New Deluxe Memory Man w/Tap Tempo

[thepilgrimsdream]

I hope I am not setting myself up for disappointment. I have a vintage deluxe memory man and i love it to death. I played the newer ones with the different chip and i was extremely disappointed.

Specs From (EH's website)
The sound of the Deluxe Memory Man with the addition of Tap Tempo
Five Tap Tempo subdivisions: dotted eighth, quarter note triplet, eighth note, eighth note triplet and sixteenth note
Delay produced using new old stock Panasonic bucket brigade chips
Five Expression Modes: Blend, Rate, Depth, Feedback and Delay
Send and return EFX loop allows effects to be added to only the delayed signal
Fully adjustable control over Rate and Depth of the modulation
Input for an External Tap switch
True Bypass

The price from the musicians friend catalog is $457

Do you think they will nail this?

[79_Limited]

That's a lot of $$$. I am with you I like my old Deluxe MM.

[Tubthumper]

Is the original chip the Panasonic? As per Analogman's website.

I bought a Deluxe memory Man from him a few years back. Great pedal, although some guys tell me the originals sound better. Sheesh, it's hard to know without getting good advice from those in the know.

Wonder which chip is in the new one??

[thepilgrimsdream]

It said NOS Panasonic chip.
This really has me interested.

I am thinking about getting my memory man modded by analog man.
I love it, i just wish the delay time was longer, it was true bipass, and my friend has the expression pedal hooked up to the feedback, and its wicked sweet.

This new pedal just might be a dream come true.

I also play with the thought of an echoplex in the back of my mind.

I use a vox time machine for my tap tempo and long delays. Its ok for digital, but if this memory man comes through...Vox no more

[Tubthumper]

Yeah, the max delay time on mine's around 850 ms or so. That doesn't bother me really, because the sound is to die for. I agree with Analogman when he says the sound is a little dull when switched in - by dull he means it rolls off some of the top end. To my ears this brings a lush, deep warmth that pleases me no end.

The chorus/vibrato function on mine was DOA, took me ages to get around to having it repaired. Glad I did. It's true that a touch of chorus brings a sound reminiscent of an Echoplex. I just love the vibrato effect on the delays though. I've found a setting that's other-worldly, never get tired of it.

[Tubthumper]

Just checked his (Analogman's) webpage, seems that he's edited the info on the DMM.. It once gave specific info on the chips, model numbers and whatnot. I think I have it printed out at home or somewhere.

I've heard people say the original DMM (with the hardwired AC cord) sounds the best. Can't say I've heard one of those. But given mine sounds stellar, well, the originals must be something else again.

FWIW, there's a clip on You Tube of a Scottish guy demoing several different versions of the DMM - if you're bored/sufficiently interested.

[Tubthumper]

Found this quote from Analogman (Mike) in a thread over at Gearpage, posted early 2006:

analogmike
02-01-2006, 02:46 AM
The new DMM uses four MN3008 chips to get the same delay time as it used to get with two MN3005 chips. These are the good, high voltage chips not the newer 32XX series. None of the 30XX series are available any more (for years!) so grab one while you can, it's a steal. I compared a new one to one of the new boutique analog delays and the memory man's sound was much better, so much clearer and had a lot less high end loss on the repeats. memory man has a little more noise on the repeats but that is a tradeoff vs high end loss.

[thepilgrimsdream]

I'll have to check out the Scottish guy.

I use mine for more of almost a reverb w chorus or vibrato(I love both modes and can't stick with one. Still can't say how much I love it.

I never could use it for my all purpose delay cause its too short(doesn't bother me for how I use it right now). But the advertised flexibility of these new units really excites me. Let's just cross our fingers and hope they hit the nail on the head.

I'm a delay fanatic. Rhythmic delays are very important to me and my sound. I love the tap tempo. And how they are now digitally controlling analog with tap tempo. No more digital signal for my guitar rig if this turns out

[thepilgrimsdream]

I kinda like the high end loss on the repeats. Not so much the tone loss on the bypass

[drbob1]

I've had mine for a day now, they've released a few and if you're lucky you can find an online dealer taking orders and get in line for the next release. Apparently, they bought a 100s of MN3005s, of which 75% turned out to be fakes (relabeled MN3008s) so the DMMTT is going to be a limited edition.

