If you’re looking for an affordable analog delay with all the amenties of a modern effects pedal with the musicality and warmth of a vintage delay, check out the MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay.
It’s sometimes amusing for those of us who remember and used first-generation analog effects to observe the fascination people have with older effects these days. While early pedals and effects like the Echoplex did sound pretty hip, they were also plagued by reliability issues, especially tape-based echos which broke. Often. The MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay is an attempt to capture the warm, fat sound of analog effects without the hassle.
The pedal itself is notable for its green sparkle finish and simple appearance. It’s the size of all other MXR pedals such as the Phase 90, and features true bypass switching and two bright blue LED lights. The Carbon Copy allows 600 ms of pure analog delay, along with modulation that emulates the “warble” found in older tape units that many found desirable. The controls are fairly simple: Regeneration, Delay, and Mix, as well as a smaller control for the modulation.
Although the delay time isn’t very long by today’s standards, the sound produced by the Carbon Copy is one of the best organic, natural, and musical sounding delays I’ve every heard from a pedal. It doesn’t matter if you’re using a short slapback for more country tones or a longer delay for distorted solos, the sound is warm and dark. It’s not a 100% digital recreation, but that’s not the point. If you’re looking for an affordable analog delay with all the amenties of a modern effects pedal with the musicality and warmth of a vintage delay, check out the MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay.