Strymon Deco v2

The Strymon Deco v2 fuses tape saturation and double tracking

What happens when you make the sound of a vintage tape machine part of your pedalboard? The Strymon Deco v2 combines tape-style saturation with a double tracker, allowing you to go from subtle warmth to moving, spacious guitar parts. The revamped compact design adds full MIDI integration, a tone control, and a Cassette mode, among other features. This makes the Deco not just an effect for a single striking passage, but a tone shaper that you can use in different ways every time.

With the saturation side, you give your playing compression, warmth, and an edge of drive. The Cassette mode offers yet another color, while the tone control helps to tailor the sound to your guitar and amplifier. On the double-tracking side, you can use Lag Time, Wobble, and Blend to shape the distance and movement between the tracks. A light setting makes your playing sound wider; turned up further, the modulation becomes more pronounced, giving a chord or melody its own floating character.

The controls include Saturation, Tone, Volume, Blend, Lag Time, Wobble, and switches for Classic/Cassette and the type of double tracking. For connectivity, there is an input, left and right outputs, EXP/MIDI, and USB. The specified power consumption is 300 mA; the analog JFET input is part of the updated design. This allows you to use the Deco v2 in a compact setup while being able to control it more extensively as your rig grows. Try it with just a touch of saturation, and then let the two tracks do the work.