first look

In a complex world, thinking less, particularly where music creation is concerned, is a joy. The Electro-Harmonix Slap-Back delay is a particularly delightful way to pursue that bliss. The new, smaller Slap-Back is a new take on an EHX pedal that went largely unnoticed in its original late-’70s incarnation. It’s easy to understand why the first iteration didn’t set the world on fire. Great bucket-brigade analog delays were everywhere at the time—not least EHX’s own superb Memory Man. And each offered more expansive echo textures. Yet, as this reissue demonstrates, the Slap-Back is capable of much more than greasy rockabilly tones.