Catalinbread Belle Epoch EP3 Tape Echo Voiced Delay Pedal w/ 3 Cables

I have to say first of all how much I love this pedal. Far more than just a delay, the repeats this pedal generates off your dry signal have to be heard to be understood. If you are reading reviews of a $200 echo pedal, odds are you aren’t comparing this to other delays but rather other Tape Echo emulators like the Strymon El Capitstan which retails about a $100 more than the Belle Epoch, or the Empress Tape Delay which retails for about $50 more than the Belle Epoch.I listened to quite a few You Tube videos (fortunately there are some out there that A/B the Catalinbread against the Strymon) and read every review I could before deciding on the Belle Epoch. Am I saying it is equivalent? No, but for the smaller footprint (standard 1590B or MXR size enclosure) which is ½ the size of the El Cap and easily 1/3 the size of the Empress and for the price, I am quite satisfied with my decision.For me, the tape echo sound and vibe is there in all it’s warm goodness; Catalinbread nails it as well as any other as far as sound quality goes in my opinion. It’s lush, the repeats are warm but distinct as they seem to bloom and fade back out in a way that’s just different than standard delay.Controls: The MOD knob gets you into weird territory quite fast in terms of randomized “warble” on your repeats if you like, the ECHO SUSTAIN knob is capable of taking your repeats to the point of self-oscillation if you wish, and the ECHO DELAY knob allows a pretty long delay time though I am not sure how many milliseconds precisely. The MIX can easily dial in anything from 100”% dry or your dry signal getting lost in a sea of echo at 100% wet, and everything in between. It other words, the controls are not as extensive as the El Cap or the Empress, but they give you control over quite an extremely wide range of echo capability. Compared to the El Cap, there is no “Tape Age” knob that controls how bright or dark your repeats are for example, and no tap tempo which can be a biggie for some people. I dig the baked-in Echoplex style preamp so much I like this pedal “on” in my chain even for occasions when I don’t need echo. It’s a nice warm tone enhancement without coloring or boosting the signal too much, and it also helps cascade into my drive pedals.On that topic, I find that unlike some delays, this does work well BEFORE your overdrive like Catalinbread claims. Their Youtube channel has a clip of one of their guys playing the Belle Epoch in front of a cranked Marshall; it demonstrates well how the Belle Epoch captures that vibe of those classic players who loaded the overdrive of their amp with an original Echoplex tape unit. I tried it both ways with a moderate drive pedal AFTER and BEOFRE the Belle Epoch, and prefer the echo before drive pedals.How does it compare to other Catalinbread delays? The Echorec is very cool sounding, but its repeats are not linear; rather it has repeat presets that are more rhythmic so for what I need (stacking another delay ahead of the Belle Epoch, lush ambient sounds) it didn’t seem like the right pedal for me. The Catalinbread Montavillian is another fairly lush delay / echo that does linear repeats, but to my ears it sounds like a nicely voiced analog delay, and not quite the “womp womp” of a tape echo.**UPDATE** The more I play this pedal (had it 6 months), the more I love it. Was super happy to realize the internal switch can be switched to "trails" mode which means I can switch the effect on and off while having the EP style preamp ALWAYS on. I was digging the warmth and fullness it gave my guitar, and it's an amazing preamp for electric bass; I use it as a church bassist every Sunday just for the warm boost.I still wish it had tap tempo for live playing, but I realize it's near impossible in this footprint. Rather, combining this with a digital delay that has tap tempo and dotted eighth note capability literally covers all your delay needs plus the option of stacking them for superambient washed out echo.

I have an Echoplex EP-3, EP-4 and a prototype Mike Battle TubePlex. I've had experience with the EP-2 tube version prior to EP-3. I have a pile of delay and looper pedals collected and used over years and I have to say, the Belle Epoch replicates the EP-3 closer than any other emulator I've had the opportunity to try. Comparing to the EP-3 the preamp sonically is about the same, I really can't tell the difference. The record level is a key feature to this pedal. Random modulation is interesting. My EP-3 is a bit ratty but maintained well and has little erratic modulation. The Epoch modulation I prefer to set low at about 8 to 9 o'clock, it's pretty close to the EP-3 there. This pedal just feels right, if you have had experience with an ep-3 you'll know what that means. Word of caution, if you slam the front end of it with a tube driver or other similar overdrive it will push the pedal's preamp into a higher gain. Although I haven't had any clipping issues. This is absolutely the best ep-3 emulator. The HF doesn't roll off like most bucket brigade delays, the repeats are very close how the EP-3 rolls off.I'm very happy with this pedal, I've since moved my tape delays into storage and for studio use. There is a source on a board thread indicating that Eric Johnson may have put the Epoch to use. I'd be interested to see if that is verified. I also have the Catalinbread Echorec. After purchasing this pedal it motivated me to spring for the Echorec. The Echorec is very interesting, a completely different animal than the epoch, although it seems the modulation circuit may be the same for both.

Produces a very rich sounding echo with which I am very pleased. I don't get into knocking other echo products or trying to tell someone which is the best, I just know I am as satisfied as a 'musician' can be :). I have owned a lot of echo producing products over the years including and beginning with an Echoplex which was a very addictive addition to my sound but also a great hassle keeping the tape in good condition. In conclusion, I like my Belle Epoch!

Everytime I tweak this thing i find a new sound out of it. Before I had been using an earlier version of a Wampler Faux Tape Echo. I really liked it and think Wampler makes a fine product but some of the knobs like Level were too touchy near the end of their range.The Belle Epoch just takes it so much further. I will probably sell the wampler as four delays in my rig is just a bit much. It also has the tape delay vibe and for a reasoanble price.