I have an old 80’s Peavey rack mounted digital delay/chorus/flanger (DEP 3.2S) that I still love to this day. The low bit depth actually makes it sound better. Not as sophisticated as the 2290. :)
Legendary unit played by a legendary man! So glad you got one of these! Much deserved! Definitely the best delay unit ever made and still relevant to this day. They even talk about that they wanted a unit that was going to be future proofed and relevant in upcoming years… they definitely made it right
I had one of these for years, had to sell it when all the COVID lockdowns happened, and the work dried up - like it did for a lot of us. Huge regret having to let that go. Everything just sounds "better" through the 2290, and it was just such a great bit of gear to play through. Hopefully one day I'll find another one as good as the one I had. If you can get one for a sensible price, nab it!
About 3:15... Highlight of my morning was switching in and out of mono and the delay truly disappears just like you said. Very cool!! Great video and wonderful music and tones.
Phase reverse delay is my current addiction. Just something special about a little attenuation and the phase reverse. Your head gets a nice little hug from glorious delay.
Hi Leon, like those lush Strat clean tones, very nice. The Cat was really checking out those hi register notes in the background! On the vocals those ducking and panning delays sounded very slick, very professional, took it up a notch....nice, keep up the excellent work. 😁👍🐱. Headphones are a must!
The coolest piece of gear ever! All those buttons, big red numbers and blinking LEDs...It even looks so good! I wish they made re-issue...those would sell like crazy! :)
What a great video. After years of 2290 emulations I get it. I listened in 5.1 and the sound was incredible. It would be a cool video to compare it to a few pedals....including the flashback. Great job mate
Excellent video Leon! Now this is a blast from the past that anyone who was into the effects racks of the 80s would know about. I will share a little bit of gear nerd geeky trivia about this particular piece of gear and why it sounds so musical. The 2290 has a high frequency roll-off from 20,000 to 30,000 KHz. The human ear cannot hear anything above 20KHz, but the human brain can sense it. This is why the 2290 sounds so musical to us. Isn't science wonderful? I know you're having a blast with this unit, I know I certainly would be too. Rock on man!
I remember seeing Alex Lifeson using TWO of these for years in his rack! :) Steve Rothery (Marillion) still uses his live. Just awesome! :)- Stay healthy Leon!- Brent, VT USA
Terrific review Leon! Great examples - lots of work gone into this. It would be interesting to hear the rack (as you have here) in head-to-head comparison with the new plug in (with hardware controller) from TC Electronic.
I've never seen one of these things actually operated and they seem to have really thought about doing the most with the user interfaces available at the time. The keyboard is a novel way to avoid having to scroll forever to punch in a long delay time for example.
So awesome to see this in action. There's something about that just can't be re-created by adding mod to a digital delay. You'd think TC would have put out a modern pedal version of this by now (aside from the tone prints).
@@LeonTodd , this unit also has a 1 MHz sampling rate, which allows for a super high precision filtering and modulation. The cutoff frequency of the low pass filter that has go to before the ADC is too far from the audible spectrum, so the transparency is insane. I've been dreaming of this unit for years, but too scared to get such an addictive piece of gear for which there are no parts any more. How does it compare to the emulation in the axe fx iii? It would be amazing if you could do a side by side comparison! I decided to get the axe after I watched your video on the 2290 emulation, which I find amazing, and couldn't be happier that I did, but I'm super curious about how close can you get with the axe
nice piece of gear to have in the studio sounds great as usual your demo is outstanding - really enjoyed the singer in the vocal demo great voice - peace
Bought it after having just played guitar for 2 years. Played it with a mesa triaxis and 4x4x12 cabinets outside for fun. What a great sound! No tone loss due to the oversampling (passes an audio limit called Nyquist I believe). Sold it after 5 years to the sound manager of Red hot chili peppers I believe, they used 3 and one broke before the concert.
That thing used to be in everybodies front of house rack in the analog day, even though, given all the looping options, it was never designed for that purpose. All we did with it was using the learn button.
Something crazy is I have my PC hooked up to my TV and I have a Samsung sound bar connected to my TV. In the room, on the first example, the delay literally sounded like it was coming from an entirely different source about 10 freaking feet to the right which I assure you is just a wall. It was bonkers.
We just picked one for the studio, looks a little beat up but it does sound good. Timely you should release this as we've not menu dived into how to drive the front panel, so thanks for the video Leon!
Oddly enough the 2290 is a setting on my TC Transition called EVO. I got the pedal for $35 used. I like it way more than more expensive delays I’ve owned.
