Well, the Kings of Delay are back at it again. Ever since their famed TC2290 Digital Delay was released back in 1985, TC Electronic has continually been on the cutting edge of all things delay, and with their new upgraded version of the Alter Ego Vintage Echo, they steer us in a slightly different delay/echo direction. Combining elements from both of these genres into one compact package, the AE2 is loaded with options, modes, sounds and tones, all of which stack up against the rest of their pedal lineup nicely.
As with most of their recent pedal productions, the Alter Ego 2 sports 4 control knobs, the most important of these being the Type Selector knob, which lets you select from an astonishing ELEVEN different echo modes. Dialing in the echo tone you need is easy with these choices: EREC 2 (Binson Echorec 2), DMMC (Electro-Harmonix Deluxe MemoryMan Chorus), T ORG (Tel Ray Organ Tone), 2290 M (TC Electronic 2290 Modulated), REV M (Reverse Modulated), BDM2 (Boss DM-2), CKAT (Watkins Copikat), EP1 (Maestro Echoplex 1), SP (Roland Space Echo), Looper and TonePrint. Whew! The nice addition of a built-in looper allows for 20 seconds of Stereo record time, and 40 seconds in Mono. Plus, the ever-popular TonePrint function allows you to create your very own echo sounds, or use some that other famous artists have created as well.
Time, Feedback and Level round out the usual suspects in the controls department. Level lets you mix in the wet echo signal with your guitar’s natural dry tone, Feedback controls the amount of repeats the echo gives off, and Time will allow up to 7 FULL SECONDS of delayed echo, and if you need more than 7 seconds of delay, you’re probably doing something wrong. A small mini toggle switch in the middle of the pedal allows for subdivision selection as well, with Quarter notes, Dotted Eighth notes OR a combination of the two being your selection options.
9 of the delay modes on the Alter Ego 2 were created by an alliance between TC Electronic and ProGuitarShop, hoping to bring to the masses the very best in analog, digital and tape delays. You can run it in Stereo or Mono, plug it into your computer via USB for TonePrinting and firmware updates, and even use the Bypass switch as a Tap Tempo, too. So many options and reasons to experiment lie in the Alter Ego 2 – thanks to TC Electronic for sending this to us to check out, it really is another gem in a classic lineup of delay pedals from one of the best!
Submitted by Mike B, Website
Demo Rock pedalboard by West Coast Pedalboard
