SIB Echodrive

Well...I have read all the previosly posted reviews of the SIB! Echdrive, both the analog blue box and the red digital box and the upgraded red one with "slam"...I hacve the regular red box and no 'slam' but: this is indeed the coolest delay pedal I've used. Now, I ain't no pro, just an older fella with a lotta long grey hair but I been at this guitar stuff a long long time and the ease with which a great tone is acieved with this delay pedal is nothin' short of a miricle of electronic guitar surgery science engineering. There's no manual for the Echodrive and Rick ( the Man at SIB! ) tells me there really never was one, though some of these had some instructions printed on the bottom of the box. Mine's blank, just paint there but really, if ya get a delay like this usually a player has a good idea of how to stomp on it and shake some action!

I play a lotta Chcago stuff and other loud guitar sounds. Because I work as a guitar tech at home I play lots of styles and makes of guitar through my rig, and the Echodrive is always in the signal path whether on or off. Strats sound 'strattier', teles sound 'tellier' and Les Pauls sound like Jimmy's Hammer...Unlike some reviewers, I have no noise from this pedal. No rumble, no nothin' 'cept what the box is supposed to. I play thru a Jo Mama Blues Special and this echo makes me feel like Elmore James. Whatever is in the chain sound way way better with this pedal.

Dependability is something I just wouldn't question. Like a tank this box is built, strong and superior Big Steel box and inside, well...there's just one word: superfine. I have used it daily for six months ( I bought it used for a buck sixty five and tax ) and there's been no variance in the tone or reliability of the Echodrive. Because these devices become such an integral part of our tone, I reall must say that short of a loss of line power this box will keep on echoin'. I'd never think to get a back-up.

About three monyhs after I got this gizmo it came down with a switch problem. SIB! adverts their swithces as being really good, studly, and so I got hold of the builder, Rick, and he was especially helpful. Instantly got back to me via the Yahoo and told me what was up and he included the proper replacement part numbers and even gave me access to the website of his parts supplier! It don't get friendlier than that. I replaced the switch with an OEM and the Echodrive was/is purrfect! I read about the newer versions of this box but for what its worth, its great as is so I am happyhappyhappy!

For my music I play a lotta slide. Really cool hearing it recorded with the Echodrive. Live, this changes things...there's that tube in there, hot alla time and warmin' all the rest of the stuff up that is hooked up with it...I'm 60 and been playin' since 1962. I have this goin' on when I play: Fulltone FD-2, Echodrive, Fulltone SupaTrem, ElectroHarmonix Holy Grail, into the amp mentioned above. If this pedal was lost or stolen I would be quick to find another one and I'd not negotiate the cost. The delay is so variable and the repeats decay like a tape echo minus the hassles. I especially enjoy the warmth the pedal imparts to every note. I had a DD-6 (boss) that I liked a lot. And long ago I had an MXR analog delay ala Keef. And back inna day I had a Roland Space Echo. I figure if I'd had an Echodrive I woulda made the cover of GeePee! You like delay? Echo? Tube tones? Get yo self one of these gizmos and do yo self a big Favor! I am so lucky to have an Echodrive. Get one. Get one. Get one.

Well...I have read all the previosly posted reviews of the SIB! Echdrive, both the analog blue box and the red digital box and the upgraded red one with "slam"...I hacve the regular red box and no 'slam' but: this is indeed the coolest delay pedal I've used. Now, I ain't no pro, just an older fella with a lotta long grey hair but I been at this guitar stuff a long long time and the ease with which a great tone is acieved with this delay pedal is nothin' short of a miricle of electronic guitar surgery science engineering. There's no manual for the Echodrive and Rick ( the Man at SIB! ) tells me there really never was one, though some of these had some instructions printed on the bottom of the box. Mine's blank, just paint there but really, if ya get a delay like this usually a player has a good idea of how to stomp on it and shake some action!