Very nice. You have a great grasp on these units Leon from the time you have on them. I'd still be going blind on the manual if there was one. I'm very happy for these days that processors have so much packed in one because the old days of racks, of basically needing to combine multiple rack units all tuned right to get the right tone was crazy in part. And because each unit had it's own quirks and format to program tones. It made my brain hurt. 🤪
This is one of those units that I know is a huge classic and creates marvelous soundscapes, yet I always felt it was a bit cold to my taste so I didn't get that into it. There's no arguing why it's a classic though. Goes well with the vocals and synth for sure. The chorus is also sweet.
You are the king of delay and I feel like the court jester! On my rack delays, I used to take a preset, make minor changes, and save. I always seemed to luck out. Since I have been following you, I have tried to get fancy, but I can never get my G-Major2 to put a smile on my face like all of your settings. This TC unit has easy to see numbers and settings. I may try again today.
Not the best delay ever, but is one of the best delays ever. I agree, the old school interface is nice for punching things in/out quickly. Most people will not hear the true quality of this unit on headphones or budget monitors, but it does add it's own "color"...ever so slight, but it's there. And I wish it was a more natural and organic sounding. It's not brittle or glassy like some of the Lexicon verbs, but it is a little clinical in it's execution.
Yep it’s the most over engineered and best sounding piece of gear I have owned except for possibly a few equals. Not many. Besides the incredible delays and FX it just seems to make everything sound better running through it. I never had to worry about bypassing it. I thought about selling mine a few times because it doesn’t get it due use anymore, but I can never part with it.
My delay had one off/on switch and three knobs. This is like a Corvette compared to a Chevette. Yes, you can say with both that you own a "vette" but that's as far as you can go.
A lot of people don’t know or forget it has a 1Mhz sampling rate. Way over the top, but I believe has something to do with the all around sound quality no matter what’s going through it.
This thing sound incredible. So much of the old tech is STILL great sounding and competes just fine against the new tech. You should do a solo album that uses nothing but the old tech. Do you have access to a good tape machine to record and master on? That would be pretty cool. Go all out old school on an album.
Thanks! It was fun to put the extra time in with something as deep as this. I remember wanting a D Two back when I was gigging with a JMP-1 and G Major! I should try find one and A/B it.
Awesome! The phase inverted delays are nuts..s..s..! Sounds like they're coming from outside my speakers. Classic delay rack unit. Grew up listening and learning to play U2 songs, so this is super interesting! Thanks Leon and Brian! 🍻🍻🍻
Amazing video of the best effects unit ever! One thing though, ducking settings should be on Trigger in the Mod section, not Envelope. You probably already know this by now haha. 🍻
Hello, I have a tc 2290 and I would like to find a more in-depth tutorial that is accessible and orderly since there are two on the tc electronics site. What are the only ones you have found of that type thanks
The 2290 always was and still is king. What happened to the tc electronic that made this and the 1210? I have a flashback 2 pedal that sounds decent but it can't even touch the 2290. I had a roland dep5 years ago that was pretty cool and had a hidden panning delay along with digital chorus and lots of weird reverbs. I would crank the feedback to 99% and do lots of Fripp inspired drones, sound on sound, and looping stuff to a four track
What's your favourite delay, and why is it the 2290? :p
I have an old 80’s Peavey rack mounted digital delay/chorus/flanger (DEP 3.2S) that I still love to this day. The low bit depth actually makes it sound better. Not as sophisticated as the 2290. :)
I mean... the DL4 is pretty close. Space Echo is golden as well. But man, I do love me some 2290!
lets hear the Axe Fx3 & TC side by side. Who can do the best 2290??
The 2290 is one of the best delays ever, very clear like all vintage TC gear, but I prefer Boss DD3 soundwise.
I would like to hear an A/B against a AMS 1580.
I just love everything about the 2290. Especially how it looks like something out of Knight Rider.
Hahaha yes! Aesthetic.
This is one of my favorites for sure! But there are also many hidden gems from the mid 80s to early 90s that sound great!
Yes indeed! I'm slowly working my way through them on the channel - Sony DPS-D7 coming up next :D
@@LeonTodd YESSS!!! LEGEND!
Had one of these in a studio I was doing work in back in the early 90s. It's a beast!
The flashing lights make it so cool. It’s so soothing
The only delay you’d ever need for any studio just flawless. Perfect demo thanks.
