Strymon DECO Tape Saturation and Doubletracker Delay Pedal – THIS pedal is AWESOME!

In the tape days, smart innovative engineers would use two reel to reel tape decks to create flange, double tracking, slap back and a great way to fatten the tone of a guitar. Sam Phillips at Sun Studios made this an art form. The Strymon Deco re-creates these sounds digitally and what a great job it does. Tape saturation was a major part of the sound on the old records!

Add 2″ Tape Tone and Effects to Your Pedalboard
Even in the days of 2″ magnetic tape, achieving the characteristic odd-order harmonic saturation and classic tape effects to your live sound was a near impossibility. Strymon’s Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker pedal not only makes these effects possible, it puts them on your pedalboard in an easy-to-access format. With the Deco, you can dial in the rich harmonics you crave, double your sound, and thicken it up further with natural detuning, or go even further with auto flanging, chorusing, or full-on tape delay. And, in true Strymon style, there are tons of adjustable parameters onboard the Deco, allowing you to dial in a wide range of fun and inspiring tones.

Strymon DECO Tape Saturation & Doubletracker at a Glance:

  • Two fully detailed tape deck emulations in one
  • Tap into classic double-tracking tape effects
  • Strymon: a philosophy of quality

Two fully detailed tape deck emulations in one
It’s impressive enough that Strymon managed to pack one high-definition tape machine emulation in the Deco pedal, let alone two of them. But you don’t have to dive deep to appreciate the quality of the Deco’s processing – just roll up the saturation control and bask in the warm glow of the harmonic overtones. Up to about 10 o’clock, the Saturation effect is subtle, introducing the non-linear odd-order harmonics that make old-school engineers nostalgic for the days of 2″ tape. Push the Saturation knob above 10 o’clock, and you achieve the effect of pushing the tape machine into the red. At 1 o’clock, the effect crosses over into lush and vibrant tape overdrive, which is absolutely amazing on your pedalboard, and when you blend in the Doubletracker sound in one of three unique modes, the range of thickening effects is absolutely astounding.

Tap into classic double-tracking tape effects
Tape overdrive is just the beginning of what the Deco has in store. In the Doubletracker section, you’ll find additional controls (both on the surface and “hidden” in the secondary knob functions) that allow you to add flanging, chorusing, slapback delay, and vintage tape echo to your tone. The Wobble control also serves to spice up your effect, adding a range of character from mild detuning to surprisingly musical chaos to your sound. You can also widen the stereo spread (the Deco, like most Strymon pedals, can run in stereo or mono), add auto flanging, and filter out highs and lows to better contour the effect.

Strymon: a philosophy of quality
Strymon pedals are quickly becoming an industry standard in professional-quality effects. They’re dedicated to offering exceptional customer service and, in their own words, making “gear that sounds better than anything you’ve ever heard.” This California-based company uses only the highest-quality components and powerful processors in their pedals. And each design offers more tweakable parameters than meets the eye for fine-tuning your tone. This construction and sound quality is the reason Sweetwater is impressed with Strymon, and why you find their pedals on the pedalboards of professional musicians around the world.

Strymon DECO Tape Saturation & Doubletracker Features:

  • An effects pedal that emulates classic reel-to-reel tape saturation and effects
  • Variable tape saturation lets you dial in rich odd-order harmonics
  • Doubletracker section provides thickening and classic tape effects
  • Adjust the Lag Time control for flanging, chorusing, and echo effects
  • Wobble control lets you add natural variance to the second tape deck speed
  • Auto-Flange, wide-stereo, filtering, and more available by depressing both switches
  • Take control of any parameter via any standard expression pedal
  • Connect a footswitch to instantly recall your favorite preset
  • Effects fueled by the full power of an Analog Devices SHARC DSP chip
  • Choose between true-bypass and analog-buffered trails operation

Tape: The First Effect
Our journey begins with the early recording studios of the ’50s and ’60s. The introduction of reel-to-reel tape machines and the creative engineers that used them brought on some of the fattest sounds imaginable. These early machines really were the first effect pedals—they just wouldn’t have fit on your pedalboard!

From the inherent warmth and luscious tape saturation—to the forgotten art of how these machines were manipulated—they are capable of creating a huge range of beautiful, distinctive, and enveloping sounds.

Mid-Century Maverick.
Deco brings this original inspiration back, giving you these vintage tape effects from the earliest recording studios, right on your pedalboard.

DECO’s Tape Saturation smooths out your sound with familiar and delicious tape compression and saturation, while fattening it with subtle tape-driven transparent overdrive. The Doubletracker provides the power to shift your sound in many ways, easily allowing you to achieve syrupy slapback tape echoes, psychedelic tape flanging, and gorgeous tape chorusing sounds.