View other reviews for this product:
tjon901 « Overpriced tape delay simulator »
Published on 05/26/11 at 20:18Hughes and Kettner is a German amp and guitar gear maker that was started in the mid 80s. They make high end amps and accessories for professionals and their gear and priced as such. The Replex is a tube driven digital analog tape delay simulator. The overall delay is created with a digital signal and is then warmed up with the 12AX7 preamp tube. There is no analog tape unit in this pedal thats why it is a tape delay simulator. The inconsistencies of an analog tape delay are all simulated with the digital devices. There is one input jack and one output jack. It can only be powered by the DC connector there is no space for a battery.
UTILIZATION
There are 9 knobs and 4 foot switches on the face of this pedal. I will go through them left to right starting with the knobs. The first knob is an imput knob. When this is maxed out it can provide a little tube distortion break up but it is not much and does not sound good. The second knob is the output knob. This controls how much of a signal goes to your amp. This is not a stereo delay so there is only one output. The third knob is a reverb volume knob. This controls the saturation of the reverb effect. The reverb on this pedal is okay it is not a great substitute for real amp reverb. The fourth knob is the delay volume. This controls the saturation of the delay sound. The fifth knob is the feedback control. This could be the slapback knob. This controls how long your repeats of the delay occurs. A higher setting will create a longer delay effect. The sisth knob is the vintage factor knob. This knob effects how "old sounding" a delay effect you will get. You can go from a perfect digital delay effect to a dirty vintage tape delay sound. The seventh knob is the single head time control knob. This controls the delay in variables from 10ms to 900ms. The eight knob controls the double head time. This is the second layer to the delay so you can get the effect of two delays at once. The ninth knob just controls the volume of the 2nd layer of delay. The first switch on the left is the Replex's true bypass. I would expect no less than true bypass on a pedal this expensive. The second switch is an on and off switch for the reverb function. The third and fourth switch turn on the single head delay and double head delay respectively.
SOUND QUALITY
The delay sound is not very good from something of this price. The sound is pretty flat and generic for a delay pedal. I do not know how to describe it. It sounds like any delay pedal you could get for 80 bucks just with some reverb thrown on and that is not even very good.
OVERALL OPINION
The Replex is not really a competitor for other delay pedals. Hughes and Kettner is trying to compete with real tape delay units with this. At 500 dollars it is very expensive for a delay unit but a real tape delay is around 1000 dollars. If you are willing to spend 500 dollars on a delay unit you should get a rack unit or something. And if you are looking to get a tape delay sound and can afford this you probably can afford a real tape delay.
UTILIZATION
There are 9 knobs and 4 foot switches on the face of this pedal. I will go through them left to right starting with the knobs. The first knob is an imput knob. When this is maxed out it can provide a little tube distortion break up but it is not much and does not sound good. The second knob is the output knob. This controls how much of a signal goes to your amp. This is not a stereo delay so there is only one output. The third knob is a reverb volume knob. This controls the saturation of the reverb effect. The reverb on this pedal is okay it is not a great substitute for real amp reverb. The fourth knob is the delay volume. This controls the saturation of the delay sound. The fifth knob is the feedback control. This could be the slapback knob. This controls how long your repeats of the delay occurs. A higher setting will create a longer delay effect. The sisth knob is the vintage factor knob. This knob effects how "old sounding" a delay effect you will get. You can go from a perfect digital delay effect to a dirty vintage tape delay sound. The seventh knob is the single head time control knob. This controls the delay in variables from 10ms to 900ms. The eight knob controls the double head time. This is the second layer to the delay so you can get the effect of two delays at once. The ninth knob just controls the volume of the 2nd layer of delay. The first switch on the left is the Replex's true bypass. I would expect no less than true bypass on a pedal this expensive. The second switch is an on and off switch for the reverb function. The third and fourth switch turn on the single head delay and double head delay respectively.
SOUND QUALITY
The delay sound is not very good from something of this price. The sound is pretty flat and generic for a delay pedal. I do not know how to describe it. It sounds like any delay pedal you could get for 80 bucks just with some reverb thrown on and that is not even very good.
OVERALL OPINION
The Replex is not really a competitor for other delay pedals. Hughes and Kettner is trying to compete with real tape delay units with this. At 500 dollars it is very expensive for a delay unit but a real tape delay is around 1000 dollars. If you are willing to spend 500 dollars on a delay unit you should get a rack unit or something. And if you are looking to get a tape delay sound and can afford this you probably can afford a real tape delay.