# delay pedals your opinions



## Guest (Mar 6, 2008)

I'm looking at getting my Line6 DL4 off of my pedal board due to reliability issues.
I was fond of the tape and echoplex simulations and am looking for a replacement. What would be your picks? Thanks.


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## Glasstone Amps (Feb 27, 2008)

I've heard lots of great stuff about the Dr. Scientist Sunny Day Delay. I know Ryan, the guy who builds them, and he can't keep up with all the orders. I was planning on buying one myself.


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## Greenbacker (Mar 29, 2007)

What's your budget? There's a ton of analog delays that do the tape echo thing fairly well. 

Some that come to mind:
-EHX Deluxe Memory Man (Has modulation capabilities)
-MXR Carbon Copy (New) (Lesser modulation capabilities but cheaper)
-Maxon AD9Pro (Single/Dual Head mode to simulate Tape echo. Longer delay times @ 450ms)
-Diamond Memory Lane (Effects Loop, 600ms, expensive!)

There are reasonable priced ones too if you are looking to spend less... Do you have a preference with analog/digital?


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## skydigger (Oct 20, 2007)

although I don't own one (yet), these sound clips sound pretty sweet.

http://www.goudiefx.com/delay.php

Made in Canada...


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## Spikezone (Feb 2, 2006)

A Dan-Echo might be too basic for you, but it works for me!
-Mikey


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

The Boss RE-20 Space Echo has a lot of features, and claims to recreate tape echo. Whether you like the tone/timbre, or whether it has a long enough delay is up to you.

Peace, Mooh.


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## bRian (Jul 3, 2006)

I use a Boss DD-3, it works fine for me, easy to use. The DD-6 has the Tap Tempo, some find that feature useful. I've heard good things about the DigiDelay as well.

http://www.digitech.com/products/xseriesflash/DigiDelay.html

Check out the sound samples.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

The L6 Tone Core Echo Park has most of the features of the DL4 in a smaller package, and at a cheaper price.

The recent EHX Stereo Memory Man has some very nice features for a reasonable price. There are plenty of demos of it on Youtube.

Alternatively, you can wait a little bit and pick up an Empress Superdelay when they come out. There look to be some very sweet features, and its made in Canada. http://www.empresseffects.com/superdelay.php


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## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Here's another one. And its in the DL4 price range. I've heard good things about it but I myself am not a big delay user so have not tried it.


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## Drazden (Oct 26, 2007)

I just got my Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai. It's very nice. Even though it's digital, you can get a fairly nice analog tone with it--there's a tweakable high-pass or low-pass filter, so the tone rolls off with each repeat like a vintage unit.

That being said, I've found that without the filter on, it's got that digital DELAY DELAY DELAY STOP. There's no fading in or out--it's just a preset number of delays, and without the filter helping it to fade out naturally, it sounds a little funny.

It's got plenty of options, though. The reverse mode on it is just unreal, and the modulated delay can get really crazy, as well as double as a flanger or chorus pedal.


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## Stratin2traynor (Sep 27, 2006)

I have a DD-20 and a Nova Delay. Both sound very good and the modelings sound excellent but I find myself using the DD-20 more often. I haven't had a whole lot of time to mess around with them so I can't really give a definitive answer as to which one I find is "better". I do find that the DD-20 is very user friendly.


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## Teleplucker (Feb 5, 2006)

konasexone said:


> I'm looking at getting my Line6 DL4 off of my pedal board due to reliability issues.
> I was fond of the tape and echoplex simulations and am looking for a replacement. What would be your picks? Thanks.


Since it's hasn't been mentioned and it's Canadian, the Diamond Memory Lane is brilliant. It's not cheap, but it's very well designed, built, and sounds great (although there is a pretty steep learning curve to make it work properly).

I also love old Boss DM-2's. They just sound right to me.

But, for tape and echoplex. I'd go with the ML.

(And, it's great to see a Canadian company come up with such great products...kudos to them)


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## Jeff Flowerday (Jan 23, 2006)

The discontinued Maxon AD-900 is the sweetest warmest sounding analog delay I've every heard.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Jeff Flowerday said:


> The discontinued Maxon AD-900 is the sweetest warmest sounding analog delay I've every heard.


Maybe, but it seemed fairly clear it was destined for discontinuance early on. the first ones used 8, count 'em, *eight* bucket brigade chips, each of which required its own bias trimpot and output balance trimpot. The labour costs alone in adjusting it for setup probably ate up the profit margin.

Maxon eventually reverted to a quartet of 2048-stage chips instead of an octet of 1024-stage chips, but even so it stilled required a VERY involved setup at the factory and just too much risk of drift with all those trimpots. Given that primarily pros were going to buy it, that probably posed too big a risk to reliability. Great pedal, but you can't constantly kick something that relies on the joint effect of that many trimpots and have it retain its best qualities for very long.


