Strymon Volante: Glorious Tape Delay Tones! (Demo)

The Strymon Volante is an incredible tape style delay machine. Binson, Echoplex and Studio tape echo tone abound, and can be configured with tons of options. Also included is a powerful SOS / looper function. If you are into tape style delays, you'll want to check this out!
#AmbientGuitar #EffectsPedals #TapeDelay
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Equipment used in this video (in order of the signal chain):
Fender Blacktop Telecaster Baritone
Neunaber Neuron
Morley Little Alligator Volume Pedal amzn.to/2RImbxF
Strymon Volante
Pedaltrain Classic Pro Pedalboard amzn.to/2RwBqqf
Focusrite Saffire Pro 40: amzn.to/2es9elp
Apple Logic Pro X
Chords of Orion - Ambient guitar music for the mind and heart.
Bill Vencil - Guitars
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[@Pedalnerds]

Great demo! I am loving my Volante.

[@jamesbohn9659]

The thing that I appreciate the most about this video Is that you go into more user friendly type of settings rather than like a lot of people just go into the more odd sounding stuff that isn’t likely to be used very often

[@marvinsewell8753]

Thanks so much for this demo!! For a while, I had trouble finding some sounds that I could use with this pedal. It was great that you focused on the middle and the right side of the pedal before dealing with the record level, low pass, mechanics and wear knobs. Now, I'm finding all sorts of sounds that I love!! Much appreciated.

[@clarkerobertson2764]

I just got a Volante and can't wait to dive in!

[@michalmikolajmaslowski3994]

Awesome! Coincidentally, I've just received & opened mine moments ago and I now see your new video up - how cool is that?! Great review, thank you!

[@LifeInSpacePodcast]

Super awesome I really dig these strymon pedals.

[@geerhoar]

Best concise demo for this, IMHO! This is my first Strymon pedal. I got this for what I think is the brilliant user interface and the ability to twiddle knobs for inspiration. I had been waiting for T-Rex to come out with a real drum echo, but their recent difficulties made me just drop the hammer for this.

[@chordsoforion]

Great! I was talking to a keyboard player friend who sold his T-Rex Replicator for the Volante, and is loving it.

[@jameslugo]

Wow that sounds amazing

[@ElectronisoundsAudio]

Awesome demo! Thanks for this! 😀 👊

[@zulusound]

clear demonstration, thank you for this!

[@KevinGreen-fx4sf]

Excellent demo vid and excellent playing😊

[@vanessajazp6341]

I'm sold! Best delay pedal in a long time!

[@chordsoforion]

Definitely worth considering!

[@ericcross7863]

Amazing that it can simulate decay and wear. Very convincingly

[@sangsouvanhkhounvichit2498]

Great as always :)

[@RaJuRMusica]

Just grabbed mine yesterday!!!

[@robtguitar]

Thanks for the vid - really helpful. Keep your eye on the tempo light though! ;)

[@richardstone2908]

Been looking at this pedal since it was released. Waited for your review, which as usual are always good and more relevant to me. Like the the pedal, like the sound but just don't think I need another tape delay pedal

[@InVacuo]

Need? What is this word? :D

[@MrCowfood]

I think honestly you should do a follow up review on this pedal. Leaving the mechanics, wear and rec lvl at 0 for most of this video defeats the point sonically of a tape/drum echo box. And turning them up one at a time does not reflect the dynamics imparted when they are used in conjunction as they should be. Although as demonstrated you can do this, in practice no one would do this in common use. Anyhow, I appreciate the review and stop in to see what inspires you as I too delve into ambient guitar and synth works. :)

[@XPJV]

I'm buying it!...

[@dudeseriously79]

Me too!...

[@ChadWork1]

I've been GASsing over the Volante, but I bought a Telefunken mic I have to recover from. Hey what Tele is that you're playing? It looks like the Modern Player Tele I used to have, but your pickup selector is in a different place. The MPT was cool because it had a 5-way selector and coil tapping, but it was only SO-SO quality as a guitar. If there was a higher quality version I'd be interested. Thanks!

[@chordsoforion]

The guitar is the Blacktop Tele Baritone. Alas, it is no longer made. The pickup selector is 5 way, but no coil tapping for the humbucker.

[@cmath8577]

Does anyone notice the WIDE stereo spread added to the SINGLE delay (by offsetting the left and the right time arrival a few milliseconds)? Strymon does this fake stereo stuff and it drives me nuts

[@dirtycelinefrenchman]

$400USD is a good price considering it's only $100 more than the El Cap and way more feature packed.

