Electro-Harmonix #1 Echo
Over the years, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with delay pedals. My first taste of delay was an analog EchoPlex in the early 80’s. But focusing on acoustic guitar – actually only able to afford an acoustic guitar – at that time, I didn’t see the need for a contraption like that. Then U2 and The Edge entered my musical radar a couple of years later in the early eighties, and I of course had to get a rig where I could use a delay. So with what little money I had, I purchased a 25 Watt Roland amp, a Boss CE-2 Chorus, and a Boss DD-3 Digital Delay.
Little did I know that you had to have some technique to play like The Edge, and I quickly became disenchanted with trying to play like him. I just didn’t have the technique nor experience! So I held onto the amp, kept the CE-2, and sold the DD-3. I’m kicking myself now for getting rid of the DD-3 as it was a “Made in Japan” model that still had some hand-wired circuitry that makes it much-sought-after delay. Oh well…
Fast-forward to today, and I’ve owned several delay pedals. Again, the operative word is “owned,” because I don’t have one now. But I do have the technique, and I’m thinking that some of the stuff I’m writing could actually use some delay. Enter the Electro-Harmonix #1 Echo.
I’m normally a little leary of EH pedals, but this one seems promising, at least from the reviews I’ve read and the sound bites I’ve heard. Reviews are generally pretty good, but one thing’s for certain: All this thing does is delay. It doesn’t do any modulation or phasing. It just delays, and that’s exactly what I’m looking for! I’m going to have take one out for a spin, but it certainly seems like it will serve the purpose. And for a $99, it’s certainly not a huge investment. Let’s look at features:
- True bypass (Yowza! that’s cool)
- up to 2 second delay
- Wet/Dry Blend for blending the amount of dry and wet signal – very cool
- Feeback control – kind of like decay
Guitar Gear 
I’ve had one for about a year, and I like it pretty well. It’s relatively inexpensive, very simple to use.
The one thing I’m not as fond of is the way the Blend control works. As you turn it toward 12 o’clock, the echo gets louder and your dry signal gets softer. Beyond 12 o’clock your dry signal starts to disappear and all that’s left is the echo. I find it a challenge to get the delay loud enough but without dampening my dry sound.
Interesting insight. I thought I read somewhere that someone put it in their effects loop and it worked there the best. Not sure why this is, but you might try it in your loop if you’ve got one.
I like the sound where it is, it’s just a question of being gentle with the “Blend” setting to not overdo it.
Also, for some reason, when I put my pedals in the effects loop of my Vox AC30, it tends to mute the levels and make some of them almost unusable. My Big Muff fuzz and my Maxon OD808 overdrive sound worlds better when I go directly into the amp’s input without using the effects loop.
Dunno why, but that’s what I’ve found.
Personally, I’ve always put my pedals in front of the amp. Like you, I’ve never had success with putting them in the loop. I think the issue might be because of where the loop sits in the signal chain: Between the pre-amp and power section. I just put everything in front in the following order:
Compressor
Drive/Distortion Boxes
Modulators/Phase Shifters
Sonic Stomp
You are right on with your above list G-Dawg. Adding Overdrive/distortion types of guitar effects after time based effects (delay, chorus, flange, etc) will only introduce unwanted noise and sound horrible. Your overdrives really need to go in the front signal chain to properly drive the amp. Time based effects can sometimes sound better through a loop (if you have one….I dont anymore). This may be one of those.
Great pedal review. Most people are just looking for a no-frills little slap delay for some rock-a-billy vibe, anyway. This looks like it fills the ticket+.