Delay pedal recommendations?

[kenjones]

I currently have a Boss DD-5. I like it okay. I had a DD-3 before the DD-5 and I noticed a big difference between the two. I didn't like the DD-3 at all. The DD-3 sounded "muffled" compared to the DD-5.

With all the pedals that I have, I'm building a second, smaller pedalboard to keep around to take out to gigs and realized that I miss having a delay on it.

Anyone using the Guyatone MD-3? Any other recommendations?

[MCChris]

Anyone using the Guyatone MD-3?

I have one on my board. I don't have a lot of experience with a bunch of different delay pedals, but this one sounds good and does what I want it to do.

[Guest teefus2]

at one time i had quite a few delay pedals and was able to compare them side-by-side. i have a guyatone md-2, md-3, korg 103dl, line 6 dl4, line 6 echo park, sib echo drive and an sib mr echo. after listneing to them and playing them live, i ended up keeping the sib echo drive and the sib mr echo. they sounded the best ot my ears. mr echo goes to the open stage where real estate is more valuable and the echo drive stays on my stage rig pedal board. both sib delays sound very musical to me. mr echo (9v or adapter) goes for around $100 and the echo drive (a/c only) around $250.

[Jeff R]

Considering how cheap they are, give several Danelectro DanEcho pedals a spin.

I say several because I got one that sounded great, very warm with the BFVR I was using at the time, but the pedal died about a year after I got it. First pedal I ever had die - I don't put the "stomp" in stompbox if you know what I mean.

I got a replacement under warranty and it sounded like ass compared to the first one. Apparently the factory gets the cheapest parts they can find to make the pedal work, regardless of quality or specs. I played through another one a few months ago. Not as good as the first one but better sounding than the second one. Go figure.

Find one that sounds good, buy it and submit the warranty card immediately haha!

Edited to add that I'm currently using a Boss DD-6. Not the greatest sounding but it's sufficient for my needs right now.

[discountsounds]

I'm not a big delay user, but I've had the Guyatone delay in my rig for almost a year and it's pretty good. It doesn't seem to suck the tone much at all, but the small controls are*really* touchy. It's sometimes difficult to dial in just the right amount of delay and I never try to mess with it on the fly during an actually gig. Since I don't use it all that often, I haven't bothered to upgrade, but based on teefus2's recommendation, I might check out those sib pedals.

Also, I personally don't care for the Danelectro pedals. I haven't tried their delay, but other pedals in their line have been serious tone suckers. I don't like the cheap plastic knobs either and I'm not a big fan of their spongy footswitches. I much prefer the solid 'click' feeling you get when stepping on an MXR-type footswitch.

Good luck!

[anotherfreak2]

I have been really happy with the VS H2O, I've been using mine for years with no problems. It's pretty cheap, it's 9V and it comes packaged with a nice chorus if you want it

[JohnnyB]

Your search won't be complete unless you try at least 2 or 3 of these:

Maxon AD999 Analog Delay

Maxon AD-9 Analog Delay

Guyatone FLIP Series TD-X Tube Echo

Concerning the Guyatone FLIP model, the website ad copy says:

All new - hybrid digital delay circuit w/parallel tube gain stage allows for ultra-long delays w/the warmth and clarity of analog units! 2600 mS delay time; Delay Level, Delay Time, and Feedback controls. Analog Simulation knob blends in tube saturation on the repeats while Tape Simulation knob blends in EQ curve that cuts ultra lows and ultra highs and boosts lower mids. Dual Outputs w/True Bypass Switching using 3PDT switch.

Digital delay with tube-driven analog section -- how cool is that? That's an enormous range of delay, and the price on this one is $100+ less than the two above.

Guyatone MD-3 Micro Digital Delay

I'm a big fan of the Maxon and Guyatone stuff distributed by Godlyke. I have a Maxon OD-808, a Guyatone Flip tube-driven tremolo, and an (out of production) MR-2 Guyatone Micro-Reverb. All are superb.

I have a friend who's got some of the pickiest ears for gear (early 1960 Gib LP Custom Blk Beauty with 3 hand-picked PAFs, 1966 Marshall Bluesbreaker, etc.) and he was wildly enthusiastic about the Maxon AD 999 as the best delay he'd ever heard.

The Guyatone micro-digital stuff is very clean, but doesn't particularly sound digital. What you'll find in the differences among the Maxons is largely how much range each of the pedals has in delay times and repeats. These days the AD-999 and AD-9 are about the same price.

Maxon was the builder behind all those legendary Ibanez pedals of the '70s and '80s. They are building many of these from their stockpile of out-of-production NOS chips that made those pedals work and sound so good.

And for trem, nothing can touch the Guyatone Flip Series VT-X tube-driven vintage tremolo.:

[JohnnyB]

Also, if you haven't done this already, wire your pedal board with the cut-to-fit, extremely low capacitance George L cables to minimize tone suck.

[kraut]

I agree with anotherfreak. The H2O's delay is on the warm analogsounding side.

The short delay is very Rockabilly!!

[Guest teefus2]

FWIW, the korg 103 was the next best soundwise. the build quality sucks and they crap out pretty quickly. there are issues with the swithces, knobs and overly stressed pc boards inside. the knobs on mine started doing things other than what they were labelled to and the switches were real intermittent.

[Guest Mike Lee]

I've got a Maxon AD-900 which is no longer available. The AD-999 replaced it, but uses eight 9-volt BBD chips instead the four 12-volt chips in the AD900. The 12-volt Panasonic BBD chips are no longer in production.

I haven't tried the AD-999 but some have said it has less headroom and not quite as great a tone as the AD-900. But the convenience of 9-volt power is appealing since I have to use a non-standard 12-volt supply just for the AD-900.

Really, ALL of Maxon's analog delays are great, just pick the one with enough delay time. Of course, you have to like the warm analog delay sound. If you find it too "muddy" then stick with a digital delay.

[SirDouglas]

About 15 years ago Digitech made a 2 sec delay that i used for about 5 years and loved it .. then i moved and guess what... it got stolen... anyways that to me beat out any at the time rack mount and or pedal available... i understand this is now and not 15 years ago.. but if you an find one i highly suggest you at least try it before you buy another one.... youll be surprised at what it can do..

Sir Douglas

Randy

[Scooter]

+1 on the H2O

[bobsessed]

I didn't want to buy a "cheapo" pedal that would surely sound bad, but at a friends reccomendation, I got an Ibanez Soundtank DL-5 (out of production). Sounds WAY better'n my SIB Mr. Echo (sold it) and a Boss RV-3 I tried for a while was the sorriest thing I've ever heard. The Ibanez is all over Ebay and can be had for 40 bucks! -Bob-

[kenjones]

Thanks to everyone for their input.

I think I've narrowed it down to either the H20 or the MD-3. I believe the dealer down the street from me might carry both - I'll go check them out and see what I think.

And yes - my pedalboard is wired with George L's cut-to-fit cables. I really like how it keeps the board tidy.