This is one of those pedals you find when you descend into Amazon with an open mind and very little cash. You see the price and you instantly have questions like, How?, Could it?, What if?, No?, Why?, Yes?, BUY!
BURNING QUESTION - Does it sound good?
YES - this little pedal delivers independently adjustable, two-second echo/delay, and a very usable, tweakable, mixable, reverb effect in a single compact box. Both effects have their own footswitch and LED to tell you if they are on or not, and if you hold down the echo on/off footswitch, the echo switches to TAP-TEMPO mode - with three gentle taps you can match the delay time to your song tempo.
THE BUILD
The Box - The all metal enclosure is made from thick bent metal parts. The enclosure is held together by regular screws so you can get inside for service or dive in to see what makes it tick. There are small, stick-on, removeable rubber feet on the bottom. The paint work is nice, high quality finish and readable, well done word labels.
Signal Path - They got the signal path correct, echo/delay flows into the reverb. It’s mono from input to output.
Footswitches - Smooth, easy to press, no loud obnoxious snap or click.
LEDs - Bright but not too bright, easy to see, not blinding at all.
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| Echo Controls |
Controls - The four rotary knobs to the right, are the controls for the Echo/Delay effect, the two knobs on the left control the Reverb mix and decay time. The potentiometers feel smooth and solid as you rotate them, not wiggly or wobbly. The knobs stay where you put them, they’re not loose and don’t spin excessively easy.
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| Reverb Controls with hair |
Input/Output Jacks - Input Impedance: 470k ohms, Output Impedance: 1K Ohms. I tested the input and output jacks with a variety of guitar cords ranging from dirt cheap to premium, they all went in and out of the jacks on the Levitate easily. Connections had a good solid feel too, no scratchiness or noise.
Power - Runs on 9-volts DC, uses standard Roland spec, center-negative DC-power plugs, draws 92mA (HoT confirms: Levitate runs on a 100mA power supply outlet)
USING IT -
The Echo - The delay/echo repeats created by the Levitate have the high-frequency rolled off, if you turn up the feedback in the delay section to get multiple echoes it won’t run away into infinite repeats because the highs are rolled off — instead the echos will slowly disappear into the cloud of echoes. I call this a plus if you are the kind of player who just loves the gentle tonal character of an analog “Memory Man” style pedal. If you’re experimenting with Eurorack or any synthesizer, this echo pedal provides an inexpensive path to depth and immersion in delays and reverb.
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| Levitate Reverb sounds like these Avalanche Run pedals |
The Reverb - I have a pair of Earthquaker echo/verb pedals called “Avalanche Run” which I use all the time to create atmospheric clouds of reverb/echo effects. In terms of just raw sound character of the reverb effect of the Earthquaker (when used mono) and the Levitate pedal are virtually identical in sound quality. I was shocked and surprised when I heard this, then I got a big smile on my face (the Avalanche Run is currently priced at $349.00). This little digital effect pedal from Sonicake has serious pro sound moves and a price that is almost too low.
Tap Tempo - Tap Tempo is a great add-on to the Levitate. I prefer a separate button for this function rather than the way the Levitate pedal implements it. You must hold down the ON/OFF effect button to enter the Tap programming mode, once there you tap the same button three times at the desired tempo to reset the tempo from what the delay knob is set to and you get the new rhythm you just programmed. I hate the delay and distraction of having to enter TAP mode but it works and this is a bargain pedal — the truth is, many boutique delay/echo pedals in the $349 to $499 price range work the same way.
LIKES
- Low Price
- Metal enclosure
- Standard 9-volt DC
- Controls feel good
- Two great effects with independent controls
- Two second echo/delay time
- Smooth operating foot switches
DISLIKES
- High frequency roll off on echo - mimics analog delay sonics like Memory Man (I prefer pristine echo but this one does not offend me)
- Reverb kind of tinny if adding too much
EPILOGUE
I can’t find much wrong with the Levitate pedal by Sonicake. This pedal is lots of fun for anyone like me who likes echoes and reverb spaces. If this was made in the USA it would be $250+, at $56 it’s just good clean fun. For those who have more creativity than cash, grab a “Levitate” pedal by Sonicake and float up and away, in clouds of echoes and space.
Thanks for reading High on Technology, Good Music To You!
©June 2025 by Mark King, it’s not ok to copy or quote without written permission from the author.
Move along, time to go do something creative. . . . . …..
ADDENDUM #1. The Levitate pedal was a natural for pairing with the MXR Rockman X100, this pedal supplies perfect mono compatible echo and reverb, which are both sorely missed on the new reissue Rockman pedal (< click for link to full review of MXR Rockman X100 on High on Technology).
