The old tube tape echo machines are responsible for some of the greatest sounds ever put on tape, with works by artists such as Chet Atkins, Miles Davis, Eric Johnson, Randy Rhodes and Andy Summers, to name a few. The Magnetic Echo from Keeley Electronics aims to recreate those classic echo tones, and actually studied an old Echoplex EP-3 and a Roland RE-301 Space Echo to tap into the sounds of those 2 great machines. All housed in a neat and tidy stompbox, the Mag-Echo gets rid of the bulk of the old machines, without sacrificing any of the tone.
5 control knobs allow you to dial in as much or as little of the echo as you need in your signal path, plus add in some modulation as well, for those “wow and flutter” sounds we all dig. The Time knob controls the overall delay time of the pedal, ranging from 40ms to 600ms at max. Regen controls the number of repeats the pedal puts out, from one single echo to all-out self-oscillation when turned all the way up. This is a fun knob to sit and play with, especially in conjunction with the Time control, making for a ton of different delay options. Level controls, obviously, the level of the effects being mixed into your straight signal path; turn right for less, turn left for more, pretty easy.
Now we get into the Modulation part of this pedal, which really adds a whole other dimension of sounds to an already great little box. The Depth knob adds more or less modulation to the delayed signal. This is great fun as well, as little twists and turns of this knob result in subtle or enormous modulated noises. Add to that the ability to control the flutter aspect by using the Rate control, and you’ve got one incredible pedal. All of these knobs combining together form a cohesive delay/echo sound, but the bonus modulation makes for some unpredictable and classic tape echo soundscapes.
I would like to thank my new friend Robert and everyone over at Keeley Electronics for sending us this pedal to check out, it’s a work of sonic art like their whole line of gear. If you (somehow) haven’t seen what they do and the pedals they offer, be sure to go and poke around their website…if you have a couple hours to kill!
Submitted by Mike B, Website