I play a lotta Chcago stuff and other loud guitar sounds. Because I work as a guitar tech at home I play lots of styles and makes of guitar through my rig, and the Echodrive is always in the signal path whether on or off. Strats sound 'strattier', teles sound 'tellier' and Les Pauls sound like Jimmy's Hammer...Unlike some reviewers, I have no noise from this pedal. No rumble, no nothin' 'cept what the box is supposed to. I play thru a Jo Mama Blues Special and this echo makes me feel like Elmore James. Whatever is in the chain sound way way better with this pedal.

Dependability is something I just wouldn't question. Like a tank this box is built, strong and superior Big Steel box and inside, well...there's just one word: superfine. I have used it daily for six months ( I bought it used for a buck sixty five and tax ) and there's been no variance in the tone or reliability of the Echodrive. Because these devices become such an integral part of our tone, I reall must say that short of a loss of line power this box will keep on echoin'. I'd never think to get a back-up.

About three monyhs after I got this gizmo it came down with a switch problem. SIB! adverts their swithces as being really good, studly, and so I got hold of the builder, Rick, and he was especially helpful. Instantly got back to me via the Yahoo and told me what was up and he included the proper replacement part numbers and even gave me access to the website of his parts supplier! It don't get friendlier than that. I replaced the switch with an OEM and the Echodrive was/is purrfect! I read about the newer versions of this box but for what its worth, its great as is so I am happyhappyhappy!

For my music I play a lotta slide. Really cool hearing it recorded with the Echodrive. Live, this changes things...there's that tube in there, hot alla time and warmin' all the rest of the stuff up that is hooked up with it...I'm 60 and been playin' since 1962. I have this goin' on when I play: Fulltone FD-2, Echodrive, Fulltone SupaTrem, ElectroHarmonix Holy Grail, into the amp mentioned above. If this pedal was lost or stolen I would be quick to find another one and I'd not negotiate the cost. The delay is so variable and the repeats decay like a tape echo minus the hassles. I especially enjoy the warmth the pedal imparts to every note. I had a DD-6 (boss) that I liked a lot. And long ago I had an MXR analog delay ala Keef. And back inna day I had a Roland Space Echo. I figure if I'd had an Echodrive I woulda made the cover of GeePee! You like delay? Echo? Tube tones? Get yo self one of these gizmos and do yo self a big Favor! I am so lucky to have an Echodrive. Get one. Get one. Get one.

Red digital model, not the plus. No slam function. Easy to dial in a good sound, but . . .

With low delay time settings (9:00 and less in either range) and with the mix anywhere above 9:00 there is a loud "rumbling". It's more than a hiss or hum, it's a percussive rumble. I tried many different tube types. It's really a shame because this is one of those effects that makes everything sound better.

I can only assume at one time it worked properly.

I'm done with all the fancy boutique "next big thing" stuff. Gimme a Boss Digital delay and a stock tube screamer.

I am reviewing the Blue analog Echodrive.
If you are familiar with tape echo units, then you will be completely familiar with this.
There are no bad sounds in this thing.

My setup, (if you care), is a custom Fender Tele into an 18 watt Marshall clone. I switch between 2 SIB Varidrives for crunch tones and an old MXR Flanger that I set for chorus, and then the Echodrive is last in the chain.
Getting the right tube is absolutely critical for this unit. When I got it, I noticed that on crunch tones the Echodrive would color the tone quite a bit. Not in a bad way, but it no longer sounded like my tone with just echo added. After much experimenting with tubes, I see that the Echodrive will be 'colorless' after all.
There is no noise engaged, even while not playing,and it's true bypass. Perfect.
I think in many ways this is superior to tape echo. If I had a second one I could say with certainty that I would never go back to tape. Unfortunately, these are in short supply and huge demand, so if mine craps out, I may have to go back to tape after all.

My other SIB pedals have been completely reliable. Never a problem, for years now

Never contacted them.

