Strymon El Capistan V2 Review: Tape Echo for Lofi Guitar

Ok, so here’s the thing. I play a Japanese Strat and I record it clean through an Apollo Console. Then a Strymon pedal showed up, I plugged the guitar in, found an easy preset, and that was it, I was hooked. This is my honest El Capistan V2 review after about a month of sessions: what the controls actually do, the settings I keep coming back to, and the three things that bug me.

Transparency first, homies: Strymon provided the El Capistan V2 for this review. They had no input on the content. Strymon sells direct, so there are no affiliate links in this article. Everything below comes from notes I took right after my own sessions, and I only write what I actually played.

The quick verdict

• What it is: a tape echo pedal with a spring reverb built in, three tape head setups and a lot of ways to make a delay wobble.
• Best for: guitar players and producers who like to twist knobs while a loop is playing and want texture, not a clean copy of the dry signal.
• The standout: it sounds great fast. Within minutes I had a preset I loved, and the more I messed around the more it gave back.
• Not for you if: you want strong effects with zero background noise, or a delay that stays fully clean.
• What I did not do: I did not compare it against a plugin. That test is not in my notes, so I am not going to pretend it is.

What the El Capistan V2 actually is

Quick facts before the feelings. The El Capistan V2 is a tape echo pedal from Strymon. It models a tape machine, so instead of one boring delay line you choose a tape head setup and then shape the sound with Time, Repeats, Mix, Wow & Flutter and Tape Age. There is also a dedicated Spring knob, which adds spring reverb without changing the level of your dry or echo signal.

Two more details from Strymon’s own pages that matter later. The TAP footswitch sets the delay time in quarter notes, and holding it gives you infinite repeats. And the input is described as an ultra low-noise discrete Class A JFET design. I mention that because I talk about background noise further down, and I want you to know I am describing what I hear at strong settings, not measuring the pedal. On Strymon’s site the price is $379 at the time of writing.

First impressions: it is a delay, but the spring steals the show

The very first thing I wrote down, before I had any opinion, was how amazed I was by the reverb. I found an easy preset, hit the Spring knob, and especially with a guitar it already sounded beautiful. And that is not even the main job of the pedal. It is mainly a delay, with a spring reverb on top.

I started with exaggerated settings, because that is what everybody does with a new toy. Then I calmed down and moved everything closer to the middle, so I could hear each part on its own. That second step taught me more. At moderate settings you can actually hear what Wow & Flutter, Tape Age and the heads are doing, instead of just hearing "a lot".

One thing that stayed true all month: the delay is very present, even when the knobs are low. You do not need to crank anything to hear the El Capistan V2 working.

Tape heads and modes: what the switches do

The El Capistan V2 has a Tape Head switch with three positions, and a Mode switch (A, B, C) that changes meaning depending on where the Tape Head switch sits. This is the part I did not understand at first, so here is the version I wish I had read on day one, based on Strymon’s description of the pedal.

• Fixed: one head, and the Time knob changes the tape speed. Mode A is a short delay (1/16 note tap), B is a medium one (dotted 1/8) and C is a long one (1/4 note).
• Multi: two heads play together, and Time changes the tape speed again. Mode A uses heads 1 and 2, B uses heads 2 and 3, C uses heads 1 and 3.
• Single: the tape speed is fixed and the Time knob moves the record head. Mode A runs the motor at double speed for higher fidelity and shorter delays, B at normal speed for longer delays, and C is a sound on sound looper.

Most of my time went into the Fixed setting. That is why my recipes below talk about modes A and B the way they do: on Fixed, they are the short head and the medium head. I only found out that Time changes the tape speed on Fixed late in the month, and I will come back to that in the criticisms.

My El Capistan V2 settings for lofi guitar

This is the section you can steal from. I listed the knobs the way I wrote them down, in clock positions. Your guitar, your amp sim and your room will move things around, so treat these as starting points and not gospel. My signal chain for all of them is simple: Fender Strat from Japan, a clean sound with just an EQ and an amp simulator in the Apollo Console, and a totally empty channel strip in Logic. So what you hear is the guitar and the pedal and almost nothing else.

1. The insane flutter preset

This one became one of my favourite self-made presets. Wow & Flutter maxed out, Time and Repeats at about 1 o’clock, Tape Age at about 11 o’clock, and Mix almost max. I have never heard anything like it. The effect is subtle and strong at the same time, and it changes the sound of the guitar completely. It makes a really interesting delay with a unique tone.

