Good delay reccomendations

[SixStringSuicide]

Im looking at getting a good, versatile, and affordable delay stompbox, but nothing low in quality. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Thanks

[Ace]

Re: Good delay reccomendations

The new BOSS DD20 will BLOW YOU AWAY!! That thing is freakin' awesome. BOSS pedals are very reliable too. I checked out the DD20 at a guitar show, and I have been waiting to buy one(I'm still looking for the right preamp). You won't be sorry if you get the DD20, it has 23 seconds of freakin' delay!!

[TB]

Re: Good delay reccomendations

I've heard most of 'em... how pristine do you want your repeats, how will you use it, & how much do you want to spend? For less than 100 clams, get the discontinued Ibanez EM-5 Echomachine potato bug shaped box. Very warm,repeats are extremely natural. Dan-Echo is not too bad either. If you want to step up from that, get Maxon AD-900 or 999. If you desire Holy Grail, get vintage Echoplex or the new Fulltone tape thingy. Boss DD-20 GigaDelay sounds really good for digital but is a royal pain in the ass to navigate quickly for live. Line 6 DL-4... extremely versatile, MAJOR tone sucker, issues with voltage; next. Visual Sound H2O - delay side sounds fake, unnatural, & has huge volume boost. Skip the Digitech DigiDelay - way too many issues, doesn't sound that great if you're a delay freak. Get the Ibanez potato bug. For the bucks.

[Tooling]

Re: Good delay reccomendations

It sounds like it's probably more than you want to spend right now but the TC Electronics G-Major is tough to beat for quality/price. You get some other effects as well, very high performance/quality for relatively small money...about 4-500 new/ 250-300 used.

[El Bastardo]

Re: Good delay reccomendations

The Gmajor is always a good choice, but if you only want delay, and want to spend the amount you would spend on a gmajor, I'd look for a symetrix 606. And if you can't find that one a TC d2.
And if you really got cash, the TC 2290 (best delay on the planet), Lex pcm 41/42 and ofcourse any eventide from the 3000 model upwards are just the best.

Leon..

[DTP]

Re: Good delay reccomendations

I really like the Boss DD-3. It's simple and does just what I want it to.

Jason

[TB]

Re: Good delay reccomendations

Originally posted by toejam:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by TB:
Line 6 DL-4... extremely versatile, MAJOR tone sucker, issues with voltage

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I've got one of those... it's true bypsass, so there's no loss of tone either used before the amp or in the effects loop. Though, there is a hidden feature alternative bypass mode (Delay Remain Bypass) that keeps the DSP engaged while bypassed so that your delays will fade out when you turn the pedal off. Maybe you had it on in that mode? You need to hold the first and third switches down while plugging into the guitar input to go into that mode, and it stays like that until you press the two switches again. I've never had any voltage issues with mine either. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hi toejam, thanks. I think there's more going on with the Line 666 than just the true bypass vs. buffered deal... digital converters maybe? It was noticeably better in true bypass mode, but still seemed to color/thin my base tone a bit... for live, having the delay trails cut off abruptly (in true bypass mode) sorta defeats the purpose for me anyway...

The Line 6 is suceptible to, & at the mercy of, the quality of electrical power of the venue being played. At first I thought it was just me, but then I started noticing similar comments from various folks around the net... I powered mine with the Voodoo Lab Pedal Power II, with the dedicated Line 6 power cable. What happened to me, at gigs at two different venues, was that my output volume dropped to below half randomly, due to inconsistent voltage in the room. Some troubleshooting revealed the DL-4 to be the culprit. FWIW, this is the only pedal I've experienced this with in nearly 30 years of gigging. I've since alleviated the problem by powering the DL-4 with a Godlyke PowerAll, plugged into the courtesy outlet on the VL PPII. That said, I've retired the Line 6 for live use, but it has been invaluable in the studio. Voltage will not be a problem in rooms with clean power, or if a high quality line conditioner/voltage regulator is in use. Plenty of working pros have the 666 on their boards, so it's definitely earned its keep. Just was not a good fit for me for live use.

I'm sort of a delay freak & always have 8-10 of them around... I kicked all the modulation effects & other stuff off my electric guitar pedal board a while back & am just using dirt/gain boxes & delays... currently using 3 delays on the electric board, & 2 on the acoustic-electric board! Right now it's Maxon AD-900 & AD-80, & Ibanez EM-5 on the electric board, & two Dan-Echos on the acoustic board... other stuff kicking around the house at the moment are a BOSS DM-2 & DD-3...

Best deal on an exceptional sounding delay I'm aware of right now is Maxon AD-999 for $235.00 shipped, from Ishibashi in Japan. 900 ms of pure analog delay, dual outs... yikes. However, the Maxon analogs sound very dark & warm in the repeats (my preference); folks that prefer stark/digital repeats for clean rhythmic tricks a la U2/The Edge, or require multiple presets &/or tap tempo, should probably look elsewhere. However, for pure delay tone itself, the only thing I like better than Maxon is an old inconvenient Echoplex...

As for rack delays, the old Chandler Digital Echos sound the best to me.

[toejam]

Re: Good delay reccomendations

Originally posted by TB:
Line 6 DL-4... extremely versatile, MAJOR tone sucker, issues with voltage

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I've got one of those... it's true bypsass, so there's no loss of tone either used before the amp or in the effects loop. Though, there is a hidden feature alternative bypass mode (Delay Remain Bypass) that keeps the DSP engaged while bypassed so that your delays will fade out when you turn the pedal off. Maybe you had it on in that mode? You need to hold the first and third switches down while plugging into the guitar input to go into that mode, and it stays like that until you press the two switches again. I've never had any voltage issues with mine either.