Great Tape Delay Tones #1 – That Pedal Show

This is the audio from our video here: https://youtu.be/FWZmr1rE-yM Why do tape delay machines sound sooooo good? It’s a question we are delving into over a series of shows. We kick off with our personal favourite REAL TAPE machines. Erm, our only machines, in fact. Life too short for long YouTube videos? Please see the ‘Interesting bits and go-to sections’ information below. COVID-19: This video was filmed long before the social distancing measures were advised by various governments across the world. Rest assured that all of us at That Pedal Show began observing social distancing and stay-at-home measures as soon as they were announced. Be well y’all! There’s just something magic about tape echo. Be it an Echoplex, Space Echo, Copicat or what have you, that – literally – magnetic blend of warmth and often idiosyncratic unpredictability is what puts the tear in your eye and the emptiness in your wallet. Both Dan and I have been on a voyage of tape discovery these past months; smitten by the sounds, maddened by the maintenance and confused at the question of why modern pedal simulations just don’t stand up. Or do they? So in this first instalment of (probably) three, we indulge in the tape machines themselves. Consider it a context setting siting lap of what’s to come. In Part 2 we will delve a little more deeply into the single-head Echoplex side of things and a bunch of modern pedals, then follow that up in Part 3 with a similar treatment of the multi-head Space Echo approach. No, we haven’t looked at the European-style Wems/Meazzis etc… maybe that’s one for the future. At present we don’t own any. Off we go then… please enjoy the episode! Pedals & stuff in this episode… • TheGigRig Three2One https://www.thegigrig.com/three2one • Sonic Research ST-200 Turbo Tuner Australia: http://bit.ly/2mR1s8c • Metropoulos Supa-Boost https://store.metropoulos.net/products/copy-of-supa-boost-handwired-high-voltage-boost-pedal?variant=19776952860745 • Thorpy Warthog UK & Europe: http://bit.ly/2ELIE48 Australia: http://bit.ly/2MLINum • Keeley D&M Drive UK & Europe: http://bit.ly/2oTblU1 USA: http://bit.ly/2quRShW Australia: http://bit.ly/2pUDUAE • Diamond VIB1 Vibrato http://www.diamondpedals.com/products/vibrato/ • Boss DD-200 UK & Europe: http://bit.ly/2kyinR3 USA: http://bit.ly/2rpIPzv Australia: http://bit.ly/2smiUsQ • Fulltone Tube Tape Echo https://www.fulltone.com/products/tube-tape-echo • Roland RE-201 Space Echo Try Soundgas: https://soundgas.com/features/roland-tape-echo/ • Echo Fix EF-X2 Echo Fix EF-X2 Tape Echo Australia: http://bit.ly/2sQ56r3 https://echofix.com/products/echo-fix-ef-x2-tape-echo • Hiwatt Custom Tape Echo No longer made • TheGigRig G2 https://www.thegigrig.com/g2 * Why do we have preferred retailer links? Find out here: http://www.thatpedalshow.com/partners Interesting bits and go-to sections… - Social distancing: 0:00 - Intro playing: 0:48 - Hello and welcome: 2:05 - Where did the PRS DGT go? 2:55 - What are we doing today? 3:50 - Today’s echo machines: 4:30 - Pick / plectrum tangent: 6:35 - Today’s amps: 7:10 - Fulltone preamp on and off: 7:40 (8:23) - Fulltone preamp overdriving: 8:56 - Mick’s Belle Epoch Deluxe realisation: 10:25 - Fulltone controls and echo sounds: 10:40 - …tone on the repeats: 11:45 - …high and low tape speeds: 12:35 - …with overdrive pedals: 13:40 - Boss DD-200 quick comparison: 14:35 - Slapback sounds from the Fulltone: 15:50 - The importance of the preamp: 18:50 - Roland Space Echo RE-201: 20:35 - RE-201 and TTE quick comparison: 21:17 - RE-201 preamp: 24:15 - RE-201 playback heads: 25:50 - Echo Fix EF-X2: 30:00 (30:50) - …preamp sound and echo: 32:45 - Hiwatt Custom Tape Echo story: 35:00 - …sounds: 38:15 - …auto tape stop: 40:35 - …multi head: 41:20 - Hiwatt and Boss DD-200 compared: 42:09 - The next shows: 43:00 - What’s the commonality with tape? 44:00 - Schwang to end: 45:55 Guitars in this episode: • Fender American Vintage ’62 Stratocaster – watch Mick’s video here: http://bit.ly/2cQv3yT • Fender Custom Shop ’63 Telecaster – watch Dan’s video here: http://bit.ly/2Hlpy5Y • PRS DGT – watch Mick’s video here: http://bit.ly/2d8Xo2I • 1961 Fender Stratocaster - no video yet Amps in this episode • Two Rock Classic Reverb Signature / 212 cab with TR12-65B speakers • Marshall 1987x / 1960Ax cab with Celestion G12M Greenback speakers We hope you enjoy this episode. Please subscribe to our channel. You can buy TPS merch to support our efforts https://www.thatpedalshowstore.com We are on Patreon – crowdfunding for creatives https://www.patreon.com/ThatPedalShow Please visit our preferred retailers! UK & Europe: Andertons Music http://bit.ly/2cRvIvt Australia: Pedal Empire http://bit.ly/2mWmJQf