The Pladask Elektrisk Tåken is an asynchronous dual-head delay with random modulation and a send/receive loop, built by the Norwegian maker Pladask Elektrisk1. The maker bills it as an "Arrhythmic Delay"1, and Delicious Audio's Paolo De Gregorio has described it as "an asynchronous, dual-head delay" whose two 'tape' heads produce textured, artifact-filled echoes2. Pedal of the Day summed it up as "a tool for conjuring psychedelia and nostalgia sparingly or in excess"3.
How the two heads work
The Tåken's core idea is that two 'tape' heads run asynchronously rather than in fixed sync. Time and Head work together to set the delay time3. The Head knob sets the balance between the two heads, from 100% 'short' to 100% 'long'2, and the ranges for the heads run from ~40/100ms at the short end to ~1000/2400ms at the long end, which Pedal of the Day called "plenty for all your delay needs"3.
Because the heads are asynchronous, the two echo streams drift against each other, and random modulation adds movement on top. That combination is where the textured, artifact-filled character the reviewers describe comes from23.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Time | Works with Head to set the delay time3 |
| Head | Balances the two 'tape' heads from 100% 'short' to 100% 'long'2 |
| Tone | Sets the cutoff frequency of an active low-pass filter that affects only the delay signal3 |
| Feed | Controls feedback levels3 |
| Vol | Master output volume, ranging from silence to +10dB3 |
The Tone control filtering only the wet signal means you can darken the repeats for a worn, distant quality without touching your dry tone, and the Vol knob's +10dB of boost at the top of its range means the pedal can push an amp as well as sit at unity3.
The send/return loop and mix modes
The send/receive loop is one of the Tåken's headline features1. Effects plugged into the Send/Return jacks are generated with each new repeat, so a filter, pitch shifter or anything else in the loop gets re-applied to every echo, which Pedal of the Day noted "opens up even more sonic possibilities"3.
The Mix control behaves differently depending on the mode:
- D mode (DIRECT): Mix adds the external effects to both the delay repeats and the direct sound3
- Ø mode (INVERTED): Works the same way as D mode, but inverts the direct sound affected by the effects loop3
Versions
A new version of the Tåken was covered by Pedal of the Day in September 2020. It retains the same circuit as the original but adds internal switches for more filter resonance and high-pass filtering3.
The newer version differs from the original in its internal filter switches, so two Tåken units from different production runs will not filter identically.
What reviewers said
Delicious Audio listed the Tåken among its best tape echo pedals in an April 2025 update2, and its buying guide describes it as "An asynchronous, dual-head delay with random modulation and a powerful send/receive-loop"4. Pedal of the Day's verdict was that "Basically, it's a machine that you can get lost in for hours on end"3.
The Tåken sits in a wider Pladask Elektrisk line of experimental pedals, including the Baklengs granular synth glitch delay and the Bakvendt reverse granular pedal.
Videos
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Ambient Endeavors
Pedal of the Day
Questions
What does the Head knob do on the Tåken?
The Head knob sets the balance between the pedal's two 'tape' heads, from 100% 'short' to 100% 'long'. Together with the Time control it determines the delay time, and the two heads are what give the Tåken its textured, artifact-filled echoes.
How long can the Tåken's delay times go?
The two heads cover ranges of roughly 40/100ms at the short end to roughly 1000/2400ms at the long end, which Pedal of the Day called plenty for all your delay needs.
Does the Tåken have an effects loop?
Yes. The Tåken has a send/receive loop, and the effects plugged into it are generated with each new repeat, which Pedal of the Day noted opens up even more sonic possibilities. The Mix control determines how the loop's effects are blended in.
Does the Tåken use real tape?
No. The Tåken is described as using two 'tape' heads, but the quotes are in quotation marks in the original coverage, and nothing in the published descriptions says the pedal contains actual tape. It is an asynchronous dual-head delay design rather than a tape machine.
What do the D, R and Ø mix modes do?
In D mode (DIRECT), the Mix control adds the effects plugged into the send/return loop to both the delay repeats and the direct sound. Ø mode (INVERTED) works the same way but inverts the direct sound affected by the effects loop.
What is the Tone control filtering on the Tåken?
The Tone control sets the cutoff frequency of an active low-pass filter, and it affects only the delay signal, leaving your dry sound untouched.
Sources (4)
- TÅKEN | PLADASK ELEKTRISK, Pladask Elektrisk, 2020-09-04
- Pladask Elektrisk TÅKEN Dual Head Delay, Delicious Audio, 2025-04-25
- Pladask Elektrisk Tåken Asynchronous Delay, Pedal of the Day, 2020-09-26
- The 3 Best Delay Pedals Per Type, In 2023, Delicious Audio (delicious-audio.com), 2023-08-25