[@mano123456]

I sold my El Cap to get the Volante, and it's beautiful! Well worth it indeed

[@jacobl6572]

Great demo but my brain cramps a bit with so many options. In live playing it is hard for me to tweek in so many things. I think I want the guitar instead. You such great a selection of them...

[@martinkrauser4029]

Hey! It's a great demo! What did you mean by the low-cut sounding harsh on some digital tape echo effects? I usually associate "harsh" with too much treble, so I find this really counter-intuitive.

[@chordsoforion]

Perhaps a better way to describe my thought is to say that as the low end of the repeats diminishes, the high end that is left sounds harsh. I've used a lot of real tape echoes and this is not typically the case. As the low end rolls off, there is also a gentle rolling off of the high end, which keeps the sound from getting too harsh sounding.

[@nathanschomber5719]

Curious on your thoughts about how it compares/differs with the Strymon Timeline....

[@badkatrising3918]

Nathan Schomber I’ve had the El cap, timeline and the volante. Timeline is fantastic but a huge time eating device. You look up and hours have went by. They are all three great but I’m thinking about going back to the el cap. I love this volante but liked the simplistically easier pedal to use which is the el cap. I’ve had the volante for 6/months now. Just my opinion. You can’t really go wrong with any of them it comes down to personal preference. Playing out, the el cap wins hands down, Home the timeline does. This fits right in the middle

[@oldbladderhorn949]

can you get that John martyn sound or what!!

[@TheFlutecart]

The Fender Baritone Tele is very cool. The Tele neck pup is a great choice for Baritone. Do Jazzmaster pups work for Baritone? I'm building my Bari. It's a Jazzmaster body and an Allparts Bari Strat neck. Pick up selection is weird for such creatures.

[@TheFlutecart]

I love my Volante. I'm splitting my signal in front of Volante and mixing a stereo side chain with Nightsky. It's more than I can ever finish exploring. Parallel Process is golden when it counts.

[@aclarityofvision]

Bill's gear demos are always professionally produced and very clear in their exposition. This one is no exception. My only wish is that he would use a standard scale length guitar for his gear demos rather than a baritone so that we can get a more accurate representation of the sort of sounds we might expect to get.

[@czarpaul01]

I have a Strymon Timeline. Do you think adding this would make for good ambient tones, or would I be better off with a Blue Sky?

[@chordsoforion]

Depends on if you want another delay or want a reverb. They are very different.

[@czarpaul01]

Chords Of Orion I guess what I was asking was what we the better next step. I am just starting with pedals to try and create ambient tones, and wasn’t sure which one would be more useful. Kind of a pointless question I guess lol thanks, love the channel.

[@billyscrapper]

off subject, but i am looking forward to your opinion and demo of the strymon mobious.... hopefully???

[@chordsoforion]

Perhaps some day. however, chorus/modulation units are not things I use a lot.

[@trance081620081]

Hello. I like your videos very much and it is because of you to make a decision to purchase EL CAPISTAN. When I was about to purchase the MS - 70 at stake, I casually found your video. I am fortunate and I appreciate it. I am hoping to apply an effect with a softer sound than a synthesizer, not a guitar. I would like to purchase two additional effectors. Please tell me what you recommend to express fantastic sounds. What would you like to get? Please tell me the priority. I am glad that there is a reply. Please. Thank you.

[@trance081620081]

また、私はSONY DPS-R7リバ​​ーブを所有しています。

[@trance081620081]

Also, I own the SONY DPS-R7 reverb.

[@crunkdwscrew]

How is the mono compatibility? Is the stereo field too wide?

[@chordsoforion]

Sounds good to me.

[@timhutchinson8485]

Seems a little like the Roland SpaceEcho?

[@chordsoforion]

Definitely on the "Tape" echo type.

[@brianjenkins5973]

Yes it’s based Roland tape echo

[@jburdsinfuse]

@@brianjenkins5973 Nope - Binson Echorec.

[@hoover728]

The Drum setting is based on the Echorec and the Tape is a mix of Echoplex and Space Echo characteristics.

[@tappistrt]

Yes, and a whole lot more!

[@LauraSquirrel]

My only question is this: Does it have a "Volante" setting?

[@chordsoforion]

Well, there's no "steering wheel" setting, but the Volante can definitely get your sound into a "flying" mode. 😎

[@LauraSquirrel]

@@chordsoforion LOL I have no idea what that is referring to. My silly question was a reference to Mr Bungle's amazing "Disco Volante" record. I've asked this question more than a few times since Strymon released the Volante.

[@chordsoforion]

That's funny! I just looked up the meaning of the word "Volante", which had not occurred to me to do.

[@LauraSquirrel]

@@chordsoforion LOL Yeah. I did the same thing.

