TC Electronic GAUSS TAPE ECHO Super-Saturated Tape Echo Pedal with Mod Switch, Delay, Sustain and Volume Controls

Everything I have bought from TC Electronic has outperformed my expectations. I actually bought this Digital Delay to run through the effects loop of my little 4 channel Behringer mixer (vocals and everything), and the little Eurolive B208D 8" powered speaker for the tiniest PA I have ever used. The sound quality of everything is perfect for small venues!PA put together for small room, 1 or 2 hour one-man gigs where —A - load in, setup, and pack out is super fast (1 trip in - 1 trip out)B - Small venue sound quality is "big" but not overwhelmingI'm using this LITTLE delay in place of my big rack mount Lexicon, and the heavy mixer and rack that goes with it. I searched long and hard for a "stompbox" sized delay unit that sounded good enough for vocals. The TC Electronics brand weighed heavy in my decision.

I am very impressed with this pedal at this price point. You can get a good slapback and good long delays as well. It doesn't seem to darken or brighten the dry signal much if at all. One of my complaints about the Aqua Puss was that it does significantly brighten the tone but that has its place also (and my Aqua Puss was gift from my wife so I can't complain really). As I recall, the Aqua Puss costs quite a bit more so if you are looking for something under $100 for a good echo or delay type effect this is a good one. Also, in addition to sounding good it seems to be build to withstand a nuclear blast. I was surprised at how large this pedal was when I got it but still, it's way smaller than the Way Huge Aqua Puss (actually it isn't but it's about 20% smaller). However, I am sure if you really need to save space on your board that badly there are smaller pedals that will do the same thing.One more thing I want to mention is that on mine the Mod switch definitely does work. It is a somewhat subtle but very noticeable effect on your repeats . I don't think it does anything to the dry signal. I've seen complaints about this feature not doing anything on YouTube but mine definitely does something. I wonder if the people complaining just happened to get pedals from a bad run? Or perhaps their ear just doesn't pick it up?

Great sounding pedal, but there is a huge problem: when engaged, it causes a very noticeable drop-off in volume and cuts the presence. Basically knocks your loudness down and sets your guitar back in the mix. There's also a slight high-end hiss (not a deal breaker, but worth noting). Unacceptable at this price-point -- my cheap Donner delay doesn't strangle the volume and tone like this thing does. I Googled this phenomenon to see if I was crazy, unlucky, or if its a known issue -- somewhat relieved to see this has been reported by players for years. I should have researched more on Google before buying.

Great sounding unit. The vintage look is an added plus. More importantly, the price amazes me. What a great series of pedals!!!!

THE GOOD: An interesting and unusual delay! For a demonstration, see YouTube video by Gearmandude. So why only 3 stars? THE BAD: The MOD switch apparently does nothing whatsoever. That's why I returned the pedal. I thought it might just be me or the pedal I bought, but there's a YouTube video DEVOTED to this issue: "TC Electronic Gauss Tape Echo mod switch test".

I avoid most pedals, but this thing was promising. Unfortunately, the white noise and hiss are so awful when you turn it on, it is completely unusable. I actually had a REAL Echoplex and it was very quiet. This thing is a Chinese turd. Avoid. Don't waste your money.