If you ever needed reassurance of the enthusiasm and dedication of people in the music world, look no further. A Kickstarter campaign for the new Chase Bliss Audio Blooper pedal has just raised over $200k in its first weekend.

The looper pedal was announced back in January by Chase Bliss, Knobs, and 3 Degrees Audio, and has been met with increasing excitement as the team have released a series of videos updating the development of the pedal and showing off its new features.

A Kickstarter campaign for the much-anticipated new Chase Bliss Audio looper pedal, the Blooper, just raised more than $200k in its first weekend.

In the description of the Kickstarter campaign, Joel Korte from Chase Bliss described that the idea for the pedal was conceived when he and Knobs were on a plane to San Francisco, and they were a bit “loony” after attending the 2018 Winter NAMM Show. Knobs was explaining how there were no looper pedals on the market that suited his needs when eventually the pair turned to each with a dawning sense of mutual realisation.

Teaming up with DSP code guru, Mark Seel of 3 Degrees Audio, they began work. However, the road to production has not been a smooth one. After a year of developing a physical prototype to present at the 2019 Winter NAMM Show, the design was ready, but in the words of Korte: “the prototype just kind of sucked.” 

So, they decided to do the unthinkable and show the prototype anyway, telling people exactly what they thought was wrong with it. The risk paid off. Since the NAMM Show, they have documented the progress of the pedal in their YouTube video series, aptly named Blooper Reel.

Their openness has allowed them to bring fans in on the entire process, whilst simultaneously enabling them to incorporate feedback from fellow musicians at the NAMM show, and even from online comments that people have made on their YouTube videos.

Speaking with Reverb on the decision to make the Kickstarter campaign, Korte explained the company had “experienced unprecedented growth” and recently knuckled down with a more “aggressive R&D approach to new products.” 

Currently working simultaneously on their highly-anticipated Automatone line and Blooper they decided they needed to make some decisions to stay profitable.

Korte said there had been a level of uncertainty over at Chase Bliss as to how Blooper would be received, as its functions as a pedal were fairly unique.

However, it seems any questions he may have had in his mind over the demand for the Blooper have now been answered. The Kickstarter campaign was initially posted with a total funding goal of $145,000 AUD, and this goal was surpassed in a measly 24 hours. At the time of writing, the campaign currently has $322,641 AUD pledged.

Chase Bliss Audio is a boutique guitar effects pedal company, with all products designed and manufactured in the US. They describe their goal as wanting to give unprecedented digital control to original analog designs:

“Our products are not for everyone. They are for people that want something truly different…You know, crazy people that desire that certain analog aesthetic in their tone while still demanding the ability to tweak everything, recall those settings at will, and explore new areas of parameter controllability, modulation, and on-the-fly automation.”

With this recent display of support, it is clear that with their “crazy people”, they have well and truly found their niche.

Despite already surpassing its target, the campaign still has 25 days to go. If you want to donate, head over to the Kickstarter here. The Blooper is scheduled for release on December 12.

Check out the first video in the Blooper Reel Series below: