With delay pedals becoming more and more sophisticated in a quest for originality and inspiration, it's refreshing to have the choice to get back to simpler times. And if you want to focus on slap-back echo, the reissue of Electro-Harmonix's somewhat obscure pedal of the same name will be just the ticket.
The new version is a much smaller footprint than the 1978 original and comes in response to fan and JHS Pedals founder Josh Scott's 2021 request for a reissue.
There's a few updates this time; a position mini toggle can select between short (45ms), medium (65ms) and long (100ms) slap delay times while the Gain control offers up to 20db of boost.
The original's Blend control remains to move from 100% dry to wet.
As you'll see in EHX's excellent demo above, the short 45ms delay on this pedal is a great way to thicken up your parts as a doubler.
The Electro-Harmonix Slap-Back Echo is $81. More info at ehx.com
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Rob is the Reviews Editor for GuitarWorld.com and MusicRadar guitars, so spends most of his waking hours (and beyond) thinking about and trying the latest gear while making sure our reviews team is giving you thorough and honest tests of it. He's worked for guitar mags and sites as a writer and editor for nearly 20 years but still winces at the thought of restringing anything with a Floyd Rose.

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