hunter
Active member
Got the Nova Delay 2 weeks ago.
Unpacking Experience
First impression was good, it was heavier and more sturdy built than I had expected. Powered up it looks really sexy with its big display and many blinking stuff going on
First Impression
When I hooked it up I had the first positive surprise: It does Studio/Line or Instrument levels. So I was able to try and chose the best connection on my amps with multiple options (Bogner Shiva, Marshall 2266) or use it on any amp that only supports either (e.g. Budda Superdrive). Next thing is that it is self-adjusting. In fact you press the preset button for 3 seconds and the pedal starts its auto-levelling mode, then you give it your loudest signal, while the pedal does some auto adjustments (you can also read the level in dB on the display) and you're set. Takes you 1 minute to adjust the pedal to a different amp's loop. So audio level wise (IMO a very important aspect, where I was for example very disappointed with my T-Rex Replica) this is as good as it gets!
Going through the presets immediately shows the variety this pedal has to offer. And yes, it seems to have lots of different sounds and features, although it's small and in the mid price segment (I'd say low for Delays is around 100, mid around 200 and top range is >350).
Fancy Stuff
There are some innovative ideas that went into the usage and features of thie pedal, so let me give you a selection of my favourites:
1. It does the clean digital stuff and the fat analog/tape stuff equally well, and there is a color poti going from tape via analog to digital, ind it does exactly this very convincingly.
2. It has tap tempo which is cool, but it's got something even better: Keep the tap tempo button pressed and hit your strings in the beat (pedal mutes while doing that) and you're set. For me this works much better than tapping.
3. It has many different rhythmic modes for quarter, triplet, but also more fancy stuff which is even more stunning when you can use the pedal in stereo.
4. Stereo ins and outs
5. It has a big display which shows delay time in ms or bpm
6. Spillover (optional) which let's the delays keep decaying while you already switched off the pedal and play a no-FX rhythm part.
7. Extensive modulation possibilities. Though the Mod is never extreme in an unuseable way.
Overall, this pedal has more than most others in its price range. But that doesn't mean it's better than a Boss DD-20, it's just a different animal and it depends on your taste what you prefer.
Downsides
Personally, I don't dig the ducking mode so much. I mean it works very well, but I would prefer to have the possibility to keep some delay signal while playing. On the nova, ducking means that there is no delay signal coming through as long as you play. The delays are fading in very nicely though and it can be used to some effect.
Secondly the pedal runs on 12V DC, this is not exceptional and there are other pedals that need AC which is even more annoying, but it does mean more stress in terms of power supply facilities needed.
Only other thing that bothers me is the awkward behaviour of the tempo adjustment in case you don't wanna tap or "play" the tempo. The poti works with a middle position where there is no change to delay time, moving the poti to the right will increase the delay time - slowly first and then increasingly faster as you turn up the knob, same for decreasing turning to the left. Personally this is OK for me and I understand that this might be the only way to set a time very accurately by the ms if you have 2290 options on one poti. I am mostly using tap/play anyways.
Sound Quality
The bypass is as neutral as on my Lexicon rack unit, which was my reference until now
The delays sound very pristine and clear. This means that even in tape mode, when they are very warm, they don't mess up your signal in a way that it becomes undistinguishable. You can hear and feel the experience and passion of the people who developed this pedal. Well it comes from sweden, and there is a lot of the swedish design and life philosophy reflected (at least as far as I know swedish people). It's clean, it's quality, it's clever ... and it's pretty
From the delays I have owned, this is the best so far. I wouldn't say I'm a delayomaniac, but I owned/own T-Rex Replica, Diamond Memory Lane, Danelectro Reel Echo, Ibanez, Roland SE 70, Lexicon MX200, Lexicon Reflex.
Sound Sample
This is not showing all different and extreme settings, but rather demonstrating the clarity while warmness of the pedal. I recorded this with a Tascam DR-1 in the room with its integrated mics, so please keep in mind that this is not a closeup recording, but includes a lot of room ambience.
