Starlight Echo

Universal Audio (UAD) has finally entered the pedal world with the Starlight Echo being their contribution to the delay pedals. And what a contribution it is!

UAD has a long and most well-defined history but mainly within the studio equipment world. This does extend to some of the greatest DAW, pedals and amp plug-ins on the market but never before real pedals. The release of these pedals was interesting because the reactions mostly centred around, “oh wow” and “about time”.  So what is it that makes this delay so exciting and does it live up to the hype?

The UAD Range

The three pedals individually cover Modulation (Astra), Reverb (Golden Reverberator),  and this, the Starlight Echo. With a similar approach to BOSS and Strymon, it’s clear UAD was looking to fill big boots. The result is smaller and easier to use than their competition but they do lack the sheer number of modes found in the others however, 9 is still a lot.

The Starlight’s Modes & Settings

Like the other pedals in the range, the Starlight Echo has three main modes and each of which is subdivided into three variations of that mode.

The 3 Main Delay modes are:

• Tape EP-III – Based on 70s Echo Plex tape echoes with the feel of the preamp included.
• Analog DMM – Early “Bucket Brigade” delay tones, very warm and syrupy.
• Precision – Digital delay tones ranging from pristine to stereo spread modulated goodness.

Echo I/O

The I/o (ins and outs) are as you would expect to find on a leading delay pedal. The Starlight Echo features stereo ins and outs and a 9v power input. This is great for panning those ping-pong style delays. There’s also a USB C input and a pair button, but why?

Updatable

The USB input and the Bluetooth app/functionality allow musicians to change modes and delve deeper into settings. UAD promise to provide updates for the pedals overtime with new tones and features.