to owners of the BOSS dd-20

beyondthe48 · #1 01-21-2008, 08:13 AM

i understand that the pedal on the left is an on/off button but concerning the pedal on the right - do you have to hold it down for 2 seconds to go into tap tempo mode like on the DD-3 or DD-6 (single pedals?)

or can you just set it to tap tempo and once turned on with the left, easy tapped in with the right without first having to hold it down for 2 seconds??

none of the sites i have seen answer this basic question.

slareman · #2 01-21-2008, 08:19 AM

My experience has been that you have to hold the right pedal down to get to tap tempo mode every time you power on the DD-20. I even have an external footswitch plugged in and it still works this way.

Justin Tuskey · #3 01-21-2008, 08:37 AM

My guitarist has one of these and I hused it for a while and helped him set it up. By itself, you have to hold down the right pedal to go into tap tempo mode (and obviously cannot cycle through the patches) but he has a tap tempo footswitch plugged into the tap tempo out jack, and he doesnt need to hold it down. Just tap for the tempo and its good, and then he can use the right pedal to cycle through his different presets

Swimming Bird · #4 01-21-2008, 03:32 PM

What happens to the sound when you cycle between presets?

Justin Tuskey · #5 01-21-2008, 08:16 PM

i believe it cuts out, which sucks, but you just have to be tactful about where you are making your preset changes in the songs. ill pay close attention tomorrow when we play and bring some useful info back. overall though its a great little pedal

slareman · #6 01-22-2008, 07:19 AM

It is true that the external tap tempo can work as a tap tempo without holding down the built-in pedal on the right. As for switching presets, it fades out, and this also happens when you turn off the delay completely.

fretlessrock · #7 01-22-2008, 07:41 AM

I've been using a DD-20 for over four years, and use the external switch to set tap-tempo. Using the right pedal option is a little slow, but once you get used to it it works fine. I don't use it because I am fairly consistent in forgetting that I am in tap mode when I want to change presets.

When you turn the DD-20 on, the right pedal is set up for patch switching. I do not think there is a way to override that.

Also, The sound does not cut abruptly between settings. If you have a short delay set then it might not blend very well with a long repeat, but it still does a fade out.

The DD-20 as been the most reliable and useful pedal that I have owned. I use it with a RC-20XL, and they make a great combination, but if I had to choose I would keep the DD-20. One really cool thing about the Tap Tempo feature is that you can set up a "normal" delay and then use tap to set loop length. It makes for more interesting sounding loops than you get with SOS, and you can do some really interesting layering this way as well.

Have you looked for a DD-20 manual download? I think that roland.us has it on the product page.

Swimming Bird · #8 01-22-2008, 08:38 AM

Yeah, loops the Frippertronics way are much more interesting.

Alright, you got me GASing for an upgrade; my DD-6 is no longer enough.

Justin Tuskey · #9 01-22-2008, 08:38 PM

Yeah, it definitely doesnt cut out, checked tonight. It just fades. Great stinking pedal though

SpankyPants · #10 01-22-2008, 08:46 PM

Can't agree more.