What is a good analog delay?

Brian Henry · Post by **Brian Henry** » 21 Dec 2009 7:02 pm

What is a good analog delay - I do not care for a digital delay and my old electra is on t5he way out!!

Cliff Kane · Post by **Cliff Kane** » 21 Dec 2009 7:15 pm

I use an Ibanez AD9 and I like it a lot. Electro-Harmonix makes a few models that sound pretty good.

Greg Cutshaw · Post by **Greg Cutshaw** » 21 Dec 2009 7:19 pm

All I have is digital delays and the only one that is decent is the cheapo Guyatone. It is very warm sounding and close to analog in sound but not built to last! The old Ibanez AD9 analog is awesome.

A very large room works also.

Greg

Cliff Kane · Post by **Cliff Kane** » 21 Dec 2009 7:49 pm

The cheap little Guyatone won some tone geek delay shoot out. Runner-ups were the cheap but no longer made Arion SAD1, the Ibanez AD9, and the no longer made Boss DM2. I had a Boss DM2, a Maxon AD80, an Arion SAD1, and an Ibanez AD9, and I liked the Ibanez AD9 the best, but they all sound nice.

Lee Baucum · Post by **Lee Baucum** » 21 Dec 2009 7:51 pm

I, too, have been using a little bitty Guyatone digital delay.

I just purchased an Electro-Harmonix Memory Toy Nano Analog Delay. It comes in a small stomp box and sounds very nice. The repeated note is not as sharp as the typical digital delay. The Memory Toy matches up nicely with the EH-Holy Grail Nano reverb pedal.

Lee, from South Texas

Chris LeDrew · Post by **Chris LeDrew** » 21 Dec 2009 8:21 pm

Another vote for the AD9. Just did a session with it, and it's truly killer.

Chuck Thompson · Post by **Chuck Thompson** » 21 Dec 2009 9:01 pm

Clete Ritta · Post by **Clete Ritta** » 21 Dec 2009 11:13 pm

I dont have one (yet), but I really like the sound of the MXR Carbon Copy delay.
Clete

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 22 Dec 2009 12:00 am

Crete Rita wrote:I dont have one (yet), but I really like the sound of the MXR Carbon Copy delay.
Clete

Same here. The only downfall is that right now it's the biggest selling delay and no one seams to have any great deals on it.
Most online retailers have it listed as the most popular selling unit, so I guess they don't need to discount it, and no one seams to be selling used ones (not even on eBay). I just like getting stuff for as cheep as I can.

Anthony Dickerson · Post by **Anthony Dickerson** » 22 Dec 2009 1:35 am

For steelin' I like the Danelectro Dan-Echo. To me, it's a warm, subtle delay that works well with reverb. I picked it up for a whopping $35. It turned out to be a great pedal! Who'da thunk it?

-Anthony

Rick Batey · Post by **Rick Batey** » 22 Dec 2009 5:09 am

Lee Baucum wrote: I just purchased an Electro-Harmonix Memory Toy Nano Analog Delay. It comes in a small stomp box and sounds very nice.

I tried the E-H Memory Boy. It has a soupy top-end roll-off on repeats but only gives about 350ms max delay, not 550ms as advertised, and there's a constant signal boost with a high-mid lift that I'm not keen on, personally.

Edit: Lee very helpfully emailed me and said he'd heard that the Memory Boy will put out 550ms if shown a 9.7v power supply. I just tried the official 9.6v EH-supplied wall wart and there's no difference. At a rough guess, I'm getting 280ms, tops.

Ken Metcalf · Post by **Ken Metcalf** » 22 Dec 2009 6:11 am

I have a Dan-Electro for my Telecaster and it is good for me. Good Price. Like he said $35.00 new

Brian McGaughey · Post by **Brian McGaughey** » 22 Dec 2009 6:57 am

RE: MXR Carbon Copy Delay

I used one for several weeks. It's output repeat signal was a bit distorted when used in my setup. Not sure why.

Probably great for six stringers, though. YMMV.

Jerry Hayes · Post by **Jerry Hayes** » 22 Dec 2009 9:49 am

I love the old ElectroHarmonix Deluxe Memory Man which it the best IMHO. I have another one made by Ibanez which is called the "Echo Machine". It's one of those "ladybug" looking stompboxes which Ibanez made for a while but it sounds great. I carry one in my packseat and use it a lot......JH in Va.

