I've been wanting one of these for a couple years... Finally broke down and dropped some coin on a new Echo XLT. It's a single-reed acrylic, clear barrel and dark green exhaust.
Last year I tweaked some of my calls and at the time I got comfortable running them very "light." Light as in light air pressure - easy to blow. End result being a relatively versatile call that virtually anyone can run. But the downfalls are: squeals too easy (can't take the air) and too quiet for open water or windy conditions. So, after getting used to running my calls this way, of course this new XLT seemed incredibly "stiff" when I first blew it. My initial thought was to trim the reed, but I decided instead to blow it for a few days and try to get comfortable with the increased air requirements. Glad I did! Now that I've got it down, this new call is even more versatile than any of my other calls. It'll get soft and sweet on the low end, but I can get on it hard on the high end too without fear of squealing-out. Very happy with this call so far!
Oh and if anyone is considering a custom call from Echo, I had it at my door less than a week after making the order online. IMO that was pretty impressive service, seeing as though many states are less than 2 weeks from the opener of duck season.
Last year I tweaked some of my calls and at the time I got comfortable running them very "light." Light as in light air pressure - easy to blow. End result being a relatively versatile call that virtually anyone can run. But the downfalls are: squeals too easy (can't take the air) and too quiet for open water or windy conditions. So, after getting used to running my calls this way, of course this new XLT seemed incredibly "stiff" when I first blew it. My initial thought was to trim the reed, but I decided instead to blow it for a few days and try to get comfortable with the increased air requirements. Glad I did! Now that I've got it down, this new call is even more versatile than any of my other calls. It'll get soft and sweet on the low end, but I can get on it hard on the high end too without fear of squealing-out. Very happy with this call so far!
Oh and if anyone is considering a custom call from Echo, I had it at my door less than a week after making the order online. IMO that was pretty impressive service, seeing as though many states are less than 2 weeks from the opener of duck season.
