DL4 vs. RC20 vs Boomerang vs. JamMan

*Steve Lawson Voice On* Buy The Echoplex and tell them I sent you *Steve Lawson Voice Off*

What your saying does sound strangely familiar I think a few people had this problem and its just the way you stop the loop I think. Something about not letting it trail off. I recommend do a search on the Dl4 here because I'm sure I read something similar.

Other than the popping noise what do you think about the DL4?

Hope this helps

 

I was actually thinking about getting a DL4 before, then seeing John Lester use one kinda pushed it from minor GAS to full on blowing-the-walls-down GAS. Is the DL4 any good? I mean it's only £189, which isn't too bad, so how good is it? Versatile, durable?

Thanks for any help,

Mark.

 

I've found mine to be really good. However, I've found one quirk that I'd be interested if anyone has any comments on.

I'm using the official Line-6 power adapter, which takes the AC mains signal and transforms it to 9V AC at 1200mA (so, AC/AC, not AC/DC like most adapters I'm used to). It works just fine except at church on Sunday mornings, where the lights will start flashing and then it will stop working. However, I've tried it in the church at other times and with pretty much the same level of other electrical equipment powered up!

It seems bizarre - my current thought is to get an AC/DC adapter, which the manual says will also work, in case it's due to some kind of power fluctuation issue (on a Sunday morning I guess there are a couple of other things plugged in, including an OHP which might be enough to throw things off?). Or maybe Somebody is trying to tell me something about the wacky spaceship FX and backwards sliding harmonics that the little green box kept tempting me to throw in

All in all though, a pretty good box.

Wulf

 

Of the boxes listed, I think my fave is the DL4 - the option to control some of the parameters with the loop via an expression pedal makes the whole thing so much more 'performable'. I'm still amazed at how much Theo Travis managed to get his to do on 'For The Love Of Open Spaces' - He seemlessly blends from one loop to another, laying and pitch-shifting and generally being amazing with just that one pedal!

The RC-20 has some cool features, though if you get one, superglue the metronome volume in the 'off' position - the quantise thing is a load of balls, and the knob gets turned up in your gigbag on the way to gigs...

The JamMan has some very cool functions - particularly replace, which I'd only just begun to explore when I got my first Echoplex. there's a lot you can do with that. It's also runable in an AUX send cos you can have 100% wet signal coming out of it, which is v. handy.

Boomerang I've never been that impressed with. I think it has a feedback control, which is cool, but it just never struck me as a particularly tactile unit to use for some reason. I know there are some people who love it, but the light hasn't come on for me...

So in closing, BUY AN ECHOPLEX



steve
www.stevelawson.net

 

Nah, it's all good, we quaint English (well, I'm Welsh, but y'know...) folk get your meaning of it, even though here it might be considered a little differently

Time to try and get me some money for a DL4, methinks...

 

Have you searched in the effects forum on DL4? I put a thread up there with some effects "patches". It might provide some inspiration for playing with it...

I've also developed a rather screamingly good sweep echo patch that *almost* but not quite goes into complete feedback mayhem. It's very cool for layering over the top sounds on a loop.

 

I have a DL4 and really like it - the more so since it just got back from the repair shop. I had some switch troubles as well, which led to that "pop" as well as other, worse problems. The pop is gone now, though.

The only issue I have with it is that you can't use the other effects when in looping mode, which is a pity, but it's definitely still worth the money.

 

Mike's weird sounds with the DL4 are excellent, and well worth looking up. Some cool chorus and flange ideas he managed to squeeze out of it too.

But stop all this DL4 talk, or I'll be wanting to buy one again...

Steve
www.stevelawson.net

 

Link: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47797&highlight=dl4+effects

I'll try to get a handle on the sweep echo madness this evening and report back... Stay tuned! In fact, what the heck... I'll even post some sound samples to go with. Whee!!

 

DONE!
Check out my c0oL 100pz...
http://mysite.freeserve.com/mikeandcatherine/bass/DL4/DL4.html

 

Ahoy me hearties,
Could anyone tell me how long the over-all memory is of the DL4? It says 14 seconds on the site, so does that mean you can record 14 seconds of loops?
Thanks very much,
Mark.

 

hi Mark,

it's 28 seconds. I still have no idea why they keep putting 14 on their promo stuff - the unit has a half-speed function, and you can start recording in half speed, so get 28 seconds. Even in half speed mode, the sample quality is better than a lot of other boxes...

steve
www.stevelawson.net

 

This is more posting for my guitarist now:

"Is that really long enough to do much stuff?"

My guitarist and I are doing two bands - one with him on guitar, and another experimentally sorta one with drum and bass with some funk guitar and him on a didgeridoo. Anyhoo, he's looking into getting a DL4 to use in conjunction with either his G-Force or one of his other colourful stampy things, and being the doubter he is, he doesn't think that 14 seconds is long enough :S

Would he be right in thinking that? He's going for either a boomerang or a DL4, so which is the best option?

sorry for the persistent questioning!