DLS Echo Tap

I cannot really say much about "ease of use". If you know how an echo/delay pedal works, then it shouldn't be a problem.. right?

I've tried a lot of delay pedals... Boss Space Echo, various boss delays, ibanez ad9 etc..

This is my favorite one. Sounds great. Adjustable -- make it sound like you want it to. Subtle all the way to over-the-top.

Lots of playing at home, been on the pedal board during a couple shows, played on it during every practice. No issues here.

No idea, bought it on eBay and I've never had to bother but it's a small company so I imagine you could contact them through their website fairly easily.

Great, it's what I've been looking for and if I never lose it, I'll probably never buy a different echo for the rest of my days.

Very easy to use, the manua?? is almost not needed except for the power supply and outputs info.

You however do have to take care of the slight pop it makes when changing ans synching to a new tempo (better do it when the effect is off).

Havin two levels of delayed sounnd is very useful in a live situation.

The direct sound is almost transparent (very slightly duller or compressed than bypass).

The delayed sound is already affected even at the clearer setting, it is however sweet sounding and does get darker with the decay juste like an analog counterpart.

It is a robust and fine delay that doesn't get in the way with endless presets and too many choices.

However for the price I would like to have an option of a TOTALLY transparent delay sound like it should be possible with a digital delay.

There is definitely a slight and noticeable hiss when engaged. It might be a bit of a problem when recording.

I already have a Maxon AD-900 for comparison. The Maxon is duller (and therefore less versatile) but a little more organic and quieter than the DLS. The Maxon switches more seemlessly than the DLS which will pop slightly if switched while playing.

There are three low level pops when the delay is synching with the chosen tempo either with the rotary knob or with the tap tempo switch. But it is not audible if done when the pedal is off.

It seems well built. Still need to use it for a while to answer the question.

No problem until now.

I play all styles of music; Blues, Rock, funk, jazz etc... I started playing guitar 27 years ago.

This a nice pedal that will fit most of your applications but it is definitely not perfect. It has its shortcomings like the synch pops and the general hiss (signal to noise level too small). These corrected along with an available transparent delay would make it the perfect delay pedal for most of us.

Well I have not quite mastered the tap tempo bit but otherwise pretty easy and intuitive.

Boy I have owned just about every brand pedal from 75 to 375 bucks on the market including boutiques. This is replacing my very nice Goddie delay that i like. The DLS adds a seperate tap channel with 2 different volumes.This is very usefull as you can set the static channel on big delay mix for solo's etc and keep the tap channel at a more usable volume for rythem etc. The tones are great check out the demos on youtube. True bypass does not mess with your signal and the delay adds a digital signal with a tone roll off to your analog signal , BRILLANT! Does pristine clean to echoplex with ease short to long as well for live use this may be the best pedal ever made for guitar period..

built like a tank

Not cheap but not over priced and worth every penny. This is one of those rare pedals like ,TS9, Vox Wah, OCD, deja vibe, that just got it right...........

Very easy to use. Not much of a manual, but there's not much to it. Simply tap the tempo of the delay you want tempoed, or simply toggle back to the fixed time delay. The feedback and tone controls are a no brainer. The delay mix controls are also easy.

Great sound quality. Does a very good job of nice dark and mellow repeats. The analog dry signal path has a tiny bit of white noise to it, but really it's neglegible, c'mon it's a guitar pedal. I was searching for a delay that kept your dry signal purely analog and simply blended the delay along with that. This pedal does exactly this.

It feels very reliable and rugged. Very solid chassis, excellent quality parts, Fulltone footswitch for reliable true-bypass. Mine did however get a glitch where the noise floor became a bit more audible, and the delays wouldn't completely turn off with the mix knobs. But it was quickly and easily repaired by DLS.

Excellent and friendly and quick. My problem listed above was addressed instantly. They fixed it within a few days and shipped it back in perfect shape.

This is the delay pedal I had wished someone would invent. Very, very musical an great in the live performance setting. Love it!

The EchoTap is fairly straightforward to use, but I will admit takes a little bit of time to learn. The unit is set up with a normal delay mode (called Echo-1 mode)with a knob going from 50ms all the way to 3 seconds. A small complaint early on was the fact that the Delay Time Knob has presets, about 16 in all. This would say that you couldn't get the exact delay time you wanted. However the unit ALSO has a Tap Echo setting that allows you to set ANY tempo you choose but tapping your foot twice in rapid succession on the footswitch. I also learned to appreciate the presets while in regular delay mode after I started a cover band and needed to know exactly which delay time I was choosing and keeping it the same time after time. So with 16 presets and Tap Echo, there is tons of variety and flexibility.

