Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

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myboss57
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Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by myboss57 » Mon Feb 17, 2014 1:45 pm

I've heard mention on here in the past of Catalinbread pedals, and they seem to be well-made boutique-ish quality items. I've been thinking of adding a reverb and delay pedal into my mix, and was really sold on the Eventide Space pedal, but the price is a little much for me, and honestly each time I look at demos of it I'm overwhelmed by all the sonic possibilities - it just does A LOT. I like simple.

Anyways, I have put the Catalinbread Echorec on my list - it's based of the Binson Echorec used be a Mr. Gilmour (by far one of my fav guitarists). The price isn't too bad, so I'm thinking it could fit the bill for me. Anyone have experience with them? I've only read about it this morning a bit, and since I'm at work I can't watch/hear the demos until I get home this afternoon.

As for reverbs, I'm now thinking the TC Electronic Trinity would be a nice addition as well. I know Invin recently picked up an Alter Ego - and that is also sort of on my shortlist.
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Re: Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by Invin » Mon Feb 17, 2014 6:38 pm

I do like the look and sound of the Catalinbread Echorec myself. As far as I know it doesn't have any tap or strum tempo, so that was a bit of a dealbreaker for me because in a band setting I want to be able to sync up with the drummer without bending down to my pedalboard and adjusting the knobs by hand to try and listen for the timing. I find myself using a lot of the different delay types on the Alter Ego too (which I didn't think I would), because there's such a difference in sound and I love having those available to me. Some days I want a bright and sharp delay like the 2290, sometimes a warm analog delay, other days the weird vocal Echorec, and others the dark Deluxe Memory Man. Also absolutely love the 1/4, 1/8, and 1/4+1/8 switch. It makes it really easy to set the tempo for fast repeats.

I love reverb, and I think someday I'd still like to get a Blue Sky, because every time I listen to comparisons it really stands out above the rest to my ears. Assuming you don't want to spend that much, you might check out the Hardwire Supernatural. It has a shimmer effect and some nice features, including a cover to guard the dials live so you don't accidentally change your settings. I still consider the Trinity once in awhile too, but when I listen closely to the demos of the Ethereal 1 & 2 presets they start to sound cheap and digitial. Some people say the same, other people say every mode sounds incredible, so judge with your ears!
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Re: Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by myboss57 » Mon Feb 17, 2014 7:14 pm

Yeah, you know, after watching that demo of the TC Alter Ego again, and seeing the price for what you get, I think I may have just been sold! :D
It sounds really good, and you make a good point about the tempo settings, that is a great feature.

And you mentioned the Hardwire in my last effects pedal thread, and that definitely made the shortlist. I know what you mean about the Trinity sounding a little cheap. I do like those shimmers, though, so I will be after a pedal that can do something similar. I know the Mr. Black pedals were offered up by someone here too, and those might do the trick. Or, I might just do a Strymon for reverb, as I also keep coming back to that.

Blerg, I thought I was over this GAS stuff for a bit! Thanks too-much-time-on-my-hands, tax refunds, and house refinancing (freeing up more cash)! :lol:
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Re: Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by Spaceboy1 » Tue Feb 18, 2014 4:22 am

I have the Belle Epoch and it's fantastic.

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Re: Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by myboss57 » Tue Feb 18, 2014 10:42 am

I didn't get around to watching a demo of that pedal, but it looked sweet! I probably would have liked that as well. A couple years ago I had the Strymon dTape Echo pedal. That thing was killer.

And I went ahead and just ordered the TC Alter Ego! Looking forward to messing around with that.
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Re: Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by Invin » Tue Feb 18, 2014 6:50 pm

Welcome to the club! I still can't believe how many great sounds and functions are packed into that little pedal.
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Re: Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by myboss57 » Tue Feb 18, 2014 7:33 pm

Thanks! I'm excited about having a mod pedal again, been awhile and I've always loved having something to add layers to songs here and there - especially being in a 3 piece band and the only guitarist!
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Re: Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by apocalypsedude » Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:41 pm

The DMM setting is almost worth the price of admission alone, I use that one almost exclusively, trust me on this, I own a 90s Deluxe Memory Man. I posted on the other thread about the Alter Ego, I've owned mine for almost a year. While I'm sure there are better tape delay emulators out there, I just cant justify spending that kind of dough on a pedal right now, so the Alter Ego covered a lot of bases for me at a very reasonable price. My DMM is getting old and fussy, plus its a real estate hog, and the used Boss DD3 I got for super cheap, well it seems to work about half the time...you get what you pay for :roll: While the Alter Ego doesn't quite capture all the quirkiness and mojo of the real thing, (the DMM is after all considered the best analog delay of all time in some circles), for a digital emulation, its pretty darn good, and its a WHOLE lot quieter and less "fussy" than the real thing. Plus the real DMM cant do the dotted eight and quarter note thing. My 90's DMM hisses like crazy (built in wall wart) which is why I'm gonna send it off to Howard Davis to see if he can fix that. I also like whatever T.C. did to the modulation on the DMM setting ( I swear its there) it is very subtle when compared to the Echorec setting, but not as seasick crazy as on the actual DMM. I've never really like the chorus/vibrato on my DMM, its too pitch shifty for my tast, but on the Alter Ego, it just adds something special. One thing to note about the DMM setting, you gotta turn the mix knob up a bit more on that setting than you do on the others. On the others like the 2290, I like the mix knob around 9, or 10 oclock for subtle "Gilmouresque" soloing. On the DMM setting, the mix needs to be up a bit higher for the same effect, more like 11 oclock. I'm also digging T.C.'s own "Tube Echo" toneprint, for a similar sound, I think they have that on the Flashbackx4.
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Re: Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by myboss57 » Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:02 am