I've never seen you have so much fun with a piece of gear!!! The TC 2290 is indeed a magical thing!!!
Legendary unit played by a legendary man! So glad you got one of these! Much deserved! Definitely the best delay unit ever made and still relevant to this day. They even talk about that they wanted a unit that was going to be future proofed and relevant in upcoming years… they definitely made it right
They nailed it so hard
I had one of these for years, had to sell it when all the COVID lockdowns happened, and the work dried up - like it did for a lot of us. Huge regret having to let that go. Everything just sounds "better" through the 2290, and it was just such a great bit of gear to play through. Hopefully one day I'll find another one as good as the one I had. If you can get one for a sensible price, nab it!
About 3:15... Highlight of my morning was switching in and out of mono and the delay truly disappears just like you said. Very cool!! Great video and wonderful music and tones.
Amazing!
24:34 - 24:44 is some particularly tasty playing, pulled off with ease by a true master of the instrument
Beautiful stuff
Hot Damn LT.... Killing it with the retro style man. Great stuff as always.
That thing just has... presence. I can't define or describe it, but I can sure hear it. It's glorious.
Phase reverse delay is my current addiction. Just something special about a little attenuation and the phase reverse. Your head gets a nice little hug from glorious delay.
Hahaha best way to describe it
Hi Leon, like those lush Strat clean tones, very nice. The Cat was really checking out those hi register notes in the background! On the vocals those ducking and panning delays sounded very slick, very professional, took it up a notch....nice, keep up the excellent work. 😁👍🐱. Headphones are a must!
7 mins in and I’m getting Police and 80s era Rush flashbacks!
❤
The coolest piece of gear ever! All those buttons, big red numbers and blinking LEDs...It even looks so good! I wish they made re-issue...those would sell like crazy! :)
What a great video. After years of 2290 emulations I get it. I listened in 5.1 and the sound was incredible. It would be a cool video to compare it to a few pedals....including the flashback. Great job mate
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent video Leon!
Now this is a blast from the past that anyone who was into the effects racks of the 80s would know about.
I will share a little bit of gear nerd geeky trivia about this particular piece of gear and why it sounds so musical. The 2290 has a high frequency roll-off from 20,000 to 30,000 KHz. The human ear cannot hear anything above 20KHz, but the human brain can sense it. This is why the 2290 sounds so musical to us. Isn't science wonderful?
I know you're having a blast with this unit, I know I certainly would be too.
Rock on man!
It's unbelievable hey!
I remember seeing Alex Lifeson using TWO of these for years in his rack! :) Steve Rothery (Marillion) still uses his live. Just awesome! :)- Stay healthy Leon!- Brent, VT USA
Terrific review Leon! Great examples - lots of work gone into this. It would be interesting to hear the rack (as you have here) in head-to-head comparison with the new plug in (with hardware controller) from TC Electronic.
I've never seen one of these things actually operated and they seem to have really thought about doing the most with the user interfaces available at the time. The keyboard is a novel way to avoid having to scroll forever to punch in a long delay time for example.
OH MY GOD - this sounds divine - I also loved the walk-thru of the control layout. I've looked at it in the past, but I just did not understand it
Danish engineering and design at it's best!
@@LeonTodd ♥️
I love the UI on this, easy to use and understand.
So awesome to see this in action.
There's something about that just can't be re-created by adding mod to a digital delay.
You'd think TC would have put out a modern pedal version of this by now (aside from the tone prints).
All the analog circuitry in the front and back end of it definitely adds something to it!
@@LeonTodd , this unit also has a 1 MHz sampling rate, which allows for a super high precision filtering and modulation. The cutoff frequency of the low pass filter that has go to before the ADC is too far from the audible spectrum, so the transparency is insane. I've been dreaming of this unit for years, but too scared to get such an addictive piece of gear for which there are no parts any more. How does it compare to the emulation in the axe fx iii? It would be amazing if you could do a side by side comparison! I decided to get the axe after I watched your video on the 2290 emulation, which I find amazing, and couldn't be happier that I did, but I'm super curious about how close can you get with the axe
legendary unit... awesome on everything but man, those vocals at 14:00 are gorgeous !
Wow who is that singing .....Wow
That is a beast unit. Sounds brilliant. Also nice to see Larry Mitchell get some love.
Larry is one of my favourite players ever, such a genuinely awesome dude too
Not going to miss this one, my fav delay of all time. Edit: Killer job on this one Leon and hats off to the vocals (Charlatan Pariah) chills , chills.
