Synthesist Matty Paxton shared this hand-on demo of the Echo Fix EF-X2, a modern take on the classic Roland Space Echo audio tape delay effect.
In the video, Paxton demonstrates the EF-X2 with an Elektron Octatrack MK2, a Sequential Prophet 6 and a Moog Matriarch.
The EF-X2 combines a old-school analog tape delay and spring reverb with DSP Reverb & Chorus, letting you create a wide range of effects.
“This is a very well built, real tape echo and real spring reverb, space echo unit,” notes Paxton. “Lovingly and very well built in the central coast of New South Wales, Australia.”
Check it out and share your thoughts on the Echo Fix EF-X2 Tape Echo in the comments!
there was a fairly short window of time where these kinds of physical, analog fx were being mass-produced
and they do have a special magic, just like analog synths
id expect them to return at some point
I think ‘mass-produced’ in this case may have meant ‘made in limited quantities for professional musicians’.
These were pretty high-end to begin in the 70s and I think even more so now.
mass-produced means made in a factory on an assembly line, which Im sure Roland did – not sure about other manufacturers
My group studio of the time included a Space Echo. It got milked religiously. One BIG lesson you learn about group teamwork is keeping all tape heads nice and clean at all times. If a tape snarled, all of that space cadet energy was immediately f**ked, heh.
Nice demo and a worthy piece of kit, although I’m more than satisfied with Valhalla and Echoboy on top of my DAW effects. I do like vinyl & tape warmth, but they’re just added flavors now.
It sounds great – I love tape echo
These things are still pretty much ridiculously expensive though
€2600 on Thomann – a huge amount of that is import/taxes shipping from Australia
You can get a genuine Roland Chorus Echo in good condition for less or not much more depending
What’s more the Reverb/Chorus on these new units is DSP unlike the Roland which is analogue hardware
I would say if I was in the market for a top end analogue tape echo – I’d still go for the Roland
Plus with the DSP reverb on board they could have given it a Stereo output
The Echo Fix has both analog spring reverb and DSP reverb. So I think the Echo Fix can basically do everything that the original Roland can do, plus you can use a lush modern reverb instead of the spring reverb if you like.
Out of my price range, but it looks/sounds gorgeous.