Hotone Eko review

Digital mini-pedal doing analogue delay

  • £54.99
  • €72
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The top knob is LED-lit, while the Echo and Fat knobs glow in the dark - helpful in 'atmospheric' lighting situations

MusicRadar Verdict

From subtle ambience to wild noises, the Eko's got you covered.

Pros

  • +

    Clever, compact feature set. Splendid psyched-out sounds.

Cons

  • -

    You might accidentally swallow it.

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The diminutive Eko handles delay duties for Hotone's Skyline mini-pedal range. A pocket powerhouse, it features a weighty zinc alloy shell, LED-lit or noctilucent (i.e. glow in the dark) knobs, plus the switching is true bypass.

"Engage the modulation button to lend your echoes a splash of chorus-y warble for those psychedelic moments"

The Eko is a digital delay voiced to emulate classic analogue echoes - that means maximum delay times are limited to 500ms, while the repeats are dark and gradually degrade in quality.

Like a real analogue delay, longer delay times get a little noisy, but the moody repeats never detract from what you're actually playing.

You can engage the modulation button to lend your echoes a splash of chorus-y warble for those psychedelic moments, then up the repeats for self-oscillation and arcade-like sound effects.

Michael Brown
Michael Brown

Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism, and has spent the past decade writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as a decade-and-a-half performing in bands of variable genre (and quality). In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.