Plus you have a separate Volume for Echo 1 and Tap Echo which is nice. The Echo Repeats and Echo Tone controls both Echo-1 and Tap Echo.

As one review already stated, the controls are pretty interactive with each other. For instance, as you darken the tone, the repeats don't last as long so you need to turn up the repeats. I don't see this as a bad thing however as I am used to interactive controls, my Matchless amps have interactive controls like this.

The manual, which I remember being a few well diagramed printouts were sufficient in figuring out the unit. Also included was a sheet explaining how to adjust an internal pot which control volume output. I also later noticed that this information is listed on the main DLS website, so you can print one off if you lose it.

I am running through a couple Matchless amps, Lightning 15 and Clubman 35. I use the Lightning the most. For overdrive I use a TS-9 TubeScreamer and Keeley modded BD-2 Blues driver. I use both a Les Paul and American Strat so I run the range of tones through the ET.

The unit itself is pretty quiet, not dead quiet however. I do notice very slight "shhhhh" noise when the unit is engaged and no notes are struck, but it is minimal and hardly noticeable unless you are listening for it. When it is off it is out of the chain and quiet due to True Bypass.

As far as the delays sound, I am blown away. The Echo Tone knob gives you a lot of variety. I tend to favor a bit brighter sound, so a lot of the dark settings are too dark for me, but they are there if you need them and the "milder" dark settings sound fantastic and warm as hell. On the brightest setting, this thing sounds so far beyond any Digital Delay I've ever heard, it's still warm but bright and clear, and organic sounding, not "tinny" or too sharp. I've heard others say that this isn't a true Analog delay, and I'm not really sure, but it sounds amazing. I compared it to a Maxxon which sounded great, but this had more variety as the Maxxon didn't give me the option of brighter tones or the Tap Tempo option. Plus the Maxxon was more expensive with fewer features.

As far as artists go, I love all kinds of effect laden bands, U2, Coldplay, Bloc Party, Pink Floyd, Travis, and this pedal works very well for making you sound dark and dreamy. When you push the Echo Repeats all the way up, the pedal feeds back in such a lush dreamy way, it's awesome. I should add through that this feedback is only available on brighter settings, really dark settings won't feedback very well.

The EchoTap is very solidly built, with a sturdy metal casing that feels indestructable. It's larger than a standard boss or mxr sized pedal but not enormous. I've never had a problem with it and would never worry about having a backup.

I have spoken to Dave at DLS via email several times and he was always very friendly and responded to my emails quickly. I recently had some issues in my pedal line and was trouble shooting and so I sent my Echo Tap to him just to have it checked over and tuned up and he gave it a "once over" free of charge and paid the return shipping to me. Plus the turn around was about a week and a half. A very nice guy. I also asked him about adding a mod to the pedal in the way of a footpedal control and was told it could be done, and the price was really reasonable.

I've been playing guitar for 20 years and this delay was music to my ears when I first heard it (still is). It is very organic and musical sounding. While the EchoTap isn't cheap (I think I paid near $275), it is a hell of a value if you're looking for an Analog or analog sounding delay with useable features. Honestly, compare to the price of a Maxxon. I would definitely repurchase this unit if it were stolen. With both a regular delay mode and Tap Echo, separate volumes and a huge variety of lush tones, this pedal is a keeper. It sounds especially great through my Lightning with just the amp clean tone. Through a volume pedal in there and bam...moody, dark, lush music! It also sounds fantastic as just a good slap back delay. Sometimes it sounds so good, I just leave it on all the time.

I'm a bit of a clod when it comes to dialing in the right sound and I found it quite easy to get good sounds in no time !

OK ..Sound quality is a subjective thing .. one mans idea of perfect tone may sound like nails on a chalkboard to somebody else but IMHO .. This unit is as good or better than my Boss DM 2 vintage analog delay and very musical ! I'm not the kinda guy who gives 10's but man this deserves it !!!!

Seems built quite well.. knobs feel a little bit delicate

Emailed them and they responded within a day !

Buy an EchoTap !!!!! It's $$$$ well spent !!

After a few minutes of reading the E-Z guide, tweak the knobs, etc.
You can hit the pre-set knob or tap what you want: very flexible.
It goes for up to 3 seconds, and can cop all the analog/warm sounds you want.

With an excellent sampling rate, true/unadulterated bypass, and a range of 30 ms. to 3 seconds: you cannot go wrong. Whether you have single coils or HH, and whether you have an active guitar or passive: the sound is THERE. Using it with Mesa Lone Star Special & Stilleto Ace combos: sounds good in the FX loop or on the floor pre-input. Not noisy at all. Works with any 9V power source/adapter altho it comes with it's own.

