The new Cicognani Engineering Pompeii PE603 – Grab yourself some Pink Floyd-style delay
Based on the original Binson Echorec P.E. 603, as used by Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, the new Cicognani Engineering Pompeii PE603 is a valve-based echo unit that should be dripping with vintage tones. Echoes, anyone?
Cicognani Engineering Pompeii PE603
Essentially a modern day take on the classic Binson Echorec P.E. 603 used by Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and The Shadows, the Pompeii PE603 is designed and built in Italy by Cicognani Engineering and is driven by a 12AU7 valve at the heart of its tone.
The Pompeii PE603 has been in development for quite sometime now, and demos of various pre-production units have been online for a while, too. It seems that the company has finally found proper distribution and the units are, at last, available to the masses. It is still very much a boutique effect and probably has a limited audience. But if you want those classic ’70s echo tones, with all their inherent randomness, then this could be a good bet.
Cicognani Engineering Pompeii PE603 · Source: Cicognani Engineering
The Controls
The Pompeii PE603 has a 12-position rotary switch, just like the old Echorec P.E. 603, which lets you choose from different tape-head combinations. These will then give you various multi-tap and beat-split delay effects. It also has the original effects’ controls, including the feedback and tone circuits.
The original P.E. 603 models could have their motor modified to add a varispeed function. The Pompeii PE603 has a knob dedicated to the varispeed mod, so that you can speed up or slow down the effect, just like the old originals with that modification. The Pompeii replicates the original effect and has up to 740 ms of delay.
Cicognani Engineering Pompeii PE603 with varispeed control · Source: Cicognani Engineering
Tone
Both the wet and dry signals pass through that 12AU7 tube, to add warmth to the sound, and there is a cascading FET circuit used to mix gains as well as buffer the signal. This should all add to the delay’s organic feel and vintage-voicing, which is exactly what you want from such an effect.
This could be a great tool for studios too, as it can be run in front of an amp or in an FX loop at instrument or line level without making any adjustment. You could pretty much run anything through it that you like.
It sounds like an interesting take on the original Binson and should get you all those classic delay effects, without the price tag and hassle of a vintage unit. You can hear a demo of it below or check out the full details over on the site link.
RRP – USD 549
More Information
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