Introducing the Universal Audio UAFX Orion Tape Echo, a guitar pedal that captures the magic of vintage EP-III-style tape echo effects. In a landscape marred with in-the-box music producers, often, it is a small collection of pieces such as this that can give your sound that coveted analog warmth no solely digital setup can achieve. But when budgets are limited, and space in your bedroom or smaller studio space is limited, how can you tell which pieces of gear will actually impact your sound and which will just be resold in a month or, worst, collect dust on your shelf?
Whether you’re an analog aficionado, a seasoned guitarist, or a producer eyeing a versatile outboard unit, the Orion Tape Echo brings a lot. Replete with modifiable textures and nuanced controls, this pedal nails the ambiance and feel of classic tape echo machines while also offering the modern conveniences that come with the advancing technology. So strap in as we dissect what makes this pedal an enticing proposition and a valuable addition to your sonic arsenal.
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WHAT IS UAFX ORION PEDAL?
The Universal Audio UAFX Orion Tape Echo is a guitar effects pedal designed to emulate EP-III-style tape echo effects. It features three tape modes—Mint, Worn, and Old—that offer a range of textures and sonic colors. The Mint mode gives you the sound of a pristine, brand-new unit, the Worn mode mimics a well-used but functional machine, and the Old mode replicates the sound of a vintage unit full of character. The pedal also includes a Wonk control knob, which allows modulation in the delay repeats, adding wow-and-flutter artifacts to the sound.
In addition to its tape echo features, the Orion Tape Echo has a built-in solid-state preamp emulation, which a dedicated switch can activate. This preamp emulation aims to capture the unique sound of the original hardware’s analog preamp, providing extra grit and punch to your tone.
Ease of integration is another hallmark of this pedal. It offers both true-bypass and tails-bypass switching options, allowing for greater flexibility in how the pedal interacts with your existing setup. There’s also a preamp on/off switch and an analog dry-through control, making it compatible with various guitar rig configurations.
What I LIKED MOST ABOUT THE UAFX ORION PEDAL
It Sounds Pretty Damn Close To The Original!
The Orion pedal is modeled after one of the most iconic Tape delays of all time, the Maestro Echoplex EP-III, popularized in the ’70s and helped define the sonic palette of that generation of music. The Orion pedal delivers in spades on its goal of recreating the warm and hazy echos that the Maestro Echoplex is best known for all with a handful of quality-of-life features that make dialing in the exact sound, ranging from more retro to modern; you’re after on the stage or in the studio.
And while audiophiles and grey-haired studio rats may claim that nothing can come close to the warm and thick echo, spearheaded by the signature adjustable playback head of the original Maestro, the sonic core and, most importantly to me at least, the vibe of the sound from this pedal is on point.
It’s An Outboard Tape Echo You Can Snag On A Budget
As more and more producers move their workflows out of the box and into hardware gear and outboard processing chains, the price for said gear has dropped to meet the market’s demand. That said, more niche gear styles like tape echos can run you anywhere from $500+ for a dedicated Tape Echo box from companies like Boss to upwards of a few thousand dollars for a refurbished piece of vintage gear.
And sure, there are other echo guitar pedals, but those are all too often one-trick ponies that aren’t flexible enough to offer you anything more than a few tones.
While the Orion is undoubtedly one of the more expensive pedals in Universal Audio’s range of effects, it offers a ton of bang for your buck, regardless of what you’re using it for. And while I’ll dive into flexibility and versatility here shortly, now it’s safe to say that if you’re looking for a workhorse tape echo with analog vibes and all the best qualities you want in a piece of outboard gear, this pedal is an easy sell.
The Pre-Pamp Button Sounds Amazing On Synths
There’s tons to write about and love about this pedal, but nothing takes the cake more than the tiny and unobtrusive preamp switch on the back. This tiny switch models the preamp of the original Maestro pedal and does wonders for the pedal’s signal. Without going into the details and the science behind how exactly this little switch works its magic, all I will say is that it adds a warm, rich, full-bodied tonality to the signal. Once I started messing with this parameter, I rarely turned it off.
Analog synths are already reasonably warm, but when run through the Orion with this toggle switched on, it turns the warmth up to 11. I used this feature on a few of my synths but found the best results when used on my Behringer 2600 and my Korg MS 20 Mini. These two synths, in particular, can have a pretty biting-if-not-downright-aggressive timbre to them once the patch bays are being used to full effect, and toggling the preamp switch on this pedal added just enough roundness to the sound to mellow out these signals and make for a tasty result.
It’s Incredibly Versatile
Don’t be fooled by Orion’s low profile and trimmed-down selection of knobs, and it packs a TON of customization into just a few essential dials. The central brain before Orion’s massive suite of sounds is in the ‘Tape’ knob in the middle of the pedal, which switches the different modes between Mint, Worn, and Old, each of which brings a just-different-enough-to-be-useful tone to the sound.
Each option lets you tap into a different generation of the original Maestro’s lifespan, from brand new and fresh out of the box to a worn and aged one you might find in a dusty old pawn shop. Where the former adds bright and pristine tape echos, the latter adds dusty and distorted tones that put your sounds back a few decades in the best possible way.
Something else I discovered after toying around with this pedal is how “playable” the Feedback parameter is. When cranked up to the point of self-oscillation, the pedal doesn’t overtake whatever the main focus of the source signal is. All too often, I feel like the Feedback’s max amount is there just for show, as the self-oscillation is so extreme that the signal becomes unplayable, but whatever magic the Orion works underneath the hood makes it a fantastic parameter to tweak, use, and be inspired by.
WHAT I WASN’T CRAZY ABOUT
There Is No MIDI Sync
I know this is a small box and that not all pedals can do everything, but probably the biggest gripe, if it can be called that, is that there is no MIDI functionality. More specifically, nothing allows you to sync the pedal to your host tempo or DAW.
To be fair, it doesn’t claim to do this, and most small-profile delay pedals on the market don’t have this either, so it’s not like this feature puts the Orion at the back of the pack. Still, I did want to state that here because while loose and off-tempo delays might work in live settings and gigs, studio work is often much more precise, and layered electronic music often gets clustered and messy when an attention-grabbing delay such as this isn’t at least somewhat on the grid.
But herein I found lies the silver lining, as it forces you to time the delay by ear while in the studio, and while you may never get it perfectly synced up to the tempo in Ableton, the slight imperfections force the signal to sound more humanized which can be an altogether game changer if you’re a producer who is used to plugins always having a “tempo sync” option.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The UAFX Orion Tape Echo is a robust and versatile tool that reimagines classic tape echo effects for the modern age. Its nuanced control options and built-in preamp emulation make it a powerful addition to any setup. While it lacks MIDI synchronization, this pedal manages to turn this absence into an opportunity for more organic, hands-on sound manipulation.
All said, if you’re after a tape echo effect that strikes a balance between nostalgia and innovation, this is a pedal well worth considering.
From its fidelity to iconic tape echo tones to its adaptable preamp settings ideal for synths and guitars alike, the Orion pedal has exceptional quality and functionality. As far as investment goes, it offers value for money, catering to professionals and hobbyists seeking that irreplaceable analog warmth with a contemporary twist. For those on the fence, let’s not mince words: if you’re seeking a reliable, feature-rich tape echo pedal that doesn’t skimp on authenticity, the UAFX Orion Tape Echo is your ticket.
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Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