Wow! Great playing and singing! What a voice!❤
Much appreciated!
Didn't even have to watch the vid to yell YES!
I miss mine.
It's a wonderful machine!
Wow those delays are lovely as hell
Awesome video on the 2290! This is why it is the king of delay.
AMEN
nice piece of gear to have in the studio sounds great as usual your demo is outstanding - really enjoyed the singer in the vocal demo great voice - peace
Thanks! If you want to hear more the vocals are from this track - th-cam.com/video/mgvl7ai-Vc8/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=LeonTodd
This is an EPIC look into one of the most EPIC pieces of rack gear ever made!🤟🏻Rock on LT
My absolute pleasure!
Great. you inspire me to dig out my old tc again and experiment with it
Absolutely beautiful.
Bought it after having just played guitar for 2 years. Played it with a mesa triaxis and 4x4x12 cabinets outside for fun. What a great sound! No tone loss due to the oversampling (passes an audio limit called Nyquist I believe). Sold it after 5 years to the sound manager of Red hot chili peppers I believe, they used 3 and one broke before the concert.
Very cool!
At 5:35 Yes, exactly what I was looking for! Wondering if the TC2290-DT sounds about the same ??? Anyway it sounds fantastic overall !!!
Great video. I couldn't help laugh about your huge cats head taking a bath while you were playing at the first part of the video . Too funny. 😂♥️🤘
That thing used to be in everybodies front of house rack in the analog day, even though, given all the looping options, it was never designed for that purpose. All we did with it was using the learn button.
That dam thing is awesome, totally unreal !!😎
Something crazy is I have my PC hooked up to my TV and I have a Samsung sound bar connected to my TV. In the room, on the first example, the delay literally sounded like it was coming from an entirely different source about 10 freaking feet to the right which I assure you is just a wall. It was bonkers.
I always inspired by playing through a big KORG-SDD 3000 Digital Rack delay. I still love the sound of that preamp!
That's another holy grail unit I'd love to try!
Thank you Leon. :0).
Wow, Larry Mitchell right at the beginning. Nice!
Excellent! I have one and I love it so much. Great info here.
The effect loops in the back are pretty great
Agreed, so handy!
We just picked one for the studio, looks a little beat up but it does sound good. Timely you should release this as we've not menu dived into how to drive the front panel, so thanks for the video Leon!
Congrats, it'll be an inspiration machine in the studio!
This is top piece of gear I ever seen.
After hearing this it makes every delay I've ever used sound like a toy.
I can't see how it can get any better.
this rack unit is pure magic
Those delays are soooo musical.
So I hit play, walked away and then I hear Larry and was very confused! Lol 😂 Great as usual, Leon.
Oddly enough the 2290 is a setting on my TC Transition called EVO. I got the pedal for $35 used. I like it way more than more expensive delays I’ve owned.
Very nice. You have a great grasp on these units Leon from the time you have on them. I'd still be going blind on the manual if there was one. I'm very happy for these days that processors have so much packed in one because the old days of racks, of basically needing to combine multiple rack units all tuned right to get the right tone was crazy in part. And because each unit had it's own quirks and format to program tones. It made my brain hurt. 🤪
This is one of those rare units where being hands on with it lets it explains itself!
@@LeonTodd Your hands on it are better than mine. 😁
This is one of those units that I know is a huge classic and creates marvelous soundscapes, yet I always felt it was a bit cold to my taste so I didn't get that into it. There's no arguing why it's a classic though. Goes well with the vocals and synth for sure. The chorus is also sweet.
Thanks for the awesome review. Unfortunately a forgotten piece of music history, just like the PCM80
First time I saw it used live was by Robben Ford in the '80s in Germany.
Very clean yet very sweet and good sounding indeed. But I prefer the delays in my former companion, the PCM70.
It sounds sooooooo good.
special thanks for the demo on synthesizer sounds... it would be great if there were always examples not only on guitars ;)
Sounds like a pron song. "OHHHHH YEAAHHHHHH"
You can inverse the delay and/or the output with the INV button
May your unit has as well old American XLR wiring where 2 and 3 were reversed thus leading in opposite phase.
Love this unit. That’s why I have two. That, and I’m insane.
This is the way
Also...damn, killer track!
You are the king of delay and I feel like the court jester! On my rack delays, I used to take a preset, make minor changes, and save. I always seemed to luck out. Since I have been following you, I have tried to get fancy, but I can never get my G-Major2 to put a smile on my face like all of your settings. This TC unit has easy to see numbers and settings. I may try again today.
