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Did you know you can use a delay on bass?!!?!

Unrepresented

Unrepresented

Something Borderline Offensive
Jul 1, 2006
4,353
737
San Diego, CA
www.breakhousemusic.com
#1
Is true!

Not just for guitars!

Anywho, I feel like a tool but over the weekend I used a delay on bass for the first time and realized how much of my life I've wasted without having one.

I had written them off long ago as pointless, but I discovered that they serve a welcome purpose when playing around with synthier sounds.

"It's like I don't need the rest of the band anymore!"

Anyway, I'm telling you stuff you delay-heads already know.

What I need to know is what I should be looking for in a mid-priced, small footprint, 9v powered delay. My anticipated needs are mostly a good clean trail, 3-500millisecond minimum delay (think Edge of U2, Pink Floyd, etc) but some fun features (self-modulation, tap tempo?) in a compact case are welcome.

So, anyone who didn't read that, feel free to recommend a EHX SMMH, or a Boss Space Echo.

My brief experience was with a DD3 in 800ms mode. Liked the size, power, simplicity, and price. Would prefer slightly less muddiness. I did a search on this and it seems like I'd like the Guyatone MD3, too bad the pedal itself is so hideously ugly I'd have to rehouse it to allow it on my board.

Analog v digital isn't my main concern, but rather keeping it from being too dark/muddy. So I'm guessing that the Malekko Dark would probably not be for me.

Someone talk me into one of the following or something similar:

HBE Mimick mock
Boss DD3/6/7
Guyatone MD3 (good luck, it's really ugly)
MXR Carbon Copy (this thing's getting a ton of good press on here)
Malekko Bright 300
etc.
 
#4
HBE Mimick mock

Haven't used it, don't know much about it.

Boss DD3/6/7

Have used the DD3 & DD6, haven't used the DD7. Good, quality delays. Nothing spectacular IMO, but a solid choice.

Guyatone MD3 (good luck, it's really ugly)

Love the tone of this thing. Love. It is the possibly the clearest sounding delay I've tried. It's a one trick pony, but that trick is mighty impressive. Not tap tempo which is a deal breaker for me though.

MXR Carbon Copy (this thing's getting a ton of good press on here)

Haven't tried it. It seems similar to the Guyatone in that it's a one trick pony, but with an analog delay rather than digital. The samples I've heard sound great. Also not tap tempo.

Malekko Bright 300

Have heard it on guitar but haven't tried it or the dark on bass, though nad's clips sound mighty good to me.

Some other options:

Line6 Echo Park

12 different modes, tap tempo and a switch for tape, digital or analog sounds. I had this and the MD-3 at the same time and they are almost complete opposites. The Guyatone does one thing tremendously while the Echo Park is a jack of all trades, master of none. Still it's ridiculously fun to play with and very affordable.

Maxon AD-999

Expensive, but incredible tone. Up to 900 ms of delay with real BBD sound. Possibly my favorite guitar delay ever (my old guitar player loves his) though I haven't played with it much on bass.

Hope that helps.
 
#5
You are on the right track and have mentioned everything that initially came to mind in your stated price range/size/type.

Go for one of the Boss units, they are consistently fantastic. I use a DD-6 (and some other delays), but the -7, -20 and RE-20 would all work great for you, it just depends on your chosen feature set.
 
#6
I will vouch for the Echo Park.

This thing is extremely cheap when you look at the price/features ratio. I love the slap back for guitar but it does plenty of other things. It can get pretty spacy sounding but also does a pretty good Analog emulation. Its not exactly the most natural delay though. I would say that it is a beefed up DD-6 but way cheaper.
 
#7
have only used the line 6 delay and the boss dd-7 i recently picked up used. as far as sound theyre both great- obviously the line 6 is more versatile- but it also costs a lot more and is pretty large.

if i had more room i wouldve gone with the line 6- looper alone is worth the extra cash to me- but the dd-7 is great for my needs- especially with the tap tempo input- which i highly recommend getting.
 
