Your favorite El Cap settings?

[iamthearm]

So I've been somewhat underwhelmed with the El Cap and I've said as much but I LOVE the functionality of it. I managed to get some nice sounds out of single tape head mode A and now I'm wondering how much of it was user error. I have a hard time getting notes to stand out over percussive attacks in Multi Head mode and in Fixed mode the repeats sound a bit thin. Granted the latter makes for a great thickener for lead play but misses in other applications.

Post your favorite settings so I can try them so maybe I don't have to go through the delay gauntlet again.

 

[S. F. Sorrow]

It took me a while to start understanding the 'low end contour' function. It helps get rid of that thinness.
Because the el Cap has so many variables with tape heads/speeds etc and how reactive they are, the contour sometimes has to be re-adjusted accordingly.

 

[7thString]

hmm I have owned one in the past and am looking to get another soon, but perhaps the el cap just isn't right for percussive-style repeats? Being a tape emulation I'm sure there's a lot of softening of the attack on each repeat built into the algorithm. Can you also clarify what you mean by thin as I think many guitarists have different uses and interpretations of the word. If you mean frequency-wise, IIRC the low-end contour and tape age were quite effective in adjusting the bandwidth from a very pristine, accurate representation of the input signal to a thin, lofi, mids-only sound. I found the YouTube demos from Strymon pretty useful as far as demonstrating settings goes.

 

[7thString]

Also important to keep in mind that the tape bias function effects frequency response as well

 

[Saint Luminus]

So I've been somewhat underwhelmed with the El Cap and I've said as much but I LOVE the functionality of it. I managed to get some nice sounds out of single tape head mode A and now I'm wondering how much of it was user error. I have a hard time getting notes to stand out over percussive attacks in Multi Head mode and in Fixed mode the repeats sound a bit thin. Granted the latter makes for a great thickener for lead play but misses in other applications.

Post your favorite settings so I can try them so maybe I don't have to go through the delay gauntlet again.

One thing to think about is to do a complete reset of the whole pedal so all of the secondary functions go back to factory default. Sometimes we screw with things so much, we forget what we did and are suddenly left confused as to what the pedal doesn't sound the way it should. For example, I felt my El Capistan was sounding a bit too reverby for a delay pedal. And I could swear I had turned the Reverb (a secondary function) off. Turns out I hadn't. uggggh.

Yes I think you should start with the factory defaults and adjust knowing what you are starting with.

 

[Gillespie1983]

... I have a hard time getting notes to stand out over percussive attacks in Multi Head mode ...

Please explain.

 

[hapharriman]

One thing to think about is to do a complete reset of the whole pedal so all of the secondary functions go back to factory default.

Was trying to do this recently, how does one do a factory reset?

 

[thesooze]

I took all mine from the Pete Thorn video!

 

[mach1]

Check these out

http://www.guitariste.com/forums/pedales-effets-homestudio,el-capistan-settings,440511.html

 

[joealba]

Here are the default secondary function settings (i.e. factory reset) - http://www.strymon.net/faq/what-are-the-default-secondary-function-values-for-el-capistan-knobs/

 

[girded loins]

On

 

[jimijimmyjeffy]

You have total control over the things you are talking about, in my humble opinion. You need to reduce the treble of the echoes so they won't interfere in your guitar's attack. You can also effectively adjust how compressed the echoes are, which affects that. You can also run in the loop versus out front, which affects all that stuff too. Be careful of the onboard reverb, which also affects those things.

Whatever you want the echoes to do, they will do, pretty much. That is why I like the El Cap better than a lot of other delays.

The thickness of the echoes shouldn't be affected by the head mode? Adjust the various tone controls to specifically change that.

I like to use the multihead mode where I set one of the echoes to a doubling or slapback, and the other longer. With proper reverb, it creates the illusion of walls or a room.

 

[Kennyscrown]

You have total control over the things you are talking about, in my humble opinion. You need to reduce the treble of the echoes so they won't interfere in your guitar's attack. You can also effectively adjust how compressed the echoes are, which affects that. You can also run in the loop versus out front, which affects all that stuff too. Be careful of the onboard reverb, which also affects those things.

Whatever you want the echoes to do, they will do, pretty much. That is why I like the El Cap better than a lot of other delays.

The thickness of the echoes shouldn't be affected by the head mode? Adjust the various tone controls to specifically change that.

I like to use the multihead mode where I set one of the echoes to a doubling or slapback, and the other longer. With proper reverb, it creates the illusion of walls or a room.

Interesting observations. I had an El Cap, and used the fixed head mode almost exclusively. I now have a Timeline which only has the sliding head mode, and I think the El Cap sounded fuller using the fixed head mode.

 

[Grooves]

This is one of my fave sounds. He has the settings in the description.

 

[7thString]

Bit of a necro bump but was just toying with my el cap and found some settings that work really well for my needs and the tape 'sound in my head'. I wanted the secondary functions to work for slapback and longer times; so I could switch between the two settings (without a fav switch) and just tweak time, mix and repeats, to simplify the pedal when I'm trying to write / jam / perform.

Secondary Settings:

Spring reverb: off
Low end contour: full CW
Bias: Full CCW
Crinkle: full CW
Boost: Full CW

Main Settings:

Time: to taste
Tape Age: full CCW
Repeats: to taste
Wow & flutter: noon
Mix: to taste

Single Head, Mode B

Strymon definitely seem to keep the parameter ranges below crazy in a lot of their pedals compared to other companies; hence my settings being fairly extreme in terms of knob positions.

 

[Vishnu]

This is one of my fave sounds. He has the settings in the description.

huh,what settings/description?

 

[chromewaves]

huh,what settings/description?

click through the the video on youtube.com, and it's in the video descriptions.

Time - Tapped in
Mix - 55%
Tape Age 70%
Repeats - 75%
Wow & Flutter - 50%
Spring Reverb - 0%
Boost / Cut - 50%
Low End Contour - 0%
Tape Bias - 90-100%
Tape Crinkle - 10%

 

[Vishnu]

thank you Sir

 

[Mark Al]

The most important effect from the secondary Bias settings is how it change the dynamic of repeats, e.g.

1. To play Edge like 8th dotted lines, you'd want to turn Bias all the way down(and tape age at 0 as well), then you'd get the digital delay like percussive repeats that works well with the dotted 8th.
2. When playing ambient tunes, one could turn Bias up to make the repeat less protrusive, melting in the background.

Personally, I like a smudge of Tape Crinkle, e.g. barely audible to make repeats sounds more dimensional but when the crinkle is clearly audible it's not a desirable effects to my ear.

 

[Jet Bycraft]

Great idea for a thread, I'll be checking back (subscribed).