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I bought this pedal originally in 2015 and sold it later the same year. I loved the sounds, but found it a bit hard to deal with all the tweak-ability and secondary controls. Other Strymon pedals I use are DECO and FLINT. Well after a few years and many pedals have come and gone… I bought another El Capistan in 2018! This pedal is amazing and I wanted one back on my pedalboard.

The El Capistan sounds great emulating the old Roland Space Echo 201/301. When you put the Nocturne Brain pedal in front of it it gets closer to the 301 as The Brain uses the Roland 301 preamp circuit. The El Capistan also features a spring reverb in its secondary functions like the Roland 301 has. This was the main reason I bought the El Capistan again.

The El Capistan offers all the features of a classic real tape echo without the preamp and without the hassle of using actual tape. Placing a Dunlop EP101 pedal in front of the El Capistan or Chase Tone Secret Preamp after, gets you real close to an Echoplex as well.

I added a Strymon Favorite switch to be able to get back to my favorite slap back setting after tweaking away. Only wish that Strymon would add presets and combine some of the features of the DECO in one pedal.

Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo Delay
This pedal does a great job of sounding like a classic Tape Delay like the Echoplex without the issues, cost and size. Gets the classic Rockabilly sound and some pretty outrageous delays. From Scotty Moore to Syd Barrett.

El Capistan provides three different tape machine types in one, each with three unique modes. With ten parameters to tweak, you get extensive control over tape quality, machine health and tone shaping. Go from the sound of a pristine, studio-quality tape machine to the heavily fluctuating sound of a machine in need of service. Get the full bodied sound of fresh tape all the way to the gnarled qualities of worn out tape. Because it’s DSP driven, you get a range of tape experiences unattainable with a traditional tape machine. All of this without the headaches of tape machine maintenance and repair!

Strymon El Capistan dTape Echo Emulation Pedal Features:

  • Powerful tape echo emulation pedal lets you craft a wide range of classic delay effects
  • dTape technology uses the full power of an entire SHARC DSP chip for maximum authenticity
  • Choose from 3 tape machine styles: Fixed, Multi, and Single, each with 3 operation modes
  • Get extra creative with the onboard sound-on-sound tape looper
  • Shape your effect with 10 parameter adjustments on 5 easily accessible knobs
  • Fill out your sound with lush and detailed onboard spring reverb
  • Take control of any parameter via any standard expression pedal
  • Connect a footswitch to instantly recall your favorite preset
  • Choose between true-bypass and trails operation

Here are some settings I found online to get you in the ballpark for what you might want from the El Capistan. Note the red is the secondary controls.

From the Strymon User Manual