Chandler SDE-2 Stereo Digital Echo

Pretty simple ... diddle with the knobs, set it and GO.

Billed as a "solid state echoplex", and it did a surprisingly good job. Did it totally sound like an Echoplex? No, that "warmth" was not there, instead the Chandler made the repeat signal darker, but not progressively darker with each repeat like a real echoplex or later units like the SiB Echo Drive. Still, it was a revolutionary effect.

It had a lot of features - wet/dry outs, but using multiple outputs also had the drawback of padding down the output. If you ran multiple amps (for instance in a wet/dry setting) it would slightly cut the volume on both amps. Then again ... that's why amps have volume knobs ;)

Used it with a variety of amps including a '65 Showman, '62 Deluxe, Kendrick 2410 Bassman, Kendrick 4212 "High Power" Tweed Twin.

An impressive unit at the time, somewhat dated now.

Never had any problems.

No reason to deal with them.

Overall, it's a nice effect. Really, there was nothing much in the box. At the time it was developed, "vintage mania" had yet to set in totally, and the fad was for rack mount effects. Rack mounting reduces its usefulness to many players, which was a real drawback. Given the collectibility of the unit, plus endorsements by Tone Hounds like Eric Johnson and Danny Gatton, I am surprised that Chandler has steadfastly refused (for whatever reason) to reissue this effect. I think if they packaged it in a small pedal size they'd have a winner for a certain segment of the guitar-playing world. Personally I prefer a real Echoplex (Fulltone *RULES* the Echoplex world), and/or there are newer options like the Echodrive which work for me personally, better, altho I can see the point of the Chandler. It's a good effect, but perhaps not at a "used vintage" premium. YMMV

Very easy to use. However, one should take a look at the back. There's some confusion of where to put the right cables in, make sure you get this right. There are delay only out, dry out, mix - + out, and input. Otherwise than this, really simple.

Well, it does some very good thing as a digital delay, and does not interfere with guitar signal. Does sound like a tape echo? It maybe DID way back in 1991, maybe, but todays modeller units like Line6 Delay and even Korgs simulations in their smaller pedalboards (like AXG-1500) et al does a far better impersonation. TIME HAS PASSED FOLKS. It has to do with being able to do overdrive feedback and tape saturation on long delays and endless feedback settings. This unit can't do that. The feedback tails does not get into that narrow eq and distorts along with tape saturation. Also, multi-taps aren't possible.

But nevertheless, it is even better than the old first electronic delays that came about, say Analog Delays. The modulation knobs are however VERY useful, and can make a nice background chorus, because I like having long delays, say 320 ms to 500 ms, and twist the modulation just a tiny bit. Then the chorus effect will just come in the delays and leaves each note a sharp attack. This unit does this very well, almost like the old Lexicons, with sine wave modulations.

Regular chorusing is as good as it gets, and flanging is on the kind and subtle and gentle side. If you distort the input, the delay cracks up in an unpleasant distortion that didn't exist on older tape units, on those, one just hit the tape heads hard, leaving a cool overdrive effect. It SEEMS to have some limiter or compressing effect on the delay signal, a slight tiny pumping can be heard. Maybe it was this they used for a tape similar effect.

But, even when input is set mildly and not overloading the input, one can't play high pinched harmonics with whammy bar bends (i e Jeff Beck style) without hearing a lot of ugly digital aliasing noise coming in the delays, especially in the uppermost registers. Even when high cut filter is on. This, one could do with tape delay units. Although they would maybe not capture that tone either, there where at least no digital aliasing noises on those.

I heard no digital noise when doing the same on my Korg AXG-1500 pedal, or Line6 delay modellers. DSPs and AD/DA:s has, simply put, become so much better today.

There are units out there today for the same price, both cheaper and higher, that produce a closer resemblance to a real tape echo unit. Period. Christ, it was 1991 this unit came out, don't you think technology has advanced the tiniest bit?

