J. Rockett Audio wants to give your delay a vintage makeover with the APE delay preamp

Much-loved by the guitarists of the 1970s, championed by the likes of Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen as much for its ability to add warmth and boost to their tone as much for its echo effect, the Echoplex EP-3 tape delay has a tone that will never go out of style.

There are no shortage of pedals offering that EP-3 vibe today. Echoplex is now a Dunlop trademark, with the company offering preamp and echo stompboxes. JHS Pedals has its Milkman Tape Delay, Catalinbread its Belle Epoch Deluxe . . . The list is long and distinguished. And now J. Rockett has got in on the act, unveiling the APE delay preamp, which can be used to pretty much possess whatever delay pedal you are using right now and make it sound like the original EP-3 units.

J. Rockett has achieved this by replicating the entire analog circuit of the EP-3, from input to output. The setup is simple enough, with the APE capable of being placed in front of your delay pedal or in loop setup, where your delay pedal is connected to the APE pedal's external delay loop much like would when connecting through an amplifier's effects loop. The APE can also be used as a standalone effect.

The APE has controls for Mix, to control the wet/dry mix in loop mode, Repeats, to control the number of repeats, REC controls the gain on delayed notes, while there are footswitches for turning the pedal on or off and for engaging the loop mode. Once engaged, the delay pedal you have connected in the loop is brought into the signal path.

The APE retails for $199. See J. Rockett Audio for more details.