Plug in, play a note or chord, and you feel it: All the warm, saturated, distinctive qualities and subtle nuances of vintage tape echo combine to instantly create an unmistakable atmosphere.
Everything from classic slapback echoes to psychedelic space explorations have stunning richness and depth, responding to each note and knob turn in a musically inspiring way.
Turn up the repeats for organic delay feedback with just the right amount of grit. Dial in some spring reverb to further enhance the sense of space. Effortlessly create multi-layered ambient soundscapes with the tape-style sound on sound looper.
Transform your pedalboard into the inspiration machine it was meant to be.
El Capistan provides three different tape machine types in one pedal, each with three unique modes and extensive control over tape quality, machine health and tone shaping.
Go from the full-range sonic stability of a fresh-from-the-factory echo machine, to the heavily fluctuating sound of a road-worn unit in need of service. Enjoy the full bodied sound of fresh tape, or dial in the dark, gnarled and vibey qualities of worn out tape.
Our meticulously handcrafted dTape™ technology and powerful ARM DSP give you a range of tape experiences that would be unattainable with a single traditional tape machine. Plus you get sound on sound looping, all without the headaches of tape machine maintenance and repair.
The second generation of El Capistan maintains the same rich magnetic tape echo tones of the original while adding new features that incorporate technological advancements, hardware improvements, and design enhancements. This provides you with additional flexibility, power, and ease of use both on stage and in the studio.
New Features:
MIDI: Full MIDI implementation means you can control just about every switch, knob, and setting remotely by sending MIDI commands from your controller or DAW via El Capistan’s EXP/MIDI jack or USB-C connection. Delay time can be synchronized via MIDI Clock Sync, and the sync setting can be saved for each pre-set. 300 MIDI pre-set locations are available for loading and saving your favourite settings.
Hardware Improvements: A premium analogue JFET input circuit ensures superb responsiveness to your playing, and you can select mono or stereo input with the flick of a rear panel switch. All this, plus a new ARM DSP chip provides more processing power for every sonic nuance, with less energy consumption on your pedalboard.
Spring Reverb: Some classic tape echo machines included small integrated spring reverb tanks tuned for limited bandwidth. For El Capistan, Strymon captured this vintage vibe while creating a spring reverb algorithm with a gorgeous, gentle character that stands on its own, in addition to enhancing delayed signals.
