which delay to buy?

xxDavidxx · #1 05-01-2009, 10:42 AM

it's my birthday very soon, which means: new bass gear

right now i'm looking for a good delay pedal. price range €80-150.

i've been looking at some specs, reviews and demos already, and what seems good to me is the Boss DD-7, which is in my price range.
BUT, i have no experience with delay pedals AT ALL. all i've got myself is an overdrive pedal, and the controls are pretty straightforward on that.

i play mostly post-metal inspired folk metal, and the band is going in a more post-rockish direction lately.
what i'm looking for is a cool, functional delay, which can make a crazy sound on it's own, and add an extra dimension to my sound while playing with the band.

i've got 2 questions:
-does anyone have any experience with the dd-7?
-is this a good pedal for what i'm looking for, or is there maybe something else right for me?

thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for the advice :]

o yeah, i'm playing on an ibanez GSR205, my own amp is a cheapo 30W, but i play a lot through a peavey tnt115, and i'm possibly buying one coming year.

Jared Lash · #2 05-01-2009, 10:50 AM

For post rock, the DD-7 strikes me as a bit cold and digital sounding, but it is pretty feature packed.

I really depends on what options you want (tap tempo, really long delay times, ability to self oscillate, digital/tape/analog sounds etc) but based on what you've described I think I'd rather have something like the Carbon Copy which could also double as a reverb.

xxDavidxx · #3 05-01-2009, 10:57 AM

well, to be honest i'm not all to sure what i want, because i have no idea what different delay sounds are out there. tap tempo would be good, an d a long delay time = awesome because of spacyness.

as i said, i don't know much, but what i Do know is that i like this sound:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjS1fmf4Wfg

fishtx · #4 05-01-2009, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheBigO

For post rock, the DD-7 strikes me as a bit cold and digital sounding, but it is pretty feature packed.

I really depends on what options you want (tap tempo, really long delay times, ability to self oscillate, digital/tape/analog sounds etc) but based on what you've described I think I'd rather have something like the Carbon Copy which could also double as a reverb.

Yep, the Carbon Copy might be a good choice...but if you need any of the other options "The Big O" mentioned, you might want to also check out the Line 6 Echo Park...it's a feature rich delay at a resonable price...

Jared Lash · #5 05-01-2009, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishtx

Yep, the Carbon Copy might be a good choice...but if you need any of the other options "The Big O" mentioned, you might want to also check out the Line 6 Echo Park...it's a feature rich delay at a resonable price...

True.

My standard set of recommendations at the lower price point goes something like this:

Echo Park - absolutely packed with features and decent sound quality

Guyatone MD-3 - Crystal Clear repeats, pretty wide range of delay times and even cool self-oscillation. Somewhat questionable construction

MXR Carbon Copy - fantastic sounding analog delay, can do a good reverb sound and is capable of crazy self-oscillation. Being analog it only has 600 ms of delay time. Also, the one I had was returned because of noise issues though many report no problems.

dannybuoy · #6 05-01-2009, 11:04 AM

EHX Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai is great - the repeats can get nice and warm using the filter knob, some of the modes are really trippy like reverse and multitap set to fade in, it has great reverb, plus you can use the looper to build up noise loops. Tap tempo is also very useful! I didn't like the blend knob though, it reduces the volume of your dry signal as you fade in more of the delayed signal which is a bummer. The Digitech Hardwire is a newer pedal that offers similar features in smaller package too.

I recently sold my SMMH to get a Carbon Copy, mainly because the CC can do wild and crazy self oscillation so that you can play it like an instrument in it's own right - see this clip, especially at 6 minutes in: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiZ95CXnPrA. Can't really get a good reverb out of it like you can with the SMMH though.

I really miss the SMMH though and may pick up another one later on down the line! Also, lots of post-rock bands seem to be using the Boss RV-3.

dannybuoy · #7 05-01-2009, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxDavidxx

well, to be honest i'm not all to sure what i want, because i have no idea what different delay sounds are out there. tap tempo would be good, an d a long delay time = awesome because of spacyness.

as i said, i don't know much, but what i Do know is that i like this sound:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjS1fmf4Wfg

Nice clip! You want a digital delay for that kinda clean sound, most analog delays sound a bit warm and muddied compared to that (except the Malekko Echo 600B), especially at long delay times. Try and get to a shop and compare the Boss DD / Digitech Hardwire / Line6 Echo Park etc and see what you prefer.

xxDavidxx · #8 05-01-2009, 11:16 AM

i think i'll be headed for the local guitarshop somewhere next week to test some stuff...

i know they've at least got the dd-7 there, so i can see if i like that...

o yeah, and i'm not really going for the noisy sound, more the spacy, gorgeous delay sound.

i play with either really round tone (singlecoil neck pickup, lot of mids and lowmids and highmids, not a lot of treble) or with a bright treble sound (neck+bridge pickups, pretty lot of treble, less bass and mids)

jetofuj · #9 05-01-2009, 12:50 PM

I think that Subdecay Echobox is excellent. You can find samples in wiki.

