Have you compared it to any plugins: uhe satin or psp vintage warmer? My biggest hesitation is the price v performance between them and the deco.
But then again it’s a gorgeous piece of kit with knobs.
It’s quite a subtle pedal. Not as much of an instant wow-factor as say the El Cap.
I ran a tr-808 through the tape saturation side, which is nice, bass drum did sound lovely, but I’m not 100% convinced I couldn’t get that saturation/distortion through any number of cheaper pedals. Flange is nice too, but again subtle in the hi-end. For example, 808 hats, didn’t exhibit what I would call a ‘heavy’ flange.
Stereo mode would be good for those running a non-DAW setup, and I can see certain guitarists liking that 50s slapback sound. I play a little slide guitar too and enjoy the Deco best through that.
Knobwise for synth guys, the secondary functions on Stymon pedals while good to have, are also a little annoying at times.
Nice pedal, but in my opinion, synthwise, it’s perhaps a bit of a luxury purchase.
Interesting.
Could you suggest any pedals I could compare it to?
And I know that the Deco is suitable for line level inputs. I was under the impression only pedals tailored to accept line level are suitable for synths unless one uses a reamp box or something. But I’m not sure if that’s right…
And I know that the Deco is suitable for line level inputs. I was under the impression only pedals tailored to accept line level are suitable for synths unless one uses a reamp box or something. But I’m not sure if that’s right…[/quote]
Strymon have noticed just how many non-guitarists use their gear and so they have a secondary function/start up ‘studio mode’ and a ‘hot’ input mode. The ‘hot’ input mode is perfect for an FX mixer send.
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Hey @Shoki, I believe the Strymon Deco accepts TRS jacks as input, but one need to select this functionality with an internal switch.
Can your problem come from this ?
I’m very sorry to hear that this pedal seems not as reliable as I thought…
And I know that the Deco is suitable for line level inputs. I was under the impression only pedals tailored to accept line level are suitable for synths unless one uses a reamp box or something. But I’m not sure if that’s right…[/quote]
Strymon have noticed just how many non-guitarists use their gear and so they have a secondary function/start up ‘studio mode’ and a ‘hot’ input mode. The ‘hot’ input mode is perfect for an FX mixer send.[/quote]
Ok. So when considering other pedals, I’m looking for aline level or, in other words, “hot” input. Great. Thanks.
On page 1 of the thread, there are Deco demos with Elektron gear. 
I have some beta testing to do on the Moog Sub37 this weekend, I will do a video of deco this weekend as well…synth and drum audio (separately) through all the modes and whatnot.
I had a chance to try it out on the AR at the local shop. I lost track of time so couldn’t on the AK, though I’ll go back. Because I’m not sold on it yet…
But these are my initial impressions. And keep in mind I’m a noob when it comes to this stuff, so I may just be talking out of my ass.
I think joechip is right to a degree that it’s a subtle pedal. Nothing ever gets out of hand: chorus, flanger, overdrive, tape delay all remain pretty tame in terms of how far they go. Though I don’t think that it was designed to get out of hand as, say, the Big Sky or Timeline. Just some really smooth, buttery effects. And it performs beautifully at that.
I don’t think I would ever run an entire mix through it. It seemed to squash the high end even when the saturation setting was left relatively low ( to emulate tape compression). But on the midrange and bass levels it was gorgeous, I thought. Seriously. That saturation at low levels was so smooth, so warm and full-bodied, I understand how they’re selling it as an always on addition to your fx send. I really want to put it up against the other warmer plugins.
The other effects - flanger, chorus, slapback, ect- were also really nice sounding but never displayed the depth of ability at reaching certain places other pedals could.
I thought it really shined when the secondary “eq” features - low/high cut, boost, ect - were employed. You could achieve a nice balance with that.
It’s an odd one. I think it’s very attractive for people who like that old school sound (I do). It’s like Jimmy Page in a box. But, as joechip said, I’m not sure you can’t do that with other (perhaps cheaper) pedals. I’m also not sure you can put together a pedal chain that sounds as good as the Deco for the same asking price.
