12 of the Best Tape Delay Pedals for your Consideration

Catalinbread bill this as 'an exact reproduction of the iconic 1970’s Maestro Echoplex® EP-3' in solid state form (Everything-But-The-Tape) - it significantly improves on the still available compact version with additional modes (6-mode dial) and parameters and extra expression pedal functions. For what it does it is still significantly compact and worthy of your consideration.

Catalinbread's other tape pedal has yet to appear in deluxe format, but makes up for that with a really smart control layout - where just 5 dials give you everything you need - including of course the 12-mode rotary selector. There are 3 solid-state Echorec clones featured here, and it's interesting to see how differently they have each approached their own particular solution. In terms of really simple and yet warm and lush sound - this pedal does an amazing job. Every time I think I am leaning towards the Dawner Prince Boonar, I check out this video and then promptly swing back the other way - both are really good, and this one is more compact - which possibly gives it an edge.

This is probably the neatest Echorec reproduction to date - with those 4 tape head buttons in a row - allowing you to use them in any and every combination - you also have input signal and drum age control dials on 2 sides of the pedal alongside the 4 key parameter dials - also with a separate footswitch to engage repeats feedback and swell. All this in essentially a landscape compact pedal enclosure. I really like the granularity of this pedal, while you could argue that the Catalinbread is a little simpler in handling. Yet this one does quite a bit more, possibly with a slightly more neutral core tone too. This is typically £100 more than the Catalinbread, so that will undoubtedly factor in too - I really to keep oscillating between the these two pedals, and right now I cannot make up my mind as to which to get!

Dunlop goes down the simple route with its version of the Echoplex - using just 3 dials - Sustain | Volume | Delay and a secondary push function on the Volume for tape age (modulation + warble + flutter + artefacts); there's also a separate socket for a remote tap-tempo switch. You can't really get more basic than this, and you get a pretty decent output - which can be stereo with TRS splitter cables, but I'm not sure this one is quite of the quality of most of the other's here, and the fact that Dunlop now owns the Echoplex trademark probably helps it maintain a slightly higher than warranted price. That said, there seem to be enough people who prefer this to the Belle Epoch, meaning more likely the equivalent compact one rather than the above Deluxe.

EQD describes this as a lo-fi swirling tape styled echo which makes use of dual delays with added reverb and modulation. Delays can be run individually, in series or in parallel - depending on where you set the Bleed control. In some ways you could describe this as a 2-head tape machine delay, but with a little more control. It's a really smart devices, but a little large for my liking.

I love Empress pedals, and have near enough featured the whole range on my various blog posts - they've kind of crept up steadily to make the best all-round delay pedal currently available - or the EchoSystem as it is called. This little brother to it concentrates solely on tape delay. It's a fairly vanilla device - but with lots of sound-sculpting options via 4 toggles and 4 dials. To fully keep pace with the high achievers listed here, it probably needs a couple more modes / play-heads as such. Empress pedals are so easy to use and set up - and you are always guaranteed the best quality components and highest fidelity output. Much like with the Empress Tremolo, I feel that there are other delays pedals here slightly better appointed overall in this area.

In some ways this is the closest reproduction of the Echorec in terms of aesthetics and having a proper valve-driven pre-amp. Yet in one way it's significantly different in only having the sound of the single number 4 playback head versus the combination of all 4 - which is what you get with the Catalinbread Echorec and the Dawner Prince Boonar. Many believe this is the most authentic to the original in its overall soundstage even though it only gives you the single playback option. I think that on a given day, and depending what you're after you could quite happily go with any of those three - each has something to recommend it.

This is a more straightforward compact pedal with Time | Regen | Level dials and then Depth and Speed for Modulation, It provides a surprisingly diverse range of tones as ably demonstrated by Andy Martin in the above video. You can quickly and easily go from slow chorus-like spacey ambience to fluttery and warbly oscillation. This is the lowest cost pedal in this selection but well up to the task. Of course it does not do the more advanced multi-head textures of some of the more complex examples featured here. (note that enclosure in video has different graphics, but is the same pedal as picture above).

Strymon of course is highly regarded for its various delay pedals, and this very authentic sounding tape delay is one of its most loved. It features 3 modes covering all the key tape delay types - Fixed | Multi | Single - and each has 3 sub-modes, for instance for Multi-Head you get to select 3 classic configurations of the 4 playback heads normally associated with a Binson Echorec. So you don't get all the different Echorec modes, but you get the key flavours of that alongside the key flavours of an Echoplex and more simple fixed playback position. As with all of these types of Strymon pedals there are a plethora of secondary functions to be accessed on each dial. If you want an all-rounder tape-style delay pedal - then this is probably your frontrunner, yet you may decide you have a particular preference for an Echorec, Exhoplex or Space Echo even, and may rather target those exclusively. The El Capisatn has been on my wishlist for a while now, and is second-in-line of the Strymons after the Flint!

I selected the still relatively large Replicator Junior over its briefcase-size brother for matters of pedalboard suitability. The larger original was not based on any specific original tape delay type, but was merely T-Rex's attempt at trying to build the very best modern real-tape delay using all analogue parts / components. The larger original has 2 playback heads, 6 dials and 4 footswitches, while the pictured / featured Junior version pretty much exactly halves that - having a single playback head, 3 dials and 2 footswitches. You obviously cannot get the more complex multi-head textures, but you get a lovely lush-sounding proper tape effect with tap-tempo - and smart replaceable tape cartridges. It also cuts about 1/3 off the price of its larger sibling. I still have a feeling that this can all be miniaturised further - let's not forget what Sony did with the Walkman after all. I still reckon this is a great solution if you are serious about getting as authentic a tape delay sound as possible - with real tape transport and true wow & flutter dynamics.

All of Brian Wampler's pedals sound excellent and have great picking dynamics, and of the various tape delays featured here - this one sits kind of between the Keeley Magnetic Echo, Empress Tape Delay and the Strymon El Capistan. The Wampler benefits from tap-tempo and sub-divisions, but does not have the more advanced variable tape-head settings of the Strymon. So it's more like the Echoplex and Replicator in its style of tape delay. The 'Depth' dial here is very useful in getting this pedal to fit in and around your playing - otherwise this is really very vanilla and straightforward.