DELAYS
First a delay can be