Review : Catalinbread ECHOREC
You've heard the old saw, "what goes around, comes around". In this instance, both figuratively and literally.
The original Binson Echorec was a very unique delay device. At a highly simplified level it used a platter with four fixed position playback heads. It differed substantially from the more common tape loop delays, in that the delay intervals are based on the rotational speed of the platter, and the intervals between the four playback heads are equal.
I say are, because you can still find original Binson Echorecs in the marketplace. I recent search on Reverb showed pricing in the $5800 CAD range. That's a $2000 jump in the last couple of years, because demand for the Echorec sound has come around again.
There are pedals designed to provide the sound of an original Echorec, without the physical size, mechanics and ongoing maintenance that device entailed. This model, from the nice people at Catalinbread is their effort. Currently priced at just under $330 CAD, the ECHOREC is the same size as a traditional effects pedal, It has one in, and one out and a single on/off footswitch.
The pedal needs supplementary power and the buyer should note that it wants 18V DC for full headroom. You can run it off a regular 9V feed, but in my opinion, doing so gives up too much. My test involved using an offshore made Donner Pedal Power Supply with a dedicated 18V out port. I've provided a link to the supply below. Please note that if you purchase via the link, I will receive some consideration from Amazon for your purchase.
The Program Select control is a very simple method for the user to try different "head" combinations. The combinations that you choose provide varying patterns in the delay signal. This is one of the compelling unique sounds of the Echorec concept and it is simply executed in the Catalinbread offering.
The ECHOREC offers some variance in the delay times via the Delay Time knob. The original Binson had a maximum delay time at head 4 of 300ms. The Catalinbread version extends this out to 1000ms. Just remember that the interval between adjacent playback heads is always ¼ of the delay assigned to head 4.
The Mix control offers the range to control the output signal from fully dry to completely wet. If you are using something like a GigRig Wetter Box, you would crank this over to full wet and leave it there.
The Tone control is less a bass/treble than a dark/bright control. Over to the left the echoes sit in the background, while over to the right, the echoes are very bright. Since the ECHOREC playback is in syncopation in accordance with the program selection position, you have the cool opportunity to play against the syncopated repeats. You can hear musicians like David Gilmour and Andy Summers employ this technique.
The Swell knob could as easily be called Feedback as it controls the number of repeats. I found that the window for really nice ambient backfills was very small. I went from simple repeat controls to self-oscillation in a very small turn of the knob. I would personally prefer a lot more granularity before the unit starts self-howling.
Inside the box there is a switch to set the unit to Trails mode or True-Bypass mode. Trails is the default. There are also two trim pots, one for gain and one for modulation. I did not make changes to any of them in my review.
I want to call out Catalinbread for delivering one of the finest documentation packages that I have ever seen for something as simple as a pedal. The documentation is well-written, articulate, easy to follow, has great graphics and conveys the enthusiasm of the Catalinbread team. They have set a new gold standard for documentation in the pedal space!
In my opinion, for its price the Catalinbread ECHOREC is a pretty cool tool. Personally I would find remembering all the variants and being able to put the knob in the perfect position from standing a bit challenging. As previously noted, I would prefer that the level of fine adjustment in the Swell control was greater for better resolution of PAD like tones.
As is true so often, I have to thank my friends at The Arts Music Store in Newmarket Ontario for getting me access to the Catalinbread ECHOREC for this review. You can buy an ECHOREC online from them by following this link. I do not receive any compensation for any such purchases.