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Stealthtastic

Active member
Just picked up a T-Rex Replicator yesterday. Amazing pedal and easily my favorite delay yet. Obviously not practical for gigging but if you want gorgeous delays for home/studio, then it can't be beat. Loads of nice modern features too like tap tempo. Sounds great into my analog synth setup too.

Current go-to delays:
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Nice collection! I tried the big Replicator at my local shop, but honestly don't know if it was broken or not. It had *extremely* dirty lo-fi repeats, completely different to the sound of any tape delays I've owned. Is this a typical character of the pedal?
I also owned a BED right when they came out, but didn't bond with the preamp, which I understand is why a lot of people look to EP-3 style delays. I wasn't a fan of the EP Booster either for what it's worth- I just like a very hifi sound and found those circuits to dull it.
How do you like the Tonal Recall? It's one of the pedals I've been intrigued by for a while. Regarding tape, I've owned a couple of Fulltone TTE's which were very clean sounding and made for a sweet overdrive when cranking up the volume on them. Wouldn't mind owning one again.
 
white buffalo":3vfb9idf said:
Nice collection! I tried the big Replicator at my local shop, but honestly don't know if it was broken or not. It had *extremely* dirty lo-fi repeats, completely different to the sound of any tape delays I've owned. Is this a typical character of the pedal?
I also owned a BED right when they came out, but didn't bond with the preamp, which I understand is why a lot of people look to EP-3 style delays. I wasn't a fan of the EP Booster either for what it's worth- I just like a very hifi sound and found those circuits to dull it.
How do you like the Tonal Recall? It's one of the pedals I've been intrigued by for a while. Regarding tape, I've owned a couple of Fulltone TTE's which were very clean sounding and made for a sweet overdrive when cranking up the volume on them. Wouldn't mind owning one again.

You can lower the dirt on the repeats using the saturation knob on the back of the pedal. It's likely that someone cranked it and left it that way. It's definitely not going to sound ultra crisp and the same every time though, which is the nature of a tape delay.

Interesting you didn't dig the BED, it's one of my favorite delays, just wish it had a tap tempo. Everything else on it is perfect.

The Tonal Recall I love for what it is. I'm usually into more simple/straight forward pedals but the options on that pedal make it a lot of fun. My only sllllight issue with it is the little mini selector between the two footswitches. I hit it with my large clown like feet sometimes but it's not really a real issue.
 
Stealthtastic":1ag3x2qc said:
white buffalo":1ag3x2qc said:
Nice collection! I tried the big Replicator at my local shop, but honestly don't know if it was broken or not. It had *extremely* dirty lo-fi repeats, completely different to the sound of any tape delays I've owned. Is this a typical character of the pedal?
I also owned a BED right when they came out, but didn't bond with the preamp, which I understand is why a lot of people look to EP-3 style delays. I wasn't a fan of the EP Booster either for what it's worth- I just like a very hifi sound and found those circuits to dull it.
How do you like the Tonal Recall? It's one of the pedals I've been intrigued by for a while. Regarding tape, I've owned a couple of Fulltone TTE's which were very clean sounding and made for a sweet overdrive when cranking up the volume on them. Wouldn't mind owning one again.

You can lower the dirt on the repeats using the saturation knob on the back of the pedal. It's likely that someone cranked it and left it that way. It's definitely not going to sound ultra crisp and the same every time though, which is the nature of a tape delay.

Interesting you didn't dig the BED, it's one of my favorite delays, just wish it had a tap tempo. Everything else on it is perfect.

The Tonal Recall I love for what it is. I'm usually into more simple/straight forward pedals but the options on that pedal make it a lot of fun. My only sllllight issue with it is the little mini selector between the two footswitches. I hit it with my large clown like feet sometimes but it's not really a real issue.

Cool, yeah that must be what happened with the Replicator as I remember thinking "there's no way anyone would buy this"- the repeats were fully distorted and not in any musical way. Would like to try another someday knowing this.