RobJeff3 · #10 05-01-2009, 12:54 PM

I think the eventide is pretty cool, but it's not cheap. I think now a days if your are going to get a delay it should have a little loop in it too. Line 6 does, and some others. As far as a delay that you can preprogram to be awesome the Nova Delay by TC electronics is awesome, and they are releasing a new one with out all the memory(wrong word)without the ability to save settings and much more straight forward, that looks off the chain.

bobbass4k · #11 05-01-2009, 01:04 PM

I play post-rock kind of stuff, and i LOVE my dd-20 (boss giga delay) a new one is probably out of your budget, but I got mine used for £100. I use it a lot for soundscapes, set the feedback to max, twiddle with a few knobs and you're in the middle of a laser gun battle on another planet been attacked by a giant space squid.

I don't think it sounds cold, digital delay gets a bad rap, 95% of the time live, no-one will be able to tell the difference

Peppacone · #12 05-01-2009, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxDavidxx

well, to be honest i'm not all to sure what i want, because i have no idea what different delay sounds are out there. tap tempo would be good, an d a long delay time = awesome because of spacyness.

as i said, i don't know much, but what i Do know is that i like this sound:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjS1fmf4Wfg

Well, the guy says he's using a Boss ME-50 so you should probably take a look at the Boss pedals if that's the sound you want.

FreaqyFrequency · #13 05-01-2009, 04:04 PM

TC Electronic just released the Nova Repeater, a stripped down version of the Nova Delay for $149. TC makes a killer digital delay, much warmer than BOSS or DigiTech delays if you ask me.

kevteop · #14 05-01-2009, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxDavidxx

right now i'm looking for a good delay pedal. price range €80-150.

I think the Line 6 Echo Park is a really good "first delay". It's got tonnes of features, analogue and tape modelling, modulation, repeats sounds really good, got tap tempo, etc. It would be a good first buy because even if you don't like it, you can find out which features you want on your next delay. Or even if you want a delay at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xxDavidxx

o yeah, i'm playing on an ibanez GSR205, my own amp is a cheapo 30W, but i play a lot through a peavey tnt115, and i'm possibly buying one coming year.

Some sections of the FX forum may hate me for this but honestly in your shoes I would be saving for a better amp. No point spending a bunch of money on effects if the gear you've got to reproduce the sound isn't good enough. Do yourself and your band a favour and start looking at 300W amps and cabs. Those Peavey combos are pretty good for the money but it sounds like that one is borrowed - your immediate priorities should be to have a good bass and amp that you can gig with.

*insertcoolname · #15 05-01-2009, 11:06 PM

I rock the DD-7 and I really like it. It was also my first delay pedal and although some people view it as a minus, I really like the stone cold reproduction of notes. I think a delay should sound exactly like your signal and that's what it does. It also has an analoge simulater mode that sounds pretty good as well. It's a really sharp pedal.

fightthepower · #16 05-01-2009, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevteop

I think the Line 6 Echo Park is a really good "first delay". It's got tonnes of features, analogue and tape modelling, modulation, repeats sounds really good, got tap tempo, etc. It would be a good first buy because even if you don't like it, you can find out which features you want on your next delay. Or even if you want a delay at all.

Some sections of the FX forum may hate me for this but honestly in your shoes I would be saving for a better amp. No point spending a bunch of money on effects if the gear you've got to reproduce the sound isn't good enough. Do yourself and your band a favour and start looking at 300W amps and cabs. Those Peavey combos are pretty good for the money but it sounds like that one is borrowed - your immediate priorities should be to have a good bass and amp that you can gig with.

I was thinking the same thing about the amp, especially since the OP is already in a band.

xxDavidxx · #17 05-02-2009, 02:19 AM

this effect will be from my birthday money, but i'm going to take a summer job to get a secondhand peavey tnt115.

and possibly a mockingbird...

franchelB · #18 05-02-2009, 05:55 AM

I love my Digitech Digidelay, but I realize that it has more features than I could ever use...sometimes I think I would've been better off using a Boss DD3, which I think has a "warmer" delay...
then I'd be wishing for more features that my Digidelay has...

Decisions, decisions....

theunknowndude · #19 05-02-2009, 06:27 AM

I have the DL8 delap/looper and the carbon copy,...

the DL8 is excellent to me, very clean sounding and lots of nice options,... plus the idea of having a 'notchy' knob as opposed to smooth knobs rocks (especially when some knobs on some pedals are soooo touch sensitive),... for longer clean delays/looping the DL8 is my weapon of choice, although I really do like its modulated setting,...

for the most part, I use the Carbon copy on my board, mix at about 2 o'clock position and the other knobs at noon, gets a nice warm just above slap back with a few repeats going,... very good for making long notes sound creepy! of course there's a lot of other things the carbon copy can do but thats my fav setting,... it can KIND of do long delays, like the full 600ms is too much for me, too spaced out, although some people like that thing...

takfar · #20 05-02-2009, 07:11 AM

I'm thinking about getting a delay myself in the coming months, And I've got the DD-7 in my sights... long delays, reverse delay, looper... looks like a really cool little box. I don't even understand what the "tap tempo" thing is about, but it's good to know it's there too, hahah.