Pedalboard space isn't a huge factor
sound is more important than features. Lush repeats and oscillations are where I'm at. and Tap is a must. I've owned digital delays in the past and i've seen the TimeFactor and the ML2 in action (my guitarist has both) and i get the functionality of both. In real life however I'm just wondering what the bassists of the web are thinking.
The Super Delay is cool but I'm not so sure I'd use all that and I've heard everything goes the the A/D converter. Does the dry signal go throught the A/D on the TF?
Ok, now you gave enough information.
First off, the main thing about delay on bass is that what might sound great on guitar- like old analog/ dark and warm repeats- can easily get buried in a mix on bass.
Digital delays that are high end usually still sound great on bass (natural. warm, etc.) so I wouldn't get too wrapped up in the analog/ digital part. Even a delay which might sound a bit sterile on guitar can sound good on bass because of the frequency that you sit on a mix. However none of those delays are even mentioned in this thread.
For sheer sound quality, The Diamond Memory Lane and The Empress SD can't really be beat.
You are not going to get your dry signal passing through unconverted with a digital delay, unless you have a Memory Lane, Pigtronix Echolution, or Damage Control Timeline (Which, by the way is what I have but they do not make them anymore).
The Super Delay, The Memory Lane (1 or 2), and the Echolution all sound better (more natural and warm, but still clear) to me than the Timefactor. The Timefactor is really clear, but a bit clinical/ processed sounding IN COMPARISON to the other delays that have mentioned. Tts also an overkill if you don't need tons of features.
However, if pre-sets are important, than the Timefactor has the Empress beat with ease of use in a live setting and it also has more patches. it also has an seemingly unlimited amount of tonal and feature options. This is the best delay out there in terms of features and tweakability.
Super lush repeats AND crazy oscillation would be the territory of The Empress and the Memory Lane, although the Empress has a wide variety of oscillating sounds. They are crazy oscillation- the Empress is just spectacular in general.
You get really crazy and easy-to-dial-in repeats with the Echolution. The oscillation though is not as smooth in transition as the Empress and Memory Lane.
The pedal that wasn't mentioned that you might want to take a look at is Analogman ARDX20. It is also the cheapest of the of the bunch.
Or and if you need the most amount of delay time, the Pigtronix Echolution mops all other delays off the floor.
Personally, if I didn't have my favorite delay, The Timeline, I would grab the Empress Delay. And if I didn't need pre-sets or quite as crazy modulation, the Echolution.
