The Nux Tape Echo is a stereo digital delay pedal from NUX that models the 1974 Roland RE-201 Space Echo12. A secondary control mode offers adjustment of the level of tape saturation, wow, flutter and the reduction of your dry signal, alongside its main controls3. It carries a list price of $133.00 in the US, £119.00 in the UK and 142.00€ in the EU4.
Where a real Space Echo runs tape through a loop with multiple playback heads, the NDD-7 does its work digitally, using what NUX calls Core-Image technology to recreate the original's properties, including the natural spring reverb sound combined with warm and organic delay12. It runs at a 48 kHz sampling rate with 32-bit A/D converters5.
What it does
The NDD-7 offers up to 1600ms of stereo delay across seven Repro-Tape head combinations, alongside spring reverb that runs in parallel with the delay rather than after it26. Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio described the result as natural tape echo with parallel spring reverb sound, with the spring side bringing what he called psychedelic slapback and ambience6.
The pedal also includes a looper, which NUX calls SOS mode. Holding down both footswitches at once puts you into Looper mode, where you can record, play and overdub; during loop playback, pressing ON and TAP together quits SOS mode while the loop keeps playing7. MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley noted that SOS mode "really differentiates the NDD-7, turning it into a 40-second stereo looper"8.
A secondary control mode offers adjustment of the level of tape saturation, wow, flutter and the reduction of your dry signal, so you can dial in how degraded and tape-like the repeats sound3. The pedal also produces realistic infinite pitch-shift feedback, tweaked with the TIME and REPEAT knobs, mimicking the self-oscillation a cranked Space Echo would do1.
The controls
The front panel carries seven knobs and two footswitches, laid out much like the original Space Echo's916:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| SELECT | Picks the delay mode and the various tape head combinations6 |
| TIME | Timing control for the delay6 |
| REPEAT | Sets the number of repeats and drives self-oscillation6 |
| LEVEL | Delay level2 |
| REVERB | Spring reverb level2 |
| BASS | Low-end shaping of the repeats2 |
| TREBLE | High-end shaping of the repeats2 |
The left footswitch is the ON switch, while the right one handles tap tempo and subdivision duties, with an optional delay time display in milliseconds or BPM61. An OLED status display shows loop and pedal status6.
MIDI and connections
The pedal has 3.5mm MIDI In and Out jacks, supplied with TRS/MIDI adaptors, and you can assign the settings via corresponding editor software2. Alongside the MIDI connections there is USB and a pair of stereo 1/4-inch outputs8.
The MIDI jacks are 3.5mm mini jacks, not the full-size 5-pin DIN sockets found on older rack gear. The TRS/MIDI adaptors are supplied with the pedal, so keep them with it if you plan to control the NDD-7 from a standard MIDI controller6.
Space Echo lineage
The NDD-7 is a deliberate tribute to the Japanese-made Roland Space Echo 201 from 1974, a unit that combined spring reverb and tape delay in one highly portable chassis5. The original used no reels of any kind: the tape was transported via a capstan drive inside a tape chamber, a design BOSS itself has called "a stroke of genius"106. NUX's Core-Image technology sets out to recreate all the properties of that original 1974 machine2.
The NDD-7 is not NUX's first take on the format. The company's Tape Core Deluxe recreated the sound of a vintage tape delay in compact form, and MusicRadar described the NDD-7 as expanding on the theme that pedal established811. It also arrived in a wave of Space Echo tributes: Guitar World's tape echo buying guide placed it alongside units like the Catalinbread Belle Epoch, whose Echo Delay knob tops out around 700ms to 800ms, roughly half the NDD-7's 1600ms maximum9122.
What reviewers said
Reviews were mixed but generally positive about the value on offer.
Guitar World's tape echo buying guide gave the NDD-7 credit for its price-to-feature ratio, with the caveat that the deep feature set takes some learning9:
"+ Impressive spec sheet for the price - Not the easiest to navigate"
Premier Guitar's full review was more critical on the sound itself, finding that the digital emulation does not fully capture the character of the hardware it models13:
"NUX's Tape Echo comes up a little short in terms of replicating the deep, foggy tonalities of a Space Echo"
Pedal of the Day took the middle view, writing that the pedal "offers all the essential components from the old machines, plus some modern features, for an incredible delay unit"7. The modern features reviewers pointed to most often were the ones a real tape echo cannot do: tap tempo with subdivisions, presets over MIDI, and a 40-second stereo looper.
Videos
NUX
Pedal of the Day and NUX
Rich. Words. Music.
Questions
What is the model number of the Nux Tape Echo?
The Nux Tape Echo's model number is NDD-7. It is sometimes listed as the NUX NDD-7 Tape Echo, and it expands on the theme NUX established with its earlier Tape Core Deluxe pedal.
Is the Nux Tape Echo stereo?
Yes. The pedal offers stereo delay, stereo 1/4-inch outputs, and a 40-second stereo phrase looper. It is a fully stereo digital delay pedal, not a mono unit with a stereo output option.
How long can the Nux Tape Echo record in looper mode?
The looper, called SOS mode, records up to 40 seconds in stereo. You enter it by holding down both footswitches, and you can record, play and overdub. Pressing ON and TAP together during loop playback quits SOS mode while the loop keeps playing.
Does the Nux Tape Echo have MIDI?
Yes. It has 3.5mm MIDI In and Out jacks, with TRS/MIDI adaptors supplied, and its settings can be assigned through corresponding editor software. This lets you switch presets and control parameters from a MIDI controller.
What is the maximum delay time on the Nux Tape Echo?
The maximum delay time is 1600ms, reached using the Tap Tempo footswitch. That is more than double the roughly 700ms maximum of a Catalinbread Belle Epoch, for comparison.
Does the Nux Tape Echo have tap tempo?
Yes. The right footswitch handles tap tempo and subdivision duties, with an optional delay time display in milliseconds or BPM. Using tap tempo, the longest delay time reaches 1600ms.
Sources (13)
- Nu-X Unveils the Tape Echo, Premier Guitar, 2022-03-28
- NUX Tape Echo, Premier Guitar, 2022-04-28
- Nux pays tribute to the Roland Space Echo with its own Tape Echo pedal, Guitar.com, 2022-02-22
- Classic Gear: The Roland Space Echo RE-201, gearnews.com, 2024-03-11
- NUX NDD-7 Tape Echo: Another Roland Space Echo inspired pedal?, gearnews.com, 2022-02-21
- NuX Tape Echo NDD-7, Delicious Audio, 2022-11-11
- NUX NDD-7 Tape Echo, Pedal of the Day, 2022-03-15
- Nux unveils the NDD-7 Tape Echo, MusicRadar, 2022-02-22
- Best tape echo pedals: Nail the warm sound of tape delay, Guitar World, 2023-02-07
- BOSS - The Next Generation Of Space Echo, BOSS (boss.info)
- NUX Tape Core Deluxe Tape Echo Delay, Pedal of the Day, 2021-12-01
- Epoch Set (B-Stock), Catalinbread Effects
- NUX Tape Echo Pedal Review, Premier Guitar, 2023-04-02
