Here's a short review of the Line 6 Echo Park Delay as used with pedal steel guitar.

I originally bought the Line 6 Roto-Machine tonecore module and stereo docking base and liked it a lot. See my review of it here! Since I wanted to try the Echo Park and already had the stereo docking base, I just had to purchase the Echo Park module itself, which sell for $69.99 street price. My use of these modules is mostly for recording so I don't mind swapping them around when I need to go from one to the other. If you look at the pictures below, you will see a push botton release for the module located just above the DC power in jack on the front of the base unit. Removing the two screws to the left and right above this button and pushing the button allows the tonecore module to be easily removed. For use around the house, I just leave the screws out and the pushbutton latch is sufficient to retain the module.

Yup, this is just ANOTHER delay pedal and it does a great job on standard delays as does the MD3 delay. They are both fine pedals although the Echo Park is a bit more heavily constructed, weighs a lot more, and takes up more floor space. Overall with the Echo Park switch set in Analog mode, both of these pedals provide a smooth analog like sounding echo that integrates well with the original sound much like the original analog AD9 pedal. In that sense if you just want a smooth basic echo for pedal steel and want to save some bucks, floor space and weight, go with the MD3. If you want more features, useful added features, get the Echo Park. Either one sounds far smoother to me for pedal steel than the Boss DD-20 I had for a long time. I should mention that the Echo Park is capable, in Digital Mode, of getting tight crisp echoes just like the DD-20. All of these pedals are digital and the modes vary just in the amount and kind of filtering applied to the delay.

One of the biggest concerns for the pedal steel guitarist is, "what will this thing do to my sound when it's inline, but switched off"? Both the Echo Park and the MD3 caused a very slight roll off of high frequencies when inserted in the line. The mids and lows were unaffected. Since I use George L's cables and have all the highs I need, the Echo Park is transparent enough for me to leave in the line all the time, and my basic sound is still there, with only a subtle change. Interpretation: This thing does not trash your sound when inserted in the line. I run my MSA Legend into a Goodrich Model 120 pot pedal, then to a Boss RV-5, then the Echo Park out to my Fender Steel King amp.

I used this unit without the battery, and powered it with a Danelectro DA-1 "zero hum" AC adapter and got no AC hum or power supply noise. These adapters sell for about $20 for a 2 pack on ebay.

So what does this offer that a basic delay pedal like the MD3 does not?;

• The LED light always blinks at the same rate as the delay setting! You see at a glance, even in the dark what the delay setting is
• You can tap the pedal to set the delay, whether the delay is on or off. A soft taps sets the delay, a harder one turns if on/off
• There are 3 modes, Tape, Digital, Analog. I use the Analog with steel, the Digital is very clean and the Tape is similar in sound to the Analog
• A TRAILS switch gives you the option of having the delay complete it's sound (or not!) effect after the effect is switched off
• Different tap settings on the selector switch control the Tap range setting. Very handy and increases the accuracy of your taps for different delay ranges
• Setting the selector switch to SLAP, narrows the range of the TIME control allowing you to zero in on a precise slap back delay.
• The MOD control seems like a gimmick but I've grown to like it a lot. It modifies the delayed sound while leaving the dry original sound unchanged In Analog mode it adds vibrato to the delayed sound, in Digital mode it adds chorus and in Tape mode it adds wow and flutter.
• There are many other modes such as Duck, Swell, Reverse, Multi-Tap and Ping Pong which I did not find too useful for steel

Some pictures and sound samples are provided below. All audio samples include a Boss RV-5 set on Plate reverb between the foot volume and Echo Park.