# Favorite Canadian delay pedal



## Dg87 (Oct 22, 2016)

Hi everyone! I was wondering what was everyone’s favorite Canadian made delay pedal! Let me know!


----------



## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

I have two faves, for traditional analog delay the old Diamond ML2 was hard to beat-it was big and a bit of a pain to power but I loved it, for a modern multifunction delay the Echosystem is very nice. I didn’t bond with the echosystem at first, but now that I run in stereo more often I love what it can do, and it has an isolation transformer on the stereo output, so no hum-why doesn’t everyone do that?


----------



## Budda (May 29, 2007)

My memory lane jr was pretty sweet. Had an empress vintage modified tape delay, probably would get more out of it now haha. Would love to try dr scientist stuff.


----------



## Westhaver (Jul 26, 2015)

I also like the Diamond Memory Lane Jr.


----------



## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I had a Diamond ML Jr that I liked too, forget now why I moved it along.

I have a Dr Scientist SDD that's a good one and a Retrosonic Delay that I like too.
Neither is available new anymore though, at least it shows out of stock on the RS site.


----------



## guitarman2 (Aug 25, 2006)

Haven't used any Canadian delay except the Diamond Memory Lane 2. And it is definitely one of my favorites regardless of origin. I've owned it twice. The last one as recent as about 6 months ago. I would have kept it but I wanted to reduce the footprint of my pedal board to as small as possible and the Boss DM-2w gives me everything I need.


----------



## Dg87 (Oct 22, 2016)

I had the ML 1 and MLjr in the past. Miss them both. I tried the Counterpoint from Diamond as well hoping I would prefer it to the MLjr but for some reason it didn’t resonate with me like the MLjr did... may have to grab another from the ML line!


----------



## polyslax (May 15, 2020)

Fairfield Circuitry's Meet Maude is great. The EchoSystem by Empress is a beast as well.


----------



## rwe333 (Feb 18, 2006)

I like the original Empress Superdelay. Their Tape Delay also cool, but obviously less functionality.


----------



## jdto (Sep 30, 2015)

I have an Ellman Tone Whale Delay on my Canadian mini-board currently, which I quite like. I wanted to try to get together a Canadian-made rig, so I went with the Whale, which bumped the Boss DM-2w for the time being (although I might put together another mini-board with the DM-2w and the SoloDallas Storm as the starting point.

Here's a pretty good demo video of it:





And a gratuitous board pic:


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Side note about the Retro-Sonic Phaser. Tim Larwill (Mr. Retro-Sonic) told me that some time back he received an offer for a large-ish order from a retailer in Japan; about 50 pedals IIRC. The catch was that they had to be called the "Shattered Phaser", with some sort of graphics to match. Apparently, it was in reference to the Stones song "Shattered", which had acquired some cult status there among some at that time.




__





Retro-Sonic Shattered Phaser - Japan only?


Any ideas to what is different between their standard Phaser vs. the Shattered Phaser. Just marketing?



www.thegearpage.net


----------



## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

mhammer said:


> Side note about the Retro-Sonic Phaser. Tim Larwill (Mr. Retro-Sonic) told me that some time back he received an offer for a large-ish order from a retailer in Japan; about 50 pedals IIRC. The catch was that they had to be called the "Shattered Phaser", with some sort of graphics to match. Apparently, it was in reference to the Stones song "Shattered", which had acquired some cult status there among some at that time.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have two of the older three knob versions. Great pedal.


----------



## neldom (Apr 29, 2009)

I really enjoyed my Diamond Quantum Leap back in the day, I've been pondering giving one a go again truth be told.


----------



## Jalexander (Dec 31, 2020)

Diamond has an amazing reputation but how can anything compete with the Echosystem?


----------



## Jalexander (Dec 31, 2020)

(To undermine my point above, though, I’ll give kudos to Montreal Assembly Count to Five. It and the Echosystem are both on my board and are both seriously amazing.)


----------



## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

The Damedash T-120 looks great, would like to try one!
Demedash Effects


----------



## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

Jalexander said:


> Diamond has an amazing reputation but how can anything compete with the Echosystem?


Do you run it in stereo? That's what sold me.


----------



## terminalvertigo (Jun 12, 2010)




----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Cute. Do you make those? They seem to be a version of the Echobase.