Unpacking Experience
First impression was good, it was heavier and more sturdy built than I had expected. Powered up it looks really sexy with its big display and many blinking stuff going on
First Impression
When I hooked it up I had the first positive surprise: It does Studio/Line or Instrument levels. So I was able to try and chose the best connection on my amps with multiple options (Bogner Shiva, Marshall 2266) or use it on any amp that only supports either (e.g. Budda Superdrive). Next thing is that it is self-adjusting. In fact you press the preset button for 3 seconds and the pedal starts its auto-levelling mode, then you give it your loudest signal, while the pedal does some auto adjustments (you can also read the level in dB on the display) and you're set. Takes you 1 minute to adjust the pedal to a different amp's loop. So audio level wise (IMO a very important aspect, where I was for example very disappointed with my T-Rex Replica) this is as good as it gets!
Going through the presets immediately shows the variety this pedal has to offer. And yes, it seems to have lots of different sounds and features, although it's small and in the mid price segment (I'd say low for Delays is around 100, mid around 200 and top range is >350).
Fancy Stuff
There are some innovative ideas that went into the usage and features of thie pedal, so let me give you a selection of my favourites:
1. It does the clean digital stuff and the fat analog/tape stuff equally well, and there is a color poti going from tape via analog to digital, ind it does exactly this very convincingly.
2. It has tap tempo which is cool, but it's got something even better: Keep the tap tempo button pressed and hit your strings in the beat (pedal mutes while doing that) and you're set. For me this works much better than tapping.
3. It has many different rhythmic modes for quarter, triplet, but also more fancy stuff which is even more stunning when you can use the pedal in stereo.
4. Stereo ins and outs
5. It has a big display which shows delay time in ms or bpm
6. Spillover (optional) which let's the delays keep decaying while you already switched off the pedal and play a no-FX rhythm part.
7. Extensive modulation possibilities. Though the Mod is never extreme in an unuseable way.
Overall, this pedal has more than most others in its price range. But that doesn't mean it's better than a Boss DD-20, it's just a different animal and it depends on your taste what you prefer.
Downsides
Personally, I don't dig the ducking mode so much. I mean it works very well, but I would prefer to have the possibility to keep some delay signal while playing. On the nova, ducking means that there is no delay signal coming through as long as you play. The delays are fading in very nicely though and it can be used to some effect.
Secondly the pedal runs on 12V DC, this is not exceptional and there are other pedals that need AC which is even more annoying, but it does mean more stress in terms of power supply facilities needed.
Only other thing that bothers me is the awkward behaviour of the tempo adjustment in case you don't wanna tap or "play" the tempo. The poti works with a middle position where there is no change to delay time, moving the poti to the right will increase the delay time - slowly first and then increasingly faster as you turn up the knob, same for decreasing turning to the left. Personally this is OK for me and I understand that this might be the only way to set a time very accurately by the ms if you have 2290 options on one poti. I am mostly using tap/play anyways.
Sound Quality
The bypass is as neutral as on my Lexicon rack unit, which was my reference until now
The delays sound very pristine and clear. This means that even in tape mode, when they are very warm, they don't mess up your signal in a way that it becomes undistinguishable. You can hear and feel the experience and passion of the people who developed this pedal. Well it comes from sweden, and there is a lot of the swedish design and life philosophy reflected (at least as far as I know swedish people). It's clean, it's quality, it's clever ... and it's pretty
From the delays I have owned, this is the best so far. I wouldn't say I'm a delayomaniac, but I owned/own T-Rex Replica, Diamond Memory Lane, Danelectro Reel Echo, Ibanez, Roland SE 70, Lexicon MX200, Lexicon Reflex.
Sound Sample
This is not showing all different and extreme settings, but rather demonstrating the clarity while warmness of the pedal. I recorded this with a Tascam DR-1 in the room with its integrated mics, so please keep in mind that this is not a closeup recording, but includes a lot of room ambience.