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## stratasaurus (Feb 9, 2006)

+1 on the Boss DD20 if you are looking for the same versatility and price range as the Line 6

Pros:
Smaller footprint that a DL4
good analog and tape simulation
tap tempo
4 presets (plus a 5th in manual mode)
Runs on 9V adapter
Reliable circuitry and switching
Built like a brick shithouse
$250


That said the Nova delay looks interesting - I may try one out for curiosity sake.


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

I really like the Ibanez AD 9 reissue, great pedal at a pretty reasonable price. I've had my modded (thanks Greg D.) but it was very good before the mods.


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## Scottone (Feb 10, 2006)

I've been using a Jacques Prisoner delay and it sounds great. I just dial in a bit of modulation to get the echoplex vibe..


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## Extant (Mar 2, 2007)

Earthquaker Devices Disaster Transport.

(www.earthquakerdevices.com)

I have one on my board. It's a great sounding delay with a ton of features and does some really weird unique modulation, too. Really nice construction, and the guy who runs the business is pretty friendly and easy to contact, too.


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## Teleplucker (Feb 5, 2006)

Jeff Flowerday said:


> The discontinued Maxon AD-900 is the sweetest warmest sounding analog delay I've every heard.


That's 'cause you haven't heard my ML :2guns: :wave:

(I admit it, your AD900 sounded pretty sweet, but, come on, it doesn't have modulation and tap tempo)


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I may be getting a prototype Empress Superdelay to tinker with next week. I'll let you folks know how avariciously to save up your pennies to for one after I've put it through its paces.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

Extant said:


> Earthquaker Devices Disaster Transport.
> (www.earthquakerdevices.com)
> I have one on my board. It's a great sounding delay with a ton of features and does some really weird unique modulation, too. Really nice construction, and the guy who runs the business is pretty friendly and easy to contact, too.



...no presets, but i'm intrigued, nonetheless.

i'm pretty happy with my dd20, although i am curious about the similar eventide and tc electronics models.

-dh


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2008)

Thanks guys. I've got to plan out a trip to Hog Town to try some of these. This board is by far the best way to start shopping. Much appreciated.


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## tripleb (Feb 24, 2008)

I have the DD-20 and I love it! I would like to try the MXR Carbon Copy delay pedal and boss space echo!


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## dan_ (Feb 5, 2008)

mhammer said:


> I may be getting a prototype Empress Superdelay to tinker with next week. I'll let you folks know how avariciously to save up your pennies to for one after I've put it through its paces.


I'm very much looking forward to the results of your testing. Feel free to accidentally forward the unit to my address once you've finished your turn :food-smiley-004:


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

tripleb said:


> I have the DD-20 and I love it! I would like to try the MXR Carbon Copy delay pedal and boss space echo!


There are some nice clips of the Carbon Copy here: http://www.aronnelson.com/gallery/main.php/v/MrHuge/album98/


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

Paul said:


> While we are spending your money, and not our own.....
> 
> Fulltone Tube Tape Echo:
> 
> ...


I'm hanging on (and saving up!) for the solid-state EP3 clone he's promising to build this year for ~$600.

Original poster asked about delays though: Have a look at the retrosonic analogue delay. Not as versatile as your DL4, but also a better delay. No modulation, but I'm splitting the signal from mine and running the delay through a TC Electronics SCM set to modulation. 

Heard lots of good things about the DMM too.


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## a Pack of Wolves (Sep 5, 2007)

i'm using

a washburn a.d. 9 (analog,from the 80's,made in japan ),it was $50 bought from a pal about 4 years ago

an ibanez d.l. 10 (digital,from the 80's made in japan),bought 2 months ago for $60

and a boss d.d. 6,they're around $170 new

i have less sound options but i like the fact individual units are easier to fix
------------------------------------------------------
i switched from using a line 6 delay modeller because it wouldn't work sometimes and eventually died altogether 

lots of people have trouble with those


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## a Pack of Wolves (Sep 5, 2007)

just want to add this

don't get caught up in the hype of the 'newest thing being the best'
or 'expensive being the best'

you should be able to find totally usable units in most or any good local music retailer

save youreslf headaches and alot of cash


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## devnulljp (Mar 18, 2008)

a Pack of Wolves said:


> i'm using
> 
> a washburn a.d. 9 (analog,from the 80's,made in japan ),it was $50 bought from a pal about 4 years ago
> 
> ...


Wow, that's a lot of delay. For the combined cash you could get a DMM and never look back. (Although it might still end up taking up more space on your board ;-)

I still like the retrosonic though...


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## Steve P (May 9, 2007)

The Deluxe Memory Man exceeded my expectations for tonalicious analog delay. Highly recommended. :food-smiley-004:


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## a Pack of Wolves (Sep 5, 2007)

i dig having something set-up wise that is not exactly what someone else will have (we all do i know)
but
the line 6 delay modeller has the best sounds fer the price around 
(quality and variety) and lots of guys swear by them

delay is a wonderful thing

a buddy of my used a univox tape echo (he brought fer $80,and $40 to fix it)
and it was a wonderful unit

i think there is soo many good products new and old,analog and digital
part fo the fun is figuring out what you dig tonally


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