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Catalinbread Belle Epoch EP3 Tape Echo Emulation Pedal

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SKU: BELLEEPOCH

Product Description

Tape Echo is one of the most loved effects in the world thanks to its vintage tone and ability to to absolutely insane when pushed. The Belle Epoch by Catalinbread captures the essence of the legendary EP-3 tape delay in a small compact pedal including a replica of the preamp system that made that system so popular.

The Echo Effects

Catalinbread have spent many hours trying to get the exact sound of the EP-3 into this little pedal including all the little modulation nuances that you only get with a real tape echo. This is handled by two controls the 'Mod' knob and the 'Rec Lev' knob. When turned down the mod control doesn't effect your signal leaving you with the cleanest tape sound ever heard. When turned up however you start to get some heavily randomized modulation that has little to no pattern much like the original tape.

The 'Rec Lev' or Record Level control lets you set how hard you are hitting the tape. Original designed as a control to optimize signal to noise ratio on the Belle Epoch you can use it to control how clean you want the signal to be. Turned up this control starts to saturate just like the tape would  giving you a grungy rock delay that works amazing in the front of an amp.

The Delays

Controlling the echo you have your normal selection of Mix, Delay and Sustain which sets how loud, and how often you want the delay to hit. With a range of 80-800ms this pedal modulates more the longer delay time you have set to give you that authentic tone and wide range of sonic options.

Here's what Catalinbread say about the Belle Epoch

Faithful sonic recreation of the EP-3 tape echo. Yes, including the preamp.

"The Catalinbread Belle Epoch is the closest thing to a real EP-3 that I've ever played." - Eric Johnson

The Catalinbread Belle Epoch Tape Echo, has tape echo sounds so authentic you’d swear there was tape inside the pedal! Inspired by the Maestro Echoplex, EP-3 model, perhaps the most famous tape delay ever, the Belle Epoch features everything we love about the EP-3 in a small, maintenance free pedal format. We felt that a “tape echo” pedal was much more than just a standard digital delay with some “filtering” on the repeats. There are a lot of subtle and not-so-subtle traits of the Echoplex that needed to be implemented in order to be authentic. The preamp, the self-oscillation character, the ability to control the “record level” of the signal hitting “tape”, the wow and flutter, the way the repeats decay, the way the circuit interfaces with the amp and other pedals – all these things were important to get right. The original unit was used as a musical instrument unto itself and this is what we captured with the Belle Epoch.

Elliot Stent author picture

Written by Elliot Stent

Customer Reviews

5.0

7 reviews

Value

Looks

Durability

Sound

Trusted Customer12th Dec 2021

Value 4Looks 4Durability 4Sound 4

Trusted Customer21st Jul 2021

This pedal sounds great. I was looking for a tape-style delay to produce sounds something like an Echoplex and the Belle Epoch can certainly do that. It has a wide range of available tones to dial in, pretty simple to use and lovely organic sound overall - particularly when paired with a low-ish gain overdrive pedal. Very pleased, a great addition to my board.

Value 4Looks 4Durability 4Sound 5

Mr John Norris3rd Mar 2021

A must have pedal for any pedalboard!

Value 5Looks 5Durability 5Sound 5

Mr. Nigel Price19th Jul 2020

This amazing little box gets you a step closer to the sound of the greats without the price tag or stability issues of a vintage tape delay unit. It gives a wonderfully spacey repeat effect that is fine-tuneable to get exactly the tone I want for a Gilmour-ish vibe. I would recommend reading the online manual carefully to get the best out of the unit, though - it’s not entirely intuitive!

Value 4Looks 5Durability 4Sound 5

Mr Darren Robert Bryant5th Jan 2019

Fantastisk sounding "tape" echo. It's a keeper. Can highly reccommend the Catalinbread Belle Epoch.

Trusted Customer30th Oct 2018

Pro level tape echo pedal. The best!

Mr. Krunoslav Laljak1st Oct 2016

Although I already own Strymon El Capistan, this great pedal also earned it's place on my pedalboard.

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Who can apply for finance?

You must: spend over £300, be at least 18 years of age, have been a UK resident for 3 years or more, be able to make repayments by Direct Debit, be in regular employment (minimum of 16 hours per week) including self-employment, or in permanent residence with your partner who is in regular employment.

Read More About Online Finance

Andertons Music Company's Registered Office: 58-59 Woodbridge Road, Guildford, GU1 4RF. Andertons Music Company acts as a credit broker and not a lender and only offers credit products from Secure Trust Bank PLC trading as V12 Retail Finance. Not all products offered by Secure Trust Bank PLC are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Andertons Music Company is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, firm registration number 716155. Credit provided subject to age and status.