Maximum Repeat Rate (delay time) issue

[psibernaut]

Hi,

I'm running the Stardust 201 Tape Echo plugin inside Logic 10.6.3, on a MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) with 1TB SSD and 16GB RAM.

The issue I'm enquiring about is that, despite the manual stating that the maximum Repeat Rate of head 3 can be 2000 milliseconds (ms) when in Wide mode, I'm only able to get it to reach 700 ms. (See screenshot below)

Cherry Audio Stardust 201 Tape Echo screenshot 001.png (1.12 MiB) Viewed 110080 times

Does anyone know why this may be? Is the manual incorrect?

Could I have overlooked something obvious? (It does happen!)

Any help would be very much appreciated!

[Steve W]

I'd ask CA Support for an official answer.

"Rate Range- Sets the echo time range. Normal corresponds to the time range of a vintage Space Echo unit (500 ms max at head 3), Wide extends the range by four times (2000 ms at head 3)."

It seems to me the knob shows the base time. The knob shows 175 ms max in non-wide mode. In wide mode that would be 175 x 4 = 700 ms for the base time (head 1). So, to my ear it sounds like that's the base time: 60 ms - 700 ms for head 1 in wide mode.

To get the actual time for each head, multiply that by the factor in the table based on each specific head.

In wide mode: 700 ms x 1.94 = 1358 ms for head 2; 700 ms x 2.85 ms = 1995 ms for head 3.

Echo - Repeat Rate-fixed-2.png (7.71 KiB) Viewed 110030 times

[Steve W]

Let's see if I can attach a simple audio demo.

Well, I can download it and play it on my PC. If others can, too, here's what's in the file (mp3):

(1) Two notes played, Echo = off.
(2) Two notes played, Echo = on, wide mode, head 1 only, display = 700 ms (base time).
(3) Two notes played, Echo = on, wide mode, head 2 only, display = 700 ms (base time).
(4) Two notes played, Echo = on, wide mode, head 3 only, display = 700 ms (base time).

In condition (4) the iteration of each repetition from the start of one echo to the start of the next echo is approx. 2 seconds (or 2000 milliseconds).

Thanks for asking about this. I have been wanting to explore the CA Star Dust Tape Echo 201 more than I initially did for some time and this was a nice opportunity for me to revisit it.

[Steve W]

Glad I didn't read the manual, otherwise I wouldn't have had fun revisiting the Tape Echo. This would have stopped me:

Repeat Rate
Sets the echo base time (see the Mode Selector table and Rate Range above for times). . . .

With that in mind, lower settings = slower motor speed, so the lower the knob setting, the longer the delay time. Note that the tooltip (the popup value display you see when turning a knob) always shows the delay time for head 1. To determine the exact delay times for heads 2 and 3, you can
multiply the displayed time by the values shown in the table above (math is fun!).

No need to contact support. It's in the manual!