apocalypsedude wrote:The DMM setting is almost worth the price of admission alone, I use that one almost exclusively, trust me on this, I own a 90s Deluxe Memory Man. I posted on the other thread about the Alter Ego, I've owned mine for almost a year. While I'm sure there are better tape delay emulators out there, I just cant justify spending that kind of dough on a pedal right now, so the Alter Ego covered a lot of bases for me at a very reasonable price. My DMM is getting old and fussy, plus its a real estate hog, and the used Boss DD3 I got for super cheap, well it seems to work about half the time...you get what you pay for :roll: While the Alter Ego doesn't quite capture all the quirkiness and mojo of the real thing, (the DMM is after all considered the best analog delay of all time in some circles), for a digital emulation, its pretty darn good, and its a WHOLE lot quieter and less "fussy" than the real thing. Plus the real DMM cant do the dotted eight and quarter note thing. My 90's DMM hisses like crazy (built in wall wart) which is why I'm gonna send it off to Howard Davis to see if he can fix that. I also like whatever T.C. did to the modulation on the DMM setting ( I swear its there) it is very subtle when compared to the Echorec setting, but not as seasick crazy as on the actual DMM. I've never really like the chorus/vibrato on my DMM, its too pitch shifty for my tast, but on the Alter Ego, it just adds something special. One thing to note about the DMM setting, you gotta turn the mix knob up a bit more on that setting than you do on the others. On the others like the 2290, I like the mix knob around 9, or 10 oclock for subtle "Gilmouresque" soloing. On the DMM setting, the mix needs to be up a bit higher for the same effect, more like 11 oclock. I'm also digging T.C.'s own "Tube Echo" toneprint, for a similar sound, I think they have that on the Flashbackx4.
I've read this recently, that the DMM setting is pretty great. I've actually not really heard much about the DMM until recently, but I'm now excited about the setting! I had a MXR Carbon Copy in the past, as well as the Strymon shortly after that. I tend to go through phases with pedals - buying and then selling them off - but I hope that I can remember to hang onto a pedal if I like it. So if I like this TC, which I'm optimistic about, I plan to keep it. The Strymon and MXR were solid too, I just stopped using them and sold them. Kind of regret it.

Thanks for the tips on the DMM setting too! I'm really excited about hearing it and messing around with the pedal. I think the pedal is being delivered today or tomorrow, but I'm going out of town all weekend. :(

And I'm very stoked about the toneprint options, and being able to add a different mod and tweak settings with it. Have any of you used the Toneprint software that you can download?
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Re: Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by Spaceboy1 » Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:05 am

I was never convinced with the DMM setting, and didn't hang in to any TC delays except the X4. I only found a few usable sounds (for me), I find that a lot of settings sound extremely similar in a band context.

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Re: Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by myboss57 » Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:59 am

Spaceboy1 wrote:I was never convinced with the DMM setting, and didn't hang in to any TC delays except the X4. I only found a few usable sounds (for me), I find that a lot of settings sound extremely similar in a band context.
:lol: It's interesting to hear the differing reviews of this thing! And yeah, it will come down to my ears and what I think when I get it and start using it. Based on the reviews (mostly positive it seems) I'm pretty excited about it and think it will be great. But my ears will be the ultimate judge for me!
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Re: Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by Invin » Fri Feb 21, 2014 5:02 am

Just had another fantastic jam with mine. I use the Deluxe Memory Man setting for solos and it sounds so good I don't even use reverb for them anymore. Then I switch over to the 2290, pluck a couple alternating notes on the 1/4+1/8 setting (same as I use with all of them, it's just nice and full), and suddenly I sound like a full on U2 song :lol: So versatile and just sounds fantastic when you pick the right mode for the song. I really think you're going to be happy with the bang for the buck you get outta this thing.
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Re: Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by myboss57 » Fri Feb 21, 2014 8:47 pm

Invin wrote:Just had another fantastic jam with mine. I use the Deluxe Memory Man setting for solos and it sounds so good I don't even use reverb for them anymore. Then I switch over to the 2290, pluck a couple alternating notes on the 1/4+1/8 setting (same as I use with all of them, it's just nice and full), and suddenly I sound like a full on U2 song :lol: So versatile and just sounds fantastic when you pick the right mode for the song. I really think you're going to be happy with the bang for the buck you get outta this thing.
Dammit! I won't be home until Monday night! But I should have a package from ProGuitarShop waiting for me!
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Re: Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by Invin » Tue Mar 11, 2014 11:56 pm

How'd it work out?
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Re: Catalinbread Pedals? Echorec, specifically!

Post by myboss57 » Wed Mar 12, 2014 12:45 pm

Invin wrote:How'd it work out?
Dang, sorry I forgot to respond man!

So far so good. I haven't gotten to really use it yet with my full rig - once at band practice over a week ago, through my back up (Crate Powerblock) amp, and then just here and there at home on my Crush. But I dig it. I don't like the Echorec setting as much as I thought I would - but I haven't really had a good sit with it as of yet. I really like the modde 2209 setting, and that DMM setting is also just as everyone has been saying - really really good.

I like the bottom position of the subdivision selector switch a lot, although I haven't found a real use for it yet in a band setting. Also, as you mentioned, the strum tempo is really really useful!
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