How Does the Strymon El Capistan Sound on Sound Looper Work? (Complete Demo)

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

►► Get your Strymon El Capistan here (this Sweetwater affiliate link supports my work at no extra cost to you. Thank you! 😊) → sweetwater.sjv.io/4PxqY9

[@SpiralCasterPlaysPedals]

This was super helpful thanks! Have had the El Cap for a year and didn’t even know it had a Sound on Sound mode 😭

[@Micky-yo3ng]

I’m so grateful you made this video. The sound-on-sound feature confused me but you’ve made it so clear, your explanation is better than Strymon’s own video. They should send you some shoes 😜

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

Micky 2112 Hahaha, you won this comment section my friend :D Thanks a lot!

[@derpdorf7054]

Shoes? Hmm🤔

[@realtruenorth]

😂😂🤣🤣

[@Guitarslinger72001]

Very helpful - I've had an El Capistan for several months, but never bothered to figure out the looper - Now I know what to do! Thanks!

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

Browse the video by section: 0:00 - Intro 0:18 - How to enter in Sound on Sound mode 0:27 - The particularity of the Single Tape Head 2:20 - Repeats and mix knob (best settings) 3:29 - How to splice the loop 4:36 - Turning overdubs on and off 5:56 - Trails vs. Non-trails mode 6:42 - Loop speed effects & recording time 7:42 - Superimposing speeds 8:54 - Secondary Functions (for a clean loop) 9:54 - Loop degradation effects (the good stuff!) 12:54 - Tip regarding loop duration 13:36 - Pedal placement in your chain and how it affects looping 15:34 - Outro

[@j.deghitar5015]

thank you

[@aerowise1321]

Dude! You are soooooo awesome! I was so confused about this, now a whole new dimension has been opened! Thank you thank you thank you!!!

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

You're very welcome!!

[@PopBubbleWrappable]

I've had an El Capistan for over a year and never knew this. This further confirms that this and all of Strymon's pedals are far more powerful than I'll ever be able to fully exploit.

[@cmath8577]

Great demo of the El Cap. FYI Ambeint guitarists on a budget, Line 6 DL-4 has a dedicated delay that can be dialed in before the looper ...when in looper mode, Been missing my DL-4 .

[@johncitizen8828]

Haha….my exact set up: El Cap AND DL-4.

[@mattgilbert4122]

I LOVE my El Cap. Great video. I could be wrong, but I think the issue you're having at the very beginning of the video is because you're in Trails mode. When you switch from mode B to mode C, the trail gets pulled in and runs through.

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

That makes sense!

[@alb_reuel]

man this was amazing. i hadnt a clue how this looper worked. i thought mine wasnt working properly and just never bothered jamming to it.

[@klauswhitedreamer]

Yes, the El Capistan is the most sweet delay pedal ever, I have 3 delay pedals and also 2 reverb pedals , including the Big Sky - but I must also get the El Capistan , all your videos about it are definitely great ... be blessed my friend ! ...

[@theviolinoob]

did you tried that mooer ocean machine?

[@thesjkexperience]

Thanks, I’m thinking of picking one up. You made this very clear.

[@JacobH93]

Thanks for making this! I got an el capstan a few weeks ago and while I am loving the pedal I definitely didn’t understand how to use this mode! I probably won’t use this much (I have another looper that is more straight forward and I don’t do much looping outside of practicing) but it seems like it will be fun to mess with!

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

It is fun, indeed! Especially to get an ever evolving loop!

[@bernburg1999]

I never understood how it worked... but now I do! Thanks for clearing this up!!

[@muse-mech-moda]

This is a great sounding pedal - but one thing I noted, it does have that 'Strymon sound'. I loved the degrading repeats on the loop. Cheers.

[@ShaighJosephson]

Stacking the El Cap before a Timeline opens the door to all kinds of creative possibilities with both loopers...

[@aljen9611]

Antoine, what a great tutorial you have made here. Merci beaucoup! Actually, I could not make a head or tail of the Sound-on-sound facility of my El Capistan. In general, I've already considered tis pedal a bad buy for me and was about to get rid of it again. You are the one who made me keep it anyway. In fact, it is a very special tool - or, as you say in the video, unpredictable. That's what I like about it… now again. - Going to check you another El Capistan tutorial now… Best regards from Germany!

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

My pleasure man, glad you can finally start to tame this beast :-)

[@IamBetaCloud]

Awesome vid, good looks my friend!

[@jshphysicistatyahoo]

Thanks a million Antoine for your well-thought out demonstration. For one thing, you've got to be a pretty smart guy to have this pedal so well understood. Secondly, your English is totally off the hook. You speak better than just about all the people I know here in California - and they are natives. I look forward to Your future videos. I am especially interested in your Strymon pedals, but also your other pedals.

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

Thanks a lot man, really appreciated :-)

[@thierrylecuyer1507]

Tes reviews sont excellents, j’y fais recours souvent, merci Antoine!

[@hybridsoul2]

Thanks for this rundown. The manual was not very clear.

[@TheStoneboat]

Great video - really helpful - thanks for sharing this!

