Crumar Echoplay Magnetic Drum Echo Pedal recreates drum echo, a design in which the signal was recorded onto a rotating magnetic drum rather than tape. The model was taken from a specific Italian machine built in the 1960s that has survived nearly sixty years without repair or modification, so the emulation describes a real unit rather than its catalogue specification.
An echo that a tape delay cannot stand in for
A magnetic drum with playback heads arranged around it behaves differently from a tape loop: it spaces repeats differently, loses high frequencies differently and wavers differently. This is the sound associated with guitar and electric organ in 1960s and 1970s psychedelic rock, and an ordinary tape echo does not imitate it convincingly. Echoplay reproduces the original's non-linear frequency response, the spontaneous fluctuations in drum speed, the subtle tube-like distortion of the preamp stage and the gentle hiss that is part of the character.
Four heads with footswitch control while playing
Four playback heads are available, and a dedicated footswitch handles head four, so echo density changes mid-song without reaching for a knob. Controls for drum speed, head alignment and hiss let you set the sound anywhere from a short, clean thickening to a spreading, unstable space. The dry signal runs through a fully analogue path with no digital conversion, leaving the instrument's tone intact with the effect engaged.
KEY FEATURES
- Rotating magnetic drum echo emulation
- Modelled on a specific 1960s Italian machine
- Four playback heads
- Dedicated footswitch for playback head four
- Drum speed, head alignment and hiss controls
- Reproduces the non-linear response and tube-like preamp character
- Fully analogue dry path
- Designed and handcrafted in Italy
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
- Type: magnetic drum echo emulation
- Playback heads: 4
- Foot control: dedicated footswitch for head 4
- Dry path: analogue, no digital conversion
- Dimensions: 114.3 x 33.8 x 94 mm
- Power: 9 V DC centre negative, 300 mA, PSU included
- Manufacturer: Crumar, Italy
