recommended delay pedal

[feyshay]

I am building my pedal arsenal.
Currently have a Carl Martin Compressor, MXR EQ, and Fulltone Fulldrive 2. I have a Les Paul Standard and a Fender Super Reverb.
Next I need a delay pedal.
Should I go with:
Boss DD-20
Electroharmonix Memory Man
or
Carl Martin Delayla XL?
Thanks for the recommendations.

[Brandino221]

from what I remember the memory man is cool. you might want to check out the line 6 delay pedal. It is pretty cool. I don't like line 6 amps all that much but the delay pedal is bad ass.

[84K]

The Line 6 Delay sounds great and EXTREMELY versatile. But it is big. If it is too big for your rig, check out the TREX Replica. But if you want the ultimate, the Fulltone Tube Tape Echo is the heat. I have one in every room of my house.

[cletus]

I second the Line 6 delay. I own one and the settings on it are great! Haven't actually used the fulltone but have heard it. That would deinitely be my other choice. The Line 6 is alot more versatile IMO.

[pieter]

The Memory Man certainly is a great delay although it does change your signal (ie it is not the most transparant unit around).

This may or may not be what you want.

[feyshay]

Or should I get a rack unit instead with some multi-effects (Lexicon MPX-1 or 550)?

[pieter]

From what I can see from your other gear (i.e. Fender Tube amp, pedals), you are looking more for a vintage vibe. Rack units are generally not designed to be inserting between pedals and a guitar amp (I guess it's an impedance thing). Better get a good pedal (e.g. Fulltone, Maxon etc).

[pan60]

i have a boss, akia head rush, carl martin delayla Xl, and a few others.
i really like the carl martin and the akai.
the delayla is a bit more analog sounding then the akai, but the akai has various output and adjustment features i like.

[doorknocker]

The Deluxe Memory Man (I got the reissue) is great, I really dig its 'analogueness', it never gets in the way like a lot of digital pedals do.

I also use the Line 6 DL4 but sound-wise it can't hold a candle to the MM, I mean the DL4 has some great sounds and all, but I find myself always tweaking it and having to tap in the exact rhythm in relation to the song, whereas the MM, at least when applied in reasonably small doses, just works.

I like to get a very mild modulation effect happening with the MM, you don't need much to get a nice 'halo' around the notes, kinda Bill Frisell-like.

Has anybody used the T.Rex pedal, I wonder how that one sounds like?

[retropete]

The Dan-Echo has found a permanent spot on my pedalboard. Relatively inexpensive, and it has a treble rolloff control which subtley reduces treble on subsequent echoes, simulating what would happen with tape on say, an EchoPlex.

Haven't heard many of the others, but the Memory Man sounds intriquing.

[goldphinga]

moog moogerfooger mf-104z. incredible.

[Jetblack]

SIB Electronics Echodrive. Hands down the nicest analog delay around that you can buy new.

[elder rookie]

i highly recommend the line6 delay. ever since i got it when it first came out i've been enamored with it. other than that i'd say get as many different delay pedals as possible. they all have their own different vibe to them. check pawn shops, used gear ads and anywhere else you can get it. i use a lot of delay on everything cus it's kinda my sound and i use delay as a crutch since i cant play as good as i used to due to a wrist injury.

one of my favorite delay pedals is the old ibanez ad-80 (i think...the number has long since scratched off) i don't know why i like it. i just do. i never tried the headrush but i've heard it and it sounds pretty damn good to me.

[kylepdownes]

Line 6 makes a smaller stompbox style delay called Echo Park
most of the features that the big one has
smaller footprint
heavy as a brick
killer

[squeegybug]

Another vote for Line6 DL4. I've used Boss, Digitech, Guyatone, some more I've forgotten, the DL4 works and sounds great compared to those, for my tastes. I like the tube delay on acoustic guitar pickups, really big sound.

