Ahhh, delay….our favorite effect. It comes in so many different shapes and colors and flavors and options, and we love ’em all – not equally, though. Once in a while, an effects pedal makes its way to our shop and we are absolutely blown away, and today’s pedal did exactly that as soon as we plugged it in. The Echoczar Analog Delay from Toneczar Effects is a BBD-infused, vintage-inspired, modulated black beauty with so many gorgeous tones and add-ons, we might not be able to squeeze them all into this review.
An analog BBD delay with over one full second of delay time, the Echoczar also features two independent delay channels with their own Mix knobs, for instant switching back and forth between settings. We were lucky enough to have an Angel Baby come along with the Echoczar, which is a secondary accessory pedal that gives you access to a THIRD delay channel, one chock full of modulation (more on that later). There’s also a footswitchable self-oscillation Feedback mode, complete with a Safety knob, in case the runaway repeats get out of hand.
A couple of on-board toggle switches allow for even more experimenting with your echo sounds. FX Out/Mute lets you mute the Wet amp completely when you’re running the Echoczar in a Stereo configuration and the effect is bypassed. while the Phase In/Out switch allows for the creation of a centered stereo image or a wide expansive soundscape. Vintage/Modern allows you to choose your Repeat voicing: Vintage Mode is warm and thick, Modern Mode is brighter with more detail. You can even add one of two Multi-head Modes to each of these as well.
Echo/Delay gives you two choices for the character of the repeats: Echo Mode provides Repeats which decay in a natural manner, and provides smooth droning feedback (self-oscillation). The Delay Mode provides Repeats that can go on and on, or is useful for music styles that need punchy, rhythmic repeats, creating wild, loud and choppy feedback and self-oscillation. Finally, a three-position, center-off toggle switch adds either Multi-head Slapback or Multi-head Reverb to either the Vintage or Modern modes, providing a great deal of variety. Slapback Mode sounds similar to two delay units in series, with the first delay set for a soft slap back repeat, and the second delay set for a longer repeat. Reverb Mode sounds like delay plus plate-style reverb, and is useful for amps which do not have reverb.
The Angel Baby gives you that 3rd delay channel, as well as adding in some sticky modulation and warble to the echoes. Only the repeats are chorused here, maintaining your clean signal when running a stereo setup. You the Depth and Rate controls to mix in your favorite amount of modulation, clicking back and forth between delays 2 and 3 with ease, for different time settings and completely different tonal flavors. This controller adds a whole other dimension of sound to the Echoczar, and is a valuable (and, we think, necessary) accessory to an already powerful delay unit.
If you’re curious about the actual sounds the Echoczar is capable of making, please check out the demo video below, as we try to run through all of the options, and really offer some tasty sonic morsels for you to enjoy and discover. These pedals from Toneczar Effects are not cheap, and have a huge waiting list to be built, but let us tell you, they are absolutely worth it. We have played a LOT of delays here at Pedal of the Day, and this one has just jumped way up on our list of favorites. Enjoy!
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