#10
TheBigO said:
Maxon AD-999

Expensive, but incredible tone. Up to 900 ms of delay with real BBD sound. Possibly my favorite guitar delay ever (my old guitar player loves his) though I haven't played with it much on bass.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

I have a Maxon AD-900 [600 ms], and so far it is my favorite Delay pedal on bass. It is almost as cool as my old Space Echo, but without the old tape machine issues and upkeep. The AD-900 is 12 volt, and used a chip that I guess isn't made anymore, I got mine used for a real deal, new they were $400. One of these days I would like to try the AD-999 to compair.
 
#13
Clean? Bright? Tap-Tempo? Digital delay pedals are your best bets for any or all three requirements, IMO.

And I wouldn't consider the SMMH "mid-priced", but it's definitely a good one, and it has some awesome bonus features including modulated delay, reverse delay, multi-tap delay, a Tone knob, etc.... and it's really not that big.

The Boss DD-6 is also pretty clear - it's my understanding that it's more clear than its predecessor, and it's the standard bearer for digital delay pedals.

I will direct you AWAY from the MXR Carbon Copy... I love that pedal, but it's a low-headroom dark-sounding analog delay, so it gets muddy quick if you crank it. While it is simple and compact, the tone you seek is pretty much the opposite of what the Carbon Copy delivers, since the CC is aiming for old-school delay tones.
 
#14
The SMMWH is an awesome choice. Mine is very bright and clear as well. I haven't really messed with to many of the settings, because if found my "one of these days" and my tap tempo settings which suit me just fine. The looper is kinda neat too.
 
#18
TheBigO said:
HBE Mimick mock

Haven't used it, don't know much about it.
Click to expand...
I think it was Nad who didn't like it because it didn't self-occilate, but I think the Mock II does?

I just threw it in because the price is right and I'm happy with my HBE psylocibe.
TheBigO said:
Boss DD3/6/7

Have used the DD3 & DD6, haven't used the DD7. Good, quality delays. Nothing spectacular IMO, but a solid choice.
Click to expand...
Definitely leaning towards this camp, not in love with what I felt the DD3 did to my bypassed tone, but some of that could've been my eyes more than my ears...
TheBigO said:
Guyatone MD3 (good luck, it's really ugly)

Love the tone of this thing. Love. It is the possibly the clearest sounding delay I've tried. It's a one trick pony, but that trick is mighty impressive. Not tap tempo which is a deal breaker for me though.
Click to expand...
I'm torn on this one for a couple reasons:
a) the afforementioned ugliness
b) the one trick pony issue. Granted it does what I think I'm looking for well, but I kinda want to get some options too...
TheBigO said:

MXR Carbon Copy (this thing's getting a ton of good press on here)

Haven't tried it. It seems similar to the Guyatone in that it's a one trick pony, but with an analog delay rather than digital. The samples I've heard sound great. Also not tap tempo.
Click to expand...
I haven't heard any good quality samples of it yet, I'm mostly putting it up there because of the pricepoint and high recommendations...
TheBigO said:
Malekko Bright 300

Have heard it on guitar but haven't tried it or the dark on bass, though nad's clips sound mighty good to me.
Ditto to all that.
Some other options:
Click to expand...
TheBigO said:
Line6 Echo Park

12 different modes, tap tempo and a switch for tape, digital or analog sounds. I had this and the MD-3 at the same time and they are almost complete opposites. The Guyatone does one thing tremendously while the Echo Park is a jack of all trades, master of none. Still it's ridiculously fun to play with and very affordable.
Click to expand...
What's the power supply situation with it? Right now I'm going to have to either buy a second power supply, start daisychaining, or hit up the Costco for a grip of 9v batteries because I'm out of isolated outlets on my PP2+ so both board space and power supply are starting to become an issue, and if I recall these have specialized outlets, no?