One thing though -- with a strong pickup signal the input can distort. I think the DL4 is not really designed to run inline, but that's fine with me because I far prefer to run all my pedals/FX through inserts, and just blend with the main pure signal.

Steve

[AlexLakis]

The Boss digital delay sounds pretty good to me. Nice and simple. As long as you have a good guitar, a good amp, and a clean signal path, it'll do you no wrong.

[Jack Pettit]

I bought a Fulltone tube tape delay that I really like a lot.

How does it sound?
Vintage and warm, it makes a very recognizable sound that was popular
with Hendrix and many others, Eric Johnson comes to mind.

It's not really a pedal.

I'll give you a good deal on a Line 6 echo unit.

[Ted Copulate]

Well the first thing to decide is whether you're looking for the cleanness and multiple modes of a digital pedal or the warmth of an analogue pedal.

The three analogue ones to check out would be:
Fulltone Tube Tape Echo - It's tube and tape, obviously. Not the best for a pedalboard but great to keep in the studio.
Toneczar Echoczar (with added Angel Baby extension) - The most weird sounds and options you can expect from an analogue delay. Expect to wait at least a month for it though.
Diamond Memoy Lane The only analogue pedal I know of with tap tempo.

All the best digital pedals have already been recommended. The two I like the most are the DD-20 and Echo Park, although I've never heard the Delayla and I love Carl Martin pedals.

[Brian Middleton]

Originally Posted by retropete

The Dan-Echo has found a permanent spot on my pedalboard.

Great pedal. Not very versatile--if you're looking for layers of mega-delay ala U2, it won't do that. But for vintage-y slapback and echo effects, I love it.

[AnalogUniverse]

i've got a maxon ad-999 that i really like. not sure if you're looking for clean or not.... this thing is definately not clean by any means. nice and warm and fuzzy

[blunderfonics]

I don't know if it's important to you or not, but the Boss DD-20 (and DD-6 for that matter) do not respond well to changing the delay time while signal is passing through them. They do not naturally ramp up and down the pitch of the repeats the way an analog or tape echo does, and instead zipper and distort until you stop tweaking the time. The DL-4 does this fairly well (depending on the delay model you are using).

[hopeless_opus]

The Boss DD-3 is a standard that is easy to use, sounds good, and can be found cheap used.

The Line 6 Dl-4 (?) big green thing, presets, tap tempo, really great sound. It's worth the money. They have a new, smaller version of it, but I haven't used it, nor do I know anyone who has.

EH - Memory man, very cool mod effects, not the longest delay times (it's analog) but maybe the coolest sound.

Well, those are the ones I like.... I'm sure there are lots of other good ones I've never used.

Good Luck!

[tvanveen]

I like the Maxon as well.

[84K]

Originally Posted by Jetblack

SIB Electronics Echodrive. Hands down the nicest analog delay around that you can buy new.

SIB no longer makes the analog version.... They replaced it with a digital. The blue ones are analog the red are digital. The SIB analog is a great pedal.... I have (4) but only (2) work. A bit unreliable, but when they work....

[Eagertone]

i live and die for delays. at one point i had about 16 delays in series on my board for layering, making mod effects, etc.

here's my 2 cents:

BOSS DD-3, DD-5: super easy to use, not the best sound... very dry and digital. there are some modded ones floating around out there that cut some of the highs off of the feedback which should help a bit. kind of just the standard delay tone, with the standard boss sucking of your tone.

T-REX REPLICA: great sound, but i'm not keen on the true bypass. delay is about the only thing i want buffered being that if it's true bypass, as soon as you step on it to turn it off, it kills your feedback. this makes transitions between tones a bit rough, as the delay just stops abruptly. awesome tone though. i never turn the brown switch off. it does have tap tempo... if it's a factor for you. not worth $489. i paid $350 for mine a year ago and am still convincing myself that it was worth it.