2. Compressor first, pedal second

Here’s a cheap trick I discovered: put a regular compressor in front of the El Capistan. Then set everything around 12 o’clock with the Mix around 75%. What you get is a little grit, a bit of added texture, that gives your guitar tone a unique touch. It is a subtle change, but it is quite strong when you pay attention and compare the before and after. I want to try it with different setups.

3. The natural one: Fixed head, mode B

Wow & Flutter at noon, Tape Age at zero on purpose, Repeats at noon, Time just a little, and a touch of Spring for texture. Tape Head on Fixed, mode B. I tried mode A on the same setup and it did not feel as natural to me, so B is my favourite here, which means the medium head over the short one.

Even with the tape turned all the way down, I could hear a little bit of tape in the background, and when I play there is so much more depth. Compared to the dry sound (just EQ and an amp sim) it changes the whole guitar. With the Mix around 1 or 2 o’clock the effect is really present. Lower the Mix if you want something more subtle.

4. The funky chord rhythm

Wow & Flutter at 12, Tape Age at 12, Time almost at maximum and Repeats just a little. Mix around 3 o’clock (Strymon says 3 o’clock is a 50/50 dry and echo balance), Spring about 12. Tape Head on Fixed, mode A. This one gets really fun when you tap the rhythm with the TAP switch. I was playing a funky chord rhythm and tapping along helped a lot. I will definitely come back to this setup.

5. The ambient one

I love the atmosphere of a long Time and tons of Spring, with Wow & Flutter and Tape Age both at zero. It sounds like a beautiful, rich ambient style and gives a lot of colour to the delay. Put Time at 3 o’clock and Repeats at about 1 o’clock and you get a setup with a random, modulated feel. It pushes the analog vibe: you are adding an analog layer to your tone.

6. Mode C: the tone from far away

Just by flipping through the modes I landed on mode C and it gave me a totally different vibe, like the sound is coming from far away. It is an insane effect if that is what you are after. With the Mix strong you get a lot of randomness, noise and dirt, and blended with mode C it turns into a modulation you cannot get from a regular delay. I did not write down which Tape Head position I was on for that one, so check yours.

7. Play it live

Set Time quite high and Repeats not at zero, at least 9 or 12 o’clock. Let a note ring, then move Time around while it rings. You get a really nice, strange effect. I think this pedal really shines when you tweak the knobs live, and I highly recommend trying it.

Time and Repeats are the engine, Tape Age and Wow & Flutter are the colour

One of my longest test sessions was about this. I put Wow & Flutter at zero and Tape Age at maximum, just to hear Tape Age on its own. The result: it is very sensitive to Time and Repeats. If you remove Time and Repeats and only turn Tape Age up, the effect is quite hard to hear, to be honest. As soon as you add a little Time and Repeats, Tape Age makes a big difference.

So treat them as a pair. Time and Repeats make the delay, and Tape Age and Wow & Flutter decide how that delay ages and moves. Even with Wow & Flutter at zero and Tape Age around 12 o’clock I got interesting sounds.

Another discovery: you can leave Tape Age and Wow & Flutter at roughly zero and the pedal still does something to your guitar. If you want the cleaner side of the pedal, that is where to start. Later on I also found a really strange delay, a repetition that came in late because Time was set so high. That accident became a favourite effect.

The pedal as a post-FX on loops

This is the part that got me most excited, and it is very much a producer thing. Record a loop with any instrument, I used guitar, and then pass the pedal on top of that loop. Instead of using the El Capistan as a pre-FX while you play, it becomes a post-processing effect.

From there you can automate. I automated Tape Age and, more importantly, Wow & Flutter, and honestly the pedal as an automation tool is insanely good. I also had a ton of fun automating Time and Repeats. It opens a whole new world of possibilities, and you get something quite unique out of it.

If you like the tape side of lofi, my cassette tape recording guide covers the cheaper, grittier way to get that feeling. And for the spring side of things, the spring reverb bedroom pop guide goes deeper on that sound.

The tap function and the loop feel

The tap function and the tape head setup have a looper feel to me. I enjoyed picking a good loop with the tap function and then tweaking the knobs while it ran. It is pretty cool for experimental stuff, or just for going wild. I want to be careful here: that is how it felt to me in my sessions, and Strymon’s own manual has more detail on exactly how the pedal does looping.

My three criticisms

Ok, now the honest part. Three things bug me, and trust me, you want to know them before you buy.

