Strymon volante

[darrell12345]

Hi all,
Just wanted to post this about the Strymon volante magnetic Echo unit.
I've been searching for that exclusive sound and tone for sometime now and have not achieved it.
I have had many Echo units over the years and tried adding many pedals to get that sound but could not get the results I was after.
I came across videos of dave robbo on YouTube using the Strymon and was very impressed with the sound and Echo patterns he was getting
Also a kind member on this site has also recently purchased a strymon and was made up with it.
I today have received the strymon volante and after plugging it in there was that exclusive tone and sound I was after,you can get the Echo repeats for Apache and very easily get the repeats for wonderful land etc.
Also when you get the sound you want you can store your patch into the 8 presets and I believe the unit can store alot more.
I highly recommend this unit to all you shad fans who is looking for that sound,take a look at Dave Robbinson videos then you will see what I mean.
Cheers,
Darrell

[dakwah]

Hi Darrell

great purchase. It's the tone aspect I am after as the echo I have achieved on other units e.g. Zoom G5 and G3n (thanks Dave). So make me think of getting the Strymon. That vintage tone has been elusive for me (though many on this site have achieved it with the same equipment that I have)

regards Stan

(excuse if font size is too big as it shows large on my screen and can't see where to reduce)

[darrell12345]

Hi Stan,
I have a q2 eftp fantastic unit but it lacks that exclusive tone honestly you won't be disappointed with the strymon.
Cheers Darrell

[darrell12345]

I have now been using the Strymon volante Echo unit for a few days now and I'm so made up with it.
You can get all the right repeats on this unit but most off all it has that vintage tone and sound it's incredible.
Regards,
Darrell

[garystrat]

For quite a while now I have been looking for modern echo solutions with an “old school” approach, the idea being to experience what it would be like to own a vintage unit without the eye watering outlay and all the maintenance costs. During the short time I’ve had the Volante, for the first time I feel that I’ve made real progress in finding something that genuinely gives that level of feel and satisfaction!

Those who have been following the other thread “Ecc83 valve preamp pedal” will know that the links to Dave Robinson’s demo files that Darrell references can be found there, plus further technical information information that prompted my purchase of the Volante. Whilst it may not suit those who are looking for a plug and play style solution with pre defined Shadows patches or variable non-equidistant spaced head settings, but if you are seeking a highly versatile magnetic style of echo device with a vintage tone and character, the Volante certainly delivers!

I consider it to be a well built unit with an impressive specification, the Binson style head arrangement/drum settings should produce more than acceptable patterns for the Hank Echo. There is unique secondary control over the head spacing, which I feel helps in providing more detailed echoes for Shadows fans, to quote Strymon:

“Variable Head Spacing - On some vintage multi-head tape echo machines, the heads were not evenly spaced, which created interesting sonic interactions when multiple heads were set to repeat.
Volante gives you a SPACING control that is adjustable between Even, Triplet, Golden Ratio (for dense, non-overlapping echoes) and Silver Ratio (for non-overlapping repeats biased toward the quarter note).
The spacing between the heads is continuously variable for the entire travel of the SPACING knob, morphing between the available settings.”

I freely admit that I’ve become far more pragmatic in favour of the character and tonal qualities rather than trying to achieve every nuance of the recorded sound, which was certainly influenced by Abbey Road Studio. To me the Volante sounds really good in an authentic way that is normally more associated with those early tube echoes, there is a basic analogue feel, saturation (it has an initial analogue path), slight grit with the right controls to replicate the “constructive” quirks and flaws of the original vintage units, without the hassle factor.

Just to clarify a couple of points, the Volante can store 8 on-board presets by over writing the factory ones which are pre assigned to the head/feedback buttons using the favourites foot switch. In a gigging environment this may not be quite so convenient as say a rack unit, but for studio and home use it should be fine.

Whilst I haven’t explored it, Strymon state that a total of 300 presets can be stored via MIDI and it’s been suggested elsewhere that they are soon to release editing software, which could make it much easier of create and change patches if connected to a computer.

www.strymon.net/faq/saving-and-recalling-presets-on-volante/

The Volante is also firmware updatable via USB, anyone who has one of the earlier units may wish to check this out (as one would expect the new unit supplied to me had the latest update).

Regards

Gary

[darrell12345]

I will happily back Gary up on this post.I have had my strymon volante just over a week now and by far the best vintage tone and sound I've had in years.
From Apache to wonderful land and also Hanks modern stuff the strymon volante delivers its fantastic.
Regards,
Darrell