Hi Dave,
I missed your previous post where you had actually tried the Echoson, tonally they are quite different echoes, but as you know I tend to switch back and forth between this and EchoBoy. I don’t know if you still have the Echoson on your Mac, but with software there is the option of ordering the chain differently and I tend to put the echo after the amp and also use SoundToys Little Plate at the end of the chain to give a touch of reverb and sustain. PSP’s Noble is is also very good for getting the some of the Abbey Road studio EQ effects (this is also in my chain).
https://www.soundtoys.com/product/little-plate/
http://www.pspaudioware.com/plugins/equ ... sp_nobleq/
I have a fully licensed copy of Logic Pro and had the option of using Space designer, but switched to Ableton Live Suite 10 (have just pre-order 11 upgrade) about 2 years ago having tried a Lite version demo that came with my Focusrite Clarett 2 Pre USB audio interface, I was using an Apogee Duet with Logic, but the Ableton/Focusrite paring provided pristine output with a combination of Logic Pro and MainStage in the one software. Like many things Space Designer is certainly capable of the echo patterns, for me was not quite there in terms of character, but it can only be used in Logic Pro.
With Helix Native as my amp sim and Redwirez mixIR 3 for speaker simulation this has allowed me to model and experiment, making it much easier to use studio techniques that are available in Logic Pro and nearly all other top end DAWs, but are often quite fiddly to implement. It also handles plugins in a unique way with gain stage metering between each so you can always see what happening. In truth there is a lot overkill for my use, but it’s been a terrific learning tool in guiding me to expanding my knowledge/interest to the point where I have moved beyond much of the intuitive knob twiddling.
Listening to your demo’s I think you pretty much nailed it with the Strymon Volante and compared to some of the alternatives at that level reasonably priced, I would settle on this and enjoy it as a good investment, sometimes it’s a case of knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing!
Best regards
Gary