The T-Rex Honey Drop is a compact delay pedal from Danish maker T-Rex Effects, built around the company's own tape echo algorithm. Rather than a clean, mathematically exact repeat, T-Rex describes it as including "a slight modulation that emulates old tape echo units that runs the tape just a smidge unevenly", which is what gives the repeats the gentle wobble of a real tape machine. The maker positions the result as "a cool, funky delay sound for 60´s and 70´s vibes"1. It sits in the delay family alongside T-Rex's other echo designs such as the Replica and the Reptile 2.
Controls
The Honey Drop keeps its panel to the essentials a delay player expects, plus one switch that shapes how the pedal behaves when it is off1:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| On/Off | Switches the effect on and off |
| Feedback | Sets how many times the repeats cycle |
| Delay | "the delay knob simply adds in the preferred amount of wet signal to the sound", acting as a wet/dry blend1 |
| Spillover switch | Lets repeats continue after the pedal is bypassed |
| Tone | Shapes the character of the repeats |
| Time | Sets the delay length |
| Tap | Tap tempo for setting the delay time in time with the song |
True bypass and spillover
The pedal offers "a selectable true bypass/spillover option"1, so you choose between two behaviors when it is switched off. In true bypass the effect drops out of the signal path entirely. In spillover mode the echoes keep sounding after you disengage the pedal, which suits players who want a lead line's repeats to hang in the air under the next part.
Turning the Time knob by hand
One detail T-Rex highlights is that the Time knob is not locked to the tap tempo. As the maker puts it, "you can still turn the time knob manually and get your oscillation/sci-fi fix"1. Sweeping the delay time while repeats are running makes the pitch of the echoes bend and can push the pedal into self-oscillation, the same trick players use on tape echoes to get runaway, otherworldly textures.
Power and running it on a board
The Honey Drop runs from a 9 or 12 VDC supply with a 2.1mm barrel plug, center negative, and draws 85 mA at 9 VDC1. It also takes a 9V alkaline battery1. At 100 x 55 x 120 mm and 0.325 kg without battery and packaging, it is a compact pedal that fits a crowded board1. T-Rex publishes a user manual as a PDF on the product page1.
Videos
Wall of Sound
Sources (1)
- → T-REX EFFECTS ← Pedals for guitar and bass players!, T-Rex Effects