Made like a tank, excellent coating with knobs that don't stick out/up. You can use it without worry just as long as you don't stand on it or dropkick it (or maybe you could?).

Dave wrote me back the next day after an e-mail.
Very pleasant to deal with.

This unit is good from country slapback to Pink Floyd space delays. All the middle settings for Doobie/Zep/ambient stuff are excellent, plus you can tap out what you want. The reviews in Vintage Guitar and Tone Quest Report do not lie. And the number of superb players is a testimonial too. The samples on their site will convince you too.

The pedal is pretty easy to use. If this pedal is difficult for you, I would suggest a different line of work.

Contrary to some of the reviews here, this pedal is a 16-bit digital delay. Your original tone is not messed with, but the delay is blended in. It says exactly this on the DLS website. So to say this is an analog delay with tap tempo is completely incorrect. It is warmer than Boss-type delays but not as smooth as say, the Maxon units. I did not compare it to the T-Rex or even the new TC Electronic. I play professionally in Nashville and tried it out in a store down here. I did notice the thumping sound when engaging the tap tempo and it bothered me. I thought it was pretty apparent. I decided against buying it.

The pedal is very well built and seems durable. I wouldn't think you would need a backup.

Did not deal with them.

I play lots of styles in the studio and primarily country on the road. I've been playing for 25 years. The pedal isn't bad, and for the money it does some nice things and has a pleasing tone. But, the thumping sound kinda detracts from it. It all depends on what you are willing to live with. I recommend trying it out first to make sure...or at least be able to return it for a refund!

Ok here goes, It is easy to use as far as having straight forward controls and getting it to make delays. However, it is hard to get it dialed in for a truly musical sounding delay. The reason for this is each control is inter-related. What I mean by this is...if you turn up the repeats, it seems to effect the delay level also. If you decrease level of echo, the repeats now have to be cranked up again. Needs more isolation of controls to make it user friendly. Sold it and bought the replica.

I have a Tom Anderson, a high quality board through a Divided by 13 ftr amp. Pedal not noisy at all. Just not musical to my ear. Does do the job of delay. Maybe if I spent loads of time dialing it in it would be ok. but...

Had it for one week. I use a DLS rotosim and have had no problems.

No dealings with them.

Well, for me the relica is way better and worth the extra $100. It's very musical and very easy to get a usable delay. This thing just is too hard to tweek with the interactive controls.

Very easy. Unless your a novice and don't understand the principal of delay functions. With a little practice it does exactly what you want it too. The tap function works exactly as it should. You only have to give it 2 taps at whatever tempo you want and your there. No fuss at all. Not much for a manual. Dont really need one anyway. Its analog, true bypass, and with tap function. Any good player who digs delay can appreciate the last feature the most.

I use a Bogner Shiva with this running last in the fx loop after a mxr phase, fulltone choralflange, and a tremelo. I used to use a SIB echodrive, but the delay timing control was not exacting. The SIB added a real nice warm midrange that I actually dug, but it also developed a low hum after awhile. The echotap is about as transparent as you can get, which suits me fine. I run the repeats at about a 1/3 turn of the knob and the tone at about 1/4, which is actually brighter. It darkens up the farther you turn it. It also has a knob for manually setting the delay, which I have NOT used. Thats just a credit to how good the tap function works. It works extremely well with all my effects as well as with the Shiva, which is the most smokin amp ever in my 17 years of playing. My only gripe is the slight thump sound it makes when engaging it, however this is not noticable when playing with my band.

Ive only had it a few months, but so far no problems. Seems well built. I dont use a back up for anything, except guitar.

no idea. Did I mention I'm not gay? Has nothing to do with the Echotap. Just thought I'd mention it.

Overall I'd give it a 9. For the tone chaser out there I'd recommend it. You cant beat analog with a tap function and true bypass. Im surprised there aren't more companys making them. Most delays now are digital, which I cant abide by. My only complaint is the minor pop it makes, but like I said, its pretty minor. That being said, all in all, I give the Echotap a 9. I give myself a 10, because I'm damn sexy.

very easy to get a lush, beautiful tone from the echo-tap. It's not an 'extreme'pedal, like a memory man, but I think it's a much better sounding pedal. Editing and dialing in different settings on a dark stage is very easy. The echotap has two different delays that can be switched between very easily. The tap temp, the reason I bought it, works like a charm. The pedal's footprint is much smaller than a memory man as well.

