Strymon El Capistan

120 Guitarist December 2010
STRYMON EL CAPISTAN
£279
EFFECTS
Strymon El
Capistan
ORIGIN: USA
PRICE: £279
TYPE: Tape echo emulation pedal
CONNECTIONS: 1/4-inch jack input,
1/4-inch jack outputs (L and R), Exp
pedal input
CONTROLS: Mix, time, tape age,
repeats, wow & flutter, tape head
switch (fixed, multi, single), mode
switch (A, B, C), spring reverb, tape
bias, tape crinkle, low-end contour,
boost/cut
FOOTSWITCHES: Bypass, Tap tempo
POWER: 9V DC power from adaptor
(not supplied)
DIMENSIONS: 4.5 (d) x 4 (w)
x 1.75 (h) inches
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 0.44/0.96
OPTIONAL EXTRAS: ‘Favorite’
footswitch (£59), expression pedal
MusicPsych Ltd
0207 697 9226
www.strymon.net
Test results
Build quality
Features
Sound
Value for money
GUITARIST RATING
Strymon’s arrival continues with a practically sized tape
echo that’s emulated in fine detail by Trevor Curwen
T
he El Capistan aims to
make the sound of a tape
echo available in a
stompbox by using Strymon’s
dTape technology which, says
the company, “models all of the
complexities of tape machines
including such factors as wow
and f lutter, tape friction, bias
adjustment, oscillation,
saturation and delay-time-
adjustment artefacts.”
Three tape echoes are
modelled – a three-way switch
selects the types while a second
three-way mode switch offers
variations on each. Fixed
represents a single head tape
echo – and although it has three
heads, these are selected
individually by the second
switch. Multi is a multi-head
machine with the mode switch
selecting one of three head
combinations (1&2, 2&3, 1&3).
Single is the moveable head
machine and the mode switch
calls up normal or double tape
speeds plus a sound-on-sound
mode that effectively gives you
looping capability.
The usual mix, delay time
and repeats knobs are
complemented by knobs to
adjust tape age (making the
repeats darker) plus wow &
flutter (modulation). If that’s not
enough, all five knobs have
secondary functions (accessed
by holding down the tap and
bypass switches) including
adding spring reverb and
adjusting tape bias, tape crinkle,
low-end contour and the boost
or cut amount.
Sounds
Alongside vintage Space Echo
and Copicat units, this compares
well: it sounds excellent and gets
pretty close to real tape echo
tone. There’s a lot sonic variation
available, but we’d prefer dual-
concentric knobs rather than
holding down switches to access
secondary functions.
The tonal range and character
of the repeats is very adjustable
so you can have fairly bright
clean-ish repeats or use the
knobs, particularly tape age, to
dial in something much darker
and mushier that melts naturally
into your sound. Spring reverb
adds the same sort of ambience
as the short spring found in
Space Echoes and, combined
with the head selections in fixed
and multi mode can put you in
similar sonic territory. The
single mode will appeal to
Echoplex fans – its sound-on-
sound facility is great fun with
up to 20 seconds of lo-fi looping.
While we’d assume that users
of the original machines would
replace the tape and clean the
heads on a regular basis, the El
Capistan’s parameters for
recreating the sound of a tape
echo that’s not in peak condition
do add an extra dimension by
providing sonic artefacts that
are interesting in their own right
and contribute greatly to the
pedal’s ability to create a range
of nicely atmospheric effects
and ambient wash.
Strymon’s ‘favorite’ switch, if
added, will let you store a
favourite sound to give onstage
access to two different sounds at
all times – the stored sound and
the sound based on current knob
positions. The ‘favorite’ switch
socket can alternatively be used
for an expression pedal to
control any selectable knob
parameter – increasing repeats
would be a sensible choice here
for runaway oscillation, but (like
its Brigadier sibling) holding
down the tap switch creates the
same cool effect.
Verdict
Electro-mechanical tape echo
machines are bulky, can be
expensive and can need a lot of
TLC, so the El Capistan is a very
welcome substitute. Emulating
different types of tape echo,
with parameter adjustment for
all the nuances, it’s as close as
you can currently get to those
sounds without a lot of hassle.
But regardless of what it’s
supposed to be emulating, the
El Capistan is simply an
excellent delay pedal.
Strymon El Capistan £279
The Rivals
BOSS’s RE-20 (£219) offers
modelled Space Echo sounds,
while Akai’s E2 Headrush
(£129) and Wampler’s Faux
Tape Echo ($209) are also
worth a try. The larger Watkins
Copicat Gold (£975) is a
digital version of the classic UK
echo, and then there’s the real
thing: the Fulltone Tube Tape
Echo (£999), which is based
on an Echoplex, and the Blue
Coconut Unity Echoverb
(£899) six-head machine.
The Bottom Line
We like: Accurate emulation;
adjustable parameters;
looping; tap tempo
We dislike: Secondary
functions access
Guitarist says: A great all-
round delay, perfect for any
guitar and amp set-up
GIT336.rev_strymon 120 11/8/10 12:06:28 PM