James Quackenbush · Post by **James Quackenbush** » 23 Dec 2009 4:44 am

BE CAREFULL with the Carbon Copy delay unit ....The quality control on them is SPOTTY at best !!....Great sounding pedal WHEN IT WORKS !!.....Jim

Olli Haavisto · Post by **Olli Haavisto** » 23 Dec 2009 6:05 am

The Seymour Duncan Deja Vu is great sounding, dependable and probably the most flexible analog delay around. Feautures digital delay also...

http://www.seymourduncan.com/products/s ... deja_vu_t/

John Bechtel · Post by **John Bechtel** » 23 Dec 2009 10:59 pm

When I don't use my Alesis QuadraVerb Plus, I use my old original Ibanez AD-9. It's a very good unit! IMHO

John McClung · Post by **John McClung** » 24 Dec 2009 12:00 am

I just finished testing 3 delay pedals in my home studio:

Digitech TimeBender
BOSS DD-7
Hardwire DL-8

I'm keeping both the TimeBender and the Hardwire DL-8.

The BOSS was OK, but just OK, not very inspiring to my ears.

I gotta tell you, the Hardwire is a great, great pedal, right out of the box I was getting gorgeous sounds, very inspiring. it has an analog setting and the manual mentions bucket brigade, I don't know if it's a real circuit or modeled, but it sounded very good. My fave sounds were digital and the modulated delay, very lush. It's also super clean, no ill effect on tone. Great build quality. Don't like the chrome knobs on ill-lit stages, I'll have to add my customary fluoro orange tape so I can see where things are set!

I may have to try their other pedals now.

All of the same goes for the TimeBender, but it's a multi-faceted pedal with a lot of potential for pedal steel, I believe. May take time to experiment and learn all it can do, that's why the Hardwire stays, it's simple to use.

I wanted to try the Seymour Duncan Deja Vu, but it's harder to find at even major stores for some reason, plus it's not a stereo pedal, so I ruled it out.

Olli Haavisto · Post by **Olli Haavisto** » 24 Dec 2009 12:16 am

Digitech TimeBender
BOSS DD-7
Hardwire DL-8

Analog ?

John McClung · Post by **John McClung** » 24 Dec 2009 12:41 am

Olli, all 3 have analog settings, but whether that's modeled or real analog circuitry, I'm not quite sure. You check it out and let us know, please!

The Deja Vu does claim to have real bucket brigade chips.

Olli Haavisto · Post by **Olli Haavisto** » 24 Dec 2009 1:01 am

I think they are modelled settings.
Anyway , I was just kidding, not trying to be a wise

Merry Xmas !!

Jan Dunn · Post by **Jan Dunn** » 24 Dec 2009 6:36 am

The original SIB Echodrive (the Blue version). To my ear, there is nothing that comes even close when it comes to warmth, natural decay, EQ'ing. I'm no pro or even accomplished but this pedal makes me sound better than I would hope !

Interestingly enough, Rick Hamel insists that the pedal is made to work with an AX7 tube and that folks swapping in other tubes are screwing up his design. Also found out that really old ones have a transformer that acts up during voltage reductions like a "brownout" in the summer. He'll put in a better one if you send the pedal to him.

As long as I'm going on about rick and SIB, I have to tell you about a pedal he made for me. I sent him a Varidrive (a blue one) I bought on eBay and asked him to put in the level switch that the newer pedals have. Let me tell you that what he sent back is gorgeous and one of a kind. He added a switch that is akin to a presence switch, added a second footswitch to select between two "drive" (gain) levels, and a separate Drive pot for each Drive mode. He even put it in a new enclosure and painted it the original blue. It's kind on neat having something that works so well AND is a one-of a kind. you can't go wrong with any pedal Rick makes. (I have a FatDrive too.)

Loren Claypool · Post by **Loren Claypool** » 24 Dec 2009 12:12 pm

I am partial to my old green MXR Analog Delay. I have several delay units, including two digital delays that to these ears sound particularly sweet and analogy. The original big chip Boss DD-2 is a stunner. I also had the Analog Man mod done to a Boss DD-3 that analogs it up.

Bob Carlucci · Post by **Bob Carlucci** » 25 Dec 2009 5:03 am

Nothing out there compares to the Deluxe Memory Man.. Its the standard by which all other are judged.

The Steel Guitar Forum

What is a good analog delay?

What is a good analog delay?

The best is niether cheap nor easy to find