This time out we'll take a look at some new echo units and briefly revisit the once-hot controversy over analog delays versus tape-based delays. Both technologies were largely replaced by digital emulations back in the mid-1980s, but the current interest in vintage analog effects has led to the reissue of several classic echo devices. Why would you want to return to the days of analog echoes? Let's start at the beginning.

Once Upon a Time The first commercially produced tape-echo units became available in the 1950s. The earliest machines, which were manufactured by Meazzi, Binson, Klempt, and others, were designed as effects devices for recording studios, not for individual musicians. Their inputs and outputs typically consisted of screw-down binding strips, odd multipin plugs, or other types of connectors unfriendly to, say, guitarists.

As tape-echo effects became commonplace in popular music (thanks to Sam Philips, Phil Spector, Joe Meek, and others), individual musicians wanted to incorporate them into their own sound, and units were designed with 11/44-inch instrument inputs. Two of the most popular tape echoes used during the '60s and '70s were the Watkins Copicat (made and mostly used in the United Kingdom, though eventually marketed in the United States by Guild) and the Echoplex (made and mostly used in the United States). Both units were originally tube devices, later replaced by solid-state models.

By the late 1970s, companies like Roland, Korg, and Univox were all producing tape-echo units, but the Echoplex was always the most popular. Instead of having several fixed playback heads-as the Copicat and most other units did-the Echoplex had only one playback head, but it was movable in relation to the record head, allowing the delay time to be varied. Another distinguishing feature was that all but the first Echoplexes featured three minutes of sound-on-sound recording and playback.

Tape-echo units were bulky and heavy and required regular maintenance, so when transistor circuits made it possible to get the basic delay effect from a stompbox, only hard-core tape-echo users continued to drag theirs around. Those purists maintained that no analog pedals sounded as good as the real thing (particularly the tube units), and the controversy continues to this day.

We'll look at three analog delay pedals that aspire to sound like tape delays, and the Plex, a reissue of the original tube Echoplex. Two of the pedals-the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man and the Maxon AD80-are reissues of vintage pedals themselves, while the third is a unique new creation by Carl Martin.

For my primary tests I used a 1967 Les Paul Custom and an ADA tube preamp/power-amp rig running into a Marshall 4 5 10 cabinet. To test for noise, I substituted a Yamaha 03D digital mixer for the amp. In both cases I plugged the guitar directly into the units (rather than inserting them into the preamp's effects loop), because that's how they are typically used. For grins, I also tried using the units as outboard effects processors while mixing.

Rock Hard the Plex ($1,095). The Plex, developed by Richard Beck of Rock Hard, Inc., is a reissue of the Echoplex model EP-2. The Plex replaces the EP-2's problematic belt drive with a direct-drive mechanism and adds a grounded AC cord. Otherwise it's supposed to be essentially the same unit with all its characteristic idiosyncrasies, including tape hiss and wow and flutter.

The Plex looks more or less like the EP-2, but with black Tolex covering instead of the original green, and different graphics. The sliding tape head assembly is located on the rear of the top panel, rather than along the front as in later models. There's a lever covering the input that, when pushed to the side to insert a plug, starts the motor. Output and footswitch jacks, an on/off status LED, and three "chicken head" knobs for Balance, Repeat, and Record complete the classic setup.

Record turns the Plex on, adjusts the input level, and interacts with the Balance control to set the relationship between dry and tape signal. Repeat adjusts the amount of regeneration or feedback and, in true Echoplex form, starts to self-oscillate around 7, going wild by 8. Moving the playback head during self-oscillation produces the classic spaceship (for lack of a better word) sound made famous by Jimi Hendrix, Steve Miller, Jimmy Page, and a host of others.

How does the Plex sound? Overall it is very warm and musical, though not as fat-sounding as some original tube Echoplexes. Our test unit produced surprisingly little noise, though it did emit a fairly distinct hum (according to Rock Hard, Inc., this has been resolved). The biggest problem is a noticeable tone sucking-a flaw the Plex shares with all other Echoplexes and many analog delays, for that matter. When I A/B'd it against a straight wire, there was an overall loss of low and high frequencies as well as an appreciable level loss. This is one classic characteristic I could easily live without.

