Pigtronix Echolution

The Pigtronix Echolution is a multi-tap delay pedal, introduced in 2006 as one of the first products from the New York effects maker. Guitar World describes it as "one of the first Pigtronix products to achieve worldwide recognition," and it became the foundation for a whole family of delays that Pigtronix has revised and expanded ever since¹. If you are looking at an Echolution today, you are most likely weighing the original against its successors, the Echolution 2 and the Echolution 3, which this page sets side by side.

What the original does

The original Echolution is a multi-tap delay, meaning it produces several repeats at different points in time rather than a single stream of echoes. Among its features, Premier Guitar's review of the related Phi Echolution notes that "the Loop lets the content loop indefinitely," so a phrase captured by the pedal can repeat for as long as the player leaves it engaged⁴.

The pedal's reach went well beyond the boutique circuit. According to a Pigtronix press release, "The original Echolution (released in 2006) has been used on tour and in studios by Aerosmith, Living Colour, Nine Inch Nails, Guns 'n Roses, Dream Theatre, Soulive, Weezer and many other top artists"³. That roster is worth noting for a small maker's early product: it put the Echolution on arena stages and in professional studios within a few years of launch.

From Echolution to Echolution 2

In January 2014, Pigtronix announced the Echolution 2 as its "new flagship Echolution 2 delay system," a pedal the company described as incorporating "everything we have learned from a decade of effects design and customer feedback to create a uniquely powerful sound design tool"⁵³. Vintage Guitar reported that the Echolution 2 "uses analog tone shaping and digital signal processing," a hybrid approach in which the delay engine is digital while parts of the tone path stay analog⁵.

The Echolution 2 line grew quickly. At Summer NAMM 2015, Guitar World reported the launch of the Echolution 2 Ultra Pro and Echolution 2 Filter Pro "pitch shifter delay pedals," noting that "The Echolution 2 Ultra Pro (E2U) replaces the E2 Deluxe"⁶¹. Guitar World's later coverage summed up the series as "a massively flexible multi-tap stereo modulation delay that features a wide array of customizable filter, LFO and pitch-shifting options, along with expression pedal and envelope control of every knob, and complete MIDI control of every function"¹. The Filter Pro version was described as "animated by 8 different filter modes" in Pigtronix's own press material³.

For players running a larger board, the Echolution 2 is listed by Disaster Area Designs among its supported devices for MIDI integration⁷, and Guitar Interactive Magazine noted it is "Designed to work with both line level and instrument sources, with high headroom yet low noise operation," which matters if you plan to run it in a rack or effects loop rather than straight from a guitar⁸.

Echolution 3: the current version

The Echolution line began in 2006, when Pigtronix introduced the original Echolution, a multi-tap delay pedal¹. The pedal has been used on tour and in studios by Aerosmith, Living Color, Nine Inch Nails, Guns 'n Roses, Dream Theater, Soulive, Weezer and many other top artists³.

The feature set Pigtronix lists for the Echolution 3 includes:

• Reverse, jump and pong delay modes
• Modulation tempo sync
• Variable low pass filter
• Flexible signal routing
• Comprehensive MIDI control and sound design options⁹

Pedal of the Day's 2023 review echoed that description, calling it "a multi-tap stereo modulation delay offering a myriad of sound design options"⁹.

The family at a glance

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