YAMAHA UD-STOMP: awesome sound, versatility and options. steeper learning curve. gives you 8 delays in series OR parallel, depending on how you configure it. stereo outs are nice when sending to stereo amps too. CRAZY chorus and eq'd swells on the feedback if you set it up right. each of the eight bands of delay has it's own delay time, eq, feedback, level, etc. tap tempo (which does NOT tap for all bands of delay... rendering it somewhat useless when you have multi bands with variable tempos). they're discontinued now. i got one of mine for $280, and the other for $225. i then sold them on ebay for $400 and $425... so shoot me; i'm a capitalist.

LINE-6 DL4: for the money, it's not bad. you can track them down for $150 used now. it has a lot of sounds. the footswitches are really noisey though, to the point where i saw a band live and it was distracting how loud the footswitches were. i also don't think it has the best sound... it's a bit generic in it's representation of 'classic' delays. useful, the tone doesn't really jump out at me though.

SIB MR. ECHO (RED BOX): sounded great. way overpriced for a new one at GC that i played... they wanted $220 or something. i found one on gearpage for $50 later. it nails analogue sound very well. it's got this weird slam button too that makes it sound like your stopping the tape in a tape delay.

FULLTONE TTE: hands down the best sounding delay i've ever heard in my life. at $800+ it better be though. not very handy for live gigs or songs where you need a precise or tap tempo. better left in the studio.

i haven't tried the DIAMOND MEMORY LANE or the DLS ECHOTAP which seem to get great reviews. i can only comment on pedals i've owned and used.

[Eagertone]

i left out a few, but i felt like i was getting a bit too long winded. if you want my take on the EHX 16 second delay, BOSS DD-20 or the DIGITECH X-SERIES DIGIDELAY, you can ask.

check out www.thegearpage.net. a TON of info floating around about this exact subject.

[feyshay]

A lot of options as usual. Someone made a good point about the vintage nature of my current setup--an analog argument?
I still like the Memory Man. The DD-20 seems OK too. Some of the options are out of my price range (Moogerfoogger-love that name, Fulltone).
FYI. I have a POD XT Live and want to stay away from Line 6 stuff.
I am interested in a Lexicon MPX 550 (for vocals and acoustic guitar). I have a lot of good VST's for processing (including multi-delays, etc.) Couldn't I use some sort of Reamp device (one called Reamp) to accomplish this.
http://www.reamp.com/
Or should I go for the Lexicon and an analog pedal (Memory Man or Dan-Echo)?

[Eagertone]

radial also makes a reamp box.

http://www.radialeng.com/di-xamp.htm

they also make one with more outs.

the problem is, i believe you're suggesting that you go from your guitar, DI into the computer, then reamp out to the amplifier? that's the only scenario where i could imagine using the reamp box. if that's the case, your delay will come before your other effects... which makes it sound like crap. you usually want your delay/reverb to come last in your chain... unless you wanted a particular crap sound for something... the only other options is to run your guitar straight into your pedalboard, into the DI and your computer where you get your delay, then reamp out into your amp.

to me, this kind of kills the vibe of your whole set up... and i'm all about vibe. latency also becomes an issue. even if you're at 256 samples for a buffer, you can still notice a delay. you also then run the risk of clipping your sound distastefully (as analogue clipping and soft saturation often sounds rather good). i use a powerbook to control samples and vox effects live. it's a scary world because if your computer crashes, the show's over.

then to bypass your computer effects you would have to have a midi controller with footswitches or something... adding yet another piece of gear to the setup. after hauling all of this around and setting it up for hours, you'll think, "and i could have just bought that little box and put it on my pedalboard."

[Eagertone]

ideally, you could get your delays/reverbs after the preamp section of the amp, with drive + tone effects before the preamp... i don't think this is possible with the super reverb (effects loop?)...

[bloodstone]

I love my stereo memory man. I also think the boss is pretty sweet. If you've got "the jack" why not get a Roland Space Echo or a Fulltone? I played around with one of these once and thought it was also pretty cool Danelectro Reel™ Echo Tape Simulator.