I know there are several threads about effects units in this forum, but this one deserves a new one!
This thing adds so much space, vibe and atmosphere to drum grooves, minitaur bass and vocal samples, it’s just unbelievable! I like the A4’s ping-pong the MD’s modulation delay, but they sound like toys compared to that beast!
Let a straight groove going and sometimes open the sends to inject a big woosh of tape goodness, or keep the capistan in the background with old tape setting and some crincle for a background atmo with lots of character, which breathes another level of life even into the very energetic minitaur! It can give a psychedelic touch to a groove, while always sounding warm. Hard to describe, I have to post some audio.
Where do I get 500 euros from, I DEFINITELY need a BigSky!!
I have an Empress Effects Vintage Modified Superdelay which I really liked, but I kept hearing about the El Capistan. So I finally picked one up not too long ago and, for me at least, it’s almost a night and day difference… I LOVE the El Capistan! I haven’t used it on any synths yet, mostly just guitar, but it’s the closest peal I’ve found to sounding like a real tape-based delay (and I use to have an Echoplex back in the 1970s.)
This is a really rough first test I did when I first got it -
Definitely interested in Strymon delays, as I have and love the Big Sky.
Deciding between the Capistan and the Timeline is difficult though. The Capistan does one thing extremely well, while the Timeline is a more varied beast.
The timeline is great. It only has the single head tape mode of the EL Cap though. It would be nice to have the other ones but I use the dBucket and digital modes a lot too.
What also made me choose the Timeline over the El Cap was that I could save my settings. Loved the sound of the El Cap but after a lengthy demo of it I knew the “hidden” functions would irritate me too.
I use the dBucket just as much on the Timeline. The Timeline / Big Sky combo is amazing.
I picked up the Timeline when they came out. It’s an amazing pedal, but I wouldn’t rule out adding an El Cap as well… El Cap’s got some magic vibe to it.
I chose the El Cap because I prefer one thing done really well over a selection of several modes. The multi head and single head modes sound really nice and quite different, and the secondary functions are just awesome. With blue sky vs big sky it’s different because afaik the big sky has more options on the blue sky’s modes, or am I wrong? On the other hand, I just need basic features on an excellent reverb, no 15 modes, as well as small size, so the blue might be more appropriate in my case. Just more space on drums, with a light-weight/non-mud touch to it as opposed to what the eventide space sounds like.
Any opinions/thoughts on reverbs for drums? What about a Hall of Fame? I guess that’s not in the same league but anyways. For now, I use the external ins of OT/A4 for some send reverb.
reverb wise, seemed most people like the eventide space
obviously, a few people like the big sky now as well
either way, both of those are on the pricey side and do a lot more than just a couple things really well
I’ve basically been paralyzed on both reverb and delay since I always have a hard time deciding between them. However, I may look at just picking up one for being good at just one thing (i.e. el capistan for tape delay)
thing is…I’ve been tempted to go with some effects modules and start to build modular setup
I would choose the Timeline first, then the El Capistan. Me needs midi… and would prefer the various modes over the Timeline…
I think Italo (Eventide Guru) has actually built most of the Timeline’s functionality into programs for the H7600 / H8000 / Orville is you happen to have one of those.
How is the reverb effect on the El Capistan? It’s one of the ‘hidden’ features, right? Does it compare to something like TC Hall of Fame -range pedals at all? I don’t care for the shimmer (octave) effect… just curious if the El Cap could hold its own for a decent reverb effect.
Love my El Cap, but for reverb (and amazing tremolo) I love the Flint. Those are two of my desert island pedals, and are a huge part of my guitar sound, so for me they are well worth the money. They cover everything from surf and rockabilly to spaced-out psychedelic.
FWIW, my good friend finds that the El Cap can give enough space to his sound that he doesn’t need to use reverb at all. It could be worth experimenting to see if you feel the same way.
Just bought an El Capistan a couple weeks back. Loving it so far for acid dub and dub techno sounds. Will dive into the spring reverb setting on it shortly. Speaking of reverb, I have the poor man’s Space - a Zoom CDR-70 with an emulation of Space on it. Never tried a real Space, but this one sounds good enough for me. Plus it has a bazillion other emulations on it too. Handy pedal to have around for ~ $100.
just bought the El Cap and it sounds really nice. I´m using stereo output and I noticed the the delay is more panned to one channel - even the other has more volume on the metering. do you noticed the same? Is there any workaround or is just how it is??
