The TC Electronic Alter Ego Delay is a digital delay pedal and the first in TC Electronic's Alter Ego line of vintage echo pedals. It was announced on 17 June 2014, and it came out of a collaboration between TC Electronic and the echo specialists at ProGuitarShop. According to TC Electronic, its sounds are modeled after the old Binson Echorec and the Deluxe Memory Man, and the pedal carries two exclusive vintage echo sounds1. Guitar Interactive Magazine's Jonathan Graham wrote that with those two exclusive vintage echo sounds it "made every delay-loving guitarist out there solo t[ake notice]"2.
What it does
The Alter Ego Delay is a delay pedal aimed at players who want vintage echo character rather than a general-purpose digital delay. Its sounds are reproductions of classic echo hardware: TC Electronic names the Binson Echorec, the drum-echo machine beloved of experimental players, and the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man, a staple of analog delay, as the models behind its sounds1. The partnership behind it was not a one-off: Guitar Interactive Magazine described TC Electronic and ProGuitarShop as continuing "to build on their already impressive partnership within the world of delay"3, a collaboration that also produced the Trinity Reverb and the later Alter Ego pedals.
The Alter Ego family
The original Alter Ego Delay grew into a line of pedals, each expanding the vintage echo concept13:
| Pedal | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Alter Ego Delay | The original: two exclusive vintage echo sounds, announced June 201412 |
| Alter Ego 2 Vintage Echo | Nine delay modes created by the TC Electronic and ProGuitarShop alliance; Time knob allows up to 7 full seconds of delayed echo4 |
| Alter Ego V2 Vintage Echo | 11 delay types, including 9 exclusive delay sounds crafted by TC Electronic and ProGuitarShop, plus an exclusive modulated version of TC's own 2290 delay567 |
| Alter Ego X4 Vintage Echo | A version of the Flashback X4 digital delay; delay time from 20ms up to 7000ms, with dotted-eighth and dual-delay settings89 |
The X4 is the largest of the family. Premier Guitar's reviewer called it "a superb digital delay" and noted that each delay is shaped via a conventional control set of time, delay and feedback, with very different characteristics, ranges and personalities for each delay type9.
How it compares
The Alter Ego line sits alongside TC Electronic's better-known Flashback delay pedals. MusicRadar's Mike Astley-Brown, reviewing the Alter Ego V2 Vintage Echo, described it as "more niche than TC's flagship Flashback Delay," but added that "it does what it does extremely well," and that the TonePrint slot lets a player always have a more modern delay in their back pocket compared to the Flashback Delay6. For a player deciding between the two, the Alter Ego line is the vintage-echo-focused branch of the family, built around the ProGuitarShop collaborations, while the Flashback line covers TC's broader delay range.
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Questions
What is the TC Electronic Alter Ego Delay?
It is a digital delay pedal made by TC Electronic in partnership with ProGuitarShop, announced in June 2014. Its sounds are modelled after the old Binson Echorec and the Deluxe Memory Man, and it carries two exclusive vintage echo sounds. It was the first pedal in the Alter Ego line, which later expanded to include the Alter Ego 2, the Alter Ego V2 Vintage Echo and the Alter Ego X4 Vintage Echo.
How does the Alter Ego Delay differ from the Flashback Delay?
The Alter Ego line came out of a collaboration between TC Electronic and ProGuitarShop focused on vintage echo sounds, while the Flashback is TC's flagship delay line. MusicRadar's reviewer described the Alter Ego V2 Vintage Echo as more niche than the flagship Flashback Delay, but said it does what it does extremely well, and that its TonePrint slot lets a player keep a more modern delay available.
Sources (9)
- TC Electronic Announces the Alter Ego X4 Vintage Echo, Premier Guitar, 2014-06-17
- TC Electronic Announce Alter Ego X4 Vintage Echo, Guitar Interactive Magazine, 2014-06-17
- TC Electronic Announces Alter Ego V2 Vintage Echo and T2, Guitar Interactive Magazine, 2014-09-22
- TC Electronic Alter Ego 2 Vintage Echo, Pedal of the Day, 2015-09-17
- TC Electronic unveils Alter Ego V2 Vintage Echo and T2 Reverb, MusicRadar, 2014-09-24
- TC Electronic Alter Ego V2 Vintage Echo review, MusicRadar, 2015-01-22
- Alter Ego Vintage Echo V2 by TC Electronic, RockBoard PedalPedia (www.rockboard.de), 2026
- TC Electronic Alter Ego x4 Vintage Echo, Pedal of the Day, 2016-12-20
- TC Electronic Alter Ego X4 Vintage Echo Review, Premier Guitar, 2014-09-04
