Ibanez ES3 Echo Shifter

The Ibanez ES3 Echo Shifter is a delay pedal from Ibanez, announced at NAMM 2020 as the return of the Echo Shifter line¹. It is the third iteration of the Echo Shifter delay and an upgrade over its 2013 predecessor, the ES2¹². What sets it apart from most delay pedals is that it carries both an analog delay circuit and a digital one in the same box, with a switch to choose between them²³.

RockBoard's PedalPedia says the analog setting provides a warm, natural tone with delay times between 40ms and 600ms, while the digital mode offers longer delay times all the way up to 1500ms². Delicious Audio's coverage described version 3 as adding "a digital mode next to the original analog one for crisper repeats"⁴.

Analog and digital delay in one pedal

The ES3's two modes are the heart of the pedal. The analog side is not a digital emulation: RockBoard's PedalPedia states that "unlike other digital pedals which simply simulate analog delay, the ES3 is actually equipped with analog circuitry"². For a player, that means the analog mode behaves like a true bucket-brigade style delay, with the warmer, more degraded character of repeats that analog delays are known for, over a 40ms to 600ms range².

The digital mode covers the same starting point but stretches to 1500ms, roughly two and a half times the analog maximum, which opens up longer echoes and ambient-style repeats that the analog circuit cannot reach²⁵. MusicRadar's NAMM 2020 coverage reported the same figures: 40ms to 600ms for analog and 40ms to 1500ms for digital³.

The controls and footswitches

The ES3's control layout is slightly different from the old ES2, but gearnews.com reported that it appears to have similar functionality⁶. The switches break down as follows, per Delicious Audio's product page⁵:

Two mini switches on the face are labeled Analog/Digital and Modulation On/Off⁶. The pedal also includes a new modulation speed control, which RockBoard's PedalPedia says offers increased options to tailor the effect to the player's preferences². This is an addition over the ES2, whose modulation section paired a Depth knob with a simple Modulation On/Off switch⁷.

Oscillation: the footswitch change

Oscillation pushes the feedback past infinite so the repeats build on themselves into a runaway swirl of sound. On the ES2, this had to be engaged by hand using a mini toggle switch next to the feedback control²⁷. On the ES3, the same function is engaged simply by stepping on and holding the right footswitch².

That is a practical change for live use: you can kick the pedal into self-oscillation and back out again without taking a hand off the guitar. On the ES2, MusicRadar's review highlighted the oscillation and modulation switches as part of the pedal's character, with the modulation switch adding pitch-shifted repeats and pitchy effects⁸.

ES2 versus ES3

The ES2 Echo Shifter, released in 2013, was an analog delay with a distinctive design: a large, foot-adjustable delay-time slider you could push with your shoe while playing⁸¹. Its controls included a Feedback knob with an Oscillation On/Off switch and a Depth knob with a Modulation On/Off switch⁷, and Guitar World's review noted the feedback control sets the number of repeats⁹.

The ES3 keeps the same basic idea but updates it:

• Adds a digital delay mode alongside the analog circuit, extending delay time to 1500ms²³
• Moves oscillation from a mini toggle switch to a press-and-hold footswitch²
• Adds a modulation speed control for more control over the effect on the repeats²
• Carries a slightly different control layout with similar overall functionality⁶

Where it came from

The original Echo Shifter appeared in 2013, and the ES3 is its latest incarnation and an upgrade over that predecessor¹. Ibanez brought it back as part of a trio of new effects pedals launched at NAMM 2020, alongside a mini tremolo and a mini flanger³¹. Pricing and availability were listed as to be announced at the time of the launch¹.

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