California pedal brand Strymon has journeyed back in time to honor an early and quirky take on the echo unit with its all-new Olivera delay pedal.
Born in the late ‘50s and rising in popularity over the following decade, oil can delays harken back to the earliest days of guitar effects.
Long before the days of digital modeling, tone-chasers had to rely on more primitive devices. Oil can delay units featured electrostatic, spinning discs submerged in oil, and in-built pickups to generate their quirky, syrupy effects. They were a world away from the more common, tape-based designs.
The charm of those primitive delays has been captured in the Olivera, albeit digitized with “an all-new algorithm built from the ground up to emulate every mechanical quirk.”
So, expect “syrupy vintage repeats, lush modulated ambience, and the ‘liquid’ timbre that makes an oil-can echo so distinct.”
Altering its character is achieved via a quintet of knobs, comprising Time, Mix, Rate, Intensity, and Regen, as well as a mini-switch offering long and short repeats. Or both for those who live for excess.
Beyond that, Olivera capitalizes on its digital architecture with a raft of modern features. It offers independent stereo processing with a Class A JFET input preamp and is MIDI controllable, featuring 300 presets.
Excitingly, it is expression pedal-compatible too – honestly, more delays should be expressive. They’re a joy to use.
Multiswitching is also available, making it ideal for the pedalboards where tap dancing isn’t commonplace.
There are two bypass options, true and premium buffered, with the spillover of the delay preserved when turning it off, making for smoother transitions between riffs. And finally, a USB-C port enables firmware updates as Strymon looks to grease its non-existent wheel in the future.
“Olivera is the first pedal emulation that truly captures the mechanical yet wildly organic nature of these oddball machines,” says Strymon, “bringing funky inspiration to everything you run through it.”
It makes for another feather of innovation in the cap of Strymon, but as ever, its high price will be a stumbling block for many.
The Strymon Olivera is available now for $259.
Head to Strymon for a closer look.
The release comes just months after Strymon recreated another iconic delay in the EC-1, while its BigSky MX promises to usher in a new generation of ambience with a reverb pedal that does it all and then some.
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