Anyone have anything to say about echo pedals? Echoplex vs Space Echo vs Danelectro..

I just sold my Echoplex solid state tape echo unit from the '70s. Before I shipped it out, I did a comparison with the Danelectro Dan Echo I've been using for years. Now I'm having major second thoughts on selling the Echoplex. It has a dark, smooth, rich, warm tone and absolute clarity of the repeats, with all of the harmonic character of each note and chord intact. The Dan Echo isn't bad for what it is, but the decay is grungy and muddy and the pedal sounds weak and thin compared to the tape delay.

Today I found a Washburn AD-9(identical to the Ibanez AD-9) and tried it out. It sounds thicker and darker than the Danelectro, but the Danelectro just sounds cooler and is surprisingly closer to the Echoplex than the Washburn analog unit. Plus, the Washburn doesn't have a very broad spectrum in terms of delay time. Unacceptable. I understand that the Boss DM-2 and Memory Man also have this issue.

This brings us to the newer digital tape echo modeling units. The ones that I'm curious about are the Danelectro Reel Echo and the Boss Space Echo reissue. The Reel Echo, I've heard, sounds fantastic as does the Boss. What is really cool about the Boss is that it has the tempo tap feature to sink up the delay time with the tempo of whatever song you happen to be playing on stage, which would be great.

This may be the wrong forum for this discussion, but I know there are a lot of musicians on here and I'm curious if I get any feedback.

 

Do NOT sell the Echoplex. You'll regret it one day, I guarantee it.

I use a Boss DM-2 Analog Delay pedal & am pretty happy with it.

There's just SO many different delay pedals out there nowadays, & I never did find the time to try out too many of them, but I do know that I prefer an analog delay to a digital delay any day of the week. They are just so much more liquid & organic sounding, the way it should be.

 

I've listened to some sound samples of the Keeley modded DD-3 and it can make some of the spaciest, shoegazing sounds I've ever heard. He mods it so it loops into another pedal like a flanger or chorus. I have an old DD-3 and I am dying to send it in for the mod.

http://www.robertkeeley.com/product.php?id=41

 

The Dan reel Echo is clearly modelled on an echoplex as even the casing has the tape loop face and speed bar painted on. It's a good cheaper alternative to a 'plex (it includes that "Warble" function too to add to the tape sound effects), whilst I have not tried this myself, I've seen a few people rating the Maxon Analogue Delay 999.

This is not a cheap pedal(getting up towards a real 'plex), but it is the one that seems to be hot at the moment..

http://www.maxonfx.com/vintage/ad999/

some samples (the loop-doesn't sound especially analogue to me, in fact it sounds like my Boss DD3)
http://www.maxonfx.com/vintage/ad999/sounds.html

Personally, I don't think there is a digital pedal that has the organic analogue sound which seems to breath on its own! But I would like to hear one if there is one.

 

I use a Deluxe Memory Man. Sure it ain't tape echo, it sure sounds sweet though.

 

I've owned an Echoplex for over 30 years. I bought it new in the early 1970s. I've often considered switching to a digital based echo unit, but every time I try one, I end up appreciatting the echoplex more.

If I were ever to change to another unit, I would consider either a Binson Echorec, or an MXR digital delay. But not because they sound like an echoplex (they don't).

Vernon Fitch
www.PinkFloydArchives.com home of The Pink Floyd Discographies Page

 

Check this out:
http://www.jimdunlop.com/index.php?page=products/pip&id=366

 

I'm posting my conclusions here to potentially save another musician from dumping his vintage tape echo in favor of the digital crap masquerading as dead ringer simulations. Going through these very briefly, I'll sum it up....

Guitar: 1968 Gretsch Viking
Amplifier: 1965 Vox AC-15

1) Danelectro Dan Echo: This little purple box amazes me. I think I paid $40-50 for it back in the late '90s. At the time, I thought it really nailed the vintage sound. It sounds significantly better than the Boss Space Echo and in some ways better than the Reel Echo. For the money you're saving and the overall sound, this is the obvious choice. It has plenty of adjustment parameters and it sounds just as good as any of the '80s analog delay pedals that are going for stupid money on ebay. It is a very good simulation of a vintage echo unit, but it's obviously inferior. It can be a little grungy sounding and just doesn't have the magic, but for the price....I'll stick with this unit. Though it's not the holy grail, I really don't have a problem with it at all.

2) Danelectro Reel Echo: The drawbacks of this machine are two fold A) you cannot tweak the delay tempo in real time to get the freaky swirly effects and flying saucer noises(this alone kills it for me) and B) the highly acclaimed "warble" feature that's supposed to make it sound "just like tape" at best sounds like a cheap and horrid sounding digital chorus effect. Just as a delay pedal, it sounds slightly...just slightly cleaner and fuller than the Dan Echo, but overall the Reel Echo doesn't impress me at all. Definitely NOT worth the extra money over it's smaller lavender cousin.

3) Boss RE-20 Space Echo: This pedal I am really shocked by. It gets such great reviews. I think it's sounds absolutely terrible. It is a shrill digital mess. It's like comparing a cheap '90s cd player to a top shelf vinyl rig...comparing it to the tape echo. I'm sorry, but this thing sounds nothing...absolutely nothing...like the real thing. I will say that the reverb sounds better than people say it does, but we're looking for tape echo here and the RE-20 completely fails to accomplish anything usable. Even my drummer remarked at how miserable it sounded, and he's not even into this sort of thing. I'm calling the Space Echo garbage. I would buy one if the list price was $19.95 just to use the tap tempo feature, but for $299 list? No, please. There's no polite way to say this: the Boss RE-20 sucks.

4) Ibanez DL-9, Memory Man, Boss DM-2, etc: Due to the fact that the delay times cannot be adjusted slow enough to provide long, spacey, Pink Floyd-esque sounds....these units are disqualified. They won't really work for anything other than a quick slapback or U2-style fast delays. The Dan Echo still sounds just as good as any of these and the Dan Echo is $30 on ebay used.

Conclusion: Not one of these pedals even come close to providing a reasonable facsimile of the original creamy, spacious sound of the Echoplex. If you want a reliable solution for frequent stage use, the Dan Echo is the obvious choice. For a studio tool and the best delay I've heard yet, stick with the real deal. There is no substitute.

 

As an update, I believe the Boss Space Echo unit I was using to test was faulty. I've tried another and it sounds phenomenally better.

In conclusion, after trying even more digital units on the market including the Line 6 DL-4 and the Echo Park....I am of the opinion that the Boss RE-20 Space Echo IS the warmest sounding digital tape echo simulation on the market. Though it doesn't have the magic that the analog tape unit has, it's the best there is thus far in the digital realm.