SolidGoldFX EM-III

The SolidGoldFX EM-III, also sold as the EM-III Multi-Head Octave Echo, is a compact delay pedal that emulates a multi-head tape echo machine. You can switch between 1, 2, or 3 virtual tape heads, dial in modulation, and drop the first delay head down an octave for repeats with extra weight¹. SolidGoldFX describes it as the smallest and most versatile delay the Montreal company has made to date¹².

Under the hood it is a digital delay voiced to behave like tape. Premier Guitar's reviewer found it "starts with a foundation of warm, analog-like digital delay"³, and gearnews.com described it as "a tape delay emulation with an octave down effect (Glitch) which you can trigger when needed"⁴. Delay time runs from 70 to 1000 milliseconds with tap tempo¹.

What the EM-III does to your sound

The core idea is the multi-head tape machine. On a real tape echo, several playback heads sit along the tape path, so one note produces several repeats at different spacings. The EM-III emulates this with virtual tape heads: flick the middle toggle and you select 1, 2, or 3 heads¹⁵. One head gives single, evenly spaced repeats; two and three heads stack repeats closer together, filling out the delay wash the way a multi-head machine does.

The octave feature is the pedal's signature trick. SolidGoldFX describes it plainly: "Flick the switch and drop down an octave on the first delay head for a unique sound and feel adding weight and gravitas to your delay wash"¹. MusicRadar's Rob Laing noted that the recipe for ethereal soundscapes "is enriched by an octave down option"⁶.

Modulation and tone shaping round it out. The flutter knob sets the tape-style modulation, and the color knob shapes the repeats³. Delicious Audio's summary of its range: "It can sound as pretty and cheerful or as dark and macabre as you wish"².

The controls

The color knob deserves a closer look, because it is really two filters in one. SolidGoldFX explains: "The color knob allows you to engage both high-pass and low-pass filtering. Dead-center you have a pristine full-frequency digital delay. Dial it to the left and you cut the highs, creating warm, murky analog-esque repeats. Dial it to the right and you suck out the lows for crisp and bright tape-style repeats or super thin lo-fi delays"¹. gearnews.com framed the same control as a way to emulate old tape delays getting darker and warmer over time⁴.

Bypass, tap tempo and power

The EM-III gives you a choice of bypass modes: true bypass, or buffered operation that lets the repeats trail off naturally after you switch the pedal off¹. Pedal of the Day described the switching as "soft-touch, relay-based true bypass," with buffered bypass as an option⁵.

Tap tempo is handled by a soft-click footswitch, so you can set the delay time to the tempo of the song rather than guessing with a knob². The delay range is 70 to 1000 milliseconds¹.

From the Electroman Delay to the EM-III

SolidGoldFX says the EM-III builds on the company's Electroman Delay legacy¹, and the family tree goes back more than a decade.

• Electroman: Premier Guitar called the original "the simple but flexible Electroman digital-delay pedal"⁷, an analog-voiced delay with up to 600ms of delay time⁸. A new version of the Electroman delay followed⁹.
• Electroman Delay MKII: SolidGoldFX's follow-up, a very warm sounding echo with a 1000ms maximum delay, modulation with variable speed, and an effects loop¹⁰.
• EM-III Multi-Head Octave Echo: The EM-III builds on SGFX's Electroman Delay legacy¹, following in the footsteps of the SolidGoldFX Electroman Delay¹⁵.

The step from the Electroman line to the EM-III is a big one in character. The Electroman was a straightforward digital delay with Level, Repeat, Tone and Time knobs⁸⁷; the EM-III keeps the compact format but adds the multi-head tape architecture, the octave-down first head, and the two-sided color filter⁸⁷.

What reviewers said

Pedal of the Day's verdict was short and direct: "the EM-III Multi-Head Octave Echo is in a delay class all its own"⁵. The same review highlighted the hidden Warp and Glitch features and the selectable true or buffered bypass as the details that set it apart⁵. Premier Guitar's reviewer focused on the foundation of warm, analog-like repeats and the tweakability of the flutter and color knobs³.

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