El Cap v2 or...?

pt22

Happy New Year folks. 

As I’m trying to make the most out of my Boss IR-2 for kid-friendly headphone jams, I’m wondering if anyone has a recommendation for a stereo delay pedal that also has some reverbs or other neat tricks? 

I’m primarily looking for a basic stereo delay pedal, but the El Cap caught my eye because of the external spring reverb control.

What I’m not looking for is anything too complex or that 80s digital reverb thing. 

Anything else I should be considering? 

Cheers

Pete

(bonus points for any non-Boss stereo looper recommendations) 

menamestom

HX One would do that and much more.
Good delays and reverbs.

robmac5150

Plethora X3?

menamestom

robmac5150 said:

Plethora X3?

Good suggestion.  I have an X3 and the delays are very good.

pt22

menamestom said:

HX One would do that and much more.
Good delays and reverbs.

Gosh, I've just had a little look here...it seems like it's got it all. Thanks I'll keep doing some research on it. Do you have one?

menamestom

pt22 said:

menamestom said:

HX One would do that and much more.
Good delays and reverbs.

Gosh, I've just had a little look here...it seems like it's got it all. Thanks I'll keep doing some research on it. Do you have one?

No but I've had all the effects in the HX format (Stomp and Stomp XL).  The functionality looks good as well with the flux control (something the other HX series don't have directly)

They effects are good.  I've not compared the tape delays to the El Cap however.  If I wanted nothing but great tape delay and reverb with hands on control, perhaps I'd go for the El Cap, but the HX One does a hell of a lot more for quite a bit less.

pt22

menamestom said:

pt22 said:

menamestom said:

HX One would do that and much more.
Good delays and reverbs.

Gosh, I've just had a little look here...it seems like it's got it all. Thanks I'll keep doing some research on it. Do you have one?

No but I've had all the effects in the HX format (Stomp and Stomp XL).  The functionality looks good as well with the flux control (something the other HX series don't have directly)

They effects are good.  I've not compared the tape delays to the El Cap however.  If I wanted nothing but great tape delay and reverb with hands on control, perhaps I'd go for the El Cap, but the HX One does a hell of a lot more for quite a bit less.

Honestly the inclusion of a stereo looper is very convenient. I'm trying to find demos now. Cheers!

jellybelly

menamestom said:

pt22 said:

menamestom said:

HX One would do that and much more.
Good delays and reverbs.

Gosh, I've just had a little look here...it seems like it's got it all. Thanks I'll keep doing some research on it. Do you have one?

No but I've had all the effects in the HX format (Stomp and Stomp XL).  The functionality looks good as well with the flux control (something the other HX series don't have directly)

They effects are good.  I've not compared the tape delays to the El Cap however.  If I wanted nothing but great tape delay and reverb with hands on control, perhaps I'd go for the El Cap, but the HX One does a hell of a lot more for quite a bit less.

HX delays are indeed comparable to El Cap

El Cap has more variations however and gets way more washed out, dirty and 'lo fi'. The HX delays are definitely on the cleaner and more 'hifi' end of the spectrum that the El Capistan can accomplish. 

Just FYI, the Helix 'Cosmo Echo' is a Roland Space Echo model and covers the 'Fixed' and 'Multi' modes in the El Capistan while 'Tape Echo' is the Echoplex EP-3 model that covers the 'Single' head mode in the El Cap. 

El Cap has some things going for it - the reverb, which is awesome, the sound-on-sound mode which is really unique, and the ability to go to infinite repeats by holding the tap switch down. 

I have both a HX FX and and El Capistan on my board but could live without the El Cap if I needed to. It's nice having a dedicated pedal for something I'd throw at the end of 90% of my Helix Patched anyway. 

pt22

Thanks for the real-life feedback, @jellybelly. ;I’m not sure I’d do both. There’s a lot to be said for the simplicity and tangibility of the El Cap, but so long as the HX One sounds good the total number of effects and the built-in looper is hard to beat. 

Do you use a stereo looper in any of the other HX products? Is it decent? 

brojangles

El Capistan's looper is quite wacky and takes a bit of getting used to, but it's brilliant for weird degrading loops and can do cleaner Fripp type stuff too. The delay is brilliant and very flexible, you can get analogue and oilcan type sounds as well as fresh tape sounds that'll serve as a digital type delay. Also tape chorus, vibrato, lo fi effects. But if you just want a splash of delay and reverb and/or a basic looper, one of the Helix products might sort you out better. 

jellybelly

pt22 said:

Thanks for the real-life feedback, @jellybelly. ;I’m not sure I’d do both. There’s a lot to be said for the simplicity and tangibility of the El Cap, but so long as the HX One sounds good the total number of effects and the built-in looper is hard to beat. 

Do you use a stereo looper in any of the other HX products? Is it decent? 

Looper is great on the HX stuff - all the functions carry over from previous generation (DL4 and M9) so you've got half speed, reverse etc. Don't know how they implement all that on the pedals with fewer switches like the Stomp and One, but presumably there are workarounds. 

pt22

Thanks all. I’m leaning towards ordering an HX One tomorrow. I’ve sourced a Ditto Stereo looper on eBay for a reasonable price. Now to find a decent trs to dual mono patch cable.