I am using this at the end of a chain that runs from a doobtone modded crybaby into fulldrive to a pulsar and then into the echotap - out to a deluxe reverb amp. It's not noisy at all, very clean sounding, much cleaner than my memory man. Like I said it's not an extreme pedal, you can get super wild self-oscilations with it. With the repeats all the way up, instead you'll get a very lush sounding wall of gentle repeats, that still allow the sound of the guitar to shine through. it has a tone knob for the repeats that when all the way down is more like a digital delay in that it repeats what it's sent, turning it clockwise gives the repeats a darker sound. I found that the knob was only good for a quarter turn before the repeats got a bit too dark. As long as you keep it within that quarter sweep it should cover all that you need. I play a lot of surfy type stuff, way into hank marvin's sound, and I can get a lot of that stuff with it very easily. Into my deluxe reverb it really sounds so sweet. The sound is reallly beautiful and doesn't take away from my already sweet tone at all. very nice!

built like a tank, true bypass, quality parts and workmanship. I expect it will last a long long time. I'm not worried about depending on it.

I emailed DLS and got back some helpful feedback on the pedal. no issues.

I play surf influenced guitar. I like cleaner tones that are wide and expansive. I have been playing for close to 20 years. I just love the sound of this pedal. It's really great sounding and I love the fact that it has tap tempo. there are not too many analog delays that have tap tempo. I currently a deluxe memory man, a DD2 and a boss delay machine. These are all very nice sounding as well, but none of them have tap tempo. I find the boss dd2 to be very nice but it is not as lush as this one. I find my memory man to be a bit on the noisy side sometimes, and the echotap is not. If you are in a band that plays out a lot and need a dependable pedal, that covers a lot of territory then you should look into the echotap. It's one of the best sounding analog delays I've ever heard, and I've been through a lot of them - very inspirational, makes me want to play for hours through it.

I gotta give it a "10" for ease of use, I don't see how everyone was so perplexed by the tap/delay swap switch, although I may have had an unfair advantage by getting to read about any issues the pedal may have before buying it. I would love it if the unit came with two tone knobs instead of just one, although it's kinda useless (with my rig, anyway)because the delay is sooooo dark sounding (NOT a bad thing at all).

Beats the crap out of anything I've ever used. I've used the Carl Martin Delayla, Maxon AD 999, Line 6 DL 4, EH Memory Man, Way Huge Aqua-Puss, and SCORES of other pedals. This one is clearer than the analog delays, warmer (really DARK sounding, I love it) than the digital delays, and better (again, through my set-up) than all of them. All of the above boutique delays are awesome in their own right, and I recomend them to anyone, but the EchoTap combines the convenience of tap tempo with analog warmth (although it's hybrid digital/analog-digilog?). A few small issues include an occasional faint "thump" sound when the tap tempo is used. Not a huge deal to me, but worth mentioning. Also I found out that putting a non-true bypass pedal in front of this sucker could be problematic. I put my Diaz Texas Tremodillo in front of it to see how it'd affect the sound and to my horror the 'Dillo made the EchoTap's switches make ear splitting popping sounds when engaged! Yikes! Do yourself a favor and DON'T do it. Outside of that it sounds and works great and I'm happy as hell that it's on my pedalboard. One point deducted for those issues...

Seems solid, although the "warning" page included with the pedal are somewhat disconcerting, particularly the part where you're not supposed to drop the unit from a table. Come on, this freakin' thing is $300, it had BETTER be able to take a little bit of abuse. I'm also not overly thrilled with DLS's choice of switch for the bypass, it seems kinda frail. Time will tell on that one, and everyone seems to have good things to say about this box, so I'll refrain from commenting at this point in time as it would be unfair.

First and foremost, I'm giving them this really low score because I've tried several times to contact them and get answers to some basic questions and their automated website e-mail thing-a-ma-jig wouldn't let me leave my message, displaying an "invalid message length 2-450 words" message every time I tried to make the damned thing work. The low score isn't for the quality of their service, it's for the inability for customers to contact them. If that's the only way they offer for anyone to get a hold of them you'd think they'd make sure it worked. Also, I found the owner's manual to be kind of vague, it says that the only adaptor to use is the one provided, which prompted me to open the back of the unit and look for a way to hook up a battery, which can't be done. So does that mean that I can't use an alternate power source like the Pedal Power? It turns out that you can, you just have to look all over the website to find that out, again because there's no way to ask them that question directly. Not cool in my book, it's something that REALLY needs to be taken care of. I usually won't buy anything "boutique" unless I know that the builder is willing and able to answer any and all questions about the unit and can trouble shoot. All of the other reviews seem to indicate that this is usually the case, so I guess I'm a little less freaked about it, but I still gotta score low in this category given my own personal experiences...

