Strymon Olivera Vintage Oil Can Echo

Olivera has a host of powerful features that make it easy to integrate these nostalgic sounds into your modern rig: Discrete stereo operation for independent processing of the left and right stereo inputs. A simplified control set and expression pedal and Multiswitch capability. Delay spillover for preserving repeats when the pedal is switched off. Discrete Class A JFET stereo input preamp for exceptional touch sensitivity and ideal frequency response. MIDI control of patch recall and continuous controller data. Premium components, rugged construction that can take a beating and a USB jack for performing firmware updates or controlling the pedal from your computer.

Olivera makes it easy.

Vintage oil can echo devices are electromechanical units that write a static charge onto a rotating disk housed in a can partially filled with oil. The oil serves as a lubricant that helps retain the charge on the disk. The resultant delay signal is very band limited, creating a murky sounding echo. But that’s not the only quality that gives the oil can echo its atmospheric magic.

The units have a record head and typically two playback heads, but generally no erase head, allowing some dissipating charge to remain as the can rotates. This contributes to two unique characteristics of these systems.

First, it creates a regenerating repeat even when no feedback (REGEN) is applied from the playback heads. The static charge has its own decay time constant, so there are always “repeats” from the echo at all settings.

Second, it creates an uneven cadence to the echoes, where the first echo occurs based on the distance from the record head to the playback head. But subsequent echoes occur at the rotational speed of the system as the dissipating signal comes back around on the disk. The resultant off-kilter delay cadence is largely responsible for creating the sense of atmosphere without a strong “rhythmic” element.

By adding feedback (REGEN) from the playback heads, and/or combining the output of the two heads, the atmospheric nature of the echoes increases.

Time

The Time knob determines the delay time for the repeats by adjusting the rotational speed of the oil can. Some vintage units had a fixed speed, but we’ve allowed the rotational speed to vary between roughly 200ms to 800ms in total delay time, which can be further modified by the Head selection switch.

Short Head delay time: 72ms – 290ms
Long Head delay time: 155ms – 620ms
Disc Rotation, 200ms – 800ms (residual static repeats)

Heads Control

Vintage oil can echo units had a single record head and two playback heads. The playback head’s distance from the record head determined the decay time of the echo, and you can choose from ‘Short’, ‘Long’ or ‘Both’ with this switch. The ‘Short’ setting selects the head that is the closest to the Record head for the shortest echo, and the ‘Long’ setting selects the head that is the farthest away from the Record Head for the longest echo. The ‘Both’ setting enables both heads at the same time, giving the repeats a lopsided and complex scenario.

Mix

This control determines the mix of the wet and dry signal, with a 50/50 mix of wet and dry occurring at roughly 3 o’clock on the knob.

Rate

Controls the speed of the modulation.

Intensity

Controls the intensity of the modulation, where the modulation becomes much more prominent in the audio mix the higher the position of the knob.

Regeneration

This control was often labeled “reverb” on vintage units, and it controls the amount of echo repeats that are fed back into the can to be reprocessed.

Higher settings of the knob create a reverberant and atmospheric character, which many would say is one of the signature elements to the sonic character of an oil can echo.

NOTE: Hold the footswitch while turning the Regeneration knob to adjust the tone of the repeats. Noon on the knob is the character that we captured from our reference units, with lower settings being darker, and higher settings brightening the repeats. 

Infinite Mode

Use a Strymon MiniSwitch to engage continuous repeats — just like turning the Regeneration knob to maximum — for endless, evolving echoes

MIDI

Limitless Possibilites.

Olivera features full MIDI implementation and 300 presets, allowing you to control it remotely via a MIDI controller or Digital Audio Workstation via either the EXP/MIDI jack or USB connection.

True/Buffered Bypass

Choose Your Bypass Mode.

Olivera allows you to choose between electromechanical relay-switched true bypass for fully untouched and unprocessed signal when the pedal is not turned on (the default behavior), or our premium buffered bypass, which preserves your signal’s integrity by preventing the loss of high frequencies that can happen due to long cable runs. 

JFET Input

Analog Touch.

Our discreet Class A JEFT input preamp is one of our secret weapons, providing the ultimate in dynamics and feel. The preamp circuit prepares the incoming audio to be processed in the most ideal way possible, optimizing for ultra-low noise operation and a flat frequency response.

Stereo

Moving In Stereo.

Olivera features full stereo input and output capabilities, processing incoming stereo signals independently so that you can confidently place it anywhere you like in your signal chain. 

There are three different input/output routing options, which are accessible from the dedicated switch on the rear panel: Mono In/Mono Out, Mono In/Stereo Out, and Stereo In/Stereo Out. The dedicated TRS stereo Inputs and Outputs make patching easy too (stereo in and out requires a TRS cable of some type for each jack).

ARM Processor

Power To The Pedal.

We are now using ARM processors in many of our products, which are an evolution in technology led by mobile devices and laptop computers. These devices offer the ability to perform more simultaneous processes than ever before, while consuming significantly less current. This provides more horsepower for emulating every sonic nuance, with less current draw from your pedalboard’s power supply.

MultiSwitch Plus

Switch Things Up A Bit.

Connecting a Strymon MultiSwitch Plus to Olivera unlocks expanded control and flexibility. Use Preset Mode to instantly access three favorite sounds, or switch to Custom Mode to toggle Modulation, recall your Favorite preset, and engage Infinite Repeats — all from a single compact pedal.

Specs

Ins, Outs, and Switches

• High impedance ultra low-noise discrete Class A JFET TRS stereo input
• Low impedance TRS stereo output
• Expression pedal input allows the connection of a TRS expression pedal, MiniSwitch, MultiSwitch Plus, or TRS MIDI connection
• USB jack for controlling via MIDI from a computer or for performing firmware updates

Audio Quality

• Premium JFET analog front end
• Ultra low noise, high performance 24-bit 96kHz A/D and D/A converters provide uncompromising audio quality
• 520MHz ARM Superscalar processor
• 32-bit floating point processing
• 20Hz to 20kHz frequency response
• Audio Input Impedance: 1M Ohm
• Audio Output Impedance: 100 Ohm
• Typical signal to noise ratio: 116dB

More

• Strong and lightweight anodized aluminum chassis
• Power requirements: maximum 9 volts DC center-negative, with a minimum of 250mA (power supply NOT included)
• Dimensions:
  • 4.6” deep x 2.7” wide x 2.5” tall
  • 11.7 cm deep x 6.9 cm wide x 6.4 cm tall
• Designed and built in the USA