Going back to basics with delay pedals

  • Thread starter Thread starter GearGasms
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The only two I own are the DD-3T and the DM-2W. Fantastic delays that really keep me from buying another.
But, if I were to try another, it would be the Diamond Memory Lane.
Have heard great things about that delay.
 
i had a dd2's and dd-3's for decades, then i sold it when i got an eventide micropitch to go stereo. then i sold the stereo rig, and went back to a dd-3(long chip). Then today and got the micropitch on clearance at gc, and am listing my dd-3. the micropitch has a volume boost, the pitch stuff for chorus effects, and 2 delays, one you can turn off, or use the same setting to 'double', and it has presets. i missed it once i sold it. the dd-3 is nice and simple, but the mark IVa doesn't seem to like its levels and i get clipping on my repeats with the way i like to set the mark IV. I don't get that with the micropitch.
 
Lately I've been loving my Flashback X4. I have a Boss DD-8 too. Never tried a DD-3, but I can't imagine it is all that different to what I have now.
 
I've got two delays:

1) A Boss DM-2w up in front of the amp for simple, vintage-y tones.
2) A Boss SDE-3000D in the loop for ambience and more intricate parts.

I briefly had a DD-7 in the loop but what I really needed was more control and less versatility, if that makes sense. The only setting I used on the DD was the straight digital delay, and it can't be controlled as precisely as the SDE. And the SDE, despite being very powerful, is really straightforward to dial in thanks to the front panel controls.

I recently rented a used DD-500 to compare to the SDE, to see if I could ape the SDE's sound from a much cheaper pedal. Not only did the DD-500 not sound as good, it was just too fiddly to dial in.
 
It may not be the "simple" choice, but it's made any further choices simple in that I don't need or GAS for any.
Eventide TimeFactor. After I got that pedal, I just haven't needed anything else. And oddly enough it's pretty damn simple to use given that it may "look" not so simple. But there's my input - my wants and needs were sorted once I got the TF, and that was a helluva long time ago.
 
mooncobra said:
All you need right here. Simple to use.
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Still want to try it one day. Tempted a few times. If the FT had the 4 presets like some of the other FTT stuff has, I would have.

Since I de-racked a few years ago I've used the SA Nemesis with my big board that's midi. I lean primarily on digital delay and the Nemesis is pristine. Even more so than my Timeline which is on my smaller board. Only reason the Nemesis is not on that board is how you switch presets on that unit. Still I'm a digital delay fan so I'll have to try the Flight Time one day.
 
mentoneman said:
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sometimes the simple run and gun pedal is the right option. dd-2 works fine in the loop of my mark III.
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Love it. That Korg, nearly pulled my hair out figuring it out and still never tapped into what it could do. Amazing unit. Was that last rack delay I bought to replace my old Quadraverb, I guess at that point I was losing patience learning new units and programming. I tried replacing that old Alesis many times and always came back to it. When they broke down I just data dumped my stuff onto another one I could pick up for a $100 bucks. I think I went through 3 of them. Only thing I used on it was the delay and verb. Everything else was racked pedals. Horribly noisy unit using anything else but I loved it for delays. Just had something I liked that it added on delays and loved how it sat behind the notes. I guess all in all I used that thing for over 20+ years. I've still got my last one sitting in a little two space rack. Powers up but I haven't played through it for years.
 
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jabps said:
Still want to try it one day. Tempted a few times. If the FT had the 4 presets like some of the other FTT stuff has, I would have.

Since I de-racked a few years ago I've used the SA Nemesis with my big board that's midi. I lean primarily on digital delay and the Nemesis is pristine. Even more so than my Timeline which is on my smaller board. Only reason the Nemesis is not on that board is how you switch presets on that unit. Still I'm a digital delay fan so I'll have to try the Flight Time one day.
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Yes, I like a good digital delay myself. Another great digital delay is the providence chrono. Kind of like a 2290 in a pedal. Sounds really good.

Check it:

 
jabps said:
Love it. That Korg, nearly pulled my hair out figuring it out and still never tapped into what it could do. Amazing unit. Was that last rack delay I bought to replace my old Quadraverb, I guess at that point I was losing patience learning new units and programming. I tried replacing that old Alesis many times and always came back to it. When they broke down I just data dumped my stuff onto another one I could pick up for a $100 bucks. I think I went through 3 of them. Only thing I used on it was the delay and verb. Everything else was racked pedals. Horribly noisy unit using anything else but I loved it for delays. Just had something I liked that it added on delays and loved how it sat behind the notes. I guess all in all I used that thing for over 20+ years. I've still got my last one sitting in a little two space rack. Powers up but I haven't played through it for years.
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my first rack fx was a quadraveb gt. messy little guy-gate was a must-but you’re right. it had its charm. i liked the resonator. but the distortion in the GT blew.

