Best delay pedals?
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I'm looking to get a delay pedal quite soon. I've heard that the boss range is very reputable. Anyone have any insight? Cost is pretty irrelevant.
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Well, the entire Boss line has a great reputation. The older analog DM models are pretty cool, but the new DD line is top-notch for digital. McCready has been using an analog DM-3 for a while. I've had a lot of experience with the DD-5 and DD-6, which are both great digital units, and the DD-3 gets good reviews. The DD-20 is an oversized unit with a TON of options and adjustability.
Ibanez is reissuing it's classic AD-9 analog delay pedal. It's a classic analog delay, perhaps one of the best on the market. The vintage ones are still out there in vintage instrument stores and all over eBay, but a brand new one will be in stores/catalogs soon.
Line 6 has two models worth looking at: the DL-4 delay modeler and the brand new ToneCore Echo Park digital. The DL-4 has one of the best reputations on the market today for reliability and options. The only other pedal that can rival it is the DD-20 (which is about the same price and size). The Echo Park compares pretty closely to the DD-6.
Beyond those models, there are a few options, but they get funkier as you go. The Electro-Harmonix Memory Man is one of the coolest delay effects out there, but they are tempermental as hell and they require AC (can't use batteries) and you can't even use a standard pedal power supply. They'd be great to have in a studio, but in a live rig, I'd use the DL-4 or DD-20 Memory Man model. Roland Space Echo and Space Chorus units are still out there, and real tape echo is fuckin' sweet. But those things are tempermental and a bitch to maintain, not to mention that you can only get them used (no longer made) and the eBay prices are ridiculous. And then you have to keep finding fresh tape for it every so often.
The last option out there is rack-mount, which would be great if you didn't mind your gear being in an FX rack. You can get footswitches for a lot of them. They have arguably the best sonic quality of any delay FX, but they cost a TON and really need to be babied. TC Electronics makes great rack delays, as does Lexicon, Yamaha, and Roland.
Out of all the options I've listed, I'd concentrate on one of five models: Boss DD-6 (smaller, digital, few sounds), Boss DD-20 (bigger, digital, many sounds), Boss DM-3 (smaller, analog, used only), Ibanez AD-9 (smaller, analog, recently reissued), or Line 6 DL-4 (bigger, modeling, popular).
If you play blues, or you just want a bit of slap back or nice analog warmth warmth the Fulltone Tube Tape echo is a quality recreation of the old tube tape echo units. AT $850 it's hella expensive but if that's what you want and you are anal digital won't cut it. For 80% of us digital is fine. I can get a good slapback approximation from my DL-4.
The H&K replex is another high end tube echo based kind of on the roland space echo I think I believe it's a multi head echo, Hiwatt and Guyatone also build quality tape echos.
It depends on you more than anything. I love my DL4. If you use longer delays you might dig that DD-20 or you may want to use a rack system.
Line 6 obviously makes a good one, as does Alesis, the midiverb 4 is excellent.
another little pocket rocket is the guyatone MD-3. A self ocillating digital echo that takes up almost no space. It's cool at 99 bucks.
I actually like the new digitech x series digital delay too.
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If you are on the fence with an analog delay don't buy one just yet.
There are 3 or 4 hitting the street soon.
A rumor has it, Analogman and Bjorn each have one coming very soon.
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Analog Mike must have found a secret stach of BBD chips, or (as I suspect) when the big companies (Ibanez) realized the money thier old stuff was going for on Ebay, they began having them manufactured again.
Pretty much everything Bjorn has come up with is awesome.
Definately worth waiting for.
I'd imagine Mike is already prepping for the wait list.
I wouldn't be surpirsed if one of them are making a tape delay, the BBD are still around, just in small batches. I heard they have a very long shelf life.
Anything Mike makes has a wait list. I should sell my new NKT Sun Face, but I waited forever LOL
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BJF powers my Pedal Board
of course, it sounds like shit past 600ms and therefore the memory man wins for long true-analog delays.
At least, when it's in the mood.
If I ever get another delay pedal, I'll be trading my DD-6 for a DD-20. A DM-3 would be the only other one for me.
Well, maybe you lucked out... or it never leaves your basement...
I just know a few friends who have them, and have troubles. One friend has a Memory Man, a Space Echo, and a Space Chorus, and the Memory Man has more trouble than the two tape machines combined. Not to mention the horror stories I've read online about pro and semi-pro folks having trouble with them... the Edge (U2) used to tour with MM's, and he had to have multiple units to ensure he'd have two working units each night. As accurate as the DL-4 MM model is, I don't know why anyone would chance it.
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good call I always forget about tone czar.