Carl Martin Red Repeat Delay/Reverb Guitar Effects Pedal
Based on the infamous Carl Martin Delayla, the 'Red Repeat' provides an affordable 600 milliseconds of delay as well as a simply controlled echo. Add just a touch of delay to thicken your sound, or push the repeat circuit past 12o'clock where the unit begins to self-oscillate, just like an old analogue delay. Great vintage style and colour in a heavy die-cast, 9 volt pedal with heavy duty bypass switching.
The Red Repeat is designed to take your guitar signal and repeat it after a given amount of time. The simplest description comes from the Echoplexes and Space Echoes of years ago. If you envision a tape recorder with the recording head and the playback head in line with each other, and the tape (usually a loop of some sort) running….you play a note on your guitar which is recorded onto the tape by the recording head and is then played back by the playback head immediately after. The delay time is determined by how far apart the recording and playback heads are, and by simply adding more playback heads, that original note is played back as often (or repeated) as you have playback heads. Ok, that is oversimplifying the whole thing, but you get the idea.
The Red Repeat 2016 Edition takes this old technology and brings it up to modern standards. The Echo control basically determines the amount of this effect, from barely noticeable, to sounding like two guitars playing at once (slap-back). The Tone control changes the presence (EQ) of the echoed signal, leaving your original signal EQ the way you set it up. The Time control adjusts the space between your original signal and the echoed signal from 0 to 600 milliseconds, and finally, the Repeat control determines how many echoes there are from each signal. So again for guitar-players who need it super-simple….the Echo and Time controls tell you how much echo and how much space between echoes….and the Tone and Repeat controls determine the actual presence of the echo and how many echoes there are.
The Red Repeat 2016 Edition can be used to fatten up your sound, as an alternative to reverb, to give a very percussive flavour to your playing, all the way to the longest delays which you can play over top of, like a short loop. This type of effect has been used since the 50’s, and has helped shape the signature sounds of Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Gene Vincent, Brian Setzer, David Gilmour and countless others, and once you understand the effect, is usually pretty easy to spot in recordings. Remember, Delays can come before or after your distortion pedals, but usually after amplitude (volume) effects.
For the new improved Red Repeat 2016 Edition, Carl has added a couple features that various players have asked about. To begin with, we have added a Tap Tempo function. For those familiar with delay pedals, the Tap Tempo allows the player to tap in the tempo he choses to use with his playing. Simply flip the switch that says Manual Time toward the name Red Repeat and with your toe, tap the footswitch marked Tap Tempo to the beat of the song. This allows your echoes to be spaced precisely with the tempo of the song, faster or slower, depending on your style. When The Manual Time switch is flipped away from the Red Repeat 2016 Edition decal, the pedal goes back to setting the space between echoes with the Time knob. The second special feature is the Modulation switch. By engaging this switch, and adjusting the black mini-pots marked Depth and Speed….you can modulate the echoes of your notes so that they mimic the ‘wow and flutter’ of a vintage tape echo! This subtle effect can bring a whole new dimension to your solo’s, especially if you want them to sound ‘old’.
Reviews
Premier Guitar (USA) Sept. 2017
The original Red Repeat by Carl Martin was an elegant, bare bones, sweet-sounding, analog-voiced digital delay that made a lot of fans through its combination of sound, simplicity, rugged construction, and price. The newest version of the Red Repeat—the 2016 edition—may have reduced the simplicity a touch, but the new tap tempo and modulation functions lend flexibility and dimension to what remains one of the more analog-sounding digital delays around. At a little under $170, the Red Repeat, with streamlined functionality, isn’t a cheap digital delay. But it’s a very good one if you like the darkness of an analog voicing and the flexibility to move into brighter, more classically digital zones. And with its subtle-to-rich modulation textures, it’s got the goods to please tradition-minded players on both sides of the digital/analog aisle.
Vintage Guitar (USA) 2017
The people have spoken and Carl Martin’s 2016 Edition of the Red Repeat Delay Echo now comes with Tap Tempo and Modulation functions.
These additions give the new Red Repeat Delay Echo the kind of flexibility to create anything from the most contemporary repeated sounds, to old timey slap back.
Settings are easy to dial in offering everything from simple repeats to thicken your tone, or the kind of super-delayed shenanigans that would cause Brian May to ask, “What the hell is going on in here?” It’s compact, real estate friendly, solid, and the knob settings are easy to see on dimly lit stages. The sounds are upscale and substantive, and the additional switches affects the quality of your signal trail to yield everything from pristine ‘80s Andy Summers repeats, to the cavernous slap back echoes of Brian Setzer.
Mixdown Magazine (Australia) 2017
The Red Repeat is a seriously tasty sounding echo/delay unit. Warm repeats for everything from slap back to bigger ambient sounds give you plenty of scope, and the tap tempo and modulation features add to the sonic possibilities.
Carl Martin always had a solid reputation, but sometimes overlooked in favour of other brands. I’d make that a thing of the past and check out the RR2016 if you’re after analogue sounding delay with tap tempo.