Operating the Plex is straightforward. By setting all three knobs to 5, I was able to get a good basic sound, with an even balance of dry and tape signals and about eight repeats. Moving the head assembly on the review unit was a little tricky, as it tended to get stuck in one area, making it necessary for me to grasp it tightly and push. Unfortunately, the edges of the metal cover plate are sharp, and I cut my finger while adjusting it. The numbers on the tape cover corresponding to the delay time also appear to be reversed, with 0 marking the maximum delay length, and 16 the minimum. Huh?

Would I recommend the Plex to someone looking for a tape-echo unit? You bet! If you need to have the sound of tape, particularly for live performance applications, the Plex is lighter, quieter, more efficient, and probably more reliable than any vintage unit you're likely to find. It ain't cheap, but its street price may actually be less than that of a vintage tube Echoplex.

Maxon AD80 ($250). Back in the 1970s, Japanese manufacturer Maxon created a line of pedals that Ibanez licensed for the U.S. market. If you're a fan of early Ibanez pedals, you're also a Maxon fan, probably without realizing it. Now Maxon has reissued the entire series of nine classic pedals, hand built to the original specifications. The diminutive AD80 Analog Delay is one of those pedals.

The AD80 sports a flashy magenta paint job, black knobs, and graphics. The unit has medium-size knobs for Delay Time and Repeat, as well as a smaller knob for Blend. There's also an on/off status LED and two outputs (for delay and dry signals)-a very nice touch, particularly for a pedal this size. The Delay Time control is somewhat counterintuitive by American standards, as it increases the delay time (10 to 300 ms) when turned counterclockwise. The Repeat control covers a useful range, with self-oscillation beginning at about the 7 position. Blend is, well, blend.

The AD80 also has a very warm and musical sound, which actually comes close to a tape echo but without the wow and flutter. Particularly impressive are its short rockabilly-style slaps and repeats with just the right regeneration characteristics. As usual, the quality of the delayed sound decreases as the delay time is increased, but not as dramatically as with most other pedals. The self-oscillation sound is really cheesy-yet surprisingly cool. And with a little tweaking I got some great UFO flybys and other peculiar effects. For such a small pedal, the AD80 delivers a very big sound.

Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man ($298). In the 1970s, two serious challengers to the dominance of tape echoes were the Electro-Harmonix Memory Man and Deluxe Memory Man pedals. Now that Electro-Harmonix is back in business, it has reissued the Deluxe, and it sounds even better than the original.

The DMM has a built-in power supply (yeah!), a power-on LED, and an input level pot with an overload LED. Curiously, though, there is no effect on/off status LED. Cranking the Feedback knob sends the unit into a rather harsh self-oscillation, but that can be tempered by the interaction of the other controls, allowing for lots of fun combinations.

The DMM also has a limited modulation section, consisting of a single Depth knob, and a small slider switch on the upper back panel that toggles between chorus and vibrato effects. It has no modulation footswitch, so you have to turn the knob to modulate the delay. Also, the relatively slow modulation rates for both vibrato and chorus are fixed. Those limitations notwithstanding, the chorus has a distinctive sound with a nice gritty edge to it, and the vibrato is relatively smooth and musical. Also, by dialing in a bit of modulation with long delay times, I was able to achieve some nice warp effects.

The Deluxe Memory Man has the usual limitations, like significantly compromised sound at longer delay settings and a hissy tail after each repeat. But it has real personality, and at shorter delay settings it's not too noisy or funky. Before I even had a chance to plug a guitar into it, I patched it into my mixer during a mixdown, and the results were nothing short of amazing. It doesn't really sound like a tape echo, but it has its own sound, one I like very much.