Issues aside, this thing is awsome. I think me and EchoTap are gonna be friends for a long time. Really easy to use, awesome tone, seems totally solid (except for the bypass switch). I like everything about it except the color, and that's a pretty minor beef. Truth be told, I wish all pedals were black. There outta be a law...

I highly recomend this pedal to anyone who wants a well made and brilliant sounding delay. No Line 6 models, no tricks, no gimmicks, just a pedal that's made by someone who clearly wasn't happy with the alternatives that he'd been offered. Necessity is often the mother of invention, and oh what an invention this is. The only things that keep this from being a perfect 10 are the issues previously discussed which are the points deducted from this final score. Despite those issues, I really think that this pedal is worth every penny.

this thing can be tricky so watch out when dialing in the tap function...

I like the unit! It is as advertised! The 'chucklehead' a few reviews below me that calls himself an 'avid tone freak' and then goes on to slam this pedal and then says that he plays through a Marshall JTM60! tone freak? how about 'snot nose twerp'. Grow-up junior! Running a digital delay through an 'effects loop' and a cheesy Marshall effects loop at that and then calls himself a tone freak?!.....then he leaves 2 reviews giving this unit a '3'on each review. Ought to be slapped! when junior grows up and realizes what 'tone' is then maybe someone will listen...this echo will give you lots of flexibility, 2 delays and tone control (global tone control) and separate level controls! analog signal, true bypass, the analog guitar signal is mixed with the digital echo signal giving great clarity and versatility in 'blending' your echo sound. I've played lots of delays and this ranks up with the best! Absolutely quiet too!

Had it a short while...I don't know...

Haven't needed it!

I was inspired to write this review because of the knit-wit below leaving 2 bad reviews that don't accurately describe what this echo tap unit can do. I have been playing for many years and love this thing, you won't be disappointed if you got one, it delivers the goods! Quiet and warm echo....

I'm giving a '7' because switching between the 2 echo channels can be tricky and a pain especially when you are playing something that is difficult and you don't want to lose concentration. (It would help if I could chew gum and play guitar at the same time....)

The sound quality is excellent even when pushing it with distortions and overdrives. You can dial in the different types of echo you want by adjusting the tone knob, you can go from a high end clear sounding tape echo to a warm and distant fading echo, this feature is the reason I bought this pedal and it works great. This is not a 'toy' pedal so if you are looking for a special effect delay toy there are other units out there to play with. The true bypass and digital/analog blend design of this pedal is awesome! Nice job! I have used tons and tons of delay effects (EH MemoryMan, Maxon analog AD900, DanEcho, TC 2290, DeltaLab, Eventide, PCM41 etc...etc..) for setting on a guitar pedalboard and at the end of your effects chain into the amp this unit is excellent quality and as good and versatile as anyone can ask.

Works great so far...

I dunno...

I have been playing for over 30 years and mostly play rock/blues. I am using this pedal in front of a Carr Mercury amp and it performs and sounds wonderful. It is designed (I guess) to sound more like an 'echo' machine than a standard delay, I am not sure what that means other than to say it sounds more like an echoplex setting next to my rig than an electronic delay box on my pedalboard, absolutely quiet and no tape hassle etc..(this is a good thing to me!). Pretty much what I have been looking for!

Simple.

Excellent!! Delay is my #1 effect. I've been through everything that has tap-tempo (for me a MUST). DD-20, DD-6, Echopark, T-Rex, DL-4, Digidelay...This one wins. It's warm sounding, but not muddy. It's true bypass, which is important to me. I take off one point for the following reasons:

1. Even with the tone knob all the way up (or down, rather), it's still warm sounding. Occasionally, I like a delay that's as bright as the original signal. This doesn't quite do that.

2. In the "non-tap" mode, I wish the delay time knob wasn't indented (is that the right word?). I find I can't set the EXACT delay time I want in that mode because it "in-between" indents. I'm sure there's a reason for this design, but I can't imagine what it is..

3. Also, it's BIG. I like to keep my pedalboard small and light. I prefer smaller pedals. Not a big deal.

Other than that, it's a killer pedal. I've tried them all. I especially like the DEDICATED tap tempo switch. I find 2-1 switches (DD-6) USELESS in live situations.

BTW on the earliest units your direct sound is affected slightly when you turn on the effect. If this is the case with yours, contact DLS. They can fix it so the bypass tone and the "engaged" tone are identical. This isn't a problem for newer units.

No problem so far.. I've only had it a few months..

Excellent. Fairly quick emails (within 24 hours). I guess I'll take off one point because some guys get back to you immediately. However, Dave is always helpful and friendly.

I love this pedal. I pay my mortgage playing guitar, and price is no object for gear purchases. This delay isn't quite perfect, but I think it's the best one available. If you need tap tempo and like a warmer sound, don't hesitate. The Boss DD-20 sounded like "guitar-center consumer electronics" compared to this. Well done!!!!

Dude- I went to the music store and th guy just handed me the unit. Away I went and it was easy to switch on the fly and find the delay and echo tones I wanted.

not really sure how anyone can fault this unit. Is it a Maxon AD 999? no. Did I A/B the unit with it yes. Was there a difference? Not too much, and really it all comes doen to what you want. I A/B's this unit with the T-REX, AD 999, Boss DD-6, and the Dan Echo. The Trex is nice, but stupid money. No way 400 bucks is a good investment. The MXON, was nice and warm, but was pretty much a one trick pony, as if you were palying live you would need 2 -4 Maxons to do what this one unit can do. The Boss DD6 was very cool, but not warm. It had a digital vibe going, and I could see its uses in various setting, but not what I was looking for that day.

The DLS echo tap was warm, has the analog vibe going and is built rock solid. The sounds are warm, and practical, making it sound great with anything. I use it with a mesa boogie and les paul guitars. when teh gain is on, and I kick this in can we sayy guns and roses, metallica and TONE to die for. Its crazy when you start to solo with it and it sounds so natural. I like this pedal.

I owned a Line 6 DL4 and it was good, but once I found myself constanly using the analog mod delay I wanted more, and I wanted a smaller pedal. The Line 6 is cool, but I would not buy that again as I know what I want now.

It does not have reverse delay or a crazy 10 second delay, it practical and realistic. I like it.

Only pitfall is, you need to power it with a power supply. That comes with it, but if you are going to an open Jam, bring it with. Unless you have a pedalboard.

Built like a tanb and HEAVY

N/A

Guys look at what you are buying here. A NICE Delay pedal with an echo focus and a change on teh fly tap tempo to get what you want. If you cannot get a good sound out of this pedal, check your guitar pickups or your amp settings. Its articulate, accurate, and a good value for what it does. And for what it doesn't do, I really don't care for today (reverse delay and crazy long digital). If I want those I will get teh DD6, but all my pedals are TB, and I would need to run that in the effects loop. This plays nice with all my pedals amps and guitars! I like it!

This unit is very easy to use. The only tricky thing is getting it out of "Tap" mode back onto the "Preset" side. But in the first four seconds you realize you just hold down the tap switch for a second. The preset side is extremely easy to dial in the length of delay you need. The tap side is well, a tap echo, nuff said.
All the knobs are self explanatory minus the "Echo Tone" knob. You get the gist after mucking about with it for a minute.

I love this thing. I have had 2 binson echorecs, a Boss DD-3, Alesis Quadroverb, Lexicon Multieffects, and a Roland Space Echo. My favorite was the space echo. Only problem with the Binsons and the Space Echo are the fragile nature of older units and tape noise.
This box can get anything from DD-3 to Space Echo delays AND has 3 seconds of Delay! I've seen some reviews that say it is muddy, but I haven't had that experience. If you want the cheap digital "ice pick" highs you get from a rack mount like the Alesis, then this isn't the unit for you.
The Echo Tone knob is the key to this unit. I hear people say it doesn't do anything. Not True! It is very subtle. With it all the way up, the repeated echo signals decay faster, mimicking the decay of the tape delay machines physical recording limitations. With this knob all the way down, the delay gives equally strong signal on each repeat. This is genius, because you can get digital cold perfect delay, and warm modulated tape delay sounds. The unit is also very quiet.
My rig is American Standard Tele -> Fulltone SupaTrem -> Sparkle Drive -> DLS Echo Tap -> Laney VC-30 (Class A valve combo)

I have had this unit for a year now and it has never given me problems. In fact, I was running a ZVEX Super Hard On into it for most of this year, and if you know what that pedal is about, it can cause serious wreckage to cheap equipment. Gig without a backup.

I have dealt with DLS, just some questions. Dave is a cool guy. We talked about space rock and he is a huge Gilmour fan. So I see where the killer delay comes from. He is really into making a great sounding pedal.

I play Modern Rock with a space rock twinge to it. Been playing for 15 years. Using delay for most of that time. I love the sound quality of this unit, and the controls are easy. Definitely would buy another one if it was lost or stolen. Only thing I don't like is that you can't use a battery with it. I know many people use power supplies, but early on I liked to use batteries and this box only allows a wall wart. Hence the 9.

