For my money, trigger capos are a bit of magic. They make changes fast and easy onstage and facilitate experiments when writing and practicing. A&E Craft’s new Ultima capo doesn’t radically rewrite the trigger capo rules, but it’s a solid performer.
The Ultima has the grip of an angry gorilla. Its internal spring action is smooth, and the extra length of the rubber-tipped upper handle provides solid leverage. I capoed my Danelectro 12-string at the seventh fret and didn’t hear a single rattling or muted string—remarkable given the guitar’s relatively high action (and the fact that a few of my go-to capos have failed at the same task). If your guitar has jumbo frets, the Ultima’s heavy squeezing action cause sharp intonation. Also, the width of the arm that contacts the strings is a bit shorter than on some competing capos, which can be an issue on wide necks, or if you tend to capo above the seventh fret. Overall, though, the Ultima is a sturdy, light, and fairly priced capo option.
Test Gear: Danelectro Hodad 12, Fender Stratocaster “E” Series, Rickenbacker 330, Martin 00-15, Gibson J-45, Taylor 214ce
Ratings
Pros:
Smooth action. Tight grip. Nice ergonomics.
Cons:
Tight grip can mess with intonation on jumbo-fretted guitars. Length of capo arm may be too short for wide-necked guitars and high fret positions. Online-only sales make it tough to replace a lost Ultima on tour.
Street:
$12.49 (online—direct)
A&E Craft Ultima Capo
aecraft.rocks
Ease of Use:
Build/Design:
Value:
![Jerry Cantrell Rig Rundown [2024]](https://www.premierguitar.com/media-library/youtube.jpg?id=53714787&width=600&height=600&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C0%2C560%2C0)
Diamond Pedals Dark Cloud
True to the Diamond design ethos of our dBBD’s hybrid analog architecture, Dark Cloud unlocks a new frontier in delay technology which was once deemed unobtainable by standard BBD circuit.
Powered by an embedded system, the Dark Cloud seamlessly blends input and output signals, crafting Tape, Harmonic, and Reverse delays with the organic warmth of analog companding and the meticulous precision of digital control.
Where analog warmth meets digital precision, the Dark Cloud redefines delay effects to create a pedal like no other
But by gosh, if delay—and its sister effect, reverb—haven’t always been perfect for the music I like to write and play. Which brings us to the Fishman EchoBack Mini Delay. The EchoBack, along with the standard delay controls of level, time, and repeats—as well as a tap tempo—has a toggle to alternate between analog, tape, and digital-delay voices.
I hooked up my Washburn Bella Tono Elegante to my Blues Junior to give the EchoBack a test run. We love a medium delay—my usual preference for delay settings is to have both level and repeats at 1 o’clock, and time at 11 o’clock. With the analog voice switched on, I heard some pillowy warmth in the processed signal, as well as a familiar degradation with each repeat—until their wake gave way to a gentle, distant, crinkly ticking. Staying on analog and adjusting delay time down to 8 o’clock and repeats to about 11:30, some cozy slapback enveloped my rendition of Johnny Marr’s part to “Back to the Old House,” conjuring up thoughts of Elvis trapped in a small chamber, but in a good way. It sounded indubitably authentic. The one drawback of analog delay for me, generally, is that its roundness can feel a bit under water at times.
Switching over to tape, that pillowy warmth evaporated, and in its place came a very clear replication of my tone—but with just a bit of the highs shaved off the top. With the settings at the medium-length mode listed above, I could see the empty, glass hall the pedal sent my sound bouncing down. I heard several pronounced pings of repeats before the signal fully faded out. On slapback settings (time at 8 o’clock, repeats at 11:30), rather than Elvis, I heard something more along the lines of a honky-tonk mic in a glass bottle. Still relatively crystalline, which actually was not my favorite. I like a bit more crinkle—so maybe analog is my bag....“That pillowy warmth evaporated, and in its place came a very clear, pristine replication of my tone—but with just a bit of the highs shaved off the top.”
Next up, digital. Here we have the brightest voice, and as expected, the most faithful repeats. They ping just a few times before shifting to a smooth, single undulating wave. When putting its slapback hat on, I found that the effect was a bit less alluring than I’d observed for the analog and tape voices. This is where the digital delay felt a little too sterile, with the cleanly preserved signal feeling a bit unnatural.
All in all, I dig the EchoBack for its replications of analog and tape voices, and ultimately, lean towards tape. While it’s nice having the digital delay there as an option, it feels a bit too clean when meddling with time of any given length. Nonetheless, this is surely a handy stomp for any acoustic player looking to venture into the land of live effects, or for those who are already there.
