Strymon El Capistan Reviews

El Capistan

What a wonderful delay pedal, it has an sold school vibe tonally but is also very flexible due to its digital platform. The delays are so much richer than the DL4 I replaced with the El Cap- though if you'd told me this before getting rid of the DL4 I wouldn't have believed you! Strymon gear is bomb proof as well so no worries about taking this on tour.

The El Capistan has got me pretty much hooked on Strymon gear and I plan to add a Big Sky and Timeline when funds allow. For now this pedal has all my delay needs covered.

I'm running this alongside two TC Hall of Fame reverb pedals at the moment and they sit together perfectly, and my board looks great too :)

Brilliant tape echo

This is among the best delay pedals I have ever used. From short slap-back delay, to lush long repeats, this pedal sounds fantastic, albeit a little expensive.

I love the reverb and broken tape machine effects - you can sound like you are playing through a vintage rack tape echo!

If you are going to use this with a power supply, make sure it is isolated - if you daisy-chain it among other pedals, you will experience a very annoying high-pitched hum, for example: I use Pedaltrain Voltos to power my board, and I had to buy a separate one for this, and my Mobius. So, if you use Voltos - be aware of this.

All in all, a great delay.

It's like travelling through the soundtrack of a 70's Sci Fi film

This unit has not only changed my overall guitar sound but the way i play as well.

It is feature rich and extremely versatile. Aside from Time, repeats and Mix, the "tape age" dial controls the tone allowing for bright digital delay sounds to very dark/warm analogue delay while the wow & flutter dial allows you to recreate the deliciously manky sound of a worn and loose tape. The tape head switch gives the option to select between fixed(16th, 8th, and 4th notes), multi(creates the sound of using different combinations of tape heads:1+2,1+3,2+3 - I understand only vaguely how this is working but it sounds great and quite different from the fixed mode), and Single. I haven't used the Single option much but the "C" setting provides a loop function; tap to start the loop tap again to start a second loop, hold down to clear the loop. I found this to be quite messy when performing but it does allow you to harmonize with yourself quite nicely and i can accede to the messiness being down to unfamiliarity with the unit.

There is a second set of controls that are accessed by holding down both footswitches; the time dial controls the units reverb feature in this setting. I haven't used many of the other hidden controls yet but will no doubt experiment some more in the future.

If i lost this i would seek counselling and, when i had dealt with the loss, buy another one. If it was stolen i would form a vigilant death squad to get it back.

If i had an underground bunker stocked with provisions to weather the Apocalypse the El Capistan would be the third thing to go into the supply cache; after my guitar and amp and before water.

Overall good.

I've had this pedal for quite some time but I haven't used it very much as I'm playing electric bass but I expected that it would be this way when i bought it. It is being used more or less all the time though, just not by me.

It is a solid delay if that's what you are looking for but the real suprise to me was the eerie sound it could produce pnce you cranked the Wow & Flutter, Tape Age, and Wettness.

It's not the cheapest delay pedal out there, but then again most delay pedals can't double as a chaotic chorus pedal.

Dissapointed.

I own the blue sky and this is really an awsome pedal.

But with the el capistan, i was dissapointed by the sound and it's too complicated to set up.

Sorry but i think it's definitely not worth the price.!

I'm now looking for an analog delay..

Brilliant pedal, unbelievable sound

Probably the best delay pedal I have ever used. I used one in the studio last year and was really impressed by a) the range of sounds you can get out of it and b) the overall sound quality, which is amazing, thanks to an incredibly powerful processor, which Strymon seem to use in most of their pedals, to do one thing really well. I just got one for gigging, and the compact design makes it easy to fit on any board.

The tape age/crinkle controls let you dial in anything from a pristine digital repeats to a degraded/in need of service atmospheric delay sound. The El Capistan is ideal if you want to create ambient/highly textured sounds. You can make it sound more like a reverb than a delay, and it actually has a built in spring reverb setting, which is one of the secondary functions that every dial has, accessed by holding down both foot switches while turning the dial. Every setting is very reactive, yet refined thanks to the high sound quality.

So many sound possibilities for a fairly simple interface. Best delay ever! Worth the cost, you really get a lot of quality for your money.

My all time favorite

This pedal gets me in touch with strymon - my favorite pedal company out there. It sounds just like an old tape delay. Also the sound on sound mode is a cool feature to broaden your horizon.

Unbelievable Quality

This was the first Strymon product I bought and was really impressed with how much control they have been able to fit into such a small pedal. Although this is primarily a designed to replicate tape delays bu suing the secondary controls as well as the primary it is so easy to create cleaner digital style delays or bucket brigade. The sound quality is incredible I have used this primarily on guitars but have even used it on vocals in the studio. The build quality is great and I have had no issues at all using it both live and in the studio. Whats really impressive is the depth of control and the range of functions that this pedal can do; everything from dotted 8th delays (think U2) through to a really nice sound on sound looper. These pedals are so popular for a reason so I if you are in the market for a professional quality delay I would have no issue in recommending this or any other Strymon product for that matter

THE MODERN echo-machine!

This is my fourth delay and now at last i´m satisfied with the possibilities of the pedal. This is a super modern digital reconstruction of the tape echoes from the sixties and forward! Test it!

Great Delay Pedal

I bought this based on other online reviews and youtube videos. Excellent delay pedal, the quality of the sound is amazing. Very versatile, can go from short slap back style echos to full lush soundscapes. I was using a Danelectro Reel Echo before and felt the need to upgrade, and I'm very glad I replaced it with this. The tap tempo is a great feature as you can call up a delay time on the fly if you are playing with a drummer etc. I would also recommend getting the Strymon Favorite switch also, so you can store a favourite preset, thus giving you 2 pedals for the price of one! all in all, a great delay pedal.

Top quality / Top fidelity

Wonderfull sounds ... Awesome fidelity + top quality from Strymon..

This delay pedal just oozes quality and it is the centre piece and heart and soul of my new pedal board set up. Expensive but well worth the extra cost just for the sound quality alone.

As close to the real thing as you'll find...

I've used quite a few delay pedals in an effort to recreate the sound of my ageing Meazzi unit and this is the closest - to my ears at least. I can really recommend this if you're into the early '60s Shadows, Tornadoes, Ventures type of stuff.

The New Classic

This pedal has already become a bit of a legend and hailed as a classic. And it's status is very well deserved.

For the money you really can't buy a better delay pedal, and it has the added bonus of the incredible sounding spring reverb.

Class all the way.

Strymon El Capistan

Excellent build quality. Amazing sounds. Easy to use. I would never go back to a generic digital delay pedal now. Packed full of features. Expand it's versitility with the addional Favorite Switch. Buy one - you won't be disppointed.