Strymon Olivera Vintage Oil Can Echo
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Different By Design
The first oil can echoes were made by the Tel-Rey company in 1959, achieving the repeats by writing a static charge to a small rotating disk inside a can, using oil as a lubricating dielectric. This novel approach yields very different sounds than what you would hear from a tape machine, and the results instantly transport the listener to a darker and murkier place that positively oozes vibe.
The sheer number of variables in the design made authentic emulation challenging, requiring a ton of research and a brand new algorithm to get to the realism that we set out to achieve. We feel confident that Olivera captures the true soul of the original units, from the dark repeats with unique rhythmic and decay characteristics to the unreal thick modulation that changes and morphs as the audio does. No other type of delay can do what an oil can does, and no other pedal emulation comes close to Olivera.
Vintage Stereo Echo Enhanced With Modern Features
Olivera has a host of powerful features that make it easy to integrate these nostalgic sounds into your modern rig: Discrete stereo operation for independent processing of the left and right stereo inputs. A simplified control set and expression pedal and Multiswitch capability. Delay spillover for preserving repeats when the pedal is switched off. Discrete Class A JFET stereo input preamp for exceptional touch sensitivity and ideal frequency response. MIDI control of patch recall and continuous controller data. Premium components, rugged construction that can take a beating and a USB jack for performing firmware updates or controlling the pedal from your computer.
Olivera makes it easy.
How An Oil Can Echo Works
Vintage oil can echo devices are electromechanical units that write a static charge onto a rotating disk housed in a can partially filled with oil. The oil serves as a lubricant that helps retain the charge on the disk. The resultant delay signal is very band limited, creating a murky sounding echo. But that’s not the only quality that gives the oil can echo its atmospheric magic.
The units have a record head and typically two playback heads, but generally no erase head, allowing some dissipating charge to remain as the can rotates. This contributes to two unique characteristics of these systems.
First, it creates a regenerating repeat even when no feedback (REGEN) is applied from the playback heads. The static charge has its own decay time constant, so there are always “repeats” from the echo at all settings.
Second, it creates an uneven cadence to the echoes, where the first echo occurs based on the distance from the record head to the playback head. But subsequent echoes occur at the rotational speed of the system as the dissipating signal comes back around on the disk. The resultant off-kilter delay cadence is largely responsible for creating the sense of atmosphere without a strong “rhythmic” element.
By adding feedback (REGEN) from the playback heads, and/or combining the output of the two heads, the atmospheric nature of the echoes increases.