Vick Audio Hypocenter: From Big Muff to Delay!
A simple yet versatile boutique delay pedal with its roots firmly in the past
Vick Audio are pretty well known for making some of the best Big Muff clones around. His ’73 Ram’s Head is one of his many muff clones that’s quite revered in the world of fuzz. Now he has entered the world of repetition and ambience with the Hypocenter Delay.
It’s all about the chip, apparently…
The Hypocenter Delay uses a PT2399 chip by Princeton Technologies, put to use here by emulating the analog delays of the past. With a maximum delay time of 450ms, it won’t set the world alight with the delay lengths, but that’s not really the focus here. No, this delay is all about sounding good when used both with clean and distorted guitar tones, emulating those classic old analogue delay sounds but without all the vintage noise and unreliability.
Vintage emulations
All units are designed and hand-wired in the USA by Mike Vickery. He has been on my radar for some time now because of his Rams Head Muff clones. It’s good to see him enter the world of delay with a vintage-style delay unit. Vick Audio definitely have their feet firmly planted in the ’60s and ’70s with their product range, so this pedal is not a break with that tradition.
Controls
The pedal has four controls: Volume, Delay, Mix and Repeats. It is true bypass and can be powered from a Boss 9V power supply. It’s got a nice, clean and simple layout with clear, concise controls labelled so that even a luddite like myself could operate one without having to wade through manuals.
Simple, in my book, is good. Simplicity often makes for a more musical product. I was pleased to see it was such a clean layout, yet has lots of great delay settings available with those four simple controls.
RRP USD $139 plus shipping
Vick Audio Hypocenter Delay specifications: site
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