I never had a chance to use this. Maybe it is the best. The best I've used are the Pigtonix Ecolution 2 Ultra Pro and the Eventide Timeline.
Dude your cat attacking itself in the background is epic
Gold hey
Not the best delay ever, but is one of the best delays ever. I agree, the old school interface is nice for punching things in/out quickly. Most people will not hear the true quality of this unit on headphones or budget monitors, but it does add it's own "color"...ever so slight, but it's there. And I wish it was a more natural and organic sounding. It's not brittle or glassy like some of the Lexicon verbs, but it is a little clinical in it's execution.
Yep it’s the most over engineered and best sounding piece of gear I have owned except for possibly a few equals. Not many. Besides the incredible delays and FX it just seems to make everything sound better running through it. I never had to worry about bypassing it. I thought about selling mine a few times because it doesn’t get it due use anymore, but I can never part with it.
My delay had one off/on switch and three knobs. This is like a Corvette compared to a Chevette. Yes, you can say with both that you own a "vette" but that's as far as you can go.
A lot of people don’t know or forget it has a 1Mhz sampling rate. Way over the top, but I believe has something to do with the all around sound quality no matter what’s going through it.
This thing sound incredible. So much of the old tech is STILL great sounding and competes just fine against the new tech. You should do a solo album that uses nothing but the old tech. Do you have access to a good tape machine to record and master on? That would be pretty cool. Go all out old school on an album.
Going to do a "mix a song with rack gear" vid soon :D
Awesome!
Killer rhythm guitar track
Fair. I love mine and live in constant fear that it will break.
ooh, yum! i was never able to afford one and had to settle for the TC D-Two (which is a really nice unit). the b roll looks great, too!
and those chords at 10:26! :)
i have the TC DVR250 plate and now i'm jonesing for the 2290DT!
Thanks! It was fun to put the extra time in with something as deep as this.
I remember wanting a D Two back when I was gigging with a JMP-1 and G Major! I should try find one and A/B it.
@@LeonTodd that would be interesting!
Larry Mitchell. Great choice!
What a player!
Just seen where John Petrucci got a new old stock 2290 in his new 2024-25 tour rig 🔥🔥🔥
Awesome! The phase inverted delays are nuts..s..s..! Sounds like they're coming from outside my speakers. Classic delay rack unit. Grew up listening and learning to play U2 songs, so this is super interesting! Thanks Leon and Brian! 🍻🍻🍻
it would be awesome if you did a demo of the new tc 2290 pedal and possibly a/b vs. the rack version…?
Coming soon!
Nice video, dfucking and panning on tha vocals sounds tha best to me. How did you do that ? lol. What number should tha output be at ? Thanks :)
Amazing video of the best effects unit ever! One thing though, ducking settings should be on Trigger in the Mod section, not Envelope. You probably already know this by now haha. 🍻
Thanks mate! Yep, rookie error there :)
My ears just went 'holy farrrrrrk'
Doc we need to go back to 1955! Set the time machine!
Can not afford the 2290, but tc elect flashback delay 1 is my fave one
If only they started making these again... but, it wouldn't be made the same I think.
1985... wish I could go back.
Awesome device and awesome video!🤘Already found one on E-Bay for just 2.2k Euro. 😂
Dotted 8ths heaven!
I would really love to hear you demo a TC1210 and TC2290 together!
As would I!
Hello, I have a tc 2290 and I would like to find a more in-depth tutorial that is accessible and orderly since there are two on the tc electronics site. What are the only ones you have found of that type thanks
Have you checked out the desktop (plugin) version? #gearporn
Yeah it's pretty good! Hoping to do a side by side soon.
The 2290 always was and still is king. What happened to the tc electronic that made this and the 1210? I have a flashback 2 pedal that sounds decent but it can't even touch the 2290. I had a roland dep5 years ago that was pretty cool and had a hidden panning delay along with digital chorus and lots of weird reverbs. I would crank the feedback to 99% and do lots of Fripp inspired drones, sound on sound, and looping stuff to a four track
I love the DEP-5, probably my favourite Roland rack unit! Agreed that this era of TC was very special.
Was that a grey tiger in the background???
Cheers
Awesome, I don't give delays as much attention as I should
I bought one cheap on eBay in early 2000’s. It’s ok. I bought the hardware/ software reissue 1210 and 2290 not long ago and they are spot on
The delay by which all delays are judged.
It is the way.