I still haven’t sent any chords through it. I’m excited to see what happens there.
Let us know what you get on the Moog!
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It can get wild with the right settings, specifically, wide-stereo and bounce mode. I haven’t noticed a lot of high end loss but I haven’t done any definitive tests in that area either. I’ve pretty much run everything through it, drums, synths, modular, guitars, etc etc…
In general, I leave it on the output of the AR because I like to apply it’s type of “polish” to my drum track.
I think the cost is a little high myself but not for lack of quality…all Strymon pedals are that or higher. It’s a unique pedal and as you said, I think it would be difficult to replicate the sound otherwise (OTB for the cost).
I like it because I love vintage tape sounds (whether it be delay or saturation).
I also have an El cap.
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Eyeing a Deco at the moment.
Looking to put it between my BBE 264r and RNC (maybe even replacing the BBE), all post mixer which is moxing A4, Rytm, and Pigtronix Infinity looper.
Wondering about the compression on the Deco and how it compares to RNC for limiting, also wondering if I even need any more “juice” from the Deco’s saturation, as Rytm and A4 sound pretty damn good as it is.
I use a deco to warm/saturate my monomachine. It’s got a lot of room for you to bring up the signal, and the lo/hi pass help to smooth some of the harsher frq out, if need be.
The double tape feature is fun for some live embellishments (a la boards of canada), but i mainly use it for saturating/warming the mnm sound.
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And I know that the Deco is suitable for line level inputs. I was under the impression only pedals tailored to accept line level are suitable for synths unless one uses a reamp box or something. But I’m not sure if that’s right…[/quote]
You have no way of knowing unless you ask the manufacturer. There are a number of modern effects pedal makers who make gear that works with line level, but it is not advertised. All Earthquaker Devices, Mr. Black, and Malekko pedals work at line level, for instance. Some don’t even have a “hot input” switch or anything of the like, they can just handle a wider range of input values. And some pedals, like the Boss RE-20, are more than capable of handling line.
Even if its not expressly meant for line, all you have to do is turn down the synth’s volume. Instrument level is typically -20db, line is typically +4, the only difference between the two is a volume knob partially turned. A re-amp box isn’t worth the effort unless the line level source can ONLY spit out line.
I’m sure someone may disagree, but I have never found a synth that couldn’t handle a pedal with a different volume output.
I’ve been looking closely at this thing for a while, but I just can grasp the fact that it is digi saturation! It sounds great in demos but unfortunately I can’t hear it in the flesh before I commit.
Looking for something to add a bit of polish to drum buss and rawer sounding synths I use.
Worth taking a punt? I guess strymon gear holds its’ value well…
Mine is always on at the end of my guitar pedal chain. And for OTB synths/drums/vox when I can be bothered to mess with cables. I haven’t really messed with the delay or flange stuff but for tape saturation/Distortion and wow and flutter (i have it set pretty extreme most of the time in absence of owning a lo-fi junky or similar pedal… I love wonky tape…) it’s cool to just switch on the deco and have that vibe instantly dialled in, and it’s very musical sounding. I kinda wish it went further but I’m going to pick up a Chase Bliss Vinyl for those duties 
I’d recommend the deco. Probably a store you can find online that’ll let you return it if you don’t dig it.
i use mine more minimally, and does a wonderful job of give a nice warm cloth over everything. i use it in stereo, too, which is an awesome feature.
But surely a Deco is overkill for analog gear that’s already hitting a BBE for a little juice too, right? Right??
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i use mine more minimally, and does a wonderful job of give a nice warm cloth over everything. i use it in stereo, too, which is an awesome feature.[/quote]
Yeah it’s a versatile ‘vibe’ box within certain limits and everything it does it does really well. Almost everything sounds better going through it than not, either subtly or max wonkiness/saturation. A keeper for sure.
I use it on digital sources primarily since my analog sources already have that warm grit.
GASing on this pedal for a while now… I know I’ll get it before the end of the year…
I actually thinks it would be interesting even on analog synths : check this !