EchoMelt3
by Psychic Modulation · Multi-FX · VHS-style degradation and dub echo
Not rated yet
EchoMelt3 is a multi-effect that degrades audio like worn VHS tape and adds dub-style echo, saturation and chorus.
Its Melt modulator adds wow, flutter and pitch drift synced to tempo, and it costs $59.
Best for: Keys & Synths, Guitars, Vocals, Drums, Sound Design. Genres: Lo-Fi, Ambient & Cinematic, Electronic & EDM, Hip-Hop & Trap.
Keywords: lo-fi, dub, tape, wobble, chorus, flutter, drums, tempo-synced, vocals, aggressive, keys, beginner-friendly, clean, creative, dark, hi-fi, minimal controls, mixing, randomize, resizable UI, samples & loops, single knob, sound design, pads, stutter.
What it does
EchoMelt3 is Psychic Modulation's "Audio Melting Dub Box": a chain of tone shaping, tape-style wobble, dub echo and chorus in one window. The developer aims for "dub-style quirkiness" and odd surprises rather than a faithful copy of one tape deck.
- ToneShaper: 3-band EQ with a low-cut switch, saturation with a shaping control and its own gain (added in 3.1), and a Damper control for darker, lo-fi tone.
- Melt Flow: a dual wow and flutter modulator for tape-style pitch wobble.
- Melt Dropout: amplitude modulation for tape dropouts, stutters and gating.
- Melt Jump: VHS-style pitch jumps. All Melt modulators can sync to host BPM and have their own randomness setting.
- Echo: juggles two delay times with the Beat Factor slider (Auto or Manual mode since 3.2), with Echo Glide, an Echo Filter switch, Power or Linear mix modes, feedback saturation and filtering, and a Loop function.
- Chorus and noise: a one-knob stereo chorus inside the Melt section and an output control for tape hiss.
- MondoMelt and presets: a master knob that pushes the whole effect harder, plus sub-presets and randomise controls for each section, patch management and a scalable interface.
The current version is 3.2. The demo is fully featured but has occasional sound dropouts.
Source: Psychic Modulation product page
When to use it
EchoMelt3 is the pick when you want lo-fi wobble and a dub echo working together in one cheap plugin. Compared with Super VHS, it has far more hands-on control: separate wow, flutter, dropout and pitch-jump modulators instead of a few macro knobs. Next to RC-20 Retro Color it costs less and puts a real, syncable dub delay with looping at the centre, but it has a plainer interface. Unlike Effect Rack, it is one fixed chain built around melting and echo rather than a modular rack of separate effects. Its EQ and saturation also make it usable as a tone shaper with the echo switched off.
- Best for: wobbly lo-fi keys, VHS-style pads, dub throws on vocals and drums, and rough tape colour on any source.
- Genres: lo-fi, ambient, dub, hip-hop, synthwave and experimental noise.
- Look elsewhere if: you need subtle, clean tape saturation; Super VHS is quicker for a one-knob VHS sound.
- Tip: one KVR user switches the delay off and puts EchoMelt first on the master chain, using ToneShaper and Melt for warmth.
What producers say
The few reviews are very positive, praising the range from clean to brutal tape tone and its quirky character.
- KVR users rate it 5 out of 5 from one review (2022, version 3), which praised a tape sound that can be "brutal/low fidelity, or very high-fidelity".
- Gearnews called it "quirky in all the right ways", with effect sections that "could stand on their own" and a straight-to-the-point interface.
Where to buy
- Psychic Modulation: $59
Tutorials and reviews
- EchoMelt3 - Audio Melting Dub Box
- Psychic Modulation EchoMelt3 Review
- First Look - Echomelt 3
- Psychic Modulation releases EchoMelt3
- Psychic Modulation updates EchoMelt3 to v3.2
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