Plus, I'm kinda snobbish about the Line6 name. Seems somehow wrong, but perhaps I'm being unnecessarily stubborn...
TheBigO said:
Maxon AD-999

Expensive, but incredible tone. Up to 900 ms of delay with real BBD sound. Possibly my favorite guitar delay ever (my old guitar player loves his) though I haven't played with it much on bass.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
Absolutely helps.:)

I'm really trying to stay below $200 for a delay pedal (I'm not sure how much viability this'll have in a live situation yet). I've got the AF-9, so I'm familiar with the quality of their products, but iirc this one has a street price over $300, right?
bassbmx said:
I take it you're new here, right? Just do a search. There's heaps of info on most topics already :)

Check out the Empress Effects Super Delay. www.empresseffects.com
Click to expand...
Not new, just finally realizing there's a place on my board for a delay pedal.:p

As for that box, I'm already sold if you can get me one for the pricepoint of the boxes I listed.:ninja:
MysticBoo said:
Clean? Bright? Tap-Tempo? Digital delay pedals are your best bets for any or all three requirements, IMO.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I figure that's the case, but didn't want to rule anything else that might crossover and fit most of my needs.
MysticBoo said:
And I wouldn't consider the SMMH "mid-priced", but it's definitely a good one, and it has some awesome bonus features including modulated delay, reverse delay, multi-tap delay, a Tone knob, etc.... and it's really not that big.
Click to expand...
The SMMH would be fun no doubt, but I don't have the board space or the power supply outlets even for the XO sized boxes, mostly because of the full size EHX items I have on my board that take up too much real estate and power supply outlets.:hmm:
MysticBoo said:
The Boss DD-6 is also pretty clear - it's my understanding that it's more clear than its predecessor, and it's the standard bearer for digital delay pedals.
Click to expand...
This is definitely a contender, I don't think I'd ever get any use out of the stereo and panning options, but the tap tempo, reverse, and other options make it rank real high.
MysticBoo said:
I will direct you AWAY from the MXR Carbon Copy... I love that pedal, but it's a low-headroom dark-sounding analog delay, so it gets muddy quick if you crank it. While it is simple and compact, the tone you seek is pretty much the opposite of what the Carbon Copy delivers, since the CC is aiming for old-school delay tones.
Click to expand...
Noted. I may have to get down to the guitar center and a/b some analog v. digital just to find out my opinion. I am a delay n00b.
Mudfuzz said:
Anyone tried the Ibanez AD9 against the Maxon AD-9 Pro? ;)
Click to expand...
I know I just read an article comparing the two... I'm assuming that was on here?
 
#19
More rambling:

With the Echo Park, I've never had a problem or issue with powering it. It seems all the trouble comes about when people try to daisy chain it. But I used a dedicated AC adaptor (Boss PS-120 IIRC) for a while and then for a long time I used one of the plugs on my PPII with zero problems in either case. Now the footswitch does feel a bit cheap, but I gigged with it for quite a while with zero problems. In fact, the only reason I'm getting ready to sell mine is that I finally made up my mind between two more expensive delays. I'd recommend the Echo Park if you are getting a delay more for fun than a specific gigging purpose. It has modes that no other pedal near it's price point have and is easy to spend an entire afternoon playing with. Again, far from pristine sound, but still good and super tweakable.

Moving on, I know Boo is making his recommendations based on you saying that you didn't want your delay to be too muddy, but looking at the examples you gave (Pink Floyd, U2) it seem like you would like a warm, analog delay so long as it doesn't turn to complete mush. The Malekko 300 bright is in your price range, but honestly, that wouldn't be nearly a long enough delay time for me. To me short and "slapback" delays aren't what I want on bass. If the Malekko 600 is too much, then I'd look elsewhere. But I'd at least try the Carbon Copy before ruling it out completely.

If you do decide that you want a digital delay, the Boss stuff is great and in your price range. I actually think delays are among the best (if not the best) things Boss makes. But again, if you don't need tap tempo and you want crystal clear digital repeats, I'd definitely give the Guyatone a spin before making up your mind.
 

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