Strymon adds EC-1 single-head tape echo pedal at $279

June 30, 2025 · 3 sources

Strymon lists the EC-1 Single Head dTape Echo at $279.00, marked in stock, on its site¹. Guitar Pedal X reported the release on February 26, 2025, calling it a $279 compact single-head echo that distills the El Capistan's Single mode with variations². Delicious Audio covered it on June 30, 2025 as the latest addition to the company's lineup³.

Delicious Audio describes the pedal as an evolution of the multi-head El Capistan that focuses on a single-head tape echo sound³. Guitar Pedal X writes that the EC-1 "is just the Single mode from the El Capistan really - with some variations"².

The controls are Time, Mix, Tape Age, Mechanics, Repeats and a three-way Record Level switch, with tap tempo on the footswitch¹². Strymon gives the time range as 50 ms to 1 second¹; Guitar Pedal X lists it as 50ms to 1000ms². Strymon says the Record Level switch selects unity gain, a 6dB boost or a 12dB boost into the virtual record head¹; Guitar Pedal X lists the three positions as Low (+0dB), Med (+6dB) and High (+12dB)². Strymon describes Tape Age as controlling the bandwidth of the tape and Mechanics as controlling motor and mechanical fluctuations¹.

Strymon says the pedal has full stereo in and out, processing incoming stereo signals independently, a discrete Class A JFET input preamp, and a choice of two tube-modeled preamp voices¹. Guitar Pedal X lists rear connections as TRS in, TRS out, a Mono/Stereo switch, USB-C, EXP/MIDI and 9V DC at 250mA².

Guitar Pedal X's reviewer wrote that the pedal "sounds pretty great" but that single-head echo holds less appeal for him than multi-head units, and that he prefers the El Capistan even at $100 more².