Strymon EC-1 Tape Echo Delay

A Timeless Classic Reborn

Experience the dreamy sound of a classic ‘60s tape echo complete with the harmonic richness of the accompanying tube preamp. Enjoy organic and ethereal modulation produced by countless subtle mechanical imperfections, and easily dial in anything from warm slapback to expansive echo feedback beds with a strikingly gorgeous stereo image. With beautifully-tuned low frequency response, lush tape saturation and sublime echo decay, EC-1 provides all the best of what a tube driven tape echo can deliver.

Full-Featured Compact Stereo Tape Echo

EC-1 offers impressive power and flexibility in a small and elegant form factor: Selectable tube-modeled preamp voices. Artifact-free tap tempo. Discrete stereo operation for independent processing of the left and right stereo inputs. Straightforward controls and expression pedal capability. High-impedance, ultra-low noise discrete Class A JFET stereo input preamp for exceptional touch sensitivity, dynamics and feel. MIDI control of tempo, patch save/recall and more. Premium components, rugged construction and a USB jack for performing firmware updates or controlling the pedal from a computer.

Tape, Tubes, and the Best of the Best

Development of EC-1 started with the groundbreaking single moving head algorithm originally developed for our El Capistan pedal, which is renowned for its lifelike reproduction of vintage tape echo. From there, we were fortunate to acquire what turned out to be a very special Echoplex EP-2, as the unit was in amazingly good condition and had been worked on by storied technician Cesar Diaz. We discovered that several purposeful and skillfully-implemented modifications had been made to the unit, including tweaks to the tube preamp for a warmer sound closer in frequency response to an EP-3. The modifications seemed aimed at bringing the best aspects of the various vintage Echoplex models into a single unit, and the inspiring result significantly informed development of EC-1, imbuing it with a special character that is immediately nostalgic.

Sound Design

Preamp

Input Signal Enhancer

Featuring meticulous tube modeling techniques, EC-1 offers a choice of two authentically reproduced preamp circuits that lend a subtle vintage character to your input signal. One is based on the classic EP-2 tube preamp and features an enhanced high-end shelf perfect for brightening up darker humbuckers. The other preamp option (the default setting) produces a warm, balanced response based on the modded preamp circuit in the EP-2 unit that we studied during the development of EC-1. This option adds a pleasing sense of heft, especially to single-coils. Both preamp choices offer an optional boost of up to +6dB, or the preamp can be bypassed for an unprocessed dry signal if desired.

Strymon dTape System

Tale of the Tape

Our unique dTape technology was first developed for El Capistan, and we have expanded on it to reproduce all the inspiring nuances we encountered while studying a recently-acquired tube Echoplex that was in uncommonly superb condition. Our dTape system allows precise replication of every aspect of every tape echo we’ve studied, and in EC- 1 this includes the effect of the moving head, the tape condition, the bias setting, the mechanical effects of motors, capstan slippage and all the irregularities that add up to create the unmistakable, inspiring sound of vintage tape echo repeats.

Record Level

Satisfying Saturation

Whether you want the cleanest repeats, subtle fattening or even downright dirty echos, you can instantly dial in the desired amount of tape saturation with the flip of a switch. Providing pleasing tonal shifts from thinner to fatter, EC-1’s three-way Record Level toggle switch selects the gain of the signal fed into the virtual record head. Choose the low position for unity gain with optimized bias for the cleanest repeats, medium for a 6dB input signal boost with increased bias for slightly saturated repeats, or high for a 12dB input signal boost with further increased bias for heavily saturated repeats. This control also gives you a fast and easy way to match EC-1’s response to your input signal level to obtain the desired sound from any pickup type or pedalboard configuration.

Mechanics

The Beauty of Imperfection For EC-1, fluctuations from motors and mechanical components were thoroughly studied to accurately capture their imperfections. At the lower end of the Mechanics control’s range only slower motor-related wow and flutter are present, but at around one o’clock these fluctuations are reduced in favor of faster disturbances from crinkle, splices, and capstan slippage which accurately replicate the sound of our golden EP-2 unit. This setting can create uniquely reverberant and three-dimensional echos that spread across the stereo spectrum. The slower fluctuations are mixed back in more prominently as you approach the maximum Mechanics setting, and the unique combination of multiple imperfections create truly gorgeous, organic stereo modulation effects unlike anything you’ve ever heard.

Tape Age

Mature Media

The frequency characteristics of tape echo repeats are determined in part by the bandwidth of the actual tape stock, so older tapes will have a lower bandwidth with a warmer top end. EC-1 allows you to faithfully reproduce these characteristics by turning up the Tape Age knob for warmer repeats, or turning it toward minimum for the full-bandwidth sound of fresh tape.

Repeats

Everything Is Under Control

EC-1 is designed to allow high levels of repeats that are truly lush but that don’t spiral into uncontrollable feedback. That wide sweet spot on the edge of runaway feedback can create intriguing sound beds under your lead or rhythm playing. Of course if you want to crank the Repeats control to maximum and play with the unique pitch effects that only a sliding record head tape echo can produce, those effects are all precisely replicated in sound and response.

Discrete Stereo

EC-1 features full stereo in and out capabilities, processing incoming stereo signals independently so that you can place it anywhere in your stereo effects chain.

It can also receive mono input and still produce stereo output if you’d like to use it as the stereo origin point of your signal path.

EC-1’s single TRS input and TRS output allows for stereo operation while maintaining a compact form factor.

A dedicated rear panel Input switch allows you to determine the audio routing, selecting between Mono In → Mono Out, Mono In → Stereo Out, or Stereo In → Stereo Out (stereo in and out requires a TRS cable for each jack).

Artifact Free Tap Tempo

Tapping in tempos with EC-1 works in a seamless way that would be impossible with a real tape echo.

Confidently tap your tempos with no pitch shifting, no clicks, ramps or mutes. All the unique sliding head tape echo pitch-shifting effects are always available when setting tempo with the Time knob, but when tapping tempo EC-1 changes to new values smoothly and keeps you in the groove. Once a tempo has been tapped in, you can use the Time knob to set the Tap Division for triplet, eighth, dotted eighth, or quarter note resolution.