The Ibanez EM5 Echo Machine is an analog-voiced digital delay pedal designed to emulate the tape delay units of the 1970s. It was a late addition to Ibanez's Soundtank "5 Series", produced from 1996 to 20001. For players, it sits in the delay pedals family as a character echo: not a clean digital repeat machine, but one voiced to sound like worn tape.
What it does
The EM5's goal is vintage tape echo character. Aion FX describes it as designed "to emulate tape delay units from the 1970s"1. Under the hood, the delay IC is technically a digital chip with an analog interface, similar to the PT2399, but heavy filtering shapes the repeats, and a diode-clipping overdrive stage similar to the Tube Screamer adds saturation in the echo path1. That combination is what gives the pedal its analog-voiced, tape-like sound despite the digital core.
History and used market
The EM5 was generally overlooked during production. Aion FX notes it could be found for $50-70 on the used market up until a few years ago1. Attention changed after Dave Phillips of LA Sound Design brought the pedal to wider notice: he includes it in many of his professional pedalboards and calls it his favorite always-on delay1. Today, it rarely sells for less than $3001.
"Today, it rarely sells for less than $300."
Switching reliability
The original EM5 uses JFET switching that Aion FX describes as notorious for unreliability, a known issue for anyone buying one used1.
The original EM5 was notorious for its unreliable switching1. For a used buyer, that reputation is the main practical caveat: the pedal's JFET bypass is the part most likely to need attention on a unit now two decades or more old.
Ibanez delays compared
Ibanez has made a long line of delay pedals across its history, from the tape-era Ibanez AD-80 Analog Delay and the Ibanez AD9 Analog Delay to the digital Ibanez DDL Digital Delay and the modern Ibanez ES2 Echo Shifter and Ibanez LD303 Layer Delayer. The EM5's niche among them is its specific tape echo voicing built on a filtered PT2399-style chip1.
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Questions
Is the Ibanez EM5 analog or digital?
The delay chip is technically a digital chip with an analog interface, similar to the PT2399, according to Aion FX. Heavy filtering and a diode-clipping overdrive stage similar to the Tube Screamer give it an analog-voiced character aimed at emulating vintage tape delay units from the 1970s.
Why is the Ibanez EM5 expensive used?
Aion FX reports the EM5 was generally overlooked during production and sold for $50-70 on the used market until a few years ago. After Dave Phillips of LA Sound Design named it his favorite always-on delay, attention grew, and today it rarely sells for less than $300.
Sources (2)
- Elysium Ambient Delay / Ibanez® EM5 Echomachine, Aion FX, 2022-09-24
- EM-5 Echo Machine by Ibanez, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