So, how does it sound? I've never owned a regular DMM, just the stereo version. I do have a lot of other MN3005 delays (original Aquapuss, Yamaha 1010 and 1005, DM2, Diamond Memory Lane) as well as the Echoczar, so a shootout was in order...

I used a Parker Nightfly with Duncan pickups and a piezo bridge. The magnetic pickups were tested into a London Power Studio amp with Naylor SD50 speakers, the piezo into a Yamaha powered monitor.

In all the tests the DMMTT seemed sonically to be a good middle of the road pedal. It didn't have the swirly goodness of the Echoczar (which rounds off attack and low and high frequencies gradually to give a soft cushion for your sounds), or the crisp open-ness of the Aquapuss (or even more "studio quality" the Yamaha 1010 which has a 4000-8000 hz limit for the delays, vs less than 2k for most delays, uses 4 MN3005s for only 300 msec!). It doesn't have the attack of the ML. It DOES have tap tempo, an effects loop, the ability to use an external tap for stepping thru the 6 note divisions, the ability to use 0-5v CV or a CV pedal to control 6 different parameters, modulation that varies from subtle to REALLY over the top (which none of the other pedals will do, although the Yamaha rack units do), and a gain knob so it can overdrive or kill your volume when you kick it in. It also does runaway feedback when you hold the tap button down. For versatility and features it blows away anything analog except the EHX Deluxe Memory Boy, but it has metallic sounding delays, definitely inferior to the DMM.

So, if you can find one at $378, the current MF price when they're admitting there's a few in the pipeline, it's a good deal. The one on Ebay at $900 BIN is a joke. Yeah it's rare, but it's not better than the Echoczar which you could buy for $900 if you're willing to wait 5 years. It's a good delay! But the Echoczar (for long delays) and the Aquapuss (NOT the reissue, no similarity at all) are still better...

[thepilgrimsdream]

Thanks so much for the review! How do you feel it holds up against the memory lane?

[drbob1]

All of these delays have made choices that affect their overall feel and sound. The Memory Lane is a great sounding delay, and having the EQ is really useful as is modulation BUT it doesn't work well for me. The envelope for the delays is set up to emphasize the attack of the note more than anything else I've played, so you get this kind of bright, hard echo. It's killer for slapback, but for longer delays, especially with multiple repeats it's not as musical to me as the Aquapuss, Echoczar or DMMTT. To put it in perspective, the AP is selling in the $800 range, the EC sells, if you can find one, for $1200. The DMMTT at $378 is 90% there for sound and has way more functionality. The ML is in the same ballpark pricewise and is hand-wired but I'd still keep the DMMTT rather than it. If you like the idea of the ML, I'll sell you mine for $325...

[nightraven]

Originally Posted by Tubthumper

I've heard people say the original DMM (with the hardwired AC cord) sounds the best. Can't say I've heard one of those. But given mine sounds stellar, well, the originals must be something else again.

FWIW, there's a clip on You Tube of a Scottish guy demoing several different versions of the DMM - if you're bored/sufficiently interested.

they can all sound the same. it's just a matter of how they're calibrated. people talk about the mojo of the MN3005 IC but those models will only sound better because it's easier to calibrate 2 of those chips than the 4 3008's needed in the other model. the circuit has always been more or less the same over the years so IMO the one to go for is the newest model big box the runs off an external power supply so there's none of that built in transformer noise.
the new DMM tap tempo looks really cool because it uses four 3005 chips for twice as much delay time as the 2xMN3005 or 4xMN3008 models. that is until they run out...

[litepipe]

If you're going to drop that kind of bread you may as well get a Tube Tape Echo and never look back.

[SeveBC]

Originally Posted by Tubthumper

FWIW, there's a clip on You Tube of a Scottish guy demoing several different versions of the DMM - if you're bored/sufficiently interested.

blondegraemey on youtube is a Geordie from the Newcastle / Tyneside area of England UK - characterised by the pharase (soundwise) why-eye pet. Bit like suggesting Ben and Jerry (Vermont) are Canadians.