supersedes the Delay settings . Between these knobs and above the footswitches is a switch that toggles between four settings that can further dial in your tapped tempo : quarter notes , eighth notes , dotted eighth notes and triplets .
This is not a groundbreaking feature set , but it ’ s a solid one and , when used judiciously ( or radically ), the FTE really makes an impression . With Depth off , the FTE sounds solid but unspectacular . As you roll Depth in it adds exactly that — depth . At modest settings , it has the effect of offsetting the delayed signal in a way that further differentiates it from the clean signal , which means that you can introduce a lot of delay ( and I mean a lot ) without sacrificing musicality . This is great news for those of us who indulge in busy rhythm work or fuzzy leads ; the FTE gets out of the way of the initial notes but its brawny character lends the effect itself complementary ( rather than competitive ) prominence . The manual suggests settings to cop Dave Gilmour and Edge effects , and the FTE does a great job of coping with the flurry of notes both players employ .
Interestingly , both of those players are also famous for playing non-tape analog delays and that , to me , is the FTE ’ s real strength : It sounds like a great bucketbrigade based delay . As noted above , Wampler ’ s not going for the pristine beauty of a tape machine . The darker character , the flexible modulation and the very notable decay once the Repeats control passes noon all sound more like a bucket-brigade based delay , and a darn good one , too . The more extreme Depth settings are definitely tapeinspired but , as Wampler says in his demo , most people aren ’ t likely to use those settings . What that leaves us with is a distinctive delay that sits well in the mix , and there ’ s nothing wrong with that .
An easy to use delay that can be used prominently in the mix .
The pedal ’ s note decay is distinctly idiosyncratic and the overall voicing is unavoidably dark .
supersedes the Delay settings . Between these knobs and above the footswitches is a switch that toggles between four settings that can further dial in your tapped tempo : quarter notes , eighth notes , dotted eighth notes and triplets .
This is not a groundbreaking feature set , but it ’ s a solid one and , when used judiciously ( or radically ), the FTE really makes an impression . With Depth off , the FTE sounds solid but unspectacular . As you roll Depth in it adds exactly that — depth . At modest settings , it has the effect of offsetting the delayed signal in a way that further differentiates it from the clean signal , which means that you can introduce a lot of delay ( and I mean a lot ) without sacrificing musicality . This is great news for those of us who indulge in busy rhythm work or fuzzy leads ; the FTE gets out of the way of the initial notes but its brawny character lends the effect itself complementary ( rather than competitive ) prominence . The manual suggests settings to cop Dave Gilmour and Edge effects , and the FTE does a great job of coping with the flurry of notes both players employ .
Interestingly , both of those players are also famous for playing non-tape analog delays and that , to me , is the FTE ’ s real strength : It sounds like a great bucketbrigade based delay . As noted above , Wampler ’ s not going for the pristine beauty of a tape machine . The darker character , the flexible modulation and the very notable decay once the Repeats control passes noon all sound more like a bucket-brigade based delay , and a darn good one , too . The more extreme Depth settings are definitely tapeinspired but , as Wampler says in his demo , most people aren ’ t likely to use those settings . What that leaves us with is a distinctive delay that sits well in the mix , and there ’ s nothing wrong with that .
WHAT WE LIKE :
An easy to use delay that can be used prominently in the mix .
CONCERNS :
The pedal ’ s note decay is distinctly idiosyncratic and the overall voicing is unavoidably dark .