Re: the BED, it's just a matter of me not being a fan of the EP-3 preamp really. I find it dulls my tone- someone else might say it's adding "warmth"; subjective. I can def see why people dig it! But yeah, tempo is a must for sure. I wish my Skreddy Echo had tap tempo.
 
this thread... and some other recent threads on the subject... have got me craving a tape delay again. it's been years since i've owned one-- i owned three tte's last--, but i think i'm ready to deal with the headache again... have been thinking of maybe going with an old re-301, but also considering some other options. while i know it's not tape, last year i was dead set on splurging for one of the new binson's made by ex-binson employee marcello, who bought up everything when they shut down and makes the new ones with mostly nos parts... but just couldn't justify buying into something so cumbersome, especially at such a high price of $4k. not many guys here can work on a binson, so i decided not to take my chances, though i do still think about it from time to time. t-rex are reportedly working on a binson, they even had it at namm a couple years ago, but i think it's still a ways out. will be cool though. maybe will get a tte again if i don't do the 301, though the latter is more intriguing to me with the chorus and other features. i never got into the ep-3 sound (as mentioned in an above post) as i always found it to dull my tone too much, so will be avoiding such units.
 
white buffalo":bd4bvou3 said:
this thread... and some other recent threads on the subject... have got me craving a tape delay again. it's been years since i've owned one-- i owned three tte's last--, but i think i'm ready to deal with the headache again... have been thinking of maybe going with an old re-301, but also considering some other options. while i know it's not tape, last year i was dead set on splurging for one of the new binson's made by ex-binson employee marcello, who bought up everything when they shut down and makes the new ones with mostly nos parts... but just couldn't justify buying into something so cumbersome, especially at such a high price of $4k. not many guys here can work on a binson, so i decided not to take my chances, though i do still think about it from time to time. t-rex are reportedly working on a binson, they even had it at namm a couple years ago, but i think it's still a ways out. will be cool though. maybe will get a tte again if i don't do the 301, though the latter is more intriguing to me with the chorus and other features. i never got into the ep-3 sound (as mentioned in an above post) as i always found it to dull my tone too much, so will be avoiding such units.

Not all EP-3’s sound the same I have one of the earliest EP3’s and it isn’t dark; in fact it is pretty neutral sounding with regards to treble and bass and adds compression to the tone. I have a Roland Re150 that is really nice too.
 
I don't remember where my EP-3 falls in the production, but I wouldn't call mine dark, either. New tape and general maintenance (biasing, aligning, cleaning, etc.) brought mine back to life after I got it. The added compression's subtle and it adds a little sparkle to the upper mids, not unlike a treble booster set pretty low.

I also have a Sireko, which while darker than my EP-3, isn't what I'd call dark, either. They are both distinctive sounds, though, and don't work for everything or everyone. Just another few pieces in the toolkit. :)
 
ChurchHill":240esuyl said:
I don't remember where my EP-3 falls in the production, but I wouldn't call mine dark, either. New tape and general maintenance (biasing, aligning, cleaning, etc.) brought mine back to life after I got it. The added compression's subtle and it adds a little sparkle to the upper mids, not unlike a treble booster set pretty low.

I also have a Sireko, which while darker than my EP-3, isn't what I'd call dark, either. They are both distinctive sounds, though, and don't work for everything or everyone. Just another few pieces in the toolkit. :)

Agreed. I have one of the first Badgerplex Ep Pre’s and it is super close to my echoplex. My echoplex is slightly more compressed. I also have the latest version of the Chase tone Secret Preamp and it’s really good too... it not as compressed.

For tape delays I like the echoplex in front and the Roland space echo on the loop. The echoplex can be a bit finicky whereas the space echo is a well designed work horse.

FWIW, I had the EP4 and didn’t like it as much as the EP3. The EP4 has a compression circuit that didn’t add anything good. lol
 
Cool, thanks for letting us know! I've occasionally thought about picking up an EP4, but haven't. Now I know not to waste my time. Besides, the EP3 sounds great. I picked up the Sireko so I could have one adjusted for more wow and flutter. I LOVE that sound, but don't always want it. I might have to take another look at the Rolands, though.

I've heard great things about the Badgerplex EP Pre's. I'd forgotten about the Secret Preamp, though. Sounds like they'd both be good options for my smaller pedalboard when I don't want to drag along the real thing.
 
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