Pricing and availability
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Price
Average Price: $327
Standard/Professional
$150
$601+
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Standard
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Price History
Based on price data from 2 merchants for "Strymon Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker". Prices shown reflect NEW condition. Tracking began Apr 2, 2026.
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Description
The Strymon Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker is more than just a guitar pedal, it's a time machine that transports you back to the golden age of music. This versatile gear offers a unique, high-quality sound that is reminiscent of '50s and '60s recording studios. The Deco is not just a mere replication of the vintage tape effects, but a rebirth of the forgotten art of manipulating those reel-to-reel tape machines, right at your feet. The Tape Saturation feature offers a smooth tape compression and saturation, fattening your tone with a subtle, transparent overdrive. The Doubletracker introduces a new dimension to your sound, enabling you to create everything from syrupy slapback tape echoes to psychedelic tape flanging and stunning tape chorus sounds with ease.
Key Features:
- Tape Saturation, Tape Echo, Tape Chorus, Tape Flanger
- Controller for saturation, volume, blend, lag time and wobble
- Minitoggle switch: Sum, Invert and Bounce
- Tape Saturation Bypass
- Double Track Bypass
- 24 bit / 96 kHz A / DD / A converters
- Metal housing
- True bypass
- Includes 9V power supply
- Made in USA
Product specs
| Effects | chorus, delay, flanger |
| Power | 9V |
| Bypass | true bypass, buffered bypass |
| Analog/Digital | digital |
| Current Draw | 250ma |
Videos
ProGuitarShopDemos
Strymon Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker
Reviews
PROS
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Adds harmonic richness and subtle texture to tone
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Excellent for tape doubling, enhancing studio and live sound
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Quality tape saturation, chorus, flange, and delay effects
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Versatile, works well with various instruments including vocals and synths
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Stereo input option for broader soundscapes
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Can replace multiple pedals, saving space and setup complexity
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Warmth and analog character, particularly on bass and guitar
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Durable and high-quality build, as expected from Strymon
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Inspires creativity with extensive tonal possibilities
CONS
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Pricey, might be considered expensive for its subtle effects
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Some users find the effects bland compared to cheaper alternatives
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Limited stereo input requires adapters for optimal use
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Saturation may not significantly outperform good amp/guitar tweaking
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Tape echo considered inferior to other dedicated Strymon delays
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Sound can be dull and washy for guitar in live settings
Owner Insights
We analyzed real musician discussions from forums and Reddit to find what players love, question, and tweak about Strymon Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker.
User experience
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Owners note that the Deco's saturation complements a clean pedal platform, creating a faint 'glow' in the tone when using guitar volume knob adjustments.
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Owners using the Deco standalone find it optimally versatile, fulfilling multiple roles like overdrive and modulation without overwhelming options.
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Value and pricing
Comparisons
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The Deco's saturation is likened to the Fairfield Barbershop and Red Llama, offering a natural tube-like breakup without excessive tone coloration.
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Users have compared the Deco's saturation favorably to other pedals like the JPTR Jive and Dreamcoat, highlighting its unique tape reel saturation sound.
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Some users prefer the Deco's classic mode for guitar over cassette mode, which is more compressed and may suit synths or drums better.
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Use cases and applications
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The Deco excels in stereo mode, especially through two amps or stereo IR Sims like the Iridium, enhancing live performance setups.
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The Deco is effectively used as a stereo splitter in live setups, enhancing the sound when running dual amps physically spread apart.
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The Deco excels in stereo setups, providing lush chorus and flanger effects, and shines as a "sonic enhancer" with its always-on tape saturation feature.
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The Deco is often used in studio settings as outboard gear for mixing, enhancing tonal richness and taming highs in guitar chains.
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The Deco effectively simulates tape deck nuances on a master bus, providing warmth and texture to mixes, and is particularly powerful when paired with a JHS ColourBox.
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Features and functionality
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The Deco's EQ curve can significantly darken the sound when placed at the end of the chain, smoothing harsh highs and fizz.
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The Deco's saturation side is praised for its ability to enhance touch responsiveness when combined with pedals like the Greer Lightspeed at 18v.
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The pedal's modulation effects, based on tape machines, offer a broad but less tweakable range, serving as a versatile tool rather than a dedicated modulation solution.
