Catalinbread Echorec review

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Catalinbread Echorec review

Postby dave robinson » Fri Aug 12, 2016 7:29 pm

Because I read somewhere that no one did a review on the Catalinbread Echorec, here are my findings that incidentally have been delayed since January 2013 when mine arrived, because it co-incided with me being diagnosed with cancer at the same time and had to go on the back burner for three and a half years.

Since I bought mine I have had great fun with the eTap2 hw, the Zoom G3x before finally purchasing the Hall & Collins last year. Because of that my Catalinbread Echorec was put in a cupboard and unused until today when I dug it out.
Bear in mind that I worked on the Zoom G3x and shared my patches with many on here and it is a great sounding machine and the only reason for my not using it in my stage rig is that I don't like the noises coming through my amp when scrolling through patches. Other than that it's a great piece of kit for the money.
I also spent a lot of time with my eTap2hw and the Hall and Collins, so I know by now what the amp settings need to be to achieve our goal - the early Hank sound of Apache, Man Of Mystery, Frightened City, Kon Tiki et al.

I plugged the Catalinbread into my home practice amp, a Vox Valvetronix VT-30, which is set up on one channel to sound like a 1960 AC-15, with the second channel set up as a 1963/4 Vox AC-30 TB which is reminiscent of the Atlantis/Flingel Bunt, so I have the two main sounds at my fingertips. Now I know that the Binson Echorec (on which the Catalinbread is based) doesn't allow variable head levels, so a little compromise is neccessary for certain tunes, but that isn't a problem for me, as I know where to tweak for optimum performance. Tunes like Apache, FBI, Man Of Mystery, Mustang and all those which feature head pattern 1 / 3 & 4 are easily replicated with perfection as you have control over the speed as well as echo volume and repeat intensity (regen).

However, for Wonderful Land, Atlantis, Dance On and all those tunes that use heads 1/2/3/4 on the Meazzi, the Echorec doesn't allow you to set head four slightly louder as is the way of the Meazzi. I therefore find that number one head sounds too loud, so what I do to compensate is just use heads 2/3/4 and set the speed accordingly, which is quite a bit faster than Apache and the others I mentioned. This works fine and I'd defy anyone to notice in a live gig situation.
Also, there is a fabulous vintage 'halo' going on at the same time, which I don't hear on some of the other machines. It adds something magical to the sound and actually sounds like a real Binson, with that 'ethreal' aura surrounding the sound
I also use several other settings other than the common Shadows ones and if there was no other choice of machines I can honestly say that I'd be delighted to use this to make my living, knowing that it sounds amazing.
The only down side for working live is the slight awkwardness of the controls with it being a pedal. I would want to set it up at a height where I could easily reach it with my hands, rather than use it on the floor as you'd be bending down to change settings, which doesn't look good. Everything with the Catalinbread is controled by the player in real time, there are no stored patches like on the old Q20/Q2 etc. It's just like the old days where you set the machine as you go through the st list.

So there you have it, it stands it's ground with everything I've owned and still own, those machines include the ESE Echomatic, the TVS3, Hall & Collins, eTap2hw, Alesis Q20, Q2, Quad GT, all the Zoom machines and even a real Binson Echorec. It's a bargain for under £200. :)
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Re: Catalinbread Echorec review

Postby kipper » Fri Aug 12, 2016 11:19 pm

thanks for taking the time to review this dave and the general over view of it very useful stuff.
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Re: Catalinbread Echorec review

Postby dave robinson » Sat Aug 13, 2016 12:20 am

No problem Peter, I've been meaning to do this for a couple of months but I put the Catalinbread pedal away somewhere 'safe' and temporarily lost it - as I seem to do a lot of lately because I have too much stuff.
I noticed there had been several mentions of this pedal lately, although at the time I bought mine it was little known as it was brand new on the scene. I always wanted a Binson Echo, after all Hank used one or two of them during the early sixties on tour and he always sounded fantastic. Don't forget that back then, it wasn't common knowledge that the recordings were made using the Meazzi and I for one believed it must have been the Binson. I saw the Shadows with and without Cliff about five times during the period between 1962 and when they finished, firstly with Licorice and latterly with John Rostill. Four of those times were with Cliff and the one and only time I saw them in their own right was at Greasborough Club in Rotherham when they appeared for a week. In all of these shows , Hank used either a green full sized Binson or a grey Baby Binson, so it stuck in my mind as Hank's sound was spot on.
I later saw Hank around 1973 with John Farrer at the old Cavendish Club (Baileys) in Sheffield and that's when he showed me his gear backstage. He had a Vox AC-30 bass and was using a Watkins Shadow echo box. His sound was still good, but different to the sound from the sixties, then when they began touring again I noticed he had the Roland Space Echo which was still good but never quite sounded 'right' to me, probably because of the head spacings. David Martin kindly lent me his Binson and very good it was too, but because we now knew about the Meazzi and head positions it didn't appeal to me any longer because it was difficult to match the echo speeds without a vari-speed available.
When I read about the Catalinbread and that it had a vari-speed, as well as being able to achieve all head configurations (the Binson does not offer this), I had to have one and I paid £199.00 at the end of 2012, they are a little cheaper now. I would never want to part with it as it is so damn good, just as I won't part with my eTap2hw that Ecca built or my ESE Echomatic, even though they don't get much use, but they too are excellent and I enjoy playing with them. I use the Hall & Collins sometimes if we do a dedicated Cliff & The Shadows show, as it has all the patches programmed and they are easily accessed during a show, but my main machine is still the Vox Tonelab SE on which I programmed all the Shads echoes and more, along with my Gary Moore, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Chet Atkins sounds and a host more - plus I have built in swell and wah pedals, so it's just the ease of use that I favour. The echoes on the Shads numbers sound almost identical to the 'better' machines and punters would be hard pressed to tell which machine I'm using, as I believe the core of the sound is in the guitar and amp in a live environment, but as for recording ? . . . that's a different matter. 8-)
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Re: Catalinbread Echorec review

