Thank you for confirming what I suspected; the hi cut filter is in place for anti-aliasing. The question now becomes, is the conversion using anything less than a 44.1KHz sample rate? If it is then I fully understand the filter cut being where it is. However, if the pedal is using at least a 44.1KHz sample rate then a hi cut just above 20Khz would be more than sufficient to avoid aliasing and would preserve the ‘air’ region of the audible spectrum.

Can you confirm the conversion specs for the AD/DA conversion? It’s a bit misleading to use the term “studio grade” in marketing materials if a conversion isn’t even happening at a fairly normal, CD quality 44.1/16. And admittedly, while my ears can’t hear much of anything above 16KHz, I find it a bit strange to hi cut the entire ‘air’ region unless using a conversion that’s less than ‘studio grade’.

Thanks again for the response!