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The lag time knob allows for a range of modulation effects, from tape flange to chorus to slapback echo, adding versatility to the pedal's functionality.
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Critic Reviews
5.0 out of 5
Based on 9 Reviews and 55 Ratings
344
Decent, but has missed potential
Its a great idea for a guitar pedal, and it does many things well. But wasn’t quite as good as I was expecting as a former tape operator. Having the option to switch between different tape speeds (IPS) would have made this alot more realistic and versatile, could have been a small switch somewhere.
137
single pedal pedalboard? maybe
The tape saturation side is so satisfying, almost an always on kind of thing. Just works so well with so much. Tape flange is excellent. Slapback is great. It is the sound from the past that is stuck in my head. Worth the cost and I'm not even touching the stereo options and most of the secondary functions of the controls.
1798
I have the Deco v2 and it's so much better.
I love the Deco so much. It's really helped with warming up my signal chain and having the v2 has really improved things with the tone knob and the stereo input switch on the back instead of inside the pedal.
Avaerage
Of 1-10 (10 being best) I can only give this pedal a 6. All the hype about stellar sound was absent when I first plugged it in. Al though the tube sat. warmth is a nice feature I feel like its over rated. Same with the mod side and echo. It just feels sort of gimmiky to me. With a good amp and some patient tweaking of your guitar pots and other driv pedals you can achieve some very warm saturated sounds that (in my opinion) are very close to waht this pedal does. Does the tape echo hold up against Timefactor? Nope ... not even close.
157
Best slapback ever made!
Best slapback ever made! Saturation is a bit too bassy for humbuckers, but works well with a Fender amp and a guitar with singlecoils.
41029
have you used it to double through 2 amps?
157
Yes, I have played around with a stereo setup. It works well for subtle doubling effect. Also, phaser and delay effects sound killer with two amps!
1539
Amazing tone machine
It does subtle analog saturated warmth and drive, but also wild and crazy stereo flange/chorus/delay effects. And it's Strymon, so very high quality!
It's just so much fun
This one pedal will take you ages to find just one tone to love it is awesome!!
1963
Super cool!
We did a entire synth album with our band Necromonkey and used this to fatten up weaker mono synths.
Artist usage
Add artist
Mentioned in the article interview by Guitar World 02/11/2020 :
quote "His favourite pedal is the Strymon Deco, whose simulated tape overdrive gives him the grit he needs when he can’t crank up his Twin Reverb. The Deco also provides modulation on songs like Television Screens. "
You see on Vince's pedalboard he has the Strymon Deco here. I spoke to him for a bitpost soundcheck and he uses it for a bit of slap back effect.
a photo from […] @aerosmith gig in #Kelowna BC. #bradwhitford @3monkeysamps pedalboard outfitted with a number of great pedals
seen here on kevin’s sweetwater “what’s on your board episode” he details his studio board
In this photo, which shows the custom-made pedalboard from Mike Hill (source here), the Strymon Deco can be seen.
En el minuto 0:46 podemos ver unos cuantos pedales frente a tito,claramente podemos ver un enclosure tipo Strymon color plateado, este siendo el DECO para añadir double tracking a la guitarra acustica
In an image accompanying this interview with Reverb.com, Andrew Clinco's pedalboard includes a Strymon Deco.
In a YouTube video by Vertex Effects, Wendy Melvoin demonstrates her use of the Strymon Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker on her new ambient pedalboard.
In a live performance of "Billy (Yeah Yeah Yeah)" by Inhaler on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Elijah Hewson's pedalboard clearly features the Strymon Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker, specifically the V1 edition. This identification is confirmed by the presence of five knobs on the pedal.
Album Usage
The Strymon Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker has been featured on the following albums:
Genre Usage
Based on how artists on Equipboard use this gear, it is most commonly found in the following genres.
Used With
Based on how musicians on Equipboard use Strymon Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker, it is most commonly used with the following gear.
Community setups
Show yoursSimilar
Add recommendation2 alternative and related items for Strymon Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker, curated by the Equipboard community.
One of the few dual function tape saturation pedals on the market, that seems to have a similar appeal to the Strymon Deco.
$333.50 - $379.00
A newer, revised version of the Deco, with the addition of midi functionality and updated controls, such as a tone control on the saturation side.
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