----------



## Jalexander (Dec 31, 2020)

zdogma said:


> Do you run it in stereo? That's what sold me.


Stereo is a nice luxury. At home, sometimes. Out of the house, I’ve never had the nerve to show up with two amps! 

The real win with the Echosystem is that it includes sum-to-mono (unlike my Strymon Deco, for example). That means I can run the whole back half of my board in stereo, run it all into the Empress, and then the Empress figures out if I’m in mono or stereo and adapts accordingly. Really nice feature. (I’m assuming their Reverb pedal is the same, but I don’t have a dedicated reverb on my board - Fender amp reverb for normal stuff and the Echosystem delay + reverb for huge ambient stuff where needed). 

Thus, no re-wiring needed for my stereo mods, etc, when I switch from mono to stereo.


----------



## troyhead (May 23, 2014)

I was quite fond of the the Diamond Counter-Point Delay. The cool thing about a lot of these Diamond Delays (ML Jr, Quantum Leap, Counter-Point) is that the sampling is digital, but all of the filtering (the character of the repeats) is all analog. This makes for a some great sounding repeats.


----------



## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

mhammer said:


> Cute. Do you make those? They seem to be a version of the Echobase.


If you're referring to the post above yours, those are from Dr Scientist.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Ti-Ron said:


> The Damedash T-120 looks great, would like to try one!
> Demedash Effects


I met and chatted with Steve Demedash at Festival Sonore, last time it was held. Helluva nice guy. Winnipeg-based.


----------



## Dg87 (Oct 22, 2016)

Th is to everyone who chimed in! Now let’s thinker about all that! Cheers!


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Another Canadian entry from Solid Gold FX.


----------



## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

My fave, now that the PT2399 chip is ubiquitous anyway, is DIY based on either the rebote or echo base circuits. I built 2 using the echo base PCB, one for me and one for a bud.













zdogma said:


> it has an isolation transformer on the stereo output, so no hum-why doesn’t everyone do that?


Because a decent transformer would be the single most expensive part in there by a wide margin


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Granny Gremlin said:


> My fave, now that the PT2399 chip is ubiquitous anyway, is DIY based on either the rebote or echo base circuits. I built 2 using the echo base PCB, one for me and one for a bud.
> 
> View attachment 366253


Nicely done. I've made a few of those myself. Personally, I'd make the clean-kill a toggle, to allow more space for "precise" foot use of the other stomps, but that's me.

One thing I like to do is include some (defeatable) shallow lowpass filtering in the feedback loop. Essentially a single-pole lowpass, rolling off around 800-1000hz. It progressively shaves a little more treble off each successive repeat. The shallowness of the filtering helps to leave enough treble in the recirculated signal, that there is still something left to filter. It sounds more natural, helps to move repeats to the perceptual background and unclutter the sound, and cleans up the accumulating audio grime.

Another thing I like to include - and this may well be what your "Clean Kill" switch is for - is a "Punch-In" control that enables/disables the dry feed to the delay path. This allows one to apply delay on a riff-wise basis. Whatever has already been fed to the delay path can continue spooling out, but nothing new is added...unless you want it.

Is your "Modulate" switch momentary or latching?


----------



## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

Granny Gremlin said:


> My fave, now that the PT2399 chip is ubiquitous anyway, is DIY based on either the rebote or echo base circuits. I built 2 using the echo base PCB, one for me and one for a bud.
> 
> View attachment 366253
> 
> ...


Very cool, love the features on those.


----------



## Granny Gremlin (Jun 3, 2016)

mhammer said:


> Nicely done. I've made a few of those myself. Personally, I'd make the clean-kill a toggle, to allow more space for "precise" foot use of the other stomps, but that's me.
> 
> One thing I like to do is include some (defeatable) shallow lowpass filtering in the feedback loop. Essentially a single-pole lowpass, rolling off around 800-1000hz. It progressively shaves a little more treble off each successive repeat. The shallowness of the filtering helps to leave enough treble in the recirculated signal, that there is still something left to filter. It sounds more natural, helps to move repeats to the perceptual background and unclutter the sound, and cleans up the accumulating audio grime.
> 
> ...