[@planetpjr]

Timeline, TC Triple Delay, or the Volante? Which one is the king?

[@chordsoforion]

All 3 are "royal" delays. :-)

[@OceanMoonJack]

@@chordsoforion top reply ;)

[@trumpetguitarguy]

I’m considering getting a volante to replace my alter ego x4. Better and more usable sounds, more control over the sounds, and a smaller footprint!

[@mattgilbert7347]

Source Audio Nemesis. I got mine for under $300AUD and it does everything I need. I do keep one legit analog delay pedal on the board (Maxon AD-9 Pro) but the Nemesis can cover pretty much all the delays I need. And with MIDI, it's breeze to switch presets and control parameters. The Neuro Hub is genius, if you have more than one SA pedal and a MIDI controller - you can get lost for weeks...

[@dirtycelinefrenchman]

Different strokes

[@INTOTHETERROR]

Is this better than the Soma Cosmos? Or very different?

[@chordsoforion]

I would say very different. The Volante can act as a "standard" tape delay for slapback and sucn, and also create "Frippertronics" style loops. The Cosmos is more focused on ever evolving loop layers.

[@muhammadrezahaghiri]

I think this pedal is "psychedelic rock toolbox". All effects you made reminded me of 60's prog/psychedelic rock music. I may get one (if they're available in Iran).

[@treyvisqueux7973]

A great demo, as always. I’ve been on the fence with this, wondering if it will make my El Capistan redundant. Any thoughts?

[@chordsoforion]

I hear ya, and in some ways, I think having both would be redundant. I need to do more experimenting with the SOS. That's my favorite feature on the El Cap, and I would not want to give up any of its goodness. Maybe I can do a comparison video...

[@treyvisqueux7973]

That would be very interesting!

[@timhutchinson8485]

Debating between the DIG and the Volante for bass. Any insights?

[@chordsoforion]

If want more crystal clear types of delays, the DIG sounds fabulous. If you need SOS, or longer tape style delays, then the Volante would do well. I have not tried it with bass, but given that I using a baritone, it's pretty easy to tell it would work great.

[@archiemontoya585]

Tim Hutchinson I use the dig on my board specifically for pads and drones. It’s a little too clean for bass and you really hear the swipe of fingers on strings and other noises that just sound too pristine in my opinion. For the standard delay sound I really like my MXR carbon copy with a medium length on it. I use that to feed the dig sounds until I have built a pad. Just a thought.

[@paulsimmons5726]

That's a cool sounding box but that green color is not my pick. Good demo, as always!

[@sordel5866]

It's yellow isn't it? Either way, I have to agree: it ruins music for me when the guitarist uses the wrong colour of pedal ... and don't even get me started on guitar straps!

[@forester057]

Unripe Avocado 😂

[@raybrodeur3886]

Not noisy like a tape echo,BUT my Echoplex was hard to beat.

[@trey81373]

I'm a fan of your reviews/demo's so thanks for your work/effort. But this one has me a bit perplexed. You barely even touch the 'Mechanics' knob. That might just be the most important parameter in the entire pedal. In fact - I'm not sure you will even hear any difference at all in the delay types (drum, tape, studio) without that engaged. I certainly could not tell a difference when you switched between them in the demo. The 'Mechanics' setting is what introduces all the fun characteristics of this pedal. Without that it's kind of just another digital delay. Am I missing something?

[@chordsoforion]

Perhaps you missed the demonstration of the mechanics knob at 6:36?

[@trey81373]

Chords Of Orion I saw it upon subsequent viewing. But I still think you blew past the most significant feature of the pedal. (And no mention of stereo panning?). I’m coming across harsh and don’t mean to. I sincerely appreciate your efforts and playing!

[@chordsoforion]

Oh I didn't take it as harsh at all. We all resonant with different capabilities of a given pedal. And the Volante has so many that I couldn't cover everything in detail in one video.

[@videosuperhighway7655]

These things are also great for synths like Minimoog etc...

[@neilgroves3592]

I hear some pink Floyd going on there Bill....

[@Calle565]

Sold it twice. Wanted to like it. The user interface especially the tape head control is awesome. But I didn't like the overall sound. 🤷🏻 Too sterile. The old problem with Strymon.

[@chordsoforion]

Strymon pedals definitely have a "family" tone. Kind of like EHX pedals. So if you don't like the "family" tone, none of them are going to sound good to you.

[@vladlabyrinth6335]

Dont like 1 thing about this thing for that amount of money - sound variability. Everything sounds magnetic, cassette-iron. It seems to me to get bored fast(

[@chordsoforion]

That is a valid point. If you want multiple types of delay sounds in one pedal, this is probably not going to be a good choice.