Death By Audio Echo Dream II Modulated Delay Echo Effects Pedal

You Can Sleep When You’re Dead

Delays come in many shapes and forms. There are vintage sounding pedals which attempt to rekindle the past. There are modern digital ones designed to provide shimmering clarity and ease of use. Then there are horrific, lumbering monstrosities designed to shake the very fabric of your perceived existence and send it shattering into pieces all around you as you stare, mouth agape, frozen in horrific wonder at what stands before you. This pedal is from that last category.

Echoooooo!

As the name might suggest, at the core of this pedal is a delay effect. As with most Death By Audio pedals, it is rarely that simple, but nevertheless, the delay portion is the point from which everything spawns. The delay effect is produced by a lovely analogue circuit which produces beautiful, ethereal style delay. Everything from slight, subtle slapback, all the way to long, swooping, all-encompassing trails that disappear into the ether. 

The big knob on the top left controls delay time. This ranges from a widdly 20 milliseconds to a sizable 1.2 seconds. When venturing into the longer delay times, don’t be surprised to be confronted by some flutter, noise, and even distortion. The pedal makers designed the Echo Dream 2 to venture past the point of comfort deep into the unknown pushing the components past where they expect to be resulting in some unexpected, chaotic results. As should be made clear, when talking about Death By Audio pedals, traditional boundaries are something to be scoffed at.

To accompany the delay time knob in the top left are the feedback and delay volume controls. The feedback knob is the control which dictates how out of control things are getting. With the knob turned counter-clockwise, you’ll be in slapback territory with just a few repeats of each delayed note. Turning the knob clockwise moves you further and further into madness. The notes will start to last longer and longer moving from a deep swimming sea into realms of the Ouroboros and self-oscillation. The delay volume controls how prevalent the delay signal is in the mix.

The final facet to the delay controls is the toggle switch next to the feedback control. This toggle allows you to kill your dry tone completely. In the up position the pedal works as standard with our dry tone present in the mix. Your lucid dreaming. When the switch is flicked downward you relinquish control and the dry signal is removed completely. Here you only have the wet signal from the pedal. Just the repeats, no source.

Wobbly, Wobbly Goodness

Facet two to this many headed Hydra is the modulation function. Here’s where things really start to come off the rails in the best of ways. The modulation works by moving the delay time to create everything from a light chorus style effect to a huge, warping, slippery motion that sways and warbles and groans. Winding up the modulation control creates a really, truly unique soundscape that shifts and lumbers from side to side like a drunken Goliath.

The modulation can be controlled by the speed, depth, and wave controls. The speed knob dictates how quickly the modulation is swept to and fro. The depth knob controls how far into the depths the modulation plunges with each swing. Finally, the wave switch allows you to choose between a sine or square wave movement. The sine mode sways in a smooth drunken fashion whilst the square moves far more abruptly and sharply. This feature to the pedal is great, taking the concept of modulation within a delay to entirely new levels.

Making it Snarl

As if everything previously mentioned wasn’t enough, the Echo Dream 2 also has an inbuilt fuzz section. This is controlled by one solitary knob which simply adds in a hefty, gritty, snarling fuzz effect. As mentioned, the modulation control and the time controls ability to hyper extend already pushes the pedal past the limits of reality. The fuzz is the knockout punch. Adding in a decent pinch of fuzz into an already creaking, swaying, unstable sound is the final straw allowing your tone and playing to fully succumb to the dream. It will really kick your sound in the stomach causing it to collapse in on itself with a dying shout. It’s such a clever addition which is the cherry on top of an already incredibly decadent (if not slightly horrifying) cake.

Take a Ride on the Sleepwalking Colossus

The Echo Dream 2 isn’t your average delay pedal. Heck, it isn’t your average pedal. It’s a self-devouring chaotic fever dream into the depths of your imagination if you want it to be. It can be fully tamed to function as a truly lovely warm and pretty simple delay with some light modulation, but where’s the fun in that. This is a pedal meant to be pushed to the max. Slam your foot on the accelerator as hard as you can and don’t blink.

Who are Death By Audio Effects?

Death By Audio handmake all of their pedals in an underground lair beneath the busy streets of Queens, New York. All of their effects are designed with the utmost attention to detail and care with the best available components to ensure sturdiness and sonic supremacy. They aren’t your traditional pedal company though. Each box is designed to push the boundaries and challenge your traditional view on what a pedal of that type might deliver. Though they can do the job it says on the tin, when pushed, they are designed to realm deep into uncharted territory. This is a company designed to turn heads. A company for the adventurous and the experimental.

Why Bonners?

Here at Bonners Music you have the opportunity to try one of these great Death By Audio effects pedals yourself. Just give us a call on 01323 636141 or better still, visit our showroom! If you can't see the Death By Audio pedal listed that you are after just call 01323 636141 for availability and the best price.