Three years in development, the Nucleo represents one of my most ambitious projects to date. Born from an extraordinary musical experience inside an abandoned nuclear power plant, this handmade stereo reverb pedal pushes the boundaries of what guitarists can achieve with ambient effects.

The Nuclear Reactor Origin Story

The Nucleo’s journey began when I stepped inside a billion-euro nuclear reactor built in the 1970s that never became operational. Playing guitar in this massive, resonant space created such a mesmerizing sonic experience that it sparked the idea for an entirely new reverb pedal.

The natural reverb inside this abandoned power plant wasn’t just impressive—it was transformative. Those jaw-dropping sounds became the foundation for what would become my collaboration with Cornerstone, the Italian boutique pedal company known for their handcrafted effects.

When my friend Emilio first texted me asking if I wanted to make this pedal, the answer was obvious: heck yeah. Everyone who saw that original video wanted it, and I knew we had to make it happen.

Three Reverb Modes Inspired by Real Spaces

The Nucleo features three distinct reverb algorithms, each based on actual locations within the nuclear facility that I visited:

Room Mode

The Control Room setting delivers a tight, focused reverb that adds space without overwhelming your guitar tone. Perfect when you want reverb presence without losing note definition, this mode excels in both clean and overdriven settings.

Hall Mode

Based on the Cooling Chamber, the Hall mode provides a lush, pleasing reverb that sits beautifully in a mix. Less dramatic than the Reactor mode but more expansive than Room, this setting works wonderfully for everything from ambient passages to melodic leads.

Reactor Mode

This is where the Nucleo truly shines. The massive, larger-than-life reverb captures the overwhelming sonic character of the nuclear reactor floor itself. With decay times that approach infinite when maxed out, Reactor mode creates otherworldly soundscapes that few reverb pedals can match.

Intuitive Three-Section Layout

Working with Cornerstone, we designed the Nucleo with a logical, player-friendly control layout divided into three sections:

Main Controls (Large Red Knobs)

• Room Selection: Smoothly transitions between Room, Hall, and Reactor modes
• Blend: Controls the wet/dry mix from completely dry to fully wet signal

Reverb Parameters (Three Small Knobs)

• Decay/Pre-delay: Adjusts reverb length and timing
• Tone: Shapes the frequency response from bright 80s-style sparkle to dark, moody ambience
• Freeze/Pitch: Captures and holds the reverb while allowing continued playing, plus pitch shifting capabilities

Effects Faders (The Magic Section)

• Modulation: Adds movement from subtle room modulation to full modulated soundscapes
• Air: Creates shimmering octave-up effects (or octave-down in secondary mode)
• Flux: Delivers rhythmic, Geiger counter-inspired modulation patterns

Three Character Modes Transform Your Sound

Every control on the Nucleo features a secondary function, accessed via a simple switch. The character modes fundamentally alter the pedal’s behavior:

Normal Mode

Clean, pristine reverb with modern clarity and definition.

Vintage Mode

Adds subtle wow and flutter with warmer overall tones. In this mode, even your dry signal receives gentle modulation that pairs perfectly with the reverb. I love how the vintage mode affects the whole signal chain.

Lowfi Mode

Takes things to the extreme with maximum modulation, musical grit, and density. The dry signal receives compression and subtle overdrive, creating a cohesive, atmospheric effect that affects your entire sound—not just the reverb trail. This is one of my favorite features because we’re getting into a different world, and the guitar can’t be excluded from that transformation.

Freeze and Pitch Shifting Creativity

The freeze function lets you capture a reverb tail while continuing to play over it with fresh reverb. But the Nucleo goes further with pitch shifting capabilities:

• Octave up or octave down adjustments
• Easy-to-find fourth up and fourth down positions (perfect for the I, IV, V progression)
• Ideal for creating drone-like pads or harmonic bed layers
• Volume control for the frozen signal via secondary function

This feature opens up creative possibilities for ambient guitarists, allowing you to build complex sonic textures in real-time.

Handmade in Italy with Premium Components

Every Nucleo pedal is handbuilt by Linda and Lorenzo at the Cornerstone workshop in Italy. This attention to detail ensures quality and reliability:

• Audio transformers for isolated stereo outputs (prevents ground loops)
• Phase flip switches to avoid cancellation issues between amps
• Choice of stereo or wet/dry output configurations
• Mono or stereo input capability
• High-quality DSP for pristine sound quality

Advanced Features for Modern Players

MIDI Integration

The Nucleo supports MIDI control with 128 preset slots, making it perfect for players who need instant recall of complex sounds during live performance.

Onboard Presets

Three presets are accessible directly from the pedal without any MIDI controller:

• Quick-save function via the rocker switch
• Instant recall in live situations
• Store your go-to sounds for immediate access

Who Should Buy the Nucleo?

This pedal appeals to guitarists who:

• Create ambient, atmospheric music
• Need versatile, high-quality reverb for recording
• Want unique sonic textures beyond standard reverb pedals
• Value handcrafted, boutique effects
• Perform live and need reliable preset recall
• Appreciate stereo effects in their rig

The Development Journey

The Nucleo’s three-year development process was intense and rewarding:

• Multiple prototype iterations
• Extensive remote collaboration with the Cornerstone team
• Final intensive development sessions in Italy at the Cornerstone HQ
• Continuous refinement of features and sonic characteristics
• Collaboration with DSP wizards Max and Alessandro

I’ll be honest—it was probably pretty annoying at some points when I constantly wanted new features added to the pedal. But the team at Cornerstone made it all happen, and I’m incredibly grateful for their patience and expertise. Working remotely had its challenges, so eventually we all went to Italy to work full-time on the pedal until we were finished.

Sound Applications and Tone Ideas

The Nucleo excels in numerous musical contexts:

Ambient Guitar: The Reactor mode with extended decay creates infinite, evolving soundscapes perfect for ambient compositions.

Rock and Blues: Room mode adds natural space without washing out your core tone, ideal for solos that need to breathe.

Experimental Music: Lowfi mode with flux modulation creates unpredictable, organic textures that evolve over time.

Worship and Post-Rock: The shimmer function (air control) delivers the angelic, uplifting tones these genres are known for.

My Favorite Settings

I usually like to have the air (shimmer) set so subtly that you don’t really hear it, but if you take it out, you miss it. That’s the sweet spot for me.

For modulation, I often leave it around halfway—enough to make the room feel modulated and alive, but not so extreme that it becomes the focus.

And the lowfi mode with the lower octave on the air control? That’s especially lovely in room mode with a little less decay. It gives this ominous sensation that I find super inspiring.

Final Thoughts

The Nucleo represents what’s possible when a guitarist’s vision meets boutique craftsmanship and cutting-edge DSP technology. This isn’t just another reverb pedal—it’s an instrument for sonic exploration that captures the magic of playing in one of the most unique acoustic spaces on Earth.

After three years of development, countless prototype iterations, and intensive collaboration between my studio and the Cornerstone workshop in Italy, the Nucleo delivers on its ambitious promise: bringing the sound of an abandoned nuclear reactor to guitarists worldwide.

I’m incredibly proud of this pedal, and I hope it inspires you as much as it’s inspired me.

Where to Buy

The Nucleo reverb pedal is available worldwide through authorized Cornerstone dealers and select online retailers. Visit the official Cornerstone website for current availability and pricing.