New Strymon EC-1 Single Head dTape Echo Guitar Effects Pedal

This item is new, in box!

From Strymon:

A Timeless Classic Reborn. Experience the dreamy sound of a classic ’60s tape echo complete with the harmonic richness of the accompanying tube preamp. Enjoy organic and ethereal modulation produced by countless subtle mechanical imperfections, and easily dial in anything from warm slapback to expansive echo feedback beds with a strikingly gorgeous stereo image. With beautifully-tuned low frequency response, lush tape saturation and sublime echo decay, EC-1 provides all the best of what a tube driven tape echo can deliver.

Tape, Tubes, and the Best of the Best. Development of EC-1 started with the groundbreaking single moving head algorithm originally developed for our El Capistan pedal, which is renowned for its lifelike reproduction of vintage tape echo. From there, we were fortunate to acquire what turned out to be a very special Echoplex EP-2, as the unit was in amazingly good condition and had been worked on by storied technician Cesar Diaz. We discovered several purposeful and skillfully-implemented modifications, including tweaks to the tube preamp for a warmer sound closer in frequency response to an EP-3. The inspiring result significantly informed development of EC-1, imbuing it with a special character that is immediately nostalgic.

Full-Featured Compact Stereo Tape Echo. EC-1 offers impressive power and flexibility in a small and elegant form factor. Selectable tube-modeled preamp voices. Artifact-free tap tempo. Discrete stereo operation for independent processing of the left and right stereo inputs. Straightforward controls and expression pedal capability. High-impedance, ultra-low noise discrete Class A JFET stereo input preamp for exceptional touch sensitivity, dynamics and feel. MIDI control of tempo, patch save/recall and more. Premium components, rugged construction and a USB jack for performing firmware updates or controlling the pedal from a computer.

Sound Design

Preamp. Featuring meticulous tube modeling techniques, EC-1 offers a choice of two authentically reproduced preamp circuits that lend a subtle vintage character to your input signal. One is based on the classic EP-2 tube preamp and features an enhanced high-end shelf perfect for brightening up darker humbuckers. The other preamp option (the default setting) produces a warm, balanced response based on the modded preamp circuit in the EP-2 unit that we studied. Both preamp choices offer an optional boost of up to +6dB, or the preamp can be bypassed for an unprocessed dry signal if desired.

dTape. Our unique dTape technology was first developed for El Capistan, and we have expanded on it to reproduce all the inspiring nuances we encountered while studying a recently-acquired tube Echoplex. Our dTape system allows precise replication of every aspect of every tape echo we’ve studied, including the effect of the moving head, the tape condition, the bias setting, the mechanical effects of motors, capstan slippage and all the irregularities that add up to create the unmistakable sound of vintage tape echo repeats.

Record Level. Whether you want the cleanest repeats, subtle fattening or even downright dirty echos, you can instantly dial in the desired amount of tape saturation with the flip of a switch. EC-1’s three-way Record Level toggle switch selects the gain of the signal fed into the virtual record head: low for unity gain with optimized bias for the cleanest repeats, medium for a 6dB input boost with increased bias for slightly saturated repeats, or high for a 12dB boost with further increased bias for heavily saturated repeats.

Mechanics. Fluctuations from motors and mechanical components were thoroughly studied to accurately capture their imperfections. At the lower end only slower motor-related wow and flutter are present; around one o’clock these are reduced in favor of faster disturbances from crinkle, splices, and capstan slippage. The slower fluctuations are mixed back in more prominently as you approach the maximum Mechanics setting, creating truly gorgeous, organic stereo modulation effects.

Tape Age. The frequency characteristics of tape echo repeats are determined in part by the bandwidth of the actual tape stock, so older tapes will have a lower bandwidth with a warmer top end. EC-1 allows you to faithfully reproduce these characteristics by turning up the Tape Age knob for warmer repeats, or turning it toward minimum for the full-bandwidth sound of fresh tape.

Repeats. EC-1 is designed to allow high levels of repeats that are truly lush but that don’t spiral into uncontrollable feedback. That wide sweet spot on the edge of runaway feedback can create intriguing sound beds under your lead or rhythm playing. Of course if you want to crank the Repeats control to maximum and play with the unique pitch effects that only a sliding record head tape echo can produce, those effects are all precisely replicated.

Features

MIDI. EC-1 features full MIDI implementation and 300 presets, allowing you to control it remotely by sending MIDI commands from your controller or DAW via the EXP/MIDI jack or USB-C connection.

True/Buffered Bypass. EC-1 lets you choose between electromechanical relay-switched true bypass, or premium buffered bypass which preserves your signal’s integrity by preventing high frequency roll-off due to longer cable runs.

JFET Input. Exceptional touch sensitivity and responsiveness thanks to a high-impedance, ultra-low noise discrete Class A JFET preamp input.

Stereo. EC-1 features full stereo in and out capabilities, processing incoming stereo signals independently. It can also receive mono input and still produce stereo output. EC-1’s single TRS input and TRS output allow for stereo operation while maintaining a compact form factor. A dedicated rear panel Input switch selects between Mono In to Mono Out, Mono In to Stereo Out, or Stereo In to Stereo Out (stereo requires a TRS cable for each jack).

Tap Tempo. Tapping in tempos with EC-1 works in a seamless way that would be impossible with a real tape echo. Tap your tempos with no pitch shifting, no clicks, ramps or mutes. Once a tempo has been tapped in, use the Time knob to set the Tap Division for triplet, eighth, dotted eighth, or quarter note resolution.

Controls & Routing

TIME: Controls the delay time, from 50 ms to 1 second.

MIX: Controls the balance of dry and wet signals from 100% dry at minimum to 100% wet at maximum.

TAPE AGE: Controls the bandwidth of the tape, just as it would change over time in a physical tape delay machine.

REPEATS: Varies the number of delay repeats from one to runaway, saturated oscillation. Set to 3 o’clock for sustained, infinite repeats without runaway.

MECHANICS: Controls the amount of mechanically-related speed fluctuations and media irregularities. The left half increases low-speed fluctuations; the right half brings in high-speed irregularities.

REC LEVEL: 3-way toggle selecting the gain into the virtual record head — low (unity gain), med (6dB boost), high (12dB boost).

USB: Computer connection for MIDI I/O and firmware updates.

EXP/MIDI: Multifunction communication jack for external control including MIDI, expression pedal, and more.

9V DC: Use only a 2.1mm center-negative 9V DC adapter rated 250mA minimum (adapter sold separately).

Specs

High impedance ultra low-noise discrete Class A JFET TRS stereo input

Low impedance TRS stereo output

Expression pedal input allows the connection of a TRS expression pedal, MiniSwitch, MultiSwitch Plus, or TRS MIDI connection

USB jack for controlling via MIDI from a computer or for performing firmware updates

Premium JFET analog front end

Ultra low noise, high performance 24-bit 96kHz A/D and D/A converters provide uncompromising audio quality

520MHz ARM Superscalar processor

32-bit floating point processing

20Hz to 20kHz frequency response

Audio Input Impedance: 1M Ohm

Audio Output Impedance: 100 Ohm

Typical signal to noise ratio: 116dB

Strong and lightweight anodized aluminum chassis

Power requirements: maximum 9 volts DC center-negative, with a minimum of 250mA (power supply NOT included)

Dimensions: 4.6” deep x 2.7” wide x 2.5” tall (11.7 cm deep x 6.9 cm wide x 6.4 cm tall)

Designed and built in the USA