Carl Martin Delayla ($360). Like the entire series of Carl Martin pedals (including the best stompbox compressor ever made), the DeLayla is hand assembled in Denmark, employs high-quality components, and is built to last. Its Tap feature sets it apart from other analog delay pedals. Buyers who don't read the manual should beware: Tap is a second delay tap, not a tap tempo switch. It simulates the sound of multiple-head tape delays like the Copicat, Roland Space Echo, and others. Clever, huh?

The DeLayla has no input level control but is apparently optimized for instrument levels. Its four knobs control the level of the primary delay line (Echo), the mix/level of the second delay line (Tap), the overall delay time (Time), and the amount of regeneration (Repeat). Delay time is variable between 35 and 500 ms, and is increased (once again) by turning the knob counterclockwise. The On and Tap footswitches and their status LEDs are located at the bottom right and bottom left corners of the pedal. The pedal has a built-in power supply with an attached AC cord.

Generally, the DeLayla is extremely quiet and causes no tone sucking. Its warm sound is also remarkably crisp and clear, especially at shorter delay times. As delay time increases, the sound gets noisier and less distinct, and an odd compression effect kicks in. However, these problems are typical in analog delay pedals, and the DeLayla exhibits them less than most.

The DeLayla produces a great rockabilly slap-back-one of the best I've heard from a pedal. It also does a remarkably good job of simulating a multiple-head tape echo. I verified this by comparing it directly to the sound of my vintage Copicat. And the DeLayla's Tap control allows you to adjust the relative levels of the two taps, something you can't do on tape echoes.

Another interesting thing about the Tap function is how it interacts with the Repeat control. As long as you're using only the main delay line, you can crank Repeat all the way up without getting self-oscillation; as you add the second (Tap) delay, however, the oscillation gradually goes over the top. This gives you some truly wild sounds, including a bizarre modulated comb-filter effect. The DeLayla doesn't really sound like a tape echo, but it comes close.

In This Corner, Corner, Corner So how do our three analog delay pedals compare to the Plex? Bottom line is, they don't. In terms of providing a reasonable option for those seeking a basic tape-echo sound without the hassles of transporting and maintaining the real thing, all three are easily up to the task. But as far as satisfying the true aficionado-particularly one capable of arguing passionately about the differences between tube and solid-state tape-echo units-they're not even in the ballpark.

The genuine article sounds the way it does due to many, often subtle, factors-not simply the obvious ones like limited bandwidth and decreasing high frequencies with each repeat. When the first prototype of the Plex was developed, expert users complained that it was too modern, too well made. They insisted that it had to sound "old," and there's the rub.

Perhaps the problem here is that we've been led to ask the wrong question. Who actually cares whether analog delay pedals sound just like tape-echo units? These three pedals each sound great in their own right, and so does the Plex.

Barry Cleveland is the editor of the Recording Industry Sourcebook and the Mix Master Directory when he's not working in his studio or playing guitar in the improvisational quintet Cloud Chamber (www.mphase.com/cloud.htm).

Rock Hard, Inc. tel. (888) 269-6560; fax (219) 269-7275; e-mail info@rockhardinc.com; Web www.rockhardinc.com

Maxon/Godlyke (distributor) tel. (973) 835-2100; fax (973) 835-2100; e-mail godlykehq@aol.com; Web www.godlyke.com

Electro-Harmonix/New Sensor (distributor) tel. (212) 529-0466; fax (212) 529-0486; e-mail info@ehx.com; Web www.ehx.com

Carl Martin/European Musical Imports (distributor) tel. (201) 594-0817; fax (201) 594-0829; e-mail emimports@earthlink.net; Web www.carlmartin.com

Penumbra www.penumbra.co.nz/allthegear.html#tapes Lots of photos of vintage drum- and tape-based echo units.

Amp Heaven www.ampheaven.com/British%20Echos.htm A British equipment dealer. Pictures of vintage Watkins Copicats and a Binson Eco-Rec.

Digital Video www.digitalvideo.com/misc/fun/klmet.jpg An image of a Klempt Echolette 5 tape echo, showing the tape drive.