Delay Pedal Question/Help

pedalbreak

I've never owned a delay pedal because they're so damn expensive and I'm a poor University student. With my tax return I'm planning on splurging on something reliable and with a lot of buttons. I'm looking at a Boss dd-20 and a Line 6 DL4 at the moment. From what i hear the Boss is more user friendly and has longer delay, loop times and is a tad cheaper, but the DL4 doesn't suck as much tone (something I think I can overlook(?))
If anyone has any experice with both these bad boys or has other delay pedal reccomendations I'll be glad to hear your input.

xtremehardy388

DD20 is pretty cool. The DL4 is what Mike uses but I've heard they're not too reliable. If you're looking for a lot of options, those are good. The DD6 or DD7 are also pretty good BUT the analog function on the DD7 isn't the best. The XD Delay from Digitech is one of my favs but the switch wears out after about 6 years and it's next to impossible to replace. Still, REALLY impressed with this box. Depending on the delay you want, the AD9 from Ibanez is REALLY warm but doesn't really give you a lot of options. The Carbon Copy is a GREAT analog delay but pretty touchy. Finally, the Danelectro PB&J is a good delay if you will NEVER gig with it and only want something for short delays. That being said, the best thing you can do is try out different delays. I know there's another delay by Deltalab which is all right but isn't the most versatile.

sacto68

I personally have the DL4 and love it. I've had it for about 2 years now with no issues what so ever. I've gigged with it many times & has seen countless hours in the studio/practice space. There are a ton of options with this pedal as well.

But as everyone will tell you, try it our for yourself first.

DewieCox

I have a dd20, my buddy a dl4...My buddy wants one like mine. The sound and controls are both way better than the Line6.

gimmesometruth27

myself and the other guitarist in my band have had nothing but problems with the dl4. the pedal sounds great to my ears, but it is not worth the continued headaches i have had with it...that pedal is an absolute piece of shit. i have had 3 of them and the other guitarist in my band is on his second one. yes they are very versatile, but they are not worth the $250 price. the first one i had just stopped working for no reason after about 3 months. it was under warranty so i got a new one. then the second one stopped working after about a year and the warranty expired, so i went to the line 6 website and the only way i could get info on tech support was to go to the "forum" on their site, and every other thread for pages and pages was about the dl4, and about the same problem where it just stops working...and i am not exaggerating about that. the line 6 employees that were supposed to be there on the forum to offer tech support said in every reply, " i have no answer for that, please take it to a licenced and line 6 approved repair shop"... the closest repair place to me was 45 miles away and it would have cost $75 for them to open the pedal, not counting new parts or labor...so rather than sink more money into it i bought a new one....i did not pay full price, i used a $100 gift card i got for christmas one year so it was not as expensive and after about 14 months the new one quit working just like the previous 2. as a result, i will never buy another line 6 product ever again. their shitty pedal quality and shittier customer service has made me decide that they have lost me as a customer..

that said, i am using the carbon copy from mxr now. i never really used a lot of delay before because i did not trust my dl4s. now i use it all the time and the carbon copy is the cornerstone of my clean tone and i use it on many of my solos. the carbon copy is really versatile, in a small box so it saves space, and most importantly its analog and does not sound all digital like so many of the other delays on the market. for about the price of a dl4 you can have 2 of these bad boys and set one up for a long delay and one for a short delay if you want to be more versatile..that is my plan to eventually have 2 of them..

pedalbreak

Thanks for the reccomendations and reviews guys! I'm hopefully going this weekend to check 'em out along with the mxr cc and the xd. And thanks for the heads up on the DL4- further research on Harmony Central revealed that people have problems with the DL4 after a few months or a few years and customer service is the shits.

mccreadyisgod

There's no doubt that the DL4 is a great-sounding pedal, but it's notorious for going tits-up after some period of time.

The DD-20 is a bit sterile-sounding by comparison, but it's built like a tank, is full of features, and very versatile.

The TC Electronic Nova Delay is another option that hasn't been discussed yet... it's got more features than the simple Boss DD-6 or DD-7, but it's a bit smaller and has a few less bells and whistles than the DD-20 or DL4. The big difference is in sound, where apparently the Nova is slowly converting digital delay junkies all over the place.

If you're looking for analog, or modeled analog, then I'd be looking hard at the Carbon Copy. It's the best-sounding analog pedal I've heard for anywhere near that price range. The Boss RE-20 Space Echo is pretty sweet (especially if you were a fan of the old Roland Space Echo tape delay units, as I am). The Line 6 Echo Park is much more robust than the DL4 and has some great-sounding models. And finally, the Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy and Deluxe Memory Boy pedals are worth a look if you enjoy the classic Memory Man sound with a little modulation.

JW42505

I actually hated the carbon copy, felt it to be weak..cant get near Mikes tripping emotional, delay sound from it. The Line6 is the tits!!

Had the Line6 for 4 years with 0 problems. Built like a tank. Um Mike and Stone use it for a reason.