my first rig=dynacomp->dod od250-> boss metal zone->ibanez pmd1 delay modulation->fender harvard reverb II-> preamp out to alesis-> out to ampeg V4 half stack

the Korg delay and chorus kicks Quaddy in the face.

the boss dd-500 does a spot on dd-2 as well as a nice sde-3000 and many other circular/analog/tape sounds. i’ve had the 500 for a couple years and haven’t scratched the surface. mostly use it for looping.
 
psychodave said:
I own an Eventide eclipse, Korg DL8000R and still like to use a shitty Guyatone MD-3 delay. It just sounds great and is super simple to use.
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(y)(y) on the Eclipse ;)

Mine stays at home mostly these days. Not because it doesn't sound good. Just tired of hauling it around. I just use a Diamond Memory Lane in the loop anymore. Doesn't quite have the nice crisp presence of the Eventide but does the job and less to cart around.
 
I haven't spent that much money on delays beyond the flashback x4 unit years back and a rack unit at one point but for me, I've gone back to basics with the DE-7 like a few others and it just does that thing right. The setting is what I want and it is perfect for creating space when I jam. It can even just stay on for rythm and then pops for the leads where there is more room for it to breathe. I'd love to find another tbh. do the Schenker 2 delay pedal thing he has been doing for years with his dual DD-3's.
 
Speeddemon said:
Ibanez DE-7 and MXR Carbon Copy user here for high gain live and at home a TC Alter Ego V2.

In the past I modded an older DD3 once with 2 different switchable caps which make the repeats darker and murkier. That sounded really good too.
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I wonder if that will be their next " waza" mod? A DD-3 with darker more analog delays. That whole waza thing has been amazing for BOSS. Take the mods back from companies that sell kits, sell the pedal for MORE than a new standard BOSS is, very little design changes required to the product.
 
mentoneman said:
my first rack fx was a quadraveb gt. messy little guy-gate was a must-but you’re right. it had its charm. i liked the resonator. but the distortion in the GT blew.

my first rig=dynacomp->dod od250-> boss metal zone->ibanez pmd1 delay modulation->fender harvard reverb II-> preamp out to alesis-> out to ampeg V4 half stack

the Korg delay and chorus kicks Quaddy in the face.

the boss dd-500 does a spot on dd-2 as well as a nice sde-3000 and many other circular/analog/tape sounds. i’ve had the 500 for a couple years and haven’t scratched the surface. mostly use it for looping.
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Yeah the Quad GT was a funky thing. Mine was the Quad II or whatever, basically the updated version of the original Quad. Not the Quadraverb Q20 either, that was a programming nightmare IMO.

My Quad though had this multi tap delay that just worked perfectly for me and I could never duplicate that sound with anything else. Used that and one of their verbs, that's it, didn't use any of the other effects, if you did it got noisy.

I went through tons of units - all the Rocktron stuff, Alesis Q20, Micro 4, Lexicon MP1, Boss SE-50, SE-70, GX700, TC G Major. Never got past go on the G Major because there some phasing issue's in that unit with certain loops which they fixed with the G Major 2. The last unit was the Korg which had been out awhile, was sitting brand new in this store in Nashville for years. You might remember there was some dude that was the master of that unit that used to post on the old "rack" page. I took the dive but like I said I just didn't have the patience at that point. I did like the Boss SE-70, and I kept an Intellifex as a quick backup in case the Quad went down. I also liked the MP1 but the lag between presets was just a no go. Wish I had the patience with the Korg as I know it's a great unit. And regrettably I never tried the SDE-3000 but they weren't midi.

Heck when I de-racked everything it took me some time to find a pedal delay that I could bond with because I was so attuned to that delay in the Quad. Last time I powered it up I tried to duplicate the Nemesis to get as close as possible. I can get close. Luckily I really love the Nemesis, it's worked great.

I had gotten my rack down as small as possible just to keep that Quad running until I finally cut the cord and de-racked. Sometimes your ears and mind just get locked into something and that's that.
 
For simple and incredibly clean sounding, I cannot recommend the Earthquaker Dispatch Master highly enough. So damn pristine that you really could stick one in the loop of the board of any recording console for vocals. That clean. Reverb and Delay together - or either affect all by itself. Super simple, super intuitive, and just sounds killer.
 
Kapo_Polenton said:
I wonder if that will be their next " waza" mod? A DD-3 with darker more analog delays. That whole waza thing has been amazing for BOSS. Take the mods back from companies that sell kits, sell the pedal for MORE than a new standard BOSS is, very little design changes required to the product.
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I'd like to see a DD-3w that's both a DD-3 and a DD-2.
 
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