J. Rockett Audio Designs Clockwork Echo

It’s no big secret that delay is far and away our favorite effect around here, especially pedals that have lots of knobs and switches and experimental tendencies. So, of course, we were wicked excited when J. Rockett Audio Designs sent over their incredible Clockwork Echo for us to take for a spin. This analog circuit with digital control brings vintage and modern aspects together, to create one powerful and authentic old school echo delay. Let’s dive right in!

Designed in conjunction with Howard Davis (Creator of the original Deluxe Memory Man), the Clockwork Echo is old school meets new school. It features the classic BBD delay chips, which are digitally controlled for tap tempo only. True stereo output (One side out of phase) opens up a HUGE spectrum of sound, and you’ve got 2 Expression pedal inputs to control Time and Repeats hands-free (or on a tabletop). There’s a Modulation footswitch, for turning it on or off as needed, and you can even use it as an “Always On” boost, whether the delay is engaged or not. Experimenting with the modulation controls will get you chorus, rotating speaker and flange sounds. This is as musical as an echo can get, go from lush long delays to amazing room like slap back echoes. Repeats can be set short enough to achieve chorus/flange sounds and long enough for crazy long repeats into oscillation if you so desire.

Here are the controls:

MIX – blends your dry signal with your wet signal. The wetter the mix the more apparent all functions are. You will find the perfect blend for your needs but don’t be afraid to go over the top
LEVEL – sets the pedal’s output level. This function works even if the delay is not engaged giving you a very nice push. The delay will always stay relative to the volume output so you will not have an out of balance mix between the two
TIME – controls the delay time, from almost imperceptible (which creates chorus and Leslie sounds) all the way to 600ms of delay, for long lush sounds
REPEATS – sets the amount of repeats. Go from one repeat all the way to crazy oscillation
MODULATION: This is a very powerful feature that can achieve pretty amazing sounds. Set the repeats to the shortest (All the way left) set the delay time as well to its shortest setting (all the way left) and then start playing with the speed and depth. You can find some amazing chorus sounds, Leslie sounds and a bunch of craziness in between, achieving the lush wow and flutter of an old tape echo, or removing the modulation altogether
SPEED controls the speed of the vibrato
DEPTH controls the depth of the vibrato

In our demo video below, we run through the entire gamut of what’s capable with the Clockwork Echo, including running BOTH Expression inputs at once (thanks to our friends at Bookmark Pedals for the expression knobs!). We are just over the moon with the sounds that this delay can create, and look forward to diving in and discovering new tones and uses for it for years to come. Thanks once again to the crew at J. Rockett Audio Designs, not just for letting us peruse this gem, but for putting in the time and effort to create such a lush and wonderful effect. Be sure to visit their website and follow them on all the socials – more J. Rockett reviews and demos here, and don’t forget to head to YouTube for our take on this incredible echo!!

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