This pedal is a mammoth of an effect, both is actual size and sonic ability. Pigtronix has been leading the way in making some incredibly uncommon and exciting pedals for years now, and although the newer version has more bells and whistles, this first version of the Echolution Tap Tempo Analog Delay with Modulation is a beast in it’s own right, not an effects pedal to be taken lightly, or turn your back on, ’cause you just never know…
Controls: There are a TON of them, let’s not kid ourselves. When I took this thing out of the box, I was nothing if not a bit daunted by the task that lay ahead of me, and that was just to turn it on! Kidding aside, once it was engaged and flowing through my amp, it was easy to see that this would be something that would be FUN to have to figure out. Right away, I loved the click-less Tap Tempo switch; it was easy to whatever tempo you’re after with just a few pats of your foot, and the silent operation is the best (is there a reason that ALL footswitches aren’t click-less? Never understood that…). The Echolution boasts 12 seconds of delay time, so you’ll need to be a little patient when tapping in a tempo that’s that long, or any tempo past about 800ms. There’s a vast array of Multi-Tap toggles switches onboard as well, which let you decide how the echoes will sound coming off the master delay, and are based on quarter notes and triplets. 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, 1/3 and 2/3 are the subdivision options you are presented with, and it’s a blast trying different variations and combos to create a multitude of sounds. There’s also a PHI switch, which introduces and realigns the 5 toggle to the Golden Ratio, which is some complex math thing found in the Pyramids, our DNA, Art, Galaxies Far, Far Away, and (apparently) Music. Basically, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. I mean, duh. Anyway, the toggles present about a gajillion sonic options for the user, and you’ll have a blast figuring out the ones that work best for you.
There are also a few knobs here to go over, they’re pretty basic but are very important functionally to your sound. The Blend is great, as always, as you can control how much or how little of the delayed signal you want coming through your amp. Feedback sets the number of repeats after a note or chord is played, and when cranked will wield some crazy self-oscillating sounds, getting really trippy and spacey, a great control to have as well. Drive is a favorite of mine, it adds some power and push to your input signal, making the delays nice, thick and rich, very old school analog-sounding, and just a bit dirty. The Hi-Cut knob controls the cutoff frequency of the low pass filter, which comes after the delay, and basically acts as a sort of tone control, with brighter repeats to the left, and darker repeats to the right.
The Modulation section is more robust than most, too, with a plethora of options to choose from, and none that will leave you wanting more. With a separate on/off footswitch, there’s a greater amount of control for when and where you want the modulated delay sounds to be present in your signal path. With different Chorus and Tremolo control sections, both producing stellar results, the affected signal becomes an ambient soundscape, one that will wow you again and again. You can control both the Rate of each of these sections (using the LFO Speed knob), as well as the individual Delay Time for those particular modes. A 3-Way toggle selects from Short (10ms – 120ms), Medium (100ms – 1.2sec) and Long (1sec – 12sec) delay ranges, each providing different delay time lengths for the modulated signal, and can be controlled by an optional Expression pedal through the 1/4″ jack on the left side of the pedal.
You can also set the Trails option on, which lets the repeats fade naturally when you turn the pedal off, making for smoother transitions when disengaging the pedal. Reverse is always fun to play around with, and the Loop option will make your repeats trail off for infinity, another fun effect to add into your arsenal. The Echolution can also be run into Stereo between 2 separate amps, making the bounce back effects ping-pong all over the place, and really add that WOW factor to your stage setup. This is not a sit-down-and-dial-it-in-in-10-minutes delay pedal, by any means, but it sure is a lot of fun to experiment with, especially if you take the time to sit and learn all it can do.
Specs:
Unique Analog / Digital hybrid Architecture
Switchable Tap Tempo and Modulation Delay
Chorus and Tremolo modulation
Reverse and Loop modes with remote Switching
6-Part multi Tap with (Phi) Golden ratio switch
Trails switch lets echoes fade naturally after bypass
Capable of Self Oscillation without digital clipping
True Stereo Outputs
Non-Linear Filters provide analog saturation
Pigtronix 15VDC power supply included
Circuit Design by Howard Davis
Sound Design by David Koltai
Chassis Size = 7.4” x 4.6” x 1.5”
Voltage: 15V DC
Users: Vernon Reid, Bob Weir, The Mars Volta, Weezer, Richard Fortus, Soulive
Submitted by Mike B, Website