[@ptferris]

This was so helpful. Thanks man

[@adamoliver82]

nice demo, really clear and concise

[@fastronaut909]

I'm all about self-oscillating delays. One of my favorites is the EQD Space Spiral....however, one of its major limitations is that it doesn't have a tap tempo. Great vid!

[@itchyvinyl]

I believe the default for the Tape Bias setting is 9:00, not minimum.

[@fredmanteghian5913]

Correct. Min will make the tape very bright

[@cfibanez]

With the new El Capistan v2, if the Repeat knob is all the way up you get distortion and sound volume increase with every repeat.

[@gregdale1066]

I could have sat with this box for a hundred years and never figured out trail mode . You rule. Thank you.

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

You're very welcome!

[@johncitizen8828]

Random question: when the El Cap is set to Single and C, is it effectively turned ‘off’, as none of the lights are illuminated? (or do you have to always unplug it)

[@barbaragogan9909]

Thank you!

[@DanielDavissynthman]

Great demo!

[@Zan_Halford]

Does anyone know if with Mix all the way dry, will the single mode still record without the audible playback?

[@sergeykobzev3645]

Hi Anthony I appreciate for your El Capitan demo! I have a question , if this pedal make stereo panning ? Tky

[@darkpoem9]

Très bien expliqué!

[@SeanGibsonNoiseReel]

Great info!

[@GNeuman]

Antoine.....superb demo, thank you!...Edit.....Just one point....when I am in this sound on sound mode, if I set the the repeats at maximum, the El Capistan soon starts to feedback and degrade and the signal gets louder..Maybe I have an earlier version??

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

Maybe it's an earlier version! But if you add many overdubs, it's normal to lower the repeats a bit to avoid feedback.

[@GNeuman]

@@AntoineMichaudGuitar I have two el capistans, compared the other and it behaves like your demo. All the best, Antoine!

[@Tyetheberious]

The manual explains this operation as well.

[@rogerloydmccoy]

Does the timeline have this function? I just watched your TL video and liked it a lot. Thanks.

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

The Timeline does not have all the deterioration features of the El Capistan, but the looper is still very cool! You can listen to my video on the Timeline's looper: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqewnKGHj653qdE

[@nicolasrivera5310]

Thank you!!!!

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

Nicolas Rivera You're welcome!

[@prettdboy]

So this pedal is essentially a looper, delay and reverb all-in-one pedal, right?

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

Yes, boy! There's also a volume boost.

[@prettdboy]

Monochrome Seasons Awesome! Now, if I just want to use he spring reverb without the delay effect - is that possible?

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

Not sure. This is a one knob spring reverb, so not a lot of control on it. I think the only way to bypass it would be to put a delay so fast it is unnoticeable (I did that, to create a tape chorus pedal), but then, I'm not even sure the reverb would come out noticeable, as it is assigned to the delays only. I think at this point, it is asking for too much out of one single pedal that was not specifically designed for that ;)

[@paloky2]

Hy from France ! thanks for your great video .Before buying the pedal I have a question : when you have a loop turning ,can you erase it with a single press on tap button? (when the bypass is off) .If not how do you process ? what is the simplest solution to erase , before make a new loop with a different time ?

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

Yes, just press the tap button, it will erase it, and you can start a new loop from scratch by pressing the tap button again! Merci mon ami!

[@paloky2]

@@AntoineMichaudGuitar Thank you ! in fact , what I'm looking for should be a looper that you can erase and revive ( for a new recording cycle in a différent time) in a single one press ! : but I think that doesn't exist yet ...

[@Bigsbeee]

Did you try the Deco yet ?

[@junggt526]

you are so perfectly supporter !

[@tomhall7523]

Really great demo! But does anyone know of a cheaper alternative to the El Cap for sound on sound looping? I can't afford an El Cap, especially not just for looping, but I love the degradation it offers. The Line 6 DL4 does the fading thing but not the degradation... An alternative with more than 20 secs of looping time would be really amazing!

[@brianrodman1033]

Tom Hall maybe one of the TC Alter Ego delay pedals? They have the single pedal sized one and I think also an X4 version. The delay engines are mostly vintage/tape Echo/drum echo based. Not sure if it’s loop mode would have any of that flavor but possibly worth a look.

[@fredmanteghian5913]

@@brianrodman1033 I have the alter ego but it’s. A lousy looper. Too hard to use. I bought the Ditto+ and it’s fantastic and easy. The Alter Efo though has a lot of great delays so still worth having.

[@brianrodman1033]

@@fredmanteghian5913 I like the vintage flavored delay modes on the Alter Ego. I own a TC Transition Delay and it’s looper is also a pain to use (it’s tough to get the timing right). Glad to hear that the Dittos are easier to use. Have you checked out the MXR Clone Looper? Jorge Tripps, who worked for Line 6 during the DL4 design phase is with MXR now and was in charge of the Clone Looper. I imagine it will be quite good. There is a modular synth company, Northern Light Modular, who has a kit to turn one into a synth module with voltage control over the parameters. I really want to get one of those.