Overall, get this box. This first night I got it, I played around with it a while and went to bed. In the middle of the night, I woke up with a great riff in my head. Used it on my album. The album got us a production deal. Get the box.

Easy to use on-the-fly. Contol knobs are easy to see. The Preset Delay and the Tap Delay each have their own blinking LED's; which makes it easy to see where you are at with your delay times.

VERY little noise (much less than my AD900). No volume-drop. The Tone knob takes the tone from crystal clear digital repeats to vintage analog fatness. Smooth decay. Sounds great clean and with distortion effects. I use it with my TIM OD and with my Analogman Sunface; into my 40W Fargen Blackbird or Victoria Bandmaster. Best sounding and responding delay I have ever used.

Built like a tank. Used it for 6 mo. on a regular basis with no issues.

Haven't had to deal with them, so I don't know.

30+ years playing in clubs. R&B, Blues, Rock. Best all-round delay I have ever owned.

The unit comes with a pretty straight forward manual. It took maybe a couple of minutes to get used to switching between the two echo channels, but no big deal. Now it's cake.

I must say that this delay sounds great out front or in the loop. The repeats are very warm and the tone knob can get Pink Floyd echoes or tape echo sounds depending on where it's set. I use both channels of delay, one short delays and one long delays.

Like someone else said, this thing is a tank. I can't imagine the Echotap ever falling apart on me.

Not applicable

I would give this delay an overall 9. I have played so many other delays and I will stick with this one for some time. It has the controls I want to get the sound I need. Oh yea, there are trim pots inside to adjust the input and output volumes. I like my volume up a tad for leads, so that's how I adjusted it.

Easy to use

The sound was not that great. I wanted to add to my review. First, I want to say again the guy from DLS is really cool. I only wanted to add that...the only reason I posted and took the time to post here...is because Harmony - Central and the reviews here have been so helpful to me in the past - exception is the reviews on this particular pedal :-) - which I disagree with. As you all know, it's hard to buy a pedal over the internet where you can't actually hear it. We only have others opinions and reviews, and occasionally some sound samples to judge how we spend our hard earned money! So, anyway this is why I've taken the time to write. It seems that others have really liked the way this pedal sounds...so perhaps just ignore my opinion, but just make sure that you can return the pedal if you don't like it (just in case). I suppose being able to return it is a great option to have no matter what your buying. Good luck and thanks for all of your reviews...they really do help!

I'm an avid tone freak...that's about all I'll say here.

Straight forward. Tap function works well.

Ok...I've had lots of delays in the last few months...Way Huge Aqua Puss, T-Rex Replica, Dan Electro Wasabi, and the DLS. The Way Huge was great...but I couldn't resist selling it for over $500 :-), plus it was only 300 ms and not tap tempo. The T-Rex Replica...sounds killer...but the newest version is only around 1100 ms and hard to find the older ones that are over 1800 ms but very cool. I must add that the T-Rex...man...it sounds so great...no tone loss! Ok..the Wasabi...sounded really good actually...It's just big and clunky...ok ok...the DLS...point of the review. Ok, the guy who makes them is very nice and is really trying...and I'm confident he'll get it eventually...but ..NOT YET. This thing...at least in my Marshall effects loop...sucked tone. It sounded "compressed"...sounded digital...16 bit if you will. I couldn't quite put my finger on it...but mmm...maybe compressed is the best word here. I sent it right back. So if you want a long delay with tap tempo...search for an older T-Rex pedal without the wall wart (newer version has the wall wart and is 700 ms shorter...which sucks - imho).

Seemed to be built well.

The guy from DLS seemed really nice...I'm pulling for him..but he needs to fix the tone change issue...

Rock alt...blues...Marshall JTM 60 tube tone...all about tone. I use delay in an effects loop only...sounds the best to me that way.

The EchoTAP is a stereo delay with 2 "patches" (ok not really patches but 2 delay settings, one preset and the other through a tap tempo footswitch) from 30ms to 3 seconds. It is incredibly easy to use, you just dial in your preset delay time on the center delay time knob, and tap your foot on the tap/toggle button to set the tap delay time. What could be simpler? Each delay has it's own volume control, and there are global repeats and tone controls.

The sound quality is excellent. Either straight into an amp, in an effects loop or into my digital 8-track, the EchoTAP adds zero circuit noise and doesn't mess with the original tone. It has true hard-wired bypass (i.e. the on/off button physically removes the delay circuit from the signal path). The delay is a tape-style delay and is really warm and 60s in character. The stereo out into my 8-track gives a really wide and classy image that makes me want to get a 2nd amp for live use. I'm only rating it as 9 though because the delay is fixed in character, it's a warm delay you can dial in more warmth to but basically you just have that one style of delay.

