Strymon Volante

[echorec]

Always figured disco volante meant "violent disco", but looked it up yesterday when this strymon thing showed up and it's "flying saucer".

I had to look this up, too. Disco volante translates to "flying saucer", but volante, on its own, translates to "steering wheel".

Pink Floyd had a short-lived residency at the UFO Club (pron. "you-foe") during the Barrett era, so it seems Strymon is giving a nod to the famed venue that helped to catapult the band.

[oldangelmidnight]

I don't really want to watch the whole video. Do they demo the golden showers mode?

[Jero]

I don't really want to watch the whole video. Do they demo the golden showers mode?

Briefly. You don't get completely soaked but some feels.

[Ugly Nora]

This looks so good I'm already trying to decide what to sell off to fund it.

Dat ass.

[Muse FTW]

I have weak willpower and ordered one.

The good thing is that this will force me to sell off all the crap I'm not using at the moment.

[Snufkino]

Canny good like. Way too much going on for me, but the reel-to-reel tape deck is a neat idea. I do love getting my Cocteau Twins on, but I'm good with the Dig for now.

Mind it would be cool to see someone make a dedicated Echorec with all eight buttons. Shame Catalinbread fell apart as I always thought they'd follow up the Belle Deluxe with the Echorec Deluxe and do something like that. Maybe that will be the flagship pedal if Howard and co start up their own company? I can see people wanting something like a smaller and stripped down Volante.

[dubkitty]

i really, really didn't need to see this right when i'm struggling to save over $2000 for my September road trip. guess i'll wait till next winter when they hit the used market.

[humandingus]

this ron don volante looks amazing!

also i feel there is going to be a used el cap explosion. are we gonna start seeing sub $200 dollar el caps on reverb? i sure hope so!

[oscillofuzz]

I watched all available Strymon videos on this thing last night because I couldn't sleep. This thing is so feature-packed but of the almost 45 minutes of footage that I watched it feels like less than 90 seconds were devoted to the sound-on-sound looping capabilities and that's definitely the feature that interests me most (especially because it's combined with all the other tone sculpting possibilities and rhythmic subdivision features that your usual sound-on-sound delay/looper doesn't have).

[MrNovember]

I really don't need another delay, but I really want this thing. I might actually flip my RKM, which I was never expecting to do

[goroth]

I don't really want to watch the whole video. Do they demo the golden showers mode?

[Seance]

The SOS mode and the ability to have functionality all available with stomp switches (admittedly by adding the Strymon 3-button switch gadget)
makes this seem very intriguing to me. I'd love to see more demos that really dig into that aspect of sound layering and sonic chicanery.

[codetocontra]

Yeah, there's so much here. They've added a lot of useful features that expand upon the older machines.

The first time I read about the Echorec in a magazine was around 2002. At the time, you could get a well-worn unit for as low as $400. Fast forward to the 2010s and a broken unit could fetch $1,200+ online. Seeing a digital unit with enhanced features for $400 16 years later is somewhat fulfilling---it's not quite the closing of the circle, but this one seems to be an honorable attempt to revisit the character of these once-esoteric machines. I'm really excited to play with one---dunno if I'll sell off any of my other Echorec emulators (I've got about 10 of them), but it's something to enjoy until (if/when) T-Rex's wire tribute is finally finished. As someone who's tired of cataloging sounds and writing down settings, I'm certainly thrilled with the massive preset capabilities.

What's your favorite Echorec emulator so far? Have you ever played an old Binson? Ever consider one of the ones made from NOS parts from the guy in Italy? I don't have much faith in T-Rex after their tape echo units, never played one but read enough about their problems.

[echorec]

What's your favorite Echorec emulator so far? Have you ever played an old Binson? Ever consider one of the ones made from NOS parts from the guy in Italy? I don't have much faith in T-Rex after their tape echo units, never played one but read enough about their problems.

Boonar (easy to interact with...select time/feedback, then your heads). I would say that one's the best. They certainly get style points for manual head selection, instead of you having to go by a cheat sheet to set your head combinations. I use it with a Mimiq and it sounds huge.

Keeley Echoes (really underrated, not sure how close it gets to the real thing, but it's great if you're a multi-head fan. There are 6 total modes and the modulation is purposefully exaggerated to extreme degrees on some modes. It gives you a massive, psychedelic sound wall---one of my favorite delays.)

CB Echorec (it has a lot of vibe, it's extremely ethereal, but I think it is off the mark, based on the side-by-side comparisons I've heard. The tricky thing is that no two original BEs are going to be identical. After years of usage, they've all got quirks and different degrees of wear. The CB model may be nearly perfect to the unit that it's modeled after. If you throw in dirt, in attempt to go for the 70s Gilmour sound, I imagine this one might get closer to the real thing. All that extra grit and sustain may help to blur the illusion.)

Alter Ego X4 (love it overall, but the two E settings are bad---way too much modulation leaves it sounding like a runaway chorus/flanger.)

Echosex 2 (it doesn't simulate multiple heads, so it wasn't faithful to the BE experience at all. As far as PT2399 delays go, it sounded quite good though.)

Echosex 2 T7E (haven't tried this, but there's no way I'd pay $600+ for a PT2399 delay. $400 for a PT2399 is hard to swallow, but $669 retail is insanity to me.)

I haven't played the Echosex 3. I'm not really inclined to, after selling the Echosex 2 twice---it's not a bad pedal at all, but the price is so high for a vintage-flavored delay, compared to all the multi-engine delays out there. The Fox (Gurus) Echosex Baby might be a decent pickup for anyone wanting some vintage vibe. They're only about $110.

Polymoon (certainly not a BE tribute, but if you like lush delays & multi-head, rhythmic cascades, it's in similar territory.)

Infanem SEA (Binson-inspired, but it's a bit too lo-fi for me.)

Nemesis & the Echosystem both have BE presets, but I haven't downloaded them. Listening online, the Nemesis' emulation sounds nice, but is too pristine.

I'm familiar with Marcello, and the modern motors certainly reduce the noise, but it's not something I've seriously entertained largely due to price (got 40+ delays already). For $3500-4500, I'd rather get several other things first.

I got one of the first Replicators off the line and it had significant issues. Their tech, Kristian, was really cool and he took care of everything. I think it had an alignment issue and also they had upgraded some parts in it (I took a long time to send it in), so a couple components were replaced and it works so much better.

I will certainly consider a BE from T. Rex, but I'm curious where their progress is. Hypothetically speaking, a modern BE could require less maintenance and perform more steadily than a tape delay. The biggest hurdle for them seems to be figuring out a way to fabricate everything and to efficiently get the wire prepped and wound.

[codetocontra]

High praise for the Boonar, which is one I have overlooked. I have a friend with a special edition CB Echorec and he loves it, still haven't heard it in person. Agreed about PT2399, not my favorite sound. Had no idea Marcello was charging that much nowadays, last I knew it was just over $2k. I could see paying a decent amount for something like that if it is that important to someone. I love delay and big obnoxious boxes, but I could never bring myself to spend that much on one. I would have to sell everything but my guitar and one amp to justify a purchase like that, and I don't think it would be worth it. I am curios to see what T.Rex does though.