Stanley FX eTap2HW Tape Echo Emulator

AdjiAdji Frets: 142
in FX Reviews tFB Trader
I used to run a website / blog / magazine type thing and did pedal reviews demos etc. I was feeling pretty nostalgic today so decided to use way back machine to go and capture some of the good reviews from the site.

Features
The eTap2HW is a bit of a complex (or at least unorthodox) affair based around a patch system. The first two knobs: Feedback and Wet/Dry, are straightforward enough with the feedback being the amount of repeats and the W/D being a basic mix control. The third control is the Emulation knob which selects between eight different models! Finally the fourth knob is where the confusion lies. The Patch knob serves a dual purpose: Firstly, if you are using the first five emulations it serves as a patch selection knob with the patches named as A, B, C, E and F and on the last three emulations it serves as a typical 1-10 scale potentiometer. Confused? Yeah I was at first. It is also strange that the patch system completely bypasses the letter D.

Aside from these knobs there is also a 9vDC socket and indicator LED, all housed in a regular sized, rock solid metal case.

The Emulations
So what’s the crack with these eight emulations then? The basic idea of the pedal is that it works around a digital echo chip with some circuitry and tweaks designed to emulate the Meazzi Echomatic tape delays which were used in the 60′s, most famously by Hank Marvin and The Shadows, but Stanley FX’s unit also emulates a few more.

As you can see, not only is there seven great sounding echoes but Stanley have also included a tremolo and reverb hybrid too, making this one feature packed pedal!

Sounds
So, now that we have established how to use it (just about anyway, it will take weeks of practise before I really get to grips with this) what does it sound like? It sounds like you’d expect, but different.
As soon as you turn this on, you sound like Hank Marvin, and that is exactly what the eTap2HW is designed to do, initially. The presets for the first five models have all been designed to emulate the sound of The Shadows (and similar bands) with long, dual tapping delays that make simple, one note lines sound more interesting or chords sound fuller and, dare-I-say-it, ambient. What’s different about the sound of this pedal over most analogue / tape emulations is that it is a little unpredictable at times, just like an old tape unit. the repeats are never quite what you are trying to dial in and that is where the beauty lies as you find some really unique and unexpected sounds.

There’s a LOT crammed into such a small space
As someone who doesn’t have much (if any) experience with most of these echo units it is quite difficult to compare the sound of the eTap2HW to the originals but they sound good enough to sound convincing. There really isn’t time / space to go into every setting in thorough detail so instead I’ll just give a quick overview of the thing as a whole and then delve more into the settings in the video. The first model, E I J which is based on the Meazzi Echomatic Model J Classic has a really great sound. The patch system is quite annoying and that is something I have shared with Mick the builder in the past. No doubt about it, the patches get you some great classic 60′s sounds but I find the whole system very limiting, in fairness, the original tape units were very limiting so I can see that Stanley are going for authenticity. The repeats are dark and warbly and sit nicely in the background if you need them to. Another quirk of the eTap2HW is that there does not seem to be a true ‘all wet’ function; even with the mix knob set at maximum wetness the pedal does not seem to behave in a parallel FX loop and there always seems to be just a little bit of dry bleed.

Another of my favourite emulations is the Roland Model 301 – Mode 5 (R301 on the selector dial) and this is probably because it allows for the most user control. There is no patch system with this one and no presets which allows the user to really tune the delay to how they want it to sound, much like every other delay pedal enables us to. Using this mode the eTap2HW becomes a much more user-friendly, typical delay pedal that is still able to create some fantastic sounding repeats.

The other delay emulations are similar enough but different enough with the one stand-out / odd-ball being the Vox LongTom Classic which I had never even heard of before coming across this pedal.

Finally, the inclusion of the Tremolo / Reverb confuses me. It sounds fine but I do not understand its inclusion. It stands out a little like a sore thumb and whilst it does sound decent I feel it actually detracts from the overall product. Now I am a fan of cramming as much great tone into one box as possible but it just seems like a bit of an afterthought by Stanley FX. I could be wrong and a lot of users may love its inclusion, but it just left me a little cold.

Overall
I really recommend checking out one of these for yourself and exploring and experimenting with all of the sounds as it is impossible to describe everything in one review, maybe I should be reviewing each preset separately. You can get everything from The Shadows to Pink Floyd to quite modern sounding ambient and ‘shoegaze’ delays out of this box, plus everything in between.

I think the main problem with the eTap2HW is that it doesn’t know what it wants to be.I believe the project started out as a box that could emulate the sound of Hank Marvin (which it succeeds at doing) and as Stanley tried to fit more and more features into the box it becomes a little diluted. the controls can be difficult and the user interface is certainly confusing, this could be solved by using a larger enclosure or even rack mounting the circuit to allow for the inclusion of several extra controls, but I understand that space is also a big deal-maker / breaker for a lot of people and so Stanley have obviously opted to put as much into as small a space as possible.

The eTap2HW is both wonderfully limiting and infuriatingly limiting. Sometimes those limitations are perfect as they enable good, solid sounds easily, other times you just yearn to be able to tweak it slightly, increase the distance between the repeats etc etc. If you are a Shadows, early prog or surf fan and you are looking for something a little different then this could be for you. If you like maximum tweak-abillity then you probably won’t get on too much with this pedal. At around £105 RRP, there is no harm in trying and finding out for yourself.



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