I play progressive music, sometimes join friends for jazz jams too.
Been playing 27 years (holy crap), and I have to say that the Echodrive has become a vital part of my setup. Wouldn't want to even think about having to replace it.
It's a lot of money and hard to find, but if you can get one and are REALLY into the tape echo thing, don't blink, just buy it.
I paid alot for this thing but still less than a TTE (Fulltone), which is a really stellar unit as well. I don't have to deal with "revisions', "upgrades", or replacement tapes.
I'm very happy with this thing.

I want to Clarify Mine is The BLUE Analog Echodrive. Easy to use. Very cool feature having the record knob. The record knob will increase the amount of tube saturation. Also has CV controlling for control of your delay time in real time. Everything is self explanatory. There is a manual printed on the back of the pedal that explains all the functions. This pedal is a no brainer.

I am reviewing the Blue Analog Echodrive. I played the Red Digital Version but its was cold and digital I really wasn't impressed but the Blue Version is completely different. Imagagine an Echoplex in a small reliable box without any tapes to deal with that is what the Blue Echodrive is. First off let me say one thing: This pedal kills as a boost/overdrive or just a tone fatner. All you have to do is take the delay time down to zero and use the volume knob to adjust volume and you get this great tube warmth sound added to your tone. Adjust the record level and you get more gain and can't start to overdrive. This pedal is just as good as the Fulltone Tube Tape Echo. Mike Fuller Raves about the tone improvement you get just running through his TTE, well he is right but the Echodrive Does the same thing and imo its a bit juicier. Ok now on to delay. I love delay I have chandlers and a Fulltone Tube Tape Echo. I trade a Way Huge Aqua Puss and $100 for the Echodrive. It was well worth it. The Aqua puss was thin and had 300ms of delay and no tube warmth. The Echodrive has 600ms of delay. It is crystal clear and warm. Sounds as good as the Tube Tape Echo if not better. The Tube Tape Echo has a bit more delay time but seems to get overly dirty and muddy on the repeats. The Chandlers are great but they do sound digital compared to the fulltone and the echodrive. I use a 63 JMI Vox AC30 with Blues a 69 Plexi and I just got a Komet Constellation. The Constellation is great. My favorite amp right now. I use a variety of Paul Reed Smith Guitars as well as a few Anderson's and a Suhr Telecaster. My signal Chain is Teese RMC3LE->Analogman sunface->Analogman KOT->TIM overdrive->Analogman Clone Chorus->Blue Analog SIB Echodrive->Demeter Tremulator. The Blue Analog SIB Echodrive is also True Bypass so it won't F up your tone but I leave mine on alot for the Tube tone.

I have been playing this thing for 2 years no problems. No noise. No hum. No problems whatsoever. Its a tank and looking at the insides its built like a Matchless Amplifier military Grade. I have never heard a hum or any noise with this pedal its super silent. The tube adds warmth but no noise. I never use a backup.

I had good service with these guys. I bought a few other pedals and had a problem with a Varidrive. Not a problem to reach and they fixed the varidrive for Free and in like 2 days time. Fantastic.

I play blues to pink floyd. I like some modern bands like Incubus. I am a big fan of U2 as well. This pedal nails all the U2 songs. The edge never goes above 600ms so this pedal covers his entire career. My favorite music is the blues. Buddy Guy BBking Eric Clapton these guys are great too.

Very simple easy to use pedal. Couldn't find a bad setting on this pedal.

The Sound quality is unreal. I use fender guitars and gibson guitars usually strats and les pauls. Ampwise I am usually running a matchless DC30. I use a bunch of effects Way huge swollen pickle and green rhino zvex super duper Teese RMC3LE wah Lovetone Doppelganger flanger and the SIB Echodrive. Keep in mind my Echodrive is the Blue analog one. I didn't like the RED digital version. I tried a bunch of delays Fulltone TTE,Line6 DL4, Boss DM2 and DM3, EH memory man, Maxon AD900 and AD999 and AD80, Roland Space Echos, Old Echoplexes and a Way Huge Aqua puss. The memory man was too fragile to even consider. The Aqua Puss was my favorite for years. The Fulltone TTE was cool but I still liked the echodrive better. I never thought I would say this but the Aqua Puss was thin and kind of sterile sounding compared to the analog Echodrive. I sold the aqua puss just recently I guess it was the right time got $500 for it now burning a hole in my pocket. Might buy a new guitar with that.