Postby Egelund » Sun Aug 14, 2016 7:13 pm

Hi Dave

Thank you for a detailed review on the catalinbread.
Your reviews are always interesting, as you are passed the point of what is the most popular unit.

I agree on every point, and it is a good thing that you mention the impact the pedal has on the overall sound.
You really get dynamic sound interacting with you personal style of playing.

I share your view on live work, which is why I have other units in my live board, but i have considered putting it in as a spare.

Thanks again
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Re: Catalinbread Echorec review

Postby GuitarPhil » Sun Aug 14, 2016 9:31 pm

Useful review of the Catalinbread Echorec pedal Dave, thanks for taking the time to write it.

Aside from not being able to adjust the head levels there's also the fact that, like the real Binson, the 'heads' are equally spaced unlike the Meazzi machines so, for the purest, it won't be able to exactly replicate the echoes on those early machines on the recordings. However, as you say, most ordinary folk would probably never notice the difference in a live situation.

The other thing I find with the Catalinbread Echorec with is the difficulty of setting the required program from the 12 available as they have used a pot and there is therefore only about 20 degrees leeway between each setting of the program knob. It's certainly very tricky to see which setting it's on when the pedal is at ones feet, especially when one has presbyopia! :ugeek:

Phil.

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Re: Catalinbread Echorec review

Postby dave robinson » Sun Aug 14, 2016 9:53 pm

Thanks for the input Neils and Phil, I agree totally with what you are saying. A big improvement would be to have a 'click' switch as the selector instead of the pot.
I made some recordings today using the Catalinbread through the Vox VT-30 that I've had for almost twelve years, using my Boss BR-600 on stereo tacks. No close miking here, I used the two condenser mikes built into the unit picking up the BT sound from my active speakers and picking up the guitar from the amp - just as if you were at a live gig with the recorder on the table with the drinks.
The sound is there and captured as it happened, there are some slight playing errors but nothing major, I'll get them down onto some form of soundfiles and try and post somewhere for those interested in how it all sounds. Let me make it clear that I don't think that there is a 'best' out of all these machines, that ship has long sailed and I have enjoyed proving to myself that the ESE Echomatic, Hall & Collins, TVS3, eTap2hw, Zoom G3x, Zoom BT-100 all do a great job in the right hands (as do all the other machines I've owned but no longer have)
These days after years of experience and learning, I'm of the opinion that the guitar is a major factor in the sound dependant on the way that it is set up, as well as the 'core' sound from the chosen amp. It doesn't have to be a Vox but it helps, but if you recognise the all important tone, you're half way there. On stage I'm currently using a Peavey Delta Blues 15.
Speaking of guitars I have been as guilty as anyone changing pickups and hardware, but the main thing is setting it up correctly and I've got £2000 upwards guitars that hardly sound any different to well set up Squier Classic Vibe Strats. Granted the expensive ones do play slightly better but that's it. :)
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Re: Catalinbread Echorec review

Postby Allclaphands » Mon Aug 15, 2016 8:12 am

It's been very interesting reading this thread about your review of the Catalinbread Echorec
I have dabbled with the thought of getting one but opted for the Etap2hw and now the BN
which I have found with the help of a few more proficient members patches along with the
already pre-programmed ones some of which I have tweaked a bit from members experiences
some really great sounds.I was interested to read your last paragraph about the guitars used
and found from my own experience that having a more expensive guitar does not necessarily
mean you get a better sound.I have a limited selection of Strats some more expensive than
others and get a decent sound from them but one I do tend to have a love affair with is my
Squeir CV50's it's a bit lighter in wieght to The original Fender Strats but feels and sounds really
great and I find myself just playing it a bit more than the others

Pete
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Re: Catalinbread Echorec review

Postby Didier » Mon Aug 15, 2016 9:08 am

Here are two tests made by the late Jean-Claude in february 2013 with a Catalinbread Echorec :





He also used a Zoom MS50 with some additional effects (EQ, boost, reverb, compression).

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Re: Catalinbread Echorec review

Postby Allclaphands » Mon Aug 15, 2016 9:16 am

Didier wrote:Here are two tests made by the late Jean-Claude in february 2013 with a Catalinbread Echorec :





He also used a Zoom MS50 with some additional effects (EQ, boost, reverb, compression).

Didier


Thanks Didier
Some really great sounds produced here it just goes to show what can be achieved by using it,

Pete
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Re: Catalinbread Echorec review

Postby dave robinson » Mon Aug 15, 2016 9:48 am

Thanks Didier, I supose that it's quite acceptable really having all the repeat levels the same, it's less noticable mixed with the track than when comparing with the actual setting on a Hall & Collins or the ESE.
The price for the Catalinbread is a bargain for what you are getting. :)
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