It is very silent, and no noise is present. In stereo it is splendid, and the most hidden secret of the unit is to use the delay as a predelay to a reverb unit without predelay built in. Such as T-REX ROOM MATE which I use. The reflections comes in quite smooth, and one can prolong reverb times. A little luxory to use this unit just at that, but anyway. This is what I use it for now, because I haven't heard any other one can take care of this just as smoothly.

Yes, solid and sturdy. The power jack was a little shaky on my unit but I bought it second hand. If it was made in 1991 and is still running, it's sturdy.

No idea, have no reason to find out.

Anything I wish it had? There could be an input signal led meter in case it distorts.

Although I think it's a tad too esoteric/cult and overhyped, especially in price, it is still one of the better, if not the best - classic and "ordinary" - digital delays out there though. Way better than any built in digital delay in any of these multifx pedals and rack units that came around in the 90s. Sort of similar to old rackmount Lexicon dedicated digital delays in the 80s.

But in no way a replacement for tape units. In the 00's that is. Don't forget we're heading towards the end of the decade now.
Much water has passed under the bridges since 1991. There are so much more alternatives out now, check them out instead with modelling and all other things going on. Buy this only if you're into 80's or 90's retro style visually, which may pop up in the next decade, the 10's.

It's stupidly easy to use - analogue style knob twisting.

I don't know what the hell JK (see his review down the page) is talking about when he says it doesn't sound like a real tape echo unit - I got rid of an RE-301, a mint RE-201, 3 solid state Wem Copicats and an original 60s valve Copicat when I got this unit. I have had 6 tape echoes and all were in good repair. I always cleaned the heads, spliced new tapes and went to great lengths to ensure they were in top operational condition. I wonder whether JK has owned any tape echo units - sure they sound great, but so does the Chandler. In my opinion it performs so close to the best sounding tape echoes I have heard that you will have to work hard to hear a difference. Your audience will hear no difference!!! You will probably hear less tone-sucking from your current rig with the Chandler and you will almost definitely hear less hum, hiss or other forms of extraneous noise that come with the tape echo territory. You will not need to stuff around with tape splicing, lube tape rollers or have to repair it mid-set in the live situation. The Chandler SDE is simply the most organic sounding and most sensibly practical unit going round! Who cares about the 'wall wart' - get a powerboard and the 'wall wart' won't be falling out of the wall now will it?! If you want the Chris Isaak's Wicked Game sound - set your Chandler on long delay, twist your 'delay time' knob to X2, wet it up with your Fender spring Reverb, wiggle your tremolo arm and then go take a cold shower.

Utterly dependable in over a year of regular gigging use - my tape echoes were hit and miss and sucked more tone from my rig.

I play Rockabilly, country, Blues, smokey bar stuff. This unit does the Shadows thing, the Rockabilly slapback, the long-tailed wet delays and I always get other guitarists commenting on my pristine 60s reverb/echo sound. I only wish it were in a pedal format - but I'll live with it because I haven't tried a pedal that comes close. I'm 38, been playing since I was 14 and am now at a stage where I have accumulated a lot of amps, effects, guitars and stuff. The Chandler SDE makes my music swirl with the 3 dimensionality of a really good tape echo but doesn't give me grief with upkeep or insecurity about reliability. It can steal a little bit of your tone, but that has a lot to do with how you use it in your effects chain. I run it after my Barber Tone Pump and notice only very minimal loss of tone - my audience notices nothing and when I'm playing at full steam it augments my tone so much that I would find it very hard to live without.

It takes a bit of tweaking and playing around, just to get familiar with what it can do, but virtually any way you set it will yield a great sound.

It's not at all noisy, and it sounds outstanding overall. It may not sound exactly like a TUBE echoplex, but I can tell you that it sounds VERY similar to a SS echoplex that I use to have. It does incredible slap-back, and long delay sounds, as well as chorus and flange. I personally have never used it as a flanger, but I do use it for chorus occasionally and it sounds very nice, though the main course for this thing is definitely delay. It just shines as a delay unit....very organic and analog sounding.

