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clips for all of the pedals in this roundup.
FEATURE
signal coming back from the Space Echo’s tape was a little grainier, an
effect I could approximate with the El Capistan’s Tape Age control. But
when I needed a little more clarity to go with the irregularities and character, the El Cap delivered in ways the Space Echo could not approach.
The Verdict
Strymon’s application and refinement of DSP is impressive. Few analog
creatures are as random and imperfect—and treasured for these imperfections—as tape delays. And you’d be hard-pressed to find a pedal that
does a better job of making the musical aspects of such imperfections
controllable, practical, and so expressive. The applications this pedal is
capable of could fill a review many times this length. So, if you’re in the
market for a great tape echo emulator, don’t hesitate to check out an El
Capistan for yourself. It really doesn’t get much better than this.
RATING:
BUY IF...
you want one of the finest tape delay
emulators on the market today.
SKIP IF...
only an original tape delay will do.
Strymon
Street $299
strymon.net
www.premierguitar.com
TORTUGA EFFECTS
MARTINI DUAL ANALOG CHORUS
AND VIBRATO
By Oscar Jordan
Run by owner/designer Matt Johnson, Washington-based Tortuga
Effects offers an extensive product line for a one-man shop. Johnson’s
eight boxes include germanium and silicon fuzzes, Roto-vibe simulators,
delays, and phasers. His line also includes the candy-apple green Martini
Dual Analog Chorus and Vibrato—a handwired, true bypass, 2-channel
pedal built around a bucket-brigade analog chip and brimming with a
universe of deep, lush, and subtle textures that can send songs and performances into interstellar or submarine spaces.
Martini Mixology
The Tortuga Martini’s dual channels are devoted to Chorus (Channel
1) and Chorus or Vibrato (Channel 2). The pedal has three knobs: Mix,
Single, and Double. The two channels share the Mix knob, which controls the amount of effected signal. The Single and Double knobs control the rate for Channel 1 and 2, respectively.
A toggle switch marked Shaken and Stirred selects either chorus
(Stirred) or vibrato (Shaken) on Channel 2. A footswitch marked How
Strong alternates between the two channels. This setup allows you to
dial in chorus on Channel 1 and vibrato or a second chorus on Channel
2, and shift between the two on the fly.
PREMIER GUITAR NOVEMBER 2010 189
Straight Up
I took the Martini to band practice and plugged it in between a Fender
combo amp and a custom Strat. Moving between light chorus and
