The Clouds Hill Effects Echo is a delay pedal that gets its repeats from a spinning 3.5-inch floppy disk. Unveiled in April 2016 and described by MusicRadar as "the world's first floppy disk delay," it was built to recreate the sound of classic tape echo machines without using tape, analog bucket-brigade chips or digital signal processing1. The pedal is hand-made in Germany2.
Where most delay pedals store your signal in a chip, the Echo writes it magnetically onto a diskette, the same removable storage medium computers used before USB drives. The idea came from Clouds Hill, the Hamburg studio and effects outfit behind the project, while the builder who executed it was NB-Instrument, who proposed using floppies instead of tape2.
How the heads and the diskette work
The Echo's recording chain is borrowed from cassette technology. The signal is written onto the disk by a magnetizing record head, then replayed and erased by two reproduction heads and one erase head of a cassette player1. Because the disk spins like a tape loop, the time it takes the medium to travel from the record head to the playback heads sets the delay time, which is why the pedal behaves like a tape echo rather than a digital delay.
The builder says the magnetic properties of the floppy disk itself are part of the sound. As NB-Instrument put it to gearnews.com2:
"This design plus the unique magnetic properties of the floppy disk create a very authentic tape echo sound."2
The delay time runs from 6 milliseconds up to 1.6 seconds12. That range covers quick slapback repeats through to longer, ambient-style echoes, though it stops short of the multi-second delays some digital pedals offer.
Modes, footswitches and expression input
The disk drive runs on what the launch materials call a 12V Digital Drive System Tapedeck, which can run in four different modes1. These modes are where the Echo's tape-machine character lives, and they map to the controls gearnews.com listed at launch2:
| Control or mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Acceleration | Controls how the disk spins up, like a tape motor gaining speed |
| Brake | Slows the disk, bending pitch and delay time |
| Age simulation | Adds extra wow and flutter, simulating an older tape machine |
| Random error simulation | Reproduces the unpredictable glitches of a real tape transport |
Alongside these, the pedal has knobs for gain, main volume, blend, feedback and speed1.
Three footswitches handle the basics: true bypass, mute and motor, which respectively activate the pedal, stop repeats and adjust speed1. The mute switch is a useful tape-machine touch, letting you cut the repeats dead rather than letting them ring out.
For hands-free control, the Echo's modes are controllable via a standard expression pedal or a control voltage signal1, and gearnews.com confirms the pedal has inputs for Control Voltage2. Control voltage, or CV, is the same kind of signal synthesists use to steer parameters, so the Echo can sit in a wider experimental setup as well as on a pedalboard.
Power and bypass
The Echo runs on a 15V power supply, and one is included with the pedal1.
At 15V, the Echo needs more than the 9V supply most pedalboards distribute. Plan on giving it its own power outlet rather than sharing a daisy chain with 9V pedals.
Bypass is true bypass, so with the effect off your signal passes through without buffering or coloring1.
Who designed it
Johann Scheerer, of Hamburg recording studio Clouds Hill Recordings, is behind the device1. Scheerer is also known as the producer of Bosnian Rainbows1. The pedal itself was developed and built by NB-Instrument, who explained the division of labor in gearnews.com's comments:
"It was Clouds Hill's idea to make a tape echo pedal and i came up with the solution to use floppies instead of tape."2
What reviewers made of it
Published coverage from the 2016 launch was largely intrigued by the concept. gearnews.com's writer judged the demo sounds favorably against the classics2:
"Judging by the demos, the ECHO Floppy Disc Delay sounds very similar to these to my ear."2
MusicRadar's report framed the pedal as a genuine first, the world's first floppy disk delay, and noted its €1,999 preorder price1. The pedal's reputation rests mainly on its launch coverage and demos.
Videos
Clouds Hill Music
Clouds Hill Music
Soundgas
Questions
Does the Clouds Hill Echo really use a floppy disk?
Yes. The Echo records the signal onto a 3.5-inch diskette using a magnetizing record head, and replays and erases it with two reproduction heads and one erase head taken from a cassette player. MusicRadar described it as the world's first floppy disk delay when it launched in 2016.
Is the Clouds Hill Effects Echo analog or digital?
MusicRadar described the Echo as totally analogue, and gearnews.com noted that it uses a floppy disc instead of tape, analogue BBD or DSP technology. The disk drive itself runs on what the maker's materials call a 12V Digital Drive System Tapedeck.
What is the delay range of the Clouds Hill Echo?
The Echo offers delay times between 6 milliseconds and 1.6 seconds. That covers tight slapback-style repeats through to longer, spacey tape-style echoes, though it does not reach the multi-second times of some digital delays.
Is a power supply included with the Echo?
Yes. MusicRadar's 2016 launch report states that a 15V power supply is included with the Echo. That voltage is higher than the 9V standard most pedalboards are wired for, so it needs its own supply rather than a typical daisy chain.
Is the Clouds Hill Echo true bypass?
Yes. The pedal carries three footswitches for true bypass, mute and motor, which respectively activate the pedal, stop repeats and adjust speed. True bypass means the signal passes through untouched when the effect is off.
Can you control the Echo with an expression pedal?
Yes. MusicRadar reports that the Echo's modes are controllable via a standard expression pedal or a control voltage signal, and gearnews.com confirms it has inputs for Control Voltage. This allows hands-free control over parameters while playing.
Sources (2)
- The world's first floppy disk delay pedal exists and it sounds like this, MusicRadar, 2016-04-25
- Unique and boutique: Clouds Hill launch ECHO Floppy Disc Delay, gearnews.com, 2016-04-26