Yeah, I gig without a backup. Jeez, what a silly question, huh? I've been using it for about 5 years, and I've never had a problem. I don't see any reason why I would, actually.

I've e-mailed them a couple times about a tube driver that I have, and they've always been responsive.

I can't believe that guy hammering it because it has a bigger enclosure than he thinks is required! Yeah, the main circuit board is fairly small, but there are also knobs and jacks to deal with as well. Maybe it could be an inch less deep. Big whoop. I guess if that's his main beef, you can rest assured that it's a very nice unit. I wouldn't have paid $600 new for it either, but I rarely buy any gear new, unless I get what I think is a heck of a deal on it. It's more than worth the $250-$350 you pay for them used. Excellent delay, and by far the best sounding digital delay I've ever used. I love the twisty knobs! It's so easy to just give it a crank when you need to!

hmmmm...what don't I like? Well, it does suck tone when it's not engaged, but I don't know of any rack gear that doesn't. I debated moving the guts into a true-bypassed pedal housing, but decided to build a small, folding rack for my pedal board to mount it to instead.

It definitely helps me make music. Sure, I could live without delay, but it sure is nice to have at times, and this is a very nice sounding delay to have on tap when you want delay.

Iwon't say easy at first but certainly not hard. The manual is helpful somewhat to figure out how to connect the unit and does explain the functions which are simple. You don't buy the SDE 2 for tweaking.

Once you figure out how to use this unit, WOW! Especially in stereo. I have a stereo Marshall cab and stood back about 10 feet. The separation of the stereo is about 20 feet. Chunk! Chunk! Left to right is awesome. I had a G-Force, H3000S, MPX-1 and couldn't do that!

The older unit I had was beat to hell but still functioned perfectly. I sold it but realized I was asleep when I did so I bought a new one.

There isn't any support anymore but there's very little to worry about. I have never heard of this unit failing.

Except for the fact that it has a single input jack this unit is a must have. I don't care about "vintage" sound. I care about "quality" sound and the Chandler does that. I am excited about the prospect of connecting my Bogner Fish into a Rane PE-15 parametric EQ, into the SDE 2, into a Mesa 2.90/Langner power amp combo. ooooooohhhh baby!

Now out of production so you will probably be dealing with a used unit. Don't let the absence of an owners manual stop you! The SDE-2 is very simple to operate.

I've read and heard about this unit for a long time and finally decided to take the plunge! All the reviewers and owners comparing this unit to an echo-plex are nuts. While it sounds very nice for a digital delay it in no way resembles the sound produced by any analog tape machine, period!!! Still, in all, the unit has a nice smooth albeit DIGITAL sound.

I think it safe to assume reliability is good!

Probably near non-existing!

I must say here that I purchased my SDE-2 used on eBay for $300.00 and must add that I feel very sorry for anyone who paid full price. This rack-mount unit has an enclosure that measures 17' by 8 1/2'. The PCB inside the box measures a mere 4 3/4' by 3 1/2'. What a joke!!! This could have fit into a diminutive stomp box and probably should have been, at a much reduced cost! The height of DECEPTION and in no way worth the $699.00 SMR. I can't tell you the sinking feeling I had when I removed the cover and looked inside. With all this empty space inside there should have been an internal power supply, but alas no, you'll have to put up with another wall-wart. At a fare price I would have raved about the SDE-2 but even at less then half the suggested retail price I feel a bit ripped-off!

very easy to tweak. everthing up front

best delay on the planet, even better than the tc d-2. no shit.. very warm ecoplex type

no delay comes close

When I first plugged the Chandler into my rig, I initially had a little trouble getting what I wanted for a sound out of it. I played around with it for about a half hour and then went to bed. The next morning I went back at it again. This time after re-reading the manual(which is very helpful), I was very impressed at how easy it is to figure out how to dial in.

