Riddle me this... delay pedal question

[toejam]

Is there a delay pedal out there that doesn't sound like ass straight into an amp's input?!? I've found they only sound right in an effects loop, but what about the poor souls who don't have an effects loop on their amp?

[jeff300]

Re: Riddle me this... delay pedal question

Don't know about pedals, but I have an ancient rackmount Ibanez DM1000 digital delay which I use with amps that don't have a loop and it sounds phenomenal.

I'm sure some pedals must sound right since digital delay was commonly used long before loops.

[Rupe]

Re: Riddle me this... delay pedal question

I recently sold a Way Huge Aqua Puss that sounded fantastic going into the front end, but these things are worth way too much money these days (that's why I sold mine...$810 on ebay).
That being said, an analog delay is your best bet, but only if you are looking to fatten up your tone or add a slap back. You will not get the long, lush delays of a digital unit. You will get a warmer, fatter sound but with very limited delay times. Home Brew Electronics and Maxon both make reasonably priced pedals that would most likely work for you.

[toejam]

Re: Riddle me this... delay pedal question

Cool, thanks! I prefer warmer, fatter sounds with very little delay time anyway.

[jgcable]

Re: Riddle me this... delay pedal question

Analog delay doesn't sound too bad.

[thenine]

Re: Riddle me this... delay pedal question

you can help out this phenomena by running another dirt pedal in front of the delay - into the front of your amp. As long as you dont have tooooo much preamp gain on your amp, it can work.


9

[toejam]

Re: Riddle me this... delay pedal question

[ QUOTE ]
you can help out this phenomena by running another dirt pedal in front of the delay - into the front of your amp. As long as you dont have tooooo much preamp gain on your amp, it can work.


9

[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks for the tip!

[nonamemx]

Re: Riddle me this... delay pedal question

Well, the problem with putting it in the input is that it the amp tries to distort both the original signal AND all the delayed notes as well. This results in that gross interaction between notes, which makes it sound like harsh ass.

The FX loop puts it behind the distorted original signal, so it just copies the already distorted signal which makes it sound more authentic. But if you dont have a loop, this is a problem.

So, in order to avoid the high end harshness of a delay placed before the preamp, you could use an analog delay, which will loose high end naturally when it repeats, and will lessen the harshness considerably, compared to a Digital delay which will reproduce all the frequencies equally, leaving lots of room for note interaction.

With either, you will still have the note interaction harshness, just the analog delays have less high end which is where you mostly hear the dissonance.

[IrfaanSE801]

Re: Riddle me this... delay pedal question

I've been messin around with the Maxon analog delay at my store and it's by far the best sounding delay I've used. I've sold both the DD3/6 and prefer the Maxon. Definatly has a warmer and rounder tone, and I did use it in front of the amp. It is more than the DD6, I think it sells it for round $299, but it's definatly a great pedal.

[hippietim]

Re: Riddle me this... delay pedal question

+1,000,000 on the Maxon analog delay. I had the AD900 and then got the AD999 when it came out. If you want to buy Maxon stuff go to Ishabashi - http://ishibashi.co.jp/

Even after the higher shipping charges the AD999 was way less than I found it anywhere in the US.

[jgcable]

Re: Riddle me this... delay pedal question

The best stomp box delay's that are affordable are the Boss DD6 and that Line 6 Tone Core Echo Park pedal.
In my experience, there really isn't any digital delay that sounds good in front of an overdriven amp. Thats what sucks about not having a loop.

[toejam]

Re: Riddle me this... delay pedal question

Cool. The Maxon looks like it may be what I want, but I'd also like to check out the Line 6 and Boss, too. I did have a Line 6 DL4 at one time that I thought was pretty cool, didn't use it all that much and sold it on ebay.

[jeff300]

Re: Riddle me this... delay pedal question

My comments hold true for playing clean. You didn't specify using distortion too. In that case, as the gents have already said, you can expect some garbling, though it can produce a cool effect, like the end of Green Day's Holiday if you know that song.

[toejam]

Re: Riddle me this... delay pedal question

Yeah, I will be using it for clean and distortion. I don't mind a little garbling, as long as it's not the harsh digital sound. Analog should be fine for me. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Top Jimmy B]

Re: Riddle me this... delay pedal question

You gonna use this with the Univalve? Go with the Maxon if you can get a good deal on one. It's what I use with my Uni and it sounds righteous.