Mr. Black Pedals Tapex 2 Stereophonic Tape Echo

It’s no secret: WE LOVE DELAY. Old, new, analog, digital – bring it on. There’s a special place in our instrumental hearts for a good tape echo, though, and the Tapex 2 from Mr. Black Pedals is a top-notch inspirational charged delay that echoes (see what we did there?) the echoes of some classic players, songs and tones. A Stereophonic Tape Echo, this silver machine glistens and drips with analog sound, with a ton of options to make it a truly versatile piece of gear.

Using pure analog pre-amps and output drivers, the Tapex 2 easily harkens back to decades past, giving us a full-bodied, rich, warm and mesmerizing sound. Level sets the echo level, Repeats adjusts the regeneration or trails and Time sets the delay time. For the demo below, we plugged in the optional external expression pedal to control the Time throughout, which gave us a great hands-free way to set the time as needed. With a range of 43ms – 808ms, there’s sure to be enough here for everyone to enjoy as well.

The Recall footswitch also lets you bring up a preset that you create, seamlessly switching back and forth between it and your current parameter settings. Another button lets you flip flop between two different delay modes: Choice replicates a fresh tape sound in a well-running tape echo, while Damaged I provides an instant worn down, used and abused feel to your delays. The Expression jack can also be used for an external Tap Tempo switch if you desire, further expanding on the options list this pedal provides.

The Stereo effect the Tapex 2 unleashes when you are connected to 2 amps is unreal, full of lush, ping-ponged delay gooiness (listen to the demo with headphones on to really get the feel of this setup). You can even power it with up to 18VDC if you’d like, for more punch and headroom, and more vintage tonality. A true classic effect in a manageable size, with fully functioning ability and made with the finest parts around, you may just have to shelve that monster you’ve been hauling around to gigs for the last 30 years and get something a bit more reliable and practical.