Universal Audio Orion Tape Echo

The Universal Audio Orion Tape Echo is a compact delay pedal that digitally emulates the vintage Maestro Echoplex EP-III tape echo, the solid-state tape machine players have used since the 1970s for warm, hazy repeats. Universal Audio describes it as an authentic emulation of the EP-III in a compact stompbox, including the tape machine's legendary solid-state preamp, which you can run always-on for fat, boosted tones¹.

An Echoplex EP-III in a compact pedal

The original Echoplex EP-III was a solid-state tape delay: a loop of tape passing over record and playback heads, with the wear and age of the tape shaping the character of the repeats. The Orion recreates that behavior digitally, including the preamp that sat in front of the tape path. Delicious Audio describes the result as rich, three-dimensional effects from a thoroughly emulated vintage tape echo, with the hazy delay character of the vintage '70s machines².

Because it is a digital emulation, the pedal needs no tape maintenance, and Universal Audio lets you choose how worn the virtual tape is, something an original machine cannot offer. The Orion emerged from the flagship Universal Audio Starlight Echo Station, whose EP-III algorithm it carries over into the smaller, cheaper compact format¹².

The controls

The front panel keeps the Echoplex's control set and adds a few of its own.

The three tape types are the heart of the pedal's range. Mint is the cleanest virtual tape, Worn adds color and texture, and Old gives the most lo-fi, degraded repeats, letting you go from a fresh machine to a well-worn one with a toggle¹². Gearnews's tape delay buying guide notes the preamp is closely modeled after the Echoplex EP-3's legendary preamp, so running it on pushes the whole signal, not just the repeats⁵.

The Wonk control is the odd one out, and the one reviewers singled out. Universal Audio describes it as delivering modulated repeats and vibey tape splice sounds, from subtle to eccentric⁴⁷. MusicRadar's reviewer Rob Laing called it "undoubtedly my favorite parameter name of 2023" and noted it dials in modulation and tape splice sounds³.

Power and connections

The Orion runs on a 9V DC pedalboard isolated power supply with a 250 mA draw³. Universal Audio specifies an isolated 9V DC, center-negative supply with a 2.1 x 5.5 mm barrel connector, the same size as standard Boss connectors, and requires 250 mA minimum¹.

On the audio side it is a mono pedal: one 1/4 inch unbalanced TS input and one output, with 1 Megohm input impedance, 500 Ohms output impedance, a maximum input level of 12.2 dBu, and a frequency response of 20 Hz to 20 kHz, plus or minus 1 dB¹. Universal Audio addresses the lack of stereo outputs directly, noting that a player with a stereo rig might want a delay with stereo outputs, but asking whether there has ever been a stereo Echoplex¹.

History: from the Starlight Echo Station to the UAFX compacts

The Orion's lineage runs through the Universal Audio UAFX Starlight Echo Station, the flagship UAFX echo station that carried the Echoplex-inspired EP-III algorithm. The Orion emerged from the Starlight Echo Station as a compact stompbox, bringing that same algorithm over in a smaller enclosure²⁴. Universal Audio describes the Orion as an authentic emulation of a vintage Maestro Echoplex EP-III tape echo in a compact stompbox¹².

The compact line sits alongside other UAFX tape and ambience pedals, including the Universal Audio Galaxy '74 Tape Echo & Reverb, which emulates the mid-'70s Roland Space Echo rather than the Echoplex, and the Universal Audio Del-Verb Ambience Companion delay and reverb pedal.

What reviewers said

MusicRadar's Rob Laing called the Orion "the best pedal Echoplex EP-3 emulation we've heard" and found the level of control impressive against the competition. His verdict was that it is a top-tier emulation of the EP-III, and that the always-on preamp option should not be overlooked as an attractive and useful part of the deal, since you can use it as a tone booster even without the delay³.

GuitarPlayer's Art Thompson found it "a colorful and expressive delay that provides a lot of control," describing the sound as tactile and organic, noting the preamp adds tone even when the delay is not in use, and calling the pedal one of a kind and a keeper⁶.

Delicious Audio added the Orion to its roundup of the best tape echo pedals, and Gearnews included it in its tape delay buying guide, where Julian Schmauch highlighted the EP-3-modeled preamp as a key feature²⁵.

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