DBA - The Echo Dream

[Astricii]

What I've always done to tame out some of the crazy loudness and harsh highs my favorite Fuzz gun setting uses has been to place it before my Fuck OD which is an always on pedal as a sort of dark generic booster. with out it on it kills my amp and is crazy sounding (not necessarily a bad thing) but with the fuck on before it magically it becomes early Swervedriver in a box. it boosts volume but like maybe 1/2 times unity. I'd probably end up doing the same with this guy if I wanted to use the fuzz+delay sound.

[hazelwould]

Yea you could use something after the fuzz from the echo to tame the loudness. Seems kinda redundant though. And like a horrible oversight to not allow you to control the fuzz volume. Or just a middle finger. One or the other.

[Holy Schnikes]

Totally agree an OD would both help AND be redundant. Use a Fuck as well and it works great to tame things but a volume control would be an incredibly simple, useful feature on this one. Also, the LFO tick needs to go though it could be an isolated issue with my pedal.

In the end, especially after looking at the guts, I couldn't justify $320 for this, lifetime warranty aside. Too many options out there that sound better honestly...

EDIT: don't get me wrong, the Echo Dream packs some cool fucking sounds no question. Not trying to completely bash it here. It could've been executed so much better though and I wouldn't even bitch about price. $320 for delay, crazy mod, and lo or hi gain fuzz is actually really fair. If only it all played well together...

[Holy Schnikes]

Alright dudez, I have to recant my former review. I received another Echo Dream to try out and apparently my first one had some build issues resulting in less than ideal performance....

The replacement sounds waaaaaayyyyy better as far as the modulation and delay go. No ticking in the clean mode, only when fuzz is blasting (normal behavior) but you can't hear it then anyway. Also much quieter at higher delay times without the insane white noise problem the first one had. Actually, it's much quieter the my Pitch Pirate. Running it 100% wet pre-fuzz is pretty fuckin' fantastic, some insane sounds result! The modulation is similar to a PP or Polychorus, just whacked pitch shifts but it'll do this super cool step/arpeggiator thing too, kinda like some of the Rainbow Machine demo moments. It can also be dialed back real subtle but gorgeous sounding.

As for the fuzz, volume isn't as out of control as the original but that shit's still REALLY LOUD compared to the clean signal or amp volume.

So in the end, it's a really cool pedal and a nice change for DBA. I received mine for Xmas so I'll hang onto it but would I drop $320 on it? If the fuzz had a volume control, I wouldn't hesitate. A couple fuzz options, delay, and super cool mod in one sexy ass box (albeit a BIG BOX haha!) is a fair deal imo.

[univalve]

Thanks for The update. Thank god my money is already spent on other stuff.

[askthedust]

As if it wasn't expensive enough, the price of the Echo Dream jumped from 320 to 420$ overnight.

[jskadiang]

$320 was a bit of a stretch, $420 is downright ridiculous.

[leastwise]

As if it wasn't expensive enough, the price of the Echo Dream jumped from 320 to 420$ overnight.

boooo!

I wasn't planning on buying one, but that is just plain lousy.

[askthedust]

I had a bit of a surreal email conversation with Matt C. of DBA yesterday.

Le me : hey Matt, I heard the Echo Dream is being redesigned for a rev2 to come out soon with fuzz volume control. CONFIRM OR DENY
Le DBA : no it's not true, not anytime soon, it will probably at some point but not anytime soon.
Le me : hey, do you have one in stock that you can sell me direct?
Le DBA : yeah, and I'll cut you a deal since you played with APTBS : 420$ and free shipping.
Le me : oh you gotta mean 320$ right?
Le DBA : no, the correct price is 420. Anyone selling under this is losing money.
Le me : *checks ebay, Prymax has 2 for sale for 320$, clicks buy it now and goes to bed, with his vow to never buy a pedal on ebay drunk again broken*

then I woke up this morning and Prymax had changed their price from 320 to 420, just like all the other retailers.


Le me :

[hazelwould]

If I was a Brooklyn hipster I could maybe afford one. :/ $420 is insane for that. Fucking insane.

[Holy Schnikes]

Sounds like a plan to let the Echo Dream slip away unnoticed into the sunset. Glad I got in at $320.

WTF u doin' DBA??? Priced right, the Echo Dream could be a smash hit! The design will appeal mostly to ILF but that TGP pricing paired with past quality concerns will appeal to nobody....

[kbit]

I played one at 30th St Guitars when I was in NYC, and while I didn't spend hours with it, I thought it was pretty similar to a Deluxe Memory Boy.

[madmax1012]

wait, they raised the price by $100 for no apparent reason? wow....

[Holy Schnikes]

This pedal has been shrouded in weirdness since release. Ludlow Guitars told me it was initially planned as a limited-production run to gauge interest. Maybe people want 'em now so they jack prices up? Seems unlikely, not much chatter about this pedal beyond the fuzz vol issue.

I also received email confirmation from Oliver that there are no plans for a rev2 in the near future.....

[skullservant]

That's near TimeLine territory. Jeeze...