SiB! Mr Echo review

With Mr Echo, the much-loved SiB! brand continues its re-emergence, fuelled by its former glories.

The original blue Echodrive unit delivered 600ms of analogue delay with the character of tape, while the red one used a digital chip for around double the delay time; both had valve preamps and are much sought-after.

Mr Echo is a more modern affair, smaller, battery-powered, and with no valves. It delivers 550ms from a circuit based around the PT2399 IC, a digital chip, renowned for its ability to mimic analogue delay.

Sounds

The core sound is warm, fat and with nostalgia-inducing high-end roll-off to the repeats as they decay.

550ms isn't enough for huge soundscapes, but it is for anything from rock 'n' roll slapback to the kind of 300ms-ish delays that name players from David Gilmour to Eric Johnson to David Grissom like so much.

It's easy to push into tripped-out self-oscillation with the repeats, which you can then manipulate using the delay time knob for experimental overload.

The slam button is brilliant: the non-latching switch drops the delay time to 30ms and - depending where the repeat control is set - immediately starts to self-oscillate.

A 'Plus' version of the pedal (£219) has a separate repeats control for the slam function only.

Seeing the SiB! name revitalised is a treat for effects enthusiasts. While this stompbox is some way short of the blue Echodrive's tonal magic, it's nevertheless a unique delay that does a great job of simulating single-head tape-echo sounds.

The addictive slam control is simply inspired. Give it a go: perhaps it will inspire you and your playing, too.