Never a moments worry. This pedal is as solid as it gets. I don't know about the RED versions, they seem kind of fragile. This thing is a tank. Plus the custom support is top.

Rick is fantastic, answer all my calls and emails. Very reliable, smart smart guy. I can depend on him definitly. I bought my pedal used and he offered to check it out make sure it was running smoothly for FREE. I told him it sounded amazing and worked fine that if I had a problem I would look him up, now thats service.

This pedal is perfect. I love U2 and this pedal with its 600MS can cover every U2 sound, in fact I think it sounds better than the edges delays might want to ring him up and get him to change his delays.

Very straightforward to use. A couple more switches than a lot of delay pedals, but nothing to fret over. A one page instructin sheet would have been nice.I can't say precisely what the the echodrive switch does, but it appears to be another option in powering up the feedback signal. Nice big box with easy to operate switches - nothing too fiddly.

I have a number of delays units - Virtual Sound H20, Boss DD6, and old Roland 501 Space Echo.
I like them all for different things, but the stand out unit is the Echodrive. It has a truly glorious tone, so warm but without all the noise, hiss and hassle of the Space Echo. I notice a couple of grumbles from other users about background hiss - my unit is now about three months old and absolutley no problems on this front.
A strong clear signal, and very musical.

Built like a tank, and no problems so far. Big, heavy and with a nice homemade feel to it. I trust it.

Not had to deal with them

I feel guilty about using Harmony Central so much and not posting any reviews, but felt dutybound to do so with this pedal.
There has clearly been a price shift while the unit has been in production. Frankly I think its worth 4-500 dollars for a largely handmade unit of this quality. I bought it off the internet for $259, which is roughly the going the rate now, and for that money it is a steal.
I have been playing for about 25 years, and now play strats through a few effects into a Matchless DC 30. If lost I would replace the Echodrive immediately.

10.Es muy facil de usar solo hay que enchufar y listo, tienes un buen sonido de eco o delay muy musical y muy parecido a los ecos de cinta.El efecto consta de volumen master,volumen del efecto,(este volumen al maximo deja oir solo el efecto y al minimo la se?al "seca" sin efecto),luego esta el feedback o cantidad de repeticiones del eco,tambien tiene un nivel de drive (he aqui lo original del pedal)que actua sobre la ganancia del efecto.Este parametro es el que le da calidad al pedal ya que responde de diferente manera variando el nivel de ganancia.Se pueden tener repeticiones claras y naturales con la ganancia al minimo o repeticiones mas oscuras y calientes que le dan un tono analogico muy musical un perfecto tono para tener la atmosfera espacial sin que el efecto este tan presente.Diria que este pedal tiene un tono ideal para cumplir la funcion que fue dise?ado.

Como dije anteriormente es un 10.La calidad del sonido de este pedal puede llevar a confusion:Es provable que alguien pueda decir que tiene un sonido de baja fidelidad contrario a sus hermanos fatdrive y varidrive que tienen una calidad sonora cojonuda,el motivo de esta aparente "baja fidelidad" es perfecta para lograr un sonido analogico muy parecido al de un eco de cintaEstamos ablando de un pedal a valvulas pero con chip digital, o sea lo mejor de ambos mundos para lograr un delay o eco muy muy efectivo.

Este es un pedal muy bien parido:a diferencia de todos los delays y ecos de mercado sean digitales analogicos de cinta sin cinta... este es un pedal que ademas de utilizarse para a?adir eco o delay al sonido, puede utilizarse como booster para subir el volumen de la se?al a un volumen perfecto para solos,bajando el nivel de "dry" o sea, quitando el efecto consiguiendo que sea el ecodrive mucho mas que un simple delay ana?adiendo al sonido ese calor de valvulas que se busca en estos casos.O sea que en realida son dos pedales en uno."Bien pario que digo yo".