Yeah it's a bit cramped, but I staggered the height of the stomps to make that easier - middle 2 stomps are much higher.










If I had to build it again I might omit the kill altogether since I rarely use it but it can be cool. It's set up to feed the line but not output the clean, so just the echoes of whatever you play. Why would you need a 'punch in' if you have tails and near infinite repeats? Just play, let it go and turn off. The oscillation even works when delay is turned off so it's just not something I felt I needed.

The way I use it for bass I often need the echoes to be more up front and identical tone-wise to the dry. I use actual analog delays (currently a Waza DM-2 in vintage mode) for more atmospheric stuff like that (usually shorter delay time as well).

Modulation is latching. ... momentary could be interesting though. My bud uses that more than I do.

The main thing I'd want to change is the noticeable volume jump when using the instant oscillation switch (like in the second before it ramps up into oscillation). A bit unnatural most of the time. There was discussion of that in the supp thread on DIY stompboxes but I never got around to doing anything about it and forget if it was easy or a PCB hack sorta thing.


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Granny Gremlin said:


> Yeah it's a bit cramped, but I staggered the height of the stomps to make that easier - middle 2 stomps are much higher.


I use the same strategy myself. Height is a wonderful "disaggregator".


> If I had to build it again I might omit the kill altogether since I rarely use it but it can be cool. It's set up to feed the line but not output the clean, so just the echoes of whatever you play. Why would you need a 'punch in' if you have tails and near infinite repeats? Just play, let it go and turn off. The oscillation even works when delay is turned off so it's just not something I felt I needed.


Folks accustomed to old-fashioned mag tape will be familiar with the phrase "punch-in". Many tape machines would allow you to run the reel in playback mode, but use a solenoid actuated switch to record mode for a select track to add a lick here and there as you listened. Being able to follow the song along, let you get the feel for the rhythm, and add little vocal or instrument flourishes that were perfectly in sync with the recording, without adding anything unintentional after the lick. So, not a whole overdub. The Punch-in is a momentary switch, that allows for delay to be applied to whatever you pick while you hold the switch down. Let the switch go and you stop "recording". I like to joke that it lets a person play the outro solo from "Don't Stop Believing" *properly*. I'm a big fan of momentary switches for some functions. They allow for more fluid integration of the effect with one's playing, since you don't have to step twice to turn on and turn off.


> The way I use it for bass I often need the echoes to be more up front and identical tone-wise to the dry. I use actual analog delays (currently a Waza DM-2 in vintage mode) for more atmospheric stuff like that (usually shorter delay time as well).


That's why I make it defeatable. For things like slapback, you want full bandwidth. If one is playing lots of notes with lots of delay level and long delay times, one wants to move the repeats from foreground to background. Remember how much less dizzying Super Mario was when NIntendo was able to make the foreground sharp and the background blurred? That's what this does. And while it isn't "reverb", it sounds more like it by gently blurring repeats.


> Modulation is latching. ... momentary could be interesting though. My bud uses that more than I do.
> 
> The main thing I'd want to change is the noticeable volume jump when using the instant oscillation switch (like in the second before it ramps up into oscillation). A bit unnatural most of the time. There was discussion of that in the supp thread on DIY stompboxes but I never got around to doing anything about it and forget if it was easy or a PCB hack sorta thing.


Sounds like something that would be solved by introducing some clipping diodes to ground to limit the maximum amplitude of the repeats. T'wer I, I'd probably want to use a pair of Schottkys, rather than silicon or germanium, and insert a resistance of some amount between the diodes and ground. That would allow you to noth soften the clipping as well as set the maximum feedback amplitude optimally. You could even use a trimmer. Of course, I say that not knowing how you achieve the oscillation.

Here's one I made some time back that I sent to sulphur. Not sure if he still has it or not.


----------



## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

mhammer said:


> I use the same strategy myself. Height is a wonderful "disaggregator".
> 
> Folks accustomed to old-fashioned mag tape will be familiar with the phrase "punch-in". Many tape machines would allow you to run the reel in playback mode, but use a solenoid actuated switch to record mode for a select track to add a lick here and there as you listened. Being able to follow the song along, let you get the feel for the rhythm, and add little vocal or instrument flourishes that were perfectly in sync with the recording, without adding anything unintentional after the lick. So, not a whole overdub. The Punch-in is a momentary switch, that allows for delay to be applied to whatever you pick while you hold the switch down. Let the switch go and you stop "recording". I like to joke that it lets a person play the outro solo from "Don't Stop Believing" *properly*. I'm a big fan of momentary switches for some functions. They allow for more fluid integration of the effect with one's playing, since you don't have to step twice to turn on and turn off.
> 
> ...