1. Background noise at strong settings

The more you push the knobs, the more texture you get. Sure, that is normal, it is the effect. But sometimes you want the effect and you do not want the background noise that comes with it. I first noticed this on 27 September: by default the pedal feels like it has a sort of background noise, and it gets amplified if you have compressors before it. There is probably a way around it, but so far I have not managed to get strong effects with low texture noise. If you want no background noise at all, I would not recommend the El Capistan V2.

2. Some features are too hidden

I learned after the fact that when the Tape Head is on Fixed, the Time knob varies the tape speed. That is quite cool, but I did not find it by messing around. I guess it is the same with a lot of pedals, but if you truly want to master this one, you will want to sit down with the manual and read it carefully.

Strymon’s quick start guide even says there are Live Edit functions for parameters that do not have a dedicated knob or switch. So the El Capistan V2 clearly has more under the hood than the front panel shows.

3. It cannot sound fully clean

It is tough to make the El Capistan V2 sound very clean. It will decay or tweak the sound in a way that you hear, so it cannot be completely clean. You might as well know this before you buy it. Strymon’s page says a low Tape Bias setting gives the cleanest echoes with the most headroom, so that is where I will look next. I have not tried it yet, so I cannot tell you if it solves the problem.

What my notes do not cover yet

I want to be straight about what is missing. Tape Crinkle, Tape Bias and Low End Contour are secondary functions the manual explains how to reach, and I have no notes on them. The same goes for the expression pedal and MIDI input, and for the Single setting with its sound on sound looper. I only tested it with guitar and with loops I recorded, so I cannot tell you how it behaves on a synth or a full bus. And as I said at the top, I have not compared it to any plugin.

That is a long list, and I think it tells you something good: after a month I am still finding new things. You can read the manual or not, and you will enjoy every moment either way. The pedal does so many different things by just messing around that you get your money’s worth. Get it? Ok, I’ll stop.

Who should buy the El Capistan V2, and who should not

Buy it if:

• Guitar players and loop recorders who want a delay with character and movement.
• Anyone who likes twisting knobs live, or automating them on a loop that is already recorded.
• Players after a spring reverb and a tape echo in one box.
• Texture and a bit of noise are fine with you, as part of the sound.

Skip it if:

• Strong effects with no background noise are a must for you.
• A completely clean, transparent delay is what you need.
• Reading the manual is a no for you and every feature has to be obvious from minute one.
• A plain echo is all you want. For that, this pedal is more than you need.

Final verdict

I really like the El Capistan V2. It sounds good in the first ten minutes, it keeps surprising me a month later, and the post-FX trick on recorded loops is a whole new world for me. The flutter preset and the compressor grit trick are already favourites.

The criticisms are real, though. The background noise at strong settings, the features that hide in the manual and the fact that it will never sound totally clean are the reasons I am not calling it perfect. Know that before you buy, and you will probably be happy.

Big thanks to the Strymon team for sending the El Capistan V2 to a small lofi blog. I am working on an original track made with the El Capistan V2 and a short video of it in use, both coming soon. If you want to share your own settings, or tell me what you want me to test next, come say hi in the Widen Island Discord. I also wrote about another piece of gear in the same style, the DT 770 PRO X lofi mixing review. Go make something beautiful, homies <3

/Edwin

Frequently asked questions

Is the El Capistan V2 good for lofi?

In my sessions, yes. Wow & Flutter, Tape Age and the spring reverb give guitar a warm, moving, slightly worn sound that fits lofi well. I used it on a clean Strat and on recorded loops. I did not test it with synths or a full bus.

What does the Time knob do on the El Capistan V2?

It depends on the Tape Head switch. On Fixed and Multi, Time changes the tape speed. On Single, the tape speed is fixed and Time moves the record head, according to Strymon. I mostly used Fixed.

What do modes A, B and C do?

The Mode switch changes meaning with the Tape Head position. On Fixed, A is a short delay, B a medium one and C a long one. On Multi they pick which two of the three heads play. On Single they set the motor speed, with C being the sound on sound looper.

Does the El Capistan V2 have background noise?

At strong settings I hear a background texture and noise, and it gets more obvious if a compressor sits before the pedal. The more intense you set the knobs, the more texture you get. I have not measured anything, so this is what my ears say.

Can the El Capistan V2 sound clean?

Not fully, in my experience. With Tape Age and Wow & Flutter near zero you get the cleaner side of the pedal, but it still colours the sound. Strymon says a low Tape Bias gives the cleanest echoes, which I have not tried yet.

Can I use the El Capistan V2 on a recorded loop?

Yes, and it is one of my favourite ways to use it. I recorded a guitar loop, ran it through the pedal as a post-FX, and automated Wow & Flutter, Tape Age, Time and Repeats.