Going back to basics with delay pedals

  • Thread starter Thread starter GearGasms
  • Start date Start date
GearGasms

GearGasms

Doctor Love
I'm like a lot of guitar players who maybe shun the tried and true, the boring pedals that everyone uses and instead first purchase something more "exotic". That doesn't always work out. I originally bought the EHX Canyon delay because of all the demos I saw and how much it can do. Turns out, all that it can do makes it a pain in the butt to use live.
So it's back to basics and simplicity- The Boss DD3-T delay pedal. Simple and classic. Does what I need it to do and does it well.
What are some of the pedal purchases that you made where you eventually ended going back to something tried and true?
Have a Mediocre Weekend everyone!
alan

 
I went from a complicated multi fx platform back to a strymon timeline. That was a back to basic move for me to have something that just does delay only. Cool video 👍
 
I hear ya. To be honest, the DD3T sounds better than the “complicated” pedals. I recently spent an entire weekend with the following: DD3T, DD200, Strymon DIG, SA Nemesis, Keeley Halo, Boss DM-2W, MXR Echoplex, MXR Carbon Copy Mini, EHX Nano DMM, EQ Dispatch Master, and T-Rex V2 Replica.

The top 3 to my ears are the DD3T, Dispatch Master, and Nano DMM. Hard to choose which I like best but the DD3T just delivers. It has the most natural sounding decay of the lot. If it had a tone or hi-cut knob then it would be a no brainer. The Nano DMM sounds the best when used at gig volume. I’m guessing that’s because it handles hot loop signals better than the others.
 
To be honest, the only reason I go for the higher dollar delays is because none of the cheaper ones have a tone knob. That’s all I want, a simple digital delay with a tone knob that lets me dial out the highs from the repeats so they don’t interfere with the detail of the playing, but for some reason, in all of its genius, the entire guitar industry has thus far been unable to provide a cheap, simple delay pedal that also lets players roll off the highs.
 
TheGreatGreen said:
To be honest, the only reason I go for the higher dollar delays is because none of the cheaper ones have a tone knob. That’s all I want, a simple digital delay with a tone knob that lets me dial out the highs from the repeats so they don’t interfere with the detail of the playing, but for some reason, in all of its genius, the entire guitar industry has thus far been unable to provide a cheap, simple delay pedal that also lets players roll off the highs.
Click to expand...
Yeah that's something that I don't need because I mainly run it with high gain, about 380ms and a repeat and a half, mixed at around 15%. So the eq curve of the tails is something I never have to futz with. I can see how that would be a thing for sure.
 
GearGasms said:
Yeah that's something that I don't need because I mainly run it with high gain, about 380ms and a repeat and a half, mixed at around 15%. So the eq curve of the tails is something I never have to futz with. I can see how that would be a thing for sure.
Click to expand...

Playing with high gain is specifically why I want a tone knob on a delay. High gain = lots of upper harmonic frequency content = lots of distracting noise in the delay repeats that interfere with the detail of the playing.

If the delay has a tone knob to turn down, then doing that makes the repeats turn into a kind of ambient background wash that helps fill in the space between notes. But without a tone knob, you just get a full-bandwidth, amateurish sounding congested mess of noise that sounds like 2-3 guitar players playing different parts at different times, all competing for attention.
 
Last edited:
I'm a delay fanatic and because I'm a Keeley bto, I have the Caverns, Halo, Eccos, and even the Dark Side. With that said, they are awesome for cleaner stuff and very ambient but I wanted something more simple for solos with high gain. I ended up getting an MXR Mini Carbon Copy and love that damn thing. I never turn it off! I have it running all the time with more subtle settings.
 
I have a timeline, halo , and a digitech hardwire.
I like the digitech all around.
The other 2 are great for cleans.
I need to try a dd3.
I like simple.
The delays on my roctron intelifex are really good.
I pretty much run delay on everything, just a little bit though to fatten things up.
 
23273B3D-90F0-4B0A-81CD-61532F0317D4.jpeg
E115EA2D-37B7-4679-8258-6E14266D344E.jpeg

sometimes the simple run and gun pedal is the right option. dd-2 works fine in the loop of my mark III.
 
japetus said:
Very cool pedal, I wish I had another one. I am shocked they haven't skyrocketed in price over the years.
Click to expand...

Yeah there’s a unique chip in them I guess they don’t make anymore, looks like they are even cheaper now than they were. Just wait till JHS does a video and they will be 4x as much
 
TheGreatGreen said:
Playing with high gain is specifically why I want a tone knob on a delay. High gain = lots of upper harmonic frequency content = lots of distracting noise in the delay repeats that interfere with the detail of the playing.

If the delay has a tone knob to turn down, then doing that makes the repeats turn into a kind of ambient background wash that helps fill in the space between notes. But without a tone knob, you just get a full-bandwidth, amateurish sounding congested mess of noise that sounds like 2-3 guitar players playing different parts at different times, all competing for attention.
Click to expand...
I use this analog delay which does exactly that. This delay has a lot of character, both in the repeats themselves and the overall EQ response of the unit. It's not transparent but it colors the tone very favorably. I also had the digital Memory Lane Jr pedal which doubled the delay time but didn't sound nearly as good or feel nearly as dynamic (it's running on lower voltages). The warmth and width to the modulation on the analog one is incredible but very weak on the digital Jr.

DML.jpg
 
Last edited:
All you need right here. Simple to use.
 

Attachments

  • 546848E8-9913-40A7-8355-03A0DCA76768.jpeg
    546848E8-9913-40A7-8355-03A0DCA76768.jpeg
    911.3 KB · Views: 84
I love the older DD3. I have a black label Japanese one that I love.

The Strymon volante is the shit though.
 
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.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top