The manual said to run it last in the effects chain or in the effects loop of my amp. I first tried it last in my effects chain. Fender Strat--Dunlop wah wah(soon to be Teese RMC3)--Fulltone Ultimate Octave--Boss Oc-2 Octave--MXR Phase 90--Boss DS-1--Boss CH1 Stereo Chorus(soon to be Fulltone Choralflange)--Chandler SDE-2--into Marshall JCM900 with Genz Benz 2/12 George Lynch Signature Cab. Wasn't that impressed. I then tried it in the effects loop of my Marshall(bias at about half way). Completely impressed at how awesome this unit is. Extremely quiet when switched on and off via my morley single foostswitch. Quickly jammed out Satriani's Lights of Heaven(Crystal Planet cd)and then tried it on the clean side with some CH1 chorus and a touch of reverb on Z.Z's song(also Satriani). I then plugged my Ovation Elite into my amp and switched gears into some Stairway to Heaven ala Zeppelin. All I can say is phenomenal!!!

I just bought this unit less than a week ago. It seems to be well built. I have had other rackmount units and the Chandler seems to be built about the same as the rest of them. I would probably use this unit at a gig without a backup, but then again I plan to buy another one. My plans are to have my Marshall and the effects for-mentioned just set up for by distortion sounds. I will have a different clean amp set up through an a/b switch with a second Chandler SDE-2 and the Fulltone Choralflange.

I havn't dealt with the company. I have checked out their web site which hasn't been up-dated since 1998. It seems to me that if a company like Chandler produces something as amazing as the SDE-2 they would want to advertise anywhere they can. I would at least expect them to update their site from time to time.

I am 26 years old and have been playing since the age of 7. I know what I'm looking for in my sound. Buying the Chandler SDE-2 Echo has helped me to get one step closer to the perfect tone I'm looking for. When I first started looking to buy a delay unit I really did my homework as to which is the best sounding. I have heard time and time again that the Echoplex is the best, but is problematic as far as up keep. I researched some of the gear that is used by some of the most talented guitarists in the world with a well known ear for tone. Two of my favorites being George Lynch and Joe Satriani, and guess what? They both use the Chandler! I said, if its good enough for them it ought to be good enough for me. Now that I own one, I can say for sure it is.

needs a lot of tweaking to get the different types of sound you are looking for. manual is good. this is the 2nd echo unit from chandler.

no noise. used in guitar effects loop. modulation effects are so-so but delay is is the best warm, analog sounding delay since the echoplex without the tape hassle.

have not had it long enough

bought unit from stu at fat sounds. seems company might go out of business. limited chips. to bad!

i tried all the delays: boss, zoom, art, lexicon, line 6, tc elec, rocktron, danelectro etc . when hi-cut switch is on, you would think you had an echoplex on.

considering i bought this used and had no manual, the device is easy to use. unlike complicated as hell devices like the digitech gsp-7 (?) guitar processor i owned 6 or so years ago, this devices simple knob design is refreshing. simple to patch with unbalanced quarter inch jacks for signal in, dry out, wet out, stereo l and r out, and bypass, the echo is easy to use.

i use the echo for blues and can get the old tape delay sounds of gatemouth brown or hollywood fats using it. can also get scotty moore's/brian setzer's slapback sounds with it as well. i use the device with either an early 60's airline bass amp (equivalent a supro thunderbolt) or a 66 blackface super reverb. with either, the echo sounds great in its noiseless operation. the echo's rank very high, not as impressived with the controls for the flange/chorus option, but i bought this as an echo generator, not a chorus effect so that point is null.

yes, i can depend on it. no problem. however, the problem with the effect is the detachable 9volt wall transformer that goes with it. chandler should have made this with an internal transformer design. the power transformer is too easy to lose, as i can attest to.

god, chandler has been difficult to get ahold of to order a new transformer. maybe it is because they've been moving to a new facility, but it took forever (about 2 weeks) to finally get my order placed. we'll see how soon they get the transformer to me.

i still wish i had a tube echoplex, but at $500 the echoplex is too expensive, especially compared to the $100 i paid for this used echo. for the blues and roots rock that i do the value can't compare.