(Draft originally written by Noz in February 2026)
In February, just after the whirlwind of Shugorei’s Memories of Magic album launch party, I found myself diving into a new creative tool: the Zoom MS-70CDR multistomp pedal. This compact little box is packed with modulation, delay, and reverb effects—but what really caught my attention was its potential to create bit‑crusher textures on vibraphone for a new tune we were beginning to shape.
I quickly gave it a nickname: Doraemon. It’s blue, endlessly helpful, and surprisingly multitalented—always ready to produce exactly the right tool for the moment. The name felt fitting.
I had never used digital effects on a vibraphone, so for me it was a leap into unknown territory. But after chatting with some tech‑savvy friends at the launch, I discovered something interesting: you can load other Zoom effects into this unit, even ones not originally included. That completely changed how I saw the pedal—it suddenly felt far more expansive than its small footprint suggested (although, is footprint the right word? I use this pedal with my hands!).
I hadn’t tried customising it yet back then, but even knowing what was possible was thrilling. It felt like unlocking a hidden world of textures and sonic experiments. For a project like Shugorei—where magic, mystery, and innovation are always part of the journey—this seemed like the perfect next step.
This draft stayed quietly unfinished… until today.
Returning to it now (April 2026), the pedal itself has hit a snag. It’s still functioning sonically, but the screen no longer displays any visuals, making editing and navigation almost impossible. So today I took it back to the store to see how it goes from here.
It’s a reminder that creative tools have their own journeys—sometimes full of sparks and surprises, sometimes requiring patience, troubleshooting, and repair. Whether this particular pedal continues with us or not, the curiosity it sparked back in February is still very much alive.
And as we continue shaping the vibraphone’s voice into something otherworldly, I’ll share more as this soundscape evolves.
Written by Noz
Shugorei 