The Chase Bliss Dark World is a Chase Bliss Audio reverb pedal, currently around $279. Close alternatives include the Meris Mercury X and the NuX Atlantic. It pairs well with the Vox AC30 Guitar Combo Amp and the Matchless DC-30.
Chase Bliss Dark World
Chase Bliss Audio · pedal
Chase Bliss Dark World is a dual-channel digital reverb built in collaboration with Cooper FX and Keeley Electronics, pairing a Dark channel informed by Cooper FX's Generation Loss and Outward lo-fi/VHS-tape designs with a World channel offering Hall, Plate and Spring algorithms. The two sides can run separately or together, covering tone from subtle, tasteful, lush ambience all the way to broken-cassette glitch, shimmer and infinite freeze. It is aimed at ambient and experimental guitarists who want dreamy, spacious reverb textures with room to explore, and it favors clean-toned parts with lots of empty space around them. Expression-pedal control is highlighted as unlocking further sound-shaping range across both channels.
What stands out
“Chase Bliss Dark World is a dual-channel digital reverb built in collaboration with Cooper FX and Keeley Electronics, pairing a Dark channel informed by Cooper FX's Generation Loss and Outward lo-fi/VHS-tape designs with a World channel off…”
— from the listing
“it is aimed at ambient and experimental guitarists who want dreamy”
— from the listing
“Reviewers describe the Dark World's reverb textures as bewitching and seemingly endless, praising the pairing of Cooper FX's lo-fi, tape-degraded Dark channel with the more classical Hall, Plate and Spring voicings of the World channel”
— from the reviews
“The main caveat is that its most interesting sounds lean heavily ambient and spacious, making it , subtle reverb for traditional song contexts”
— from the community notes
“Expression-pedal control is highlighted as unlocking further sound-shaping range across both channels”
— from the listing
- reverb
- ambient
- dark
- experimental
- subtle
- freeze
- spacious
- spring
Good for
- Live
- Studio
Price updated Oct 23, 2026
Genres the Chase Bliss Dark World is commonly used in
- Experimental
- Electronic
- Ambient
- Post Rock
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Shoegaze
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag. - Lo Fi
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Amps that pair well with the Chase Bliss Dark World
Vox AC30 Guitar Combo Amp
Vox
28% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
Run Vox AC30 Guitar Combo Amp after it and the dark edge settles into something more bright
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Matchless DC-30
Matchless
26% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → glassy)
Matchless DC-30's glassy balances out the dark tone
Comes earlier in the signal chain
1964 Vox AC30
Vox
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
1964 Vox AC30's glassy balances out the dark tone
Vox AC30CH Custom 30W Head
Vox
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
Run Vox AC30CH Custom 30W Head after it and the dark edge settles into something more bright
Ceriatone Dizzy 30
Ceriatone
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
Ceriatone Dizzy 30 leans bright right where the dark tone needs it
Bad Cat *PRE Order* Hot Cat Head
Bad Cat
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
Where this leans dark, Bad Cat *PRE Order* Hot Cat Head answers back bright
Vox AC30 Rose Morris 80s
amplifier
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
Vox AC30 Rose Morris 80s's bright balances out the dark tone
Bad Cat Hot Cat 45-Watt
Bad Cat
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
Bad Cat Hot Cat 45-Watt's bright balances out the dark tone
Pedals that stack with the Chase Bliss Dark World
Catalinbread Galileo
Catalinbread
23% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
Catalinbread Galileo's bright balances out the dark tone
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Tech 21 SansAmp
Tech 21
22% matchfills a frequency gapFills in a frequency range the other side doesn't cover, instead of piling more onto what's already there. (dark → bright)
Run Tech 21 SansAmp after it and the dark edge settles into something more bright
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Wampler Latitude Deluxe Tremolo
Wampler
17% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Put Wampler Latitude Deluxe Tremolo after Chase Bliss Dark World in the signal chain, where it won't crowd Chase Bliss Dark World
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Walrus Audio Lillian
Walrus Audio
17% matchsits in the right chain slotPlaced for where it does its job cleanly in the chain, not for a tonal interaction with the anchor.
Keep Walrus Audio Lillian after Chase Bliss Dark World in the signal chain, where it won't crowd Chase Bliss Dark World
Comes earlier in the signal chain
Tech 21 SansAmp Oxford
Tech 21
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
Tech 21 SansAmp Oxford leans bright right where the dark tone needs it
Aguilar DB 925
Aguilar
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
Where this leans dark, Aguilar DB 925 answers back bright
Tech 21 SansAmp Character Plus Mop Top Liverpool
Tech 21
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
Tech 21 SansAmp Character Plus Mop Top Liverpool leans bright right where the dark tone needs it
EarthQuaker Devices White Light V2
EarthQuaker Devices
tonal matchComes earlier in the signal chain
EarthQuaker Devices White Light V2 leans glassy right where the dark tone needs it
Cheaper alternatives
Mr. Black Bloodmoon
Mr Black
53% similarityShared character: expression pedal, dark, ambient
Electro-Harmonix Pico Oceans 3-Verb
Electro-Harmonix
52% similarityShared character: reverb, ambient
Eventide Blackhole
Eventide
51% similarityShared character: ambient, reverb
Electro-Harmonix Oceans 11
Electro-Harmonix
49% similarityShared character: ambient, simple, reverb
Walrus Audio Fundamental Ambient
Walrus Audio
49% similarityShared character: dark, ambient, subtle
Death By Audio Reverberation Machine
Death By Audio
49% similarityShared character: dark, digital, reverb
Boutique & premium upgrades
Similar charactersee all similar tone character →
Meris Mercury X
Meris
55% similarityShared character: ambient, reverb
NuX Atlantic
Nux
53% similarityShared character: digital, ambient, reverb
Red Panda Context 2
Red Panda
48% similarityShared character: expression pedal, dark, digital
TC Electronic Hall of Fame Reverb
TC Electronic
47% similarityShared character: digital, ambient, reverb
Walrus Audio Slöer Stereo Reverb
Walrus Audio
46% similarityShared character: expression pedal, dark, ambient
Walrus Audio Mako R1 Reverb MkII
Walrus Audio
94% similaritysimilar tone character
See all alternatives to the Chase Bliss Dark World (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Chase Bliss Dark World?+
The closest matches in character are the Meris Mercury X, the NuX Atlantic, the Red Panda Context 2. Budget picks: Mr. Black Bloodmoon, Electro-Harmonix Pico Oceans 3-Verb, Eventide Blackhole. Boutique upgrades: Strymon BigSky, Strymon NightSky.
What pairs well with the Chase Bliss Dark World?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Vox AC30 Guitar Combo Amp, Matchless DC-30, 1964 Vox AC30 — Run Vox AC30 Guitar Combo Amp after it and the dark edge settles into something more bright.
How much does the Chase Bliss Dark World cost?+
Around $279 (live listing price, updated Oct 23, 2026).
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