The SiB! Mr Echo is a delay pedal built around analog-style echo sounds. MusicRadar's review described it as a "unique analogue-sounding delay with volume boost and momentary self-oscillation: trippy!"1 It sits in the wider family of delay pedals, and its maker SiB! also produced the SIB Echodrive, a related echo pedal the same review mentions.
What it does
The Mr Echo produces delayed repeats of the input signal, with a volume boost on hand and a momentary self-oscillation feature for runaway echo effects. MusicRadar's reviewer summed up the pedal as "a unique delay that does a great job of simulating single-head tape-echo sounds"1, placing it in the tradition of tape echo units that use a single playback head.
Controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Slam button | Non-latching: while held, drops the delay time to 30ms and, depending on the repeat setting, immediately starts self-oscillation1 |
| Repeat | Sets the number of repeats; its setting determines whether the slam button triggers self-oscillation1 |
| Volume boost | A boost on hand alongside the echo1 |
The slam button is non-latching, so it only acts while it is held down. Let go and the pedal returns to the set delay time1.
The slam button
The pedal's most distinctive control is the slam button. MusicRadar described it as "brilliant": it is a non-latching switch, so it only acts while held down. Pressing it drops the delay time to 30ms and, depending on where the repeat control is set, immediately starts self-oscillation1. In practice, that gives a player a footswitchable way to throw the echoes into a runaway repeat, then let go and return to the set delay time.
How it compares
MusicRadar's verdict was positive but measured.
"While this stompbox is some way short of the blue Echodrive's tonal magic, it's nevertheless a unique delay that does a great job of simulating single-head tape-echo sounds"
The Echodrive, from the same maker, is covered on its own page at SIB Echodrive.
Self-oscillation as a feature also appears on later echo pedals from other makers. Mr. Black's Black LTD. Echo Repeater offers what its maker calls "wild self-oscillation at high Feed Back settings"2, and the Mr. Black SS-850 Solid State Echo Chamber is another solid-state echo design in that line3.
Videos
J. Rockett Audio Designs
Chris Tatosian
musictoyznetwork rasch
Sources (3)
- SiB! Mr Echo review, MusicRadar, 2014-11-07
- Black LTD. Echo Repeater, Mr. Black (mrblackpedals.com)
- Mr. Black SS-850 Solid State Echo Chamber, Pedal of the Day, 2019-02-20
