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 Post subject: REVIEW: EHX #1 Echo
PostPosted: March 14th, 2008, 10:56 am 
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Joined: March 9th, 2008, 6:01 pm
Posts: 66
Location: Santa Clara, CA
I owned this one for a while, and I was pretty pleased with it. I sold it in the pursuit of a different kind of delay, though.

POWER: 9VDC, 200mA, 2.1mm center-negative DC jack. It uses your ordinary 9V Boss-style adapter. It conveniently comes with its own adapter, too, but for a good reason: it doesn't run on batteries. My advice? Use a daisy chain or brick - it'll work with all the usual ones.

CONTROLS: Blend, Delay Time, and Feedback. These controls are straightforward, but one is certainly unconventional on a delay pedal. The Blend knob allows you to control the mix between the dry signal and the delay signal, which is something you don't see every day. The Delay Time knobs controls... well... delay time, ranging from 10ms (milliseconds, for the mathematically challenged) to 2 seconds. The Feedback knob controls the number of repeats; at minimum, it will produce just one repeated note, and at maximum, it will dive into chaos with the touch of a single note. I'm guessing that's what self-oscillation must be? :D

SOUND: Electro-Harmonix advertises this pedal as the FINEST digital echo available", in addition to being a "digital delay with analog tone". But how does it really sound? Damn good, to say the least! :)

Sonically speaking, the delay is really natural. Set it to one repeat, and you will be pleased by how faithfully it duplicates the note. Increase the feedback, and the trailing, fading repeats can usher in reverb/echo tones that sound very analog, indeed. I'm impressed by how good this thing can sound.

With the Feedback and Delay time set low, and the Blend set around 9:00 - 10:00, you can get some reverb-like tones. Crank up the Feedback when the delay time is low, and you'll get a cool "bell-chime" effect! Crank up the Feedback knob on any setting for wild infinite repeating, looping, and chaotic possibilities!

The Blend knob allows for some really cool mix possibilities. Dial in a mix with more clean signal (below 12:00), and it'll be very reverb-like. Dial it above, and you can get some crazy sounds in which your initial note is quiet, but the repeated notes are not. Playing with the Delay Time and Blend at maximum can be quite confusing... you won't hear your note until 2 seconds later :D

NOISE: None with the #1 Echo! It's dead silent when on, which is a huge plus for recording.

PROBLEMS: Only one real problem: the Blend knob... it suffers from the same fate that all buffered blend knobs seem to suffer from on their own, whether on basses or pedals. At the minimum setting, you don't hear any delay, and the clean signal is at full volume. At the maximum setting, the delay signal is at full volume. And at 12:00, the mix is a perfect 50/50 between the two signals... but with a volume drop. Any mix in between the minimum and maximum settings has some minor volume drop, but as you get closer to 12:00, it's more noticeable. On guitar, it's hardly an issue at all. On bass, the drop is a bit annoying when at 12:00, but at other settings, it's actually fine for me (others may find it to be an issue).

Basically... I wish it had a Level knob to compensate, but I can live without it!

SUMMARY: A simple delay pedal with plenty of beautiful tones, but it has a volume drop with certain blend settings.

RATING: :D :D :D :) :|

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Bassist: Letters to Ruin
EBMM Stingray | GK Fusion 550 | GK Neo 212
MXR Blowtorch | MXR Carbon Copy | EHX Stereo Electric Mistress


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