Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler

IDgotI

Mike uses one of these pedals in his live rig... but then again Mike makes a lot more money playing guitar than I do. I picked up one of these last night before a jam, and when I broke it out one of my friends started acting as though he were a vampire being confronted by a garlic sun. "That thing WILL Break on you! I went through two before I gave up." He said. Out of curiosity I checked the DL4 on Harmony Central and I couldn't believe it. The reliability ratings this pedal gets are HORRIBLE. Horror stories about the pedal cutting out in the middle of a gig were enough to make me chicken out and trade for a Boss DD20 Giga Delay. I also have a DM3, and DD5 and one or two other Delay pedals in my tool box. I was primarily looking for a Tape Delay emulator and the DD20 Tape Delay sound is solid. Still, I love the other sounds the Line 6 can get and I'm still open to considering it, but the idea of it crapping out in the middle of a show, or becomming unusable after just one year has me concerned. So I'm wondering what experiences other musicians here in the Message Pit have had with the DL4. Has anyone out there had a bad experience? Or do the Harmony Central rattings seem unfair?

exhausted

i've heard the same things though i didn't have trouble with the two i owned. i never gigged them heavily though.

the DD20 is more powerful, the DL4s models sound better on the whole, the DD20 is more reliable and doesn't have switch pop and volume drop issues.

the DD20's analog delay is excellent. the rest are ok.

xtremehardy388

I was planning on buying one but never did due to money issues, however I dd hear the exact same horror stories you did on different sites

IDgotI

exhausted wrote:

i've heard the same things though i didn't have trouble with the two i owned. i never gigged them heavily though.

the DD20 is more powerful, the DL4s models sound better on the whole, the DD20 is more reliable and doesn't have switch pop and volume drop issues.

the DD20's analog delay is excellent. the rest are ok.

Just got done with my first hard jam on the dd20 and I'd say this description is right on the money. The dd20 gives more control over the delay trails and whether they repeat on quarter notes, eigths, tripplets etc. The tones /sonic artifacts imparted by the delay aren't as lush / interesting, though they certainly don't subtract. But yeah... seems the focus was more on the functionality and less on the sound. Very interesting. The DL4 still has it's place / role because of how cool it sounds, but yeah... without Mike's guitar tech backing me up every show I think I'll have to pass until at least the DL4.1 ... Hope it comes out soon!

gimmesometruth27

i've had my dl4 for over a year and gig it 5-8 times a month and practice once to twice a week and it has been fine for me (knocks wood). i hope i don't have a problem during my gig tomorrow since i just typed that last sentance lol. i have had more issues with my rotosphere than my dl4.

harrisonmerwin

gimmesometruth27 wrote:

i've had my dl4 for over a year and gig it 5-8 times a month and practice once to twice a week and it has been fine for me (knocks wood). i hope i don't have a problem during my gig tomorrow since i just typed that last sentance lol. i have had more issues with my rotosphere than my dl4.

yeah i have a DL4 and an MM4, to date they have been fine.

Novawind

Speaking of delays, I have yet to get one. Anyone have experience with a DD6 and the DD20? I wasn't sure which one would be better. Obviously the DD20 has more features but is it worth the little extra cash to have a bunch of features that I may not ever use? The thing I'm really concerned about is ease of use. The tap tempo thing on the DD6... some people have told me that it's really difficult to use it because you have to press and hold to engage it, then tap, then disengage it, and sometimes you can't get out of the mode. I probably don't have the cash for one yet, but in the interest of research, does anyone have a preference?

armanHammer

I believe most of the people who complain about so and so product being unreliable and buttons breaking just don't take care of their stuff. People are always talking about dropping shit, throwing boss pedals into the wall.. come on. Unless you're stupid it's not gonna happen.

IDgotI

I've had a DD5 for years. You can plug in a seperate boss foot switch... The 5su I think?... and use that as a dedicated tap tempo switch. The extra pedal costs about $30... but it doesn't get much simpler for tap tempo.

As far as dd6 vs dd20... As the recent owner of a dd20 I'd say it depends on what you are going for with delay, and how ambitious you are with the delay trails. IF you are just looking for slap back, then you should be fine with the dd6... though you might want to go for an analogue pedal as well / instead. That's what I've been going with for years. A dd5 and a dm3. If you are looking to extend the repeats of your delays, and then, on top of that, if you want flexibility / command of the rhytm of those repeats, constituting the "delay trail", then the dd20 is definately worth a look, as that's where it excels.

Cool to see the other posts about trouble free DL4 use. It's an amazing sounding pedal. I may have made a mistake chickenning out. Wish I'd thought to post *before* I traded it in.

MetalGod75

ive had my delay modeller for about 3 years and never had any problems at all

xtremehardy388

Here's my two cents..the Digitech Digi-Delay(X-Series) is awesome. I dont know about the BOSS ones except that my friend doesn't like the DD-6 a lot but the Giga is amazing

IDgotI

Haven't tried the Digitech. After another day of messing around with the dd20 I'd have to say it is exactly what it claims to be. A boss guitar pedal. I think it's misleading that it got linked with Modelers like the Line6 on Harmony Central. It models an analog, and a tape delay... after that most of the "11 tones" are really features, like reverse, modulation, ping pong... all executed on the box's default tone. That tone is fine. But it's very neutral. This is a good pedal for someone looking to add delay to a rig they've carefully tweaked to produce a tone they don't want to monkey with. If you just want a delay in there, and you don't want it to disrupt any of the relationships you've got between other pedas, then it's something to consider. I'd say the dd20 is like a bottle of good, clear water compared to the DL4, which is more like a great bottle of wine. Each has their purposes. But the dd20 quenches where the dm4 intoxicates. ... I think I'm still gonna have to git me one. Though after paying for the dd20, it could take me a while. Ah well. Live and learn.