Do you notice that different delays sound better with different amps?

HowieJams

HowieJams

Active member
I was playing today with 3 of my amps and 3 of my delays.

Amps:
Friedman Little Sister Combo
Friedman JJ Jr combo
Friedman Pink Taco V2 Head and Cabinet

Delays:
Boss DD8
Earthquaker Devices Dispatch Master
MXR Carbon Copy Mini

After a couple of hours I noticed certain delays sounded better with certain amps.

In the end it worked out like this...

Friedman Little Sister with the Boss DD8
Friedman JJ Jr with the Dispatch Master
Friedman Pink Taco with the MXR Carbon Copy Mini (DD8 a close 2nd)

The Dispatch Master seemed to add a Brightness to the tone of the Little Sister and the Pink Taco, but sounded great with the JJ Jr. which surprised me since the JJ is the brightest amp of the 3.
The Boss DD8 was the most transparent pedal and worked great with the LS and PT.
The MXR sounded great with the PT.

I have a Friedman JEL-20 arriving tomorrow...
I want to see if that amp works well with one of the delays.
 
I pretty much find this with all units. You gotta mix and match pickups, and OD pedals, and effects like relay, reverb, etc.... to each amp. You gotta try different combinations to find the pairs that match with each other.
 
Shask said:
I pretty much find this with all units. You gotta mix and match pickups, and OD pedals, and effects like relay, reverb, etc.... to each amp. You gotta try different combinations to find the pairs that match with each other.
Click to expand...
This hobby is a lot of work.
 
VonBonfire said:
I've never played an amp that sounds better with delay but I've seen some players that def sound better with it.:LOL:
Click to expand...
I was thinking that yesterday...
When I just plug straight in with no other pedals in front or in the loop the amps sound so good, but delays definitely fatten up the sound.
In a mix without delay it probably would not be as noticeable.

My life would be so much easier if I just plugged straight in.
Hmmmm.... I might have to think about it.
 
The older I get; the less delay I use. Recently just during solos. I don’t like delay as it grinds the meat and potatoes of the music. That’s just me. Very light plate reverb only.
 
HowieJams said:
I was thinking that yesterday...
When I just plug straight in with no other pedals in front or in the loop the amps sound so good, but delays definitely fatten up the sound.
In a mix without delay it probably would not be as noticeable.

My life would be so much easier if I just plugged straight in.
Hmmmm.... I might have to think about it.
Click to expand...
I see guys buy amps for tightness and fast response. Sticking a delay pedal in there doesn't make any sense to me. It does fatten up the sound but it also eliminates pick attack and that drives me nuts. I feel the same way about reverb. I like instantaneous response but it requires clean technique to sound best.
 
The 3 amps I use delay on the most (all in the fx loop) are:

Mark V 25 - they all sound great with relative ease

Fillmore 25 - a little more finicky to get the wet/dry mix just right, but still works consistently well

Orange OR15 - this amp definitely needs a little help from delay/reverb but only if I dial the mix way back. It’s also hard to get a sound I like with my strymon, but it loves the cheapo uafx Orion.
 
alund said:
The older I get; the less delay I use. Recently just during solos. I don’t like delay as it grinds the meat and potatoes of the music. That’s just me. Very light plate reverb only.
Click to expand...
I will have to try with and without it when I am playing leads over backing tracks.
 
VonBonfire said:
I see guys buy amps for tightness and fast response. Sticking a delay pedal in there doesn't make any sense to me. It does fatten up the sound but it also eliminates pick attack and that drives me nuts. I feel the same way about reverb. I like instantaneous response but it requires clean technique to sound best.
Click to expand...
I think fattening up the sound is more important when just playing yourself, but over a backing track or in a mix I need to see if it makes that much difference.
I've run a delay in the loop for so long it is like second nature, but the less stuff I need to hook up the better.
 
cobrahead1030 said:
The 3 amps I use delay on the most (all in the fx loop) are:

Mark V 25 - they all sound great with relative ease

Fillmore 25 - a little more finicky to get the wet/dry mix just right, but still works consistently well

Orange OR15 - this amp definitely needs a little help from delay/reverb but only if I dial the mix way back. It’s also hard to get a sound I like with my strymon, but it loves the cheapo uafx Orion.
Click to expand...
I would say my amps react somewhere in between your two Mesa Boogies.
The Boss DD8 works great with any of them with minimal fiddling, so it is probably more the voicing of the delays.
 
alund said:
The older I get; the less delay I use. Recently just during solos. I don’t like delay as it grinds the meat and potatoes of the music. That’s just me. Very light plate reverb only.
Click to expand...
I am opposite. I used no effects for years, and I am using more and more as I get older. I like trying to make it sound bigger than it really is.
 
VonBonfire said:
I see guys buy amps for tightness and fast response. Sticking a delay pedal in there doesn't make any sense to me. It does fatten up the sound but it also eliminates pick attack and that drives me nuts. I feel the same way about reverb. I like instantaneous response but it requires clean technique to sound best.
Click to expand...
A pre-delay knob on the reverb is a must. That helps keep your pick attack.
 
Shask said:
I am opposite. I used no effects for years, and I am using more and more as I get older. I like trying to make it sound bigger than it really is.
Click to expand...
As I get older, I just want a less complicated set-up, but boost and delays are usually something needed at some time or another.
 
HowieJams said:
As I get older, I just want a less complicated set-up, but boost and delays are usually something needed at some time or another.
Click to expand...
I am also wanting to simplify a ton of things in life as I get older... but I mean 3 or 4 pedals instead of a 12 space MIDI rack, lol.
 
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