Strymon El Capistan v2 Dtape Delay Effects Pedal

The age of tape

As vintage as it gets. Before the introduction of digital stompboxes, the delay, or slapback, effect had to be produced through actual tapes. One tape would record what was being played, and the other would play that recording moments after, producing what we now call… delay! Unlike digital stompboxes, which retain the same tone forever, old school tapes would continually wear down, which significantly altered the sound of the delay.

El Capistan pays homage to this with one of the most unique and powerful tools you'll ever see on a delay stompbox - the Tape Age dial. This beauty changes the voicing of the effect from that of a sparkling new tape, to that of one which has been used for years. The result? Possibly the most dynamic and addictive delays ever. Go from a clean, punchy voicing to a haunting warble simply by flicking the dial.

Immersive control

And then there's the rest of the dials. You've got your standard Time, Mix, and Repeats to help you shape the nature and intensity of the delay. This is alongside the premium new spring reverb built into this pedal. Then there's the Wow and Flutter knob, which takes all the different details and quirks of the moving parts of old tape echo machines and puts them into a single control.

So, it gives you the ability to determine how many 'wobbles' and pitch modulations you inject into the overall delay effect. This again imitates how an analogue tape echo would respond (or change its response) over time. Finally, the Tape Head and Mode switches give you the option to select how many virtual 'tape heads' you're running the effect through.

New and improved

Out with the old. In with the new! This may be a vintage-style pedal, but this new version has some superb, modern improvements. Firstly, MIDI implementation through the EXP/MIDI jack means you can add further control, changing different parameters with MIDI commands - ideal for live shows. JFET circuitry has been added to the input jack to give it an even more analogue feel, as well as excellent dynamics. Finally, the ARM DSP chip adds more processing power, meaning a tighter, more fluid response and less power consumption across the board.