Silos features six presets, tap tempo, one full second of delay time, and three voices—two of which are styled after bucket-brigade and tape-delay sounds. In the $150 price category, it’s not unusual for a digital delay to leave some number of those functions out. And spending the same money on a true-analog alternative usually means warm, enveloping sounds but limited functionality and delay time. Silos, improbably perhaps, offers a very elegant solution to this can’t-have-it-all dilemma in a U.S.-made effect.
A More Complete Cobbling Together
Silos’ utility is bolstered by a very unintimidating control set, which is streamlined and approachable. Three of those controls are dedicated to the same mix, time, and repeats controls you see on any delay. But saving a preset to one of the six spots on the rotary preset dial is as easy as holding the green/red illuminated button just below the mix and preset knobs. And you certainly won’t get lost in the weeds if you move to the 3-position toggle, which switches between a clear “digital” voice, darker “analog” voice, and a “tape” voice which is darker still.
“The three voices offer discernibly different response to gain devices.”
One might suspect that a tone control for the repeats offers similar functionality as the voice toggle switch. But while it’s true that the most obvious audible differences between digital, BBD, and tape delays are apparent in the relative fidelity and darkness of their echoes, the Silos’ three voices behave differently in ways that are more complex than lighter or duskier tonality. For instance, the digital voice will never exhibit runaway oscillation, even at maximum mix and repeat settings. Instead, repeats fade out after about six seconds (at the fastest time settings) or create sleepy layers of slow-decaying repeats that enhance detail in complex, sprawling, loop-like melodic phrases. The analog voice and tape voice, on the other hand, will happily feed back to psychotic extremes. Both also offer satisfying sensitivity to real-time, on-the-fly adjustments. For example, I was tickled with how I could generate Apocalypse Now helicopter-chop effects and fade them in and out of prominence as if they were approaching or receding in proximity—an effect made easier still if you assign an expression pedal to the mix control. This kind of interactivity is what makes analog machines like the Echoplex, Space Echo, and Memory Man transcend mere delay status, and the sensitivity and just-right resistance make the process of manipulating repeats endlessly engaging.
Doesn't Flinch at Filth
EarthQuaker makes a point of highlighting the Silos’ affinity for dirty and distorted sounds. I did not notice that it behaved light-years better than other delays in this regard. But the three voices most definitely offer discernibly different responses to gain devices. The super-clear first repeat in the digital mode lends clarity and melodic focus, even to hectic, unpredictable, fractured fuzzes. The analog voice, which EQD says is inspired by the tone makeup of a 1980s-vintage, Japan-made KMD bucket brigade echo, handles fuzz forgivingly inasmuch as its repeats fade warmly and evenly, but the strong midrange also keeps many overtones present as the echoes fade. The tape voice, which uses aMaestro Echoplex as its sonic inspiration, is distinctly dirtier and creates more nebulous undercurrents in the repeats. If you want to retain clarity in more melodic settings, it will create a warm glow around repeats at conservative levels. Push it, and it will summon thick, sometimes droning haze that makes a great backdrop for slower, simpler, and hooky psychedelic riffs.
In clean applications, this decay and tone profile lend the tape setting a spooky, foggy aura that suggests the cold vastness of outer space. The analog voice often displays an authentic BBD clickiness in clean repeats that’s sweet for underscoring rhythmic patterns, while the digital voice’s pronounced regularity adds a clockwork quality that supports more up-tempo, driving, electronic rhythms.
The Verdict
Silos’ combination of features seems like a very obvious and appealing one. But bringing it all together at just less than 150 bucks represents a smart, adept threading of the cost/feature needle.
EarthQuaker Devices Silos Multi-generational Time Reflection Delay Pedal
PRS Guitars today announced the 2025 PRS SE Series lineup, bringing sophisticated new instruments, new colors, updated player-centric appointments, and new left-handed signature models to players.
New Models
SE Custom 24
2025 brings two stunning new electric models to the PRS SE Series with the PRS SE Custom 24-08 Quilt and the PRS SE Custom 24 Semi-Hollow Piezo. While the SE Custom 24-08 is an aesthetic update, the PRS SE Custom 24 Semi-Hollow Piezo is an all-new instrument for players seeking acoustic and electric tones in one instrument.
“Veneering is an artform our partners have mastered and branching out into more veneer materials like quilted maple, and further developing our staining operations, brings visual art to players while we also continue to advance the tactile elements of guitar making at PT Cort,” said PRS Guitars Chief Operating Officer, Jack Higginbotham. “Meanwhile, the SE Custom 24 Semi-Hollow Piezo model represents our continued quest to bring innovation, sophisticated versatility, and value regardless of where a guitar sits inside of our lineup. The piezo system developed with Lloyd Baggs and his team truly shines in this guitar.”
Also debuting for 2025, the PRS SE T60E is the newest addition to the SE acoustic-electric family’s Tonare Grand body shape. Built to exude full, vintage tone, the SE T60E pairs ziricote back and sides with a solid spruce top, PRS hybrid “X”/Classical bracing and a PRS-voiced Fishman Presys VT pickup.
Left-Handed Signature Guitars
PRS SE Zach Myers
As teased earlier this year, three new left-handed signature models are also now available: PRS SE Silver Sky, PRS SE Silver Sky Maple, and the PRS SE Zach Myers.
“We put years into creating guitars that meet the exacting specifications from our Signature Artists. For them to attach their name to a model means it must be everything they need and everything other players, from beginner to pro, will need,” said PRS Guitars Director of Artist & Community Relations, Bev Fowler. “We are pleased to finally offer these two artist models for left-handed players.”
Updated Appointments & New Colors
SE McCarty 594 Singlecut
Updated appointments and new colors across much of the lineup also continue to elevate the playing experience of the PRS SE Series. For 2025, many of the guitars in the SE Series will now feature lampshade knobs (replacing speed knobs), and guitars that sport a 5-way blade electronics switch will be upgraded to PRS’s proprietary flat-tip switch design. Both of these designs are modeled after appointments found on PRS’s Maryland-made electrics and give players a more ergonomic, player-friendly experience.
“We are happy to bring our latest efforts to the guitar-player community. It almost feels like we are presenting a song we wrote instead of a guitar we’ve designed. It’s a personal effort and our team has all the right kinds of pride around sharing these new instruments and enhancements. Paul can often be heard saying ‘this is our time,’ and I feel that across the spectrum of our instruments, from our Maryland-made guitars through our SE Series,” said PRS Guitars Chief Operating Officer, Jack Higginbotham.
Many models have also been updated with new colors, like Cobalt Blue and Fire Red acoustic models as well as new blue, gold, and silver satin metallics on the $499 USD PRS SE CE Standard, a model introduced earlier this year.
For more information, please visit prsguitars.com.
LR Baggs Session DI Acoustic Guitar Preamp / DI
Inspired by the LR Baggs Handcrafted Video Sessions and our experience in some of Nashville’s great studios, the Session Acoustic DI brings our signature studio sound to your live rig. The Session DI enhances your acoustic pickup and imparts the rich sonic character that you’d expect from an experienced audio engineer using some of the world’s finest studio gear. We’ve captured this studio magic and put it into a compact, easy-to-use DI that will transform your live sound.