Designed with DMM mastermind Howard Davis, this BBD-driven delay and modulation station promises “lush long delays to amazing room-like slapback echoes“
(Image credit: J. Rockett Audio Designs)
J. Rockett Audio Designs has teamed up with the designer of the original Deluxe Memory Man, Howard Davis, for the retro-inspired Clockwork Echo analog modulation and delay pedal.
The Clockwork Echo makes a play for the affections of analog enthusiasts via the bucket brigade delay chips in its circuit, but endows the pedal with contemporary functionality via a digitally controlled tap tempo function.
Like the original Deluxe Memory Man, the Clockwork Echo is a fully featured delay unit with a lot of sounds to explore. Operating in true stereo, where left and right repeats are out of phase, the Clockwork Echo has a single mono input and a pair of expression pedal inputs, one for controlling repeats, the other delay time, with J. Rockett recommending a Boss EV-5 or similar.
Its enclosure is dominated by two oversized chickenhead dials for Mix and Level, with Mix controlling the blend of wet/dry and Level controlling output. There are two smaller dials for Time and Repeats, and another pair for the speed and depth of the vibrato. There are footswitches for tap tempo, switching the effect on and off, and for turning the modulation on and off.
(Image credit: J. Rockett Audio Designs)
The modulation section is where the Clockwork Echo gets really interesting, with everything from subtle vibrato and Leslie swirl to lush chorusing and flanger, or adding tape echo-style wow and flutter to your repeats. With a maximum delay time of 600ms and self-oscillation if you max out repeats, there's a lot of scope for experimentation.
For players looking for a unit that'll handle their aspirations of psychedelic guitar tone, it doesn't get much better than the Deluxe Memory Man, and this modern update is sure to find an audience among today's more adventurous players.
Like the original Deluxe Memory Man, there is an always on preamp boost that's in place whether the delay is engaged or not. Unlike the original, which took a 24V power supply, the Clockwork Echo runs on 9V DC and converts the voltage internally.
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Available from July 15, the Clockwork Echo is priced $339. See J. Rockett Audio Designs for more details.
Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to publications including Guitar World, MusicRadar and Total Guitar. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.