No he tenido ningun problema tanto con el ecodrive o con el varidrive o fatdrive de la marca SIB.Aun son nuevos tienen 1 a?o pero los uso mucho(a veces estoy todo el dia tocando eso son unas 8 o 9 horas encendidos)Solo decir que es muy importante usar un buen cable de salida del pedal,o sea que el cable de salida del pedal ha de ser de muy buena calidad porque si no facimente cae el nivel de se?al del pedal a la mitad.Esto me pasaba a veces al conectar el pedal,su nivel de volumen era distinto, bajaba sin ninguna explicacion cuando lo conectaba al final de la cadena de efectos cosa que no pasaba al conectarlos de penultimo antes de un chorus TC electronic.Hace tiempo me di cuenta que era el cable que conectaba en el output del pedal.Seguramente el pantallado del cable hacia que el volumen del pedal bajara considerablemente cosa rara pero despues de intentar comprenderlo y provar ese era el problema.

Vivo en la isla de Ibiza en el Mediterraneo.Aqui gusta el house la musica de discoteca la "cultura de clubs".Suelo tocar con DJs blues,funkie,aunque a mi tambien me va el rock and roll autentico.Felicidades SIB pedals.Un saludo de Ibiza.

No big problem with figuring out what the knobs are supposed to do. The problem is that there is no usable throw in the balance knob. Anywhere past 9:00 and the things hums like a mother. Transformer problem, you say? You bet. Read below.

I am running a number of boutique and vintage pedals (e.g., TS 808, Klon, Mojovibe, Lovetone, CE-1, etc.) in a hard wire bypass system. Guitars: '59 Strat and 1958 LP Historic into either a Maz 18 Jr or a Divided by 13 amp.
There is a mid hump that is cool with a Strat but not so great with the LP. The thing, when working, has a killer slap back and OK longer delays. When it works, the sound quality is good.

Broke after 2 months use. Blew a transformer, all on its own. Tried to get in touch with SIB. You know what? You can't get in touch with them. No email on website and my dealer, the ever-not-helpful Musictoyz.com did not get back to me with their info. So, my tech diagnosed the problem and tried to contact them through professional techie channels. Still no go. Finally, after 2 months, he contacted them, gave them the transformer code number and, guess what? They don't recall using that transformer. I'm still waiting. Really irresponsible. Depend on it? Not on your (I mean "their") life!

Forget about it. See above.

When it works, it is good. Better, to my ears than the much vaunted Chandler (have one). Not as groovey as a tube 'plex of course. Huge points off the total for poor reliability and support.

Very easy to use if you are familiar with the knobs. It takes some getting used to, to REALLY understand and develop a good feel for the pedal. It has a great character, getting to know it was FUN!

My rig consists of a Les Paul, 335, and a Strat, all through a Dr. Z KT-45 combo w/ greenbacks. This pedal is the blue analog version from the 90's. Very noisy...with ungrounded power it's worse. This pedal, from my research, was designed to replicate the analog warmth of a tape echo. It does that PERFECTLY. To achieve this, lo-fi components are used. Not BAD components, but lo-fi to achieve the "warmth." The effect is AWESOME! I mean, it's the finest I've ever heard. I was looking for some versatility with the unit, definitely there, 600ms. The newer ones have a switch on the side, I really wish this one had it. The tube makes a big difference in the tone. I can't get past the hum though. I am selling this one for the red version because it has longer delay time. This one is at 600 ms, the newer red ones, 1.3 seconds. It gets a 9 because of the drone/hum.

It is very reliable. SIB is known for it. I went 2 years without a back, and it NEVER failed. HEAVY GIGGING.

Tough to find information on them. I had to call once, they were pretty cool, but it seemed like SIB wasn't there main priority, but rather the amp company was. Eh....

I play it all. Great live pedal, not so much for the studio because it's noisy. I wish it had the switchable delay times for a more gradual sweep on the delay time knob. I wish it wasn't noisy. This pedal, IS a music maker. Gotta take the good with the bad on this one folks, that's all I gotta say.