The latest offering from the folks over at Strymon is based on some classic sounds throughout the past century: the Deco Tape Saturation and Doubletracker. Conjuring up the sounds of ancient reel-to-reel tape machines from the 50’s and 60’s, the Deco provides all the vintage echo and delay sounds you’re after, and the Tape Saturation side aims to fatten up your sound using tasty compression and just a bit of overdrive.
The Tape Saturation portion of the Deco is awesome, and not typically what you’d expect from an echo-type pedal. Not only does it add in a bit of boost and grit to your overall tone, it can be subtle or pushy about it, depending on how you want to personally alter your signal. Going from a light compression to an amp-pushing drive, the range here is wonderful, and may force you to leave it on throughout practice or a gig, as it it a tone fattener and a sonic experience to encounter.
The Doubletracker side gets into some cool, unexpected and unpredictable territory, all of which make for a wild ride into Echotown. Not just an echo machine, though, the Deco is also easily capable of doing reverb-type stuff, chorusing and doubles (well, triples) as an outstanding flanger pedal (more on that in a minute). A tiny toggle in the middle lets you select from 3 varying blend types (Sum, Invert and Bounce), each possessing their own unique characteristics to influence the echoes. The Lag Time knob fluctuates between Flanger, Chorus, Slapback and Tape Echo sounds, providing a vast array of tones to tweak and choose from. A Wobble switch increases or takes out the real tape speed imulation, for an authentic sonic pathway to the past.
Hold down the Doubletracker-side footswitch, and go instantly into Auto-Flange mode, which transforms the pedal into a deep, lush flanger that has been already programmed to melt your face. Step off the switch, and your regularly scheduled controls fade back in without missing a beat. You can also plug in an Expression pedal on the back, which you may set to control whichever front knob you choose, awesome for on-the-fly live adjustments. And, of course, running this thing in stereo is a much-desired option, one that is provided for you free of charge.
Another painstakingly created pedal from Strymon, the Deco holds endless possibilities in shaping and crafting you sound, all the while harkening back to the days when something that could actually make these sounds wouldn’t have fit on even the largest of pedalboards. Thanks to everyone over at Strymon for sending the Deco over for us to review – look for more awesome gear reviews from them coming in the near future!
Specs:
Detailed recreation of the mechanics and technology of two vintage studio reel-to-reel tape decks and their interactions
Nuanced sonic delivery of the classic saturation effects of the tape record/playback process
Simple and intuitive Lag Time knob allows for slapback delays, tape echoes, tape flanging, tape chorusing
Two Tape Saturation adjustment and tone shaping knobs: Saturation, Level
Three Doubletracker adjustment and tone shaping knobs: Lag Time, Blend, Wobble
Three Doubletracker blend types to tailor doubletracked sound: Sum, Invert, Bounce
Five “hidden” knobs for deep tone tweaking: High Trim, Low Trim, Auto-Flange Time, Wide Stereo Mode, +/- 3dB Boost/Cut
Press and hold studio-inspired Auto-Flange effect
Submitted by Mike B, Website