I haven't really had it long enough to comment, but it's built like a Sherman tank. I reckon it would withstand severe roadie attack!

Excellent, I emailed for advice and they responded very quickly. Seems like they are a small and friendly outfit.

This is a near-perfect echo box for me. It has a small footprint and usable delays up to 3 seconds (does anyone really need a 23-second delay?) and all the warmth and character I need. I play 60s/70s style rock and this unit is ideal. If I lost it I'd get another without hesitation. I tried various rack units plus the inevitable Boss & Line 6 stompboxes before getting the EchoTAP - the others had more options and settings maybe but this one just does exactly what I want with no need to dig through a manual to find out how it works or scroll through menus on a tiny screen to set it up.

The Echo TAP is a stompbox twin delay stereo unit which is very easy to use. There are 2 seperate delays (TAP and preset), a footswitch which toggles between them (and also is the tap tempo footswitch when on the TAP delay), a footswitch to bypass the unit, individual delay volumes, master repeat and tone (hf roll-off), delay time for preset delay. The delay is fairly dark even with the tone control on minimum roll-off, and disappears totally if you dial in more roll-off. The tone control is consequently effectively useless and would have been better as a second repeats control. Overall though the unit is very user-friendly.

Good overall given that the Echo TAP has a retro tape-type delay with hf roll-off on each repeat. Let down a little by the useless tone control and the dark delays. The unit isn't noisy, either in front of an amp or in an fx loop (I'm using it with a THD BiValve). Leaving the tone always on minimum cut gives you 2 very usable delays - I set it up with a short preset delay for reverb/ambience and use the tap for longer delays for solos. It would be much better with individual repeats rather than the master repeat control.

Built like a tank, internal construction looks excellent. Although I haven't had it long I can imagine it lasting for years. It's a well-made bit of kit.

I emailed DLS about the dark delay and they replied within 24hrs - I'm not sure if they can suggest anything to make the unit suit me more in terms of delay tone, but I got a very quick response. I reckon they're a good firm to deal with.

I play mainly in a rock covers band and this pedal suits the varying delays I need over a range of musical styles. The tap tempo facility is excellent, the construction is excellent, I just wish the option of brighter delays was in there. In terms of delay tone I rate my Danelectro Reel Echo higher, although the DLS is more usable. If I lost it I'd probably replace it, but I'd have to think about it.

the unit is very easy to use. It has a delay time of 50ms-3sec. it is similar to most other echo pedals; control nobs for delay volume, number of repeats, delay length and tone(delay hi-cut). there are two modes of delay length; manual echo and tap tempo. these both have independently controlled volume. finding great tone took less than 2 minutes out of the box. the pedal is capable of true stereo operation. It also allows for easy connection to a pedal power block in both polarities.
i do have one complaint, the manual echo can only be set to certain presets, ie. 50ms, 100m, 150ms etc. i would much prefer to be able to set this to any value. you can of course set this though the tap tempo, but it would still be nice to have this option available by hand. i guess you just can't please everyone

Sound quality is AMAZING! Truly AMAZING i am not overstating this. This is by far the warmest(not muddy) and most versatile echo pedal i have ever used. Over the past couple of years i have been on a quest to find the best echo device i can in a pedal. i have had and used to the point of the newness wearing off, these pedals. 2 sib echodrives(digital and analog), Line6 delay modeler, Boss dd-2, Boss dd-3, Alesis quadraverb, Maxon AD-900, H&K Replex, and a Roland Space Echo. i have also tried the t-rex replica. each of these pedals have their own unique character with some being better in what they do. to me, what sets this pedal apart is its versatility. using the tone nob, one can set any flavor of echo needed. from pristine digital echo like the line6 or Boss pedals to warm analog of Tape Echo. This pedal covers it all with a warmth and purity that none of the others have matched. Something that also put the pedal over the top for me is price. No other device that I?m aware of can be bought for less the $300(in 1/04) that has as many features or sound quality. While I might keep a couple of the other pedals for their particular character, I would think that it is going to be a long time before someone beats this for the price and sound quality.

had it for only a little over a month. it seems built quite well, as well as any other top of the line pedal. though i do wonder about the tap echo switch, how much can one of these really take.

don't know yet, hope i dont have to find out.

best echo devices i have ever used, period. it rivals a good clean tape echo without the mess. it has true stereo operation. has tap tempo. paid a fair price. most importantly, it makes me want to play music for hours on end. would i buy it again, yes.