[@fredmanteghian5913]

@@brianrodman1033 I haven't tried the MXR Clone Looper. Line 6 just announced a reissue of the DL4 last week you should check out. I like some of the Alter Ego delays myself. I wish there was a control for reducing modulation though. With El Cap, reducing wow and flutter to zero eliminates the modulation 100% which is often how I like it. There's not such control with the alter ego and the loop time (I have the x4 version) is a joke (like the El Cap frankly, maybe 20 second?). You can play with the software on your computer and create low/no modulation versions with the 4 presets, but the other ones that are built in end up being of limited use in some cases. I'm glad I have the El Cap now, simplier delay, but I also have a Keeley Dark Side which has a lot of functions but the echo is based on a multihead (4) unit and you can select ALL permutations with a simple dial knob. I also have a Korg SDD-3000 Pedal which has a lot of delay options and controllable modulations. Overall, each has it's purpose depending on your need. I'm bad at selling sh.... :)

[@mr.ester777]

Well done. does el capistan have reverb? thanks

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

It does have some spring reverb in the secondary functions!

[@marcusstrymon693]

f**** the same as the volante - stuff is gonna be summed to mono after it has been looped. Aaaah sadness. Timeline does do stereo looping bc its a looper, SOS mode is more like a 100% wet sound where the signal is fed through over and over... uf

[@fredmanteghian5913]

Great video. Strymon pdf instructions are very lame at explaining SOS.

[@richardwalley2862]

I’m sure this has been asked already but do you like the volante or the cap better?

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

I still like the El Cap better, because the sound on sound mode sounds warmer and better to me. And it's easier to use. But Volante is very very close!

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

I compared them more in depth here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ooi7oHZ7jrxgqbc

[@ClaudioBertuccio]

Hi Antoine. Beautiful effect at 7:36 ! Is it possible to get it even with the Timeline?

[@johnpowell3767]

I was so happy to see this demo I shot an entire cheese sandwich through my nose. Cheers!

[@slakk5093]

Just bought an el capistan for the SOS mainly. When I put repeats at full in sound on sound the signal gets louder and hotter with every loop. Until it overloads the inputs on my soundcard. Cant work out wth is going on. Nothing like it behaves in this demo :( anyone got any ideas

[@slakk5093]

Also even happens with a single pass and no additional layers

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

You always have to monitor the repeats knob when you are on SOS mode, I'd say this is pretty normal. I find this is a pretty unpredictable pedal!

[@juandoe1827]

Silent Hill guitar pedal

[@marcelchaloupka]

I cant get this to work. As soon as I press the bypass switch the redorded sound stops

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

It's because you are in non-trails mode. I cover this in the video at 6:00!

[@robinjgill]

I find that the looper playback volume is much lower than the volume originally played. Can't figure out why.

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

I assume that you already played with the mix knob to try to solve this volume issue. I suspect it is because of a boost cut in the secondary functions. Set the mix knob at noon while holding both swtiches to reset the volume boost to 0db and see if this helps!

[@robinjgill]

Thanks very much for your help.

[@alaska5290]

Hi Antoine, With repeats at max for me on single c mode it does start to get louder and louder after 10 or so repeats until it reaches a point that is too loud and I have to adjust. Have you experienced that? Tried adjusting some secondary features to compensate

[@hollowmenrule]

Should have a linger time, sounds great though

[@thiccchungus588]

Man I just wish there was a clean loop option without degradation

[@PoemsAboutStars]

that's every single other looper in existence...

[@thiccchungus588]

@@PoemsAboutStars ...exactly?

[@pieter4098]

This is not a pedal. It’s an entire instrument on itself.

[@derpdorf7054]

Kinda funny how its supposedly a favorite pedal of yours..but it seemed like you were pointing out its limitations, & bring up functions it CANT do lol

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

We're talking just about the looper here :-) and even with limitations, it sounds phenomenal. I love it for the delay sounds & looper is just extra icing on the cake for me!

[@derpdorf7054]

@@AntoineMichaudGuitar exactly what i was gonna say...as far as the main function goes with the el cap...it cant be beat, hands down its the best sounding tape delay ive ever heard. Id rather just find another pedal to take care of the looping.

[@Theylieohio]

Seems it would be easier to just use a external looper . Don't get me wrong it's a great pedal , just a looper night mare ....lol

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

They lie ohio Once you know how to use it, it's an incredible looper :)

[@Micky-yo3ng]

I agree up to a point, the SoS in the El Cap is different from other loopers but it’s meant to be. I use it when I want that feature and I use a ‘normal ‘ looper other times

[@alafenetre81]

Too bad there's no way to keep (record) what you do with the looper...

[@franciscoleguiza4891]

👎

[@brexxebender1204]

Strymon is overpriced. There are a few other pedals that do the same if not better. Dont get me wrong, they're good pedals, BUT for the price? Naaa...

[@AntoineMichaudGuitar]

Which pedals can do that tape loop deterioration for a smaller price? I'd be very interested!

[@theviolinoob]

@@AntoineMichaudGuitar T-rex ?

[@EnochDark]

@@theviolinoob for a SMALLER price?

[@robbystafford8273]

tell us what does it better for cheaper or similar?

[@phladjki]

what pedal does the same or better for same price or cheaper? definitely interested in that if it really exists.