The Keeley Electronics Mag Echo is a delay pedal that simulates tube tape echo sounds. Instead of a tape mechanism, it gets there with what Keeley describes as "a touch of Lo-Fi delay, a slightly filtered echo response to keep things warm, and some modulation"1. In other words, the echoes come back darker and softer than they went in, with a gentle pitch waviness that recalls a well-worn tape machine. It sits in the wider family of Keeley delay designs covered on the Delay Pedals page, alongside pedals like the Keeley Delay Workstation and the Keeley DDR.
Controls
The pedal keeps things simple: three knobs for the delay itself and two for the tape-style modulation1.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Time | Sets the delay time of the echo1 |
| Regen | Sets the repeats of the delay line1 |
| Level | Sets the level of the echoes1 |
| Depth | One of the two "Wow and Flutter" controls, setting the depth of the modulation on the repeats1 |
| Rate | The other "Wow and Flutter" control, setting the speed of that modulation1 |
Keeley says that with the Wow and Flutter controls "you can create some very vintage or rather unique tones"1. The modulation is deliberately subtle: Keeley describes it as "similar to what we use in our Seafoam Chorus, a slight wavering of pitch on the trails of the repeats"1. That places it closer to the gentle instability of tape than to a full chorus effect.
What it sounds like
Because the echo response is slightly filtered, the repeats lose a little top end and sit warmer behind the dry signal, which is the core of the tape echo impression1. The pitch modulation lives on the trails of the repeats rather than on the dry guitar, so the played note stays clean while the echoes drift1.
The demo
Delicious Audio published a demo video of the Mag Echo shot by Living Room Gear in November 2017. The demo rig was a Fender Baja Telecaster into a Tone King 20th Anniversary Imperial amplifier1.
Videos
Eirik Stordrange
SLÄRP
EytschPi42
Questions
What does the Depth knob do on the Keeley Mag Echo?
Depth is one of the two Wow and Flutter controls, alongside Rate. Together they set the modulation applied to the repeats, and Keeley says that with them you can create some very vintage or rather unique tones. The modulation itself is a slight wavering of pitch on the trails of the repeats, similar to what Keeley uses in its Seafoam Chorus.
Is the Mag Echo a tape echo or a digital delay?
It is a delay pedal that simulates tube tape echo sounds. Rather than using an actual tape mechanism, it achieves similar results with a touch of lo-fi delay, a slightly filtered echo response to keep things warm, and some modulation on the repeats.
How does the Mag Echo's modulation compare to the Seafoam Chorus?
The modulation in the Mag Echo is similar to what Keeley uses in its Seafoam Chorus: a slight wavering of pitch on the trails of the repeats. On the Mag Echo it is used to give the echoes the gentle instability of a tape machine rather than a pronounced chorus effect.
What does the Regen control do on a delay pedal?
On the Mag Echo, Regen sits alongside Time and Level as one of the three delay controls. It governs the repeats of the delay line, so it shapes how the echoes sustain and decay while Time sets the delay length and Level sets the echo volume.
Sources (1)
- Keeley Electronics Mag Echo, Delicious Audio, 2017-11-13
