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I am looking for a new delay. I had my eye on either a Strymon El Capistan or a Pigtronix Echolution. Has anyone directly compared those two? I am open to other suggestions as well. I am basically looking for something analog like or tape like that can do spaced out repeats with modulation. Tap tempo is not a must and the more features the better.

I can probably find an Echolution to test, but I probably won't be able to try out the Strymon. I played the El Capistan with a bunch of noise effects once, but I was also drinking absinthe, so that night was a little hazy.

I seriously LOVE my TC Electronics Flashback. They pack an amazing amount of punch into that tiny enclosure, and the sounds are lovely. It does have a modulated delay, which I dig, as well as reverse, tape, lofi, slapback, and so on... 9 default sounds, a looper setting, and the whole TonePrint thing where you can download new sounds (only one at a time, though). Great bang for the proverbial buck. I think they typically come in around $160.

I have owned both...multiple times. The echolution 2 times and the El Cap 3 times. They are both great delays I ultimately kept the el cap because of the following reasons:

-It runs off of a 9v daisy chain
-Its sound on sound mode is easier to use as a looper than the Echolution
-The El Cap has on board reverb

The echolution is great though and a seriously underated delay unit...also if you want reverse or more control over the modulation then the echolution is better in that regard.

the mid fi deluxe pitch pirate is the best delay I have ever owned.

bronzetalon wrote:The echolution is great though and a seriously underated delay unit...also if you want reverse or more control over the modulation then the echolution is better in that regard.

Boosh.

Also, the multi-taps.

It's not very tape-y though.

+1 on the Flashback. That thing rules! The whole TonePrint thing is a very good concept and let's you do crazy modulated delays. Just check the TC Homepage and take a look at the Toneprints.

jrmy wrote:I seriously LOVE my TC Electronics Flashback. They pack an amazing amount of punch into that tiny enclosure, and the sounds are lovely. It does have a modulated delay, which I dig, as well as reverse, tape, lofi, slapback, and so on... 9 default sounds, a looper setting, and the whole TonePrint thing where you can download new sounds (only one at a time, though). Great bang for the proverbial buck. I think they typically come in around $160.

Another for the Flash... I wanna get another so I can use two... I run Flashback into the El Cap and LOVE IT... If you look you could probably get both for the price of the Echolution... The ability to always change a preset is cool but I mainly use the Analog, Tape, Modulation or Lo-Fi settings... The El Cap just adds pure magic afterwards... I'm really starting to use the Flashback as a looper and adding some dirt pedals in between the FB and El Cap to space out on some Fuzzy loopage...

Thanks for the advice guys. I'll have to check out the Flashback. I am curious about the Pro Guitar Shop version, I guess I will have to wait and see.

radish wrote:Thanks for the advice guys. I'll have to check out the Flashback. I am curious about the Pro Guitar Shop version, I guess I will have to wait and see.

The Pro Guitar Shop is just one of the settings you can download to the pedal... Check out the demos and also this page,

http://www.tcelectronic.com/toneprints.asp?AjrThmId=417

to see all the choices... I have them all in a folder and whenever I'm bored with the delay I'll just upload a new setting... Most are really cool and totally useable... You can't have too many delays so listen to a bunch of demos and get the 2,3 or 4 that sound best to you...

I went on my own delay hunt a while back with requirements that may be similar to yours. Here are my findings. These are just my opinions, so take what you want from them of course.

1. The Flashback is a fantastic pedal if you are OK with NOT having control over the rate and depth of modulation or the tone of the repeats. They offer enough flavors to hit most popular choices, and the TonePrints provide even more options. For a pedal with so many different sounds, it's really the best value out there. It does every sound it sets out to provide with great results. If you want a stellar or best in class version of any specific style of delay (tape, analog, digital, modulated, etc.) without all of the other flavors, then you're better off getting one specifically for your needs - like a Deluxe Memory Man if you really just want classic modulated analog.

2. I dabbled with presets and tap tempo and determined that it's not what I need. The TC Electronic Nova Delay is a great value tweakable pedal with tap tempo and preset capability. I personally found myself losing focus on playing and thinking too much about the delay during shows.

3. The Seymour Duncan Deja Vu is a great great pedal...a sleeper of sorts as it doesn't get much praise in the forum world. The ability to cross-fade between digital and analog is extraordinarily unique and useful, and the send/return jacks on the repeats is really cool too. Add tap tempo, and you've got a great sounding versatile delay pedal.

4. I eventually landed on the Malekko Ekko 616 as I found that a real analog delay is what does it for me, and I didn't want something too big. I like the natural high-end roll off on the repeats, and I like control over modulation. The switchable input buffer on that particular pedal is great. The modulation gets way way way too intense if you dial it up past 20% in depth, but it's cool nonetheless with a great chorus sound when you turn the delay time all the way down. Other pedals out there are very similar and equally as cool - MXR Carbon Copy and Catalinbread Montavillian to name a couple.

sonidero wrote:

radish wrote:Thanks for the advice guys. I'll have to check out the Flashback. I am curious about the Pro Guitar Shop version, I guess I will have to wait and see.

The Pro Guitar Shop is just one of the settings you can download to the pedal... Check out the demos and also this page,

http://www.tcelectronic.com/toneprints.asp?AjrThmId=417

to see all the choices... I have them all in a folder and whenever I'm bored with the delay I'll just upload a new setting... Most are really cool and totally useable... You can't have too many delays so listen to a bunch of demos and get the 2,3 or 4 that sound best to you...

I was actually referring to this from the PGS Facebook page:



I'll have to test out the flashback but, I think I am leaning towards an el capistan and a flashback.

Another +1 for the Flashback. It's not in the same league as the El Capistan or Echolution, but it's a great little delay pedal that would complement either one nicely!

This was just released for the Flashback...

http://www.tcelectronic.com/toneprintdownload-bass.asp?AjrDcmntId=12650

It's supposed to be a bass delay but I've been playing guitar through it and it's awesome... It's Slowdive inspired and named, and sounds dope before and after fuzz or in between fuzz's...

El Cap really, REALLY rules. Great sound, easy to power, sound-on-sound kicks ass, sounds great at any setting AND is easy to tweak.

for even MORE money, Diamond Memory Lane 2 is kinda unstoppable. True analog using the best chips, tap tempo, slapback mode, "spaceship" mode (sounds so radd), eq over the oscillations (!!!)...ha, I gotta buy one of these!

That said, if you don't need a million features, it's hard to beat the modulation and quality of the repeats of an old DMM. There's a reason they're still so popular.