additional mode buttons unlock grain, delay and chorus type, as well as that series/parallel option.
“I’m actually soooo thrilled to get this one out and give ppl access to my fav chorus sounds and so many fun abstract sounds that inspire me,” Young wrote on a Walrus Instagram post.
The Qi Etherealizer will ship in two colors – Black, or a custom Young-design alternative – and is available to preorder now for $449.
Head over to Walrus Audio for more.
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