Nux Tape Echo

This Space Echo clone invites immediately for hours of experimenting.
The effect blends in very smooth (vs Boss) and there's so much too choose in an intuitive way.
It has a good preamp simulation and control of the preamp-saturation. The preamp matches the repeat sounds very well. It has a very userfriendly screne ! It surprised me. It is even the most userfriendly screne I met so far. You can see the tape head combinations, unlike the Boss re's. It is no hassle to dive into this screen.
The expression pedal is also very easy to use with this screen. Just choose level, time or repeats and go. No special actions, remembering numbers, ... NDD7 enables you to switch very fast between expression parameters wich is good for experimenting. Absolutely more userfriendly then the Boss expression pedal input on the RE's. The sound also doesn't warble that much when pushing the expression pedal in time mode. This makes it much easier to use for time expression then the Boss's.

The repeats are maybe less changing in sound, then the more expensive ones. You hear less of the tape machine mechanics .
The reverb is nice but gets less neutral on higher values (shrill). Not a bad sound, but very specific. The biggest difference with the Boss's, apart from the price, is that it is more gentle sounding, blended and the self
oscillation doesn't explode (that much). And the NDD7 is definitely much more userfriendly for hidden modes, especially for the expression input.

For people who prefer it for blending in with their playing (most I think), this is an amazing pedal. For the experimental work, it's very suited. The Boss could be a better choice if you are keen on those detailed space and tape engine sounds in your soundscapes.
Anyway, the NDD7 has definitely it's own place in space echo market and is not a cheap or lesser version of Boss/Galaxy. It is just not as expensive (how is this possible ?)

Up to now I did not use the machine much.

The first frustration was the absence of a PSU. Yes this was known, and I had a universal supply ready, but still. Even your < €200 budget synths have a PSU in the box. One of the features I still have to play with is the MIDI control of the unit. Also there, no standard DIN connectors, but converter cables. I will manage.

The use that I made of it was satisfactory, anyhow, this is my first effect pedal, so I may have to learn the tricks of the pedal trade. I think I must still discover the proper use in my synthesizer setup. In any case it produces echo in various ways and I had fun playing with the box in combination with one of my synthesizers.

Sans avoir eu de Space Echo, j'ai toutefois déjà de nombreux délais analogiques et numériques. Cette Tape Echo est ma première pédale Nux, acheté pour tester et je suis impressionné par le son et les possibilités de l'engin au vu de son prix.
Les sons de délai sont très convaincants dans toutes les configurations et les réglages de basses et d'aigus permettent de se placer dans un mix sans problème. Seule la reverb fait rapidement artificielle, mais à 9h son caractère métallique est musical. Et bien poussée elle reste quand même utile pour des plans de musique ambiante.
Entre les délais, la reverb et le looper, cette pédale peut facilement remplacer deux à trois pédales sur un pedalboard déjà bien fourni.
L'écran est pratique pour repérer la configuration des têtes et permet d'accéder aux nombreux réglages complémentaires du sous-menu. A noter que le firmware peut déjà être mis à jour sur le site de Nux pour permettre de nouvelles fonctionnalités comme par exemple choisir le sens du routing entre reverb et délai.
Le petit plus est de pouvoir déclencher l'auto-oscillation directement avec le footswitch. Les petits moins sont la courte durée d'apparition des sous-réglages et l'absence de presets car de nombreux sons sont exploitables.
Reste à voir la fiabilité dans la durée mais pour le prix cette pédale est bluffante ! Vu le prix élevé des nouvelles pédales Boss, ce tape echo est une alternative à recommander.