Yes, still here. That's a unique unil with some cool features worth holding onto.
Thanks again for that pedal!


----------



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

sulphur said:


> Yes, still here. That's a unique until with some cool features worth holding onto.
> Thanks again for that pedal!


With so many things out there to lust over, I'm honoured that you chose to hang onto it.


----------



## MTs393 (Dec 12, 2020)

Original Empress Super delay, loved that one.


----------



## Dg87 (Oct 22, 2016)

Jalexander said:


> (To undermine my point above, though, I’ll give kudos to Montreal Assembly Count to Five. It and the Echosystem are both on my board and are both seriously amazing.)


Do you use the Ct5 as a delay? I know it’s much more than that! I tried it once and could not figure it out 😂


----------



## cboutilier (Jan 12, 2016)

My vote goes to the Diamond as well.


----------



## Jalexander (Dec 31, 2020)

Dg87 said:


> Do you use the Ct5 as a delay? I know it’s much more than that! I tried it once and could not figure it out 😂


It does a lot of things but one of the simpler uses is as a reverse delay (mode 1 with the pitch knob at about 10 o’clock). Best reverse delay I’ve ever used.


----------



## Ti-Ron (Mar 21, 2007)

Another I've found via Instagram: Mirage Delay by Redshift. They are based in Vancouver.
RedShift Effects

Here's a demo:


----------



## JDaniels (May 18, 2021)

Not just Canadian but the best sounding delay pedal I’ve ever played was the Empress Vintage Modified Superdelay. I would still have it if the 8 presets were more easily accessible without having to scroll through them.


----------



## Dg87 (Oct 22, 2016)

Empress makes great stuff for sure!


----------



## Jalexander (Dec 31, 2020)

JDaniels said:


> Not just Canadian but the best sounding delay pedal I’ve ever played was the Empress Vintage Modified Superdelay. I would still have it if the 8 presets were more easily accessible without having to scroll through them.


I love my Echosystem which I believe can do pretty much everything the VMSD can do. It can have some easier preset access via midi, but I’ve never dipped my toes into midi world.


----------



## JDaniels (May 18, 2021)

Jalexander said:


> I love my Echosystem which I believe can do pretty much everything the VMSD can do. It can have some easier preset access via midi, but I’ve never dipped my toes into midi world.


Yes! I was looking at the Echosystem as well, and would’ve went that way but it was pretty expensive and decided to go HX Effects so I could have everything in one box. The HX Effects is really good, but for pure delay tone, Empress all the way.


----------



## Coheed (Jun 9, 2021)

Another vote for the Echosystem!
It’s been a mainstay on my board for years now.


----------



## n1ck_ (Aug 11, 2012)

Shout out to Empress Vintage Super Modified delay and Diamond Memory Lane


----------



## Strat-O-Mechanical (Feb 7, 2007)

I still have an original Diamond Memory Lane on my board. It’s great and I’ve never felt the need to try anything else.


----------



## TimH (Feb 4, 2006)

Bestsmall form factor? DiamondMemory Lane Jr
Best Straight up tone? Diamond Memory Lane 2
Best Mega Delay? Empress Echostation


----------



## Seance (Jun 18, 2018)

Dg87 said:


> Do you use the Ct5 as a delay? I know it’s much more than that! I tried it once and could not figure it out 😂


There is a setting in Mode 1 that is a straightforward delay. It is sort of hard to set it
precisely to that normal operation, but if your firmware has the "Transcendence Mode"
then you can be using it like a normal delay and then switch the modes and be able to
record things into the buffer in Mode 2 or Mode 3 and then switch back to the "normal"
delay settings in Mode 1.

The problem is that to do this you can't change the settings of any of the knobs when in
Mode 2 or 3 or you won't have a "normal delay" when you switch back to Mode 1.


----------

