Volante vs El Cap

Whizzinby

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TGF Recording Artist
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While @JiveTurkey has been lusting for the El Cap V2, Ive been watching Volante demos and reading the manual. (like a nerd)

For those that have had both how do they compare? The only consistent feedback I see is the Volante is apparently voiced a little brighter? With only $50 separating them, the Volante seems like an El Cap on steroids. El Cap seems a little more straightforward to dial in, but holy secondary knob controls Batman. (Every friggin knob has a secondary function)
 
Started off on the Dig but the El Cap grabbed my ears a lot quicker. I am sure it's all great :mad:
 
There's a lot of comparison videos available of the El Cap V1 and Volante on YouTube. They can sound similar, but of course the Volante can do a whole lot more. This can be a plus or minus depending on what you prefer - compact and straightforward or larger and more versatile.

Buying a used Volante is a pretty easy way to give it a go as you can just sell it for what you paid if you find it's not for you.
 
Is form factor a consideration? El Cap is a little tidier. :idk

Have had the El Cap a few times as well as the Volante. Like someone else said,
either will get the job done and sound great. Volante can get a bit Piing-ish/metallic in
that Echorec/Magnetic drum playback way that those things do--some guys love that
and others may not be bowled over by it. Both include a bit of a faux reverb so that is
a wash.

I also think both tend to sound better with lesser gain amounts and clean to medium gain
tones, since both are on the vintage-voiced spectrum of delays. Ambience here we come! :banana
 
There's a lot of comparison videos available of the El Cap V1 and Volante on YouTube. They can sound similar, but of course the Volante can do a whole lot more. This can be a plus or minus depending on what you prefer - compact and straightforward or larger and more versatile.

Buying a used Volante is a pretty easy way to give it a go as you can just sell it for what you paid if you find it's not for you.

There are a few of you savages I actually trust more than the average YT comparison vids. :ROFLMAO:

“Hey guys, just so we get an accurate comparison, I’m only going to run seven external reverb pedals in this comparison, dual cabs, and apply a healthy dose of post production”
 
While @JiveTurkey has been lusting for the El Cap V2, Ive been watching Volante demos and reading the manual. (like a nerd)

For those that have had both how do they compare? The only consistent feedback I see is the Volante is apparently voiced a little brighter? With only $50 separating them, the Volante seems like an El Cap on steroids. El Cap seems a little more straightforward to dial in, but holy secondary knob controls Batman. (Every friggin knob has a secondary function)
Have never had an el cap. I have a Volunteer and (1) never thought for once that it was anything but dead simple to dial in. There are a few more options, but not so many that you'll get lost or distracted by exploring options. (2) also never thought of it as bright. I'm not a big fan of secondary functions on Strymon pedals...holding a button, twisting a knob, while holding my pick and guitar and not banging a headstock into something...it's just annoying.
 
Great video dude. You still have it? (Use it?)
Nah, sold it last year tbh. But it's a great pedal, and I've NOTHING bad to say about it.

TBH the only Strymon pedal I ever tried that left me a bit 'meh' was the NightSky. On paper it's the perfect pedal for me, but the reality was, I'd rather get those sounds using different pedals all strung together.
 
Hear’s my take. The El Cap, DIG and Volante are my all-time favorite delays. I have a few close seconds but they are the desert island trio.

I also have a few Strymon Reverbs. I like using the Flint as a way to add outboard reverbs to reverbless heads and combo… with optional tremolo as a rarely needed but nice bonus. As such, I ordered a Flint V2 hoping it sounded better while offering the adjustable pre-delay which I like using. Bottom line? It did not sound better and the pre-delay was simply short or long rather than completely adjustable. I sent it back and rethought my strategy. I realized maybe V2’s weren’t the answer but other products might augment the original V1 Strymon stuff. That’s when I decided to but the cheaper and more flexible IK Multimedia X-Pedals. Now that they have settled down on price they offer a lot in comparison. They are more like the Timeline, Big Sky and Möbius V2’s at less than 60% of the cost. With free plugins. I’m not saying any other choice is wrong but having both approaches eliminated my GAS for other units… especially Strymon V2 stuff. It all sounds fantastic to me and I have a ton of solutions in my wheelhouse.

P.S. The Volante needs more love. Great unit.
 
Hear’s my take. The El Cap, DIG and Volante are my all-time favorite delays. I have a few close seconds but they are the dessert island trio.

I also have a few Strymon Reverbs. I like using the Flint as a way to add outboard reverbs to reverbless heads and combo… with optional tremolo as a rarely needed but nice bonus. As such, I ordered a Flint V2 hoping it sounded better while offering the adjustable pre-delay which I like using. Bottom line? It did not sound better and the pre-delay was simply short or long rather than completely adjustable. I sent it back and rethought my strategy. I realized maybe V2’s weren’t the answer but other products might augment the original V1 Strymon stuff. That’s when I decided to but the cheaper and more flexible IK Multimedia X-Pedals. Now that they have settled down on price they offer a lot in comparison. They are more like the Timeline, Big Sky and Möbius V2’s at less than 60% of the cost. With free plugins. I’m not saying any other choice is wrong but having both approaches eliminated my GAS for other units… especially Strymon V2 stuff. It all sounds fantastic to me and I have a ton of solutions in my wheelhouse.

P.S. The Volante needs more love. Great unit.

Yeah the V2’s have moved used V1’s into a tasty price bracket. I felt slightly underwhelmed with the V2’s additions, relative to their corresponding price hikes, generally speaking.

Have never given the X-pedals much thought.

Definitely GAS’ing for the Volante.
 
Hear’s my take. The El Cap, DIG and Volante are my all-time favorite delays. I have a few close seconds but they are the desert island trio.

I also have a few Strymon Reverbs. I like using the Flint as a way to add outboard reverbs to reverbless heads and combo… with optional tremolo as a rarely needed but nice bonus. As such, I ordered a Flint V2 hoping it sounded better while offering the adjustable pre-delay which I like using. Bottom line? It did not sound better and the pre-delay was simply short or long rather than completely adjustable. I sent it back and rethought my strategy. I realized maybe V2’s weren’t the answer but other products might augment the original V1 Strymon stuff. That’s when I decided to but the cheaper and more flexible IK Multimedia X-Pedals. Now that they have settled down on price they offer a lot in comparison. They are more like the Timeline, Big Sky and Möbius V2’s at less than 60% of the cost. With free plugins. I’m not saying any other choice is wrong but having both approaches eliminated my GAS for other units… especially Strymon V2 stuff. It all sounds fantastic to me and I have a ton of solutions in my wheelhouse.

P.S. The Volante needs more love. Great unit.
The X Series is super enticing.
 
Honestly, I'd be pretty surprised if you didn't enjoy it. I know people say that sort of thing all the time about all sorts of gear on gear forums, but the Volante is such a great piece of gear and very inspiring to use. Maybe even best in class (?).
Volante is the one unit that I don’t think the current X-Time pedal can touch.

Studio reel-to-reel mode is so sweet. Tunable to need too. Maybe if Strymon made an “El Reelistan“ or whatever dedicated to that, people would get it. I sometimes think it is just too powerful and flexible for folks to get a grip on. It’s more like a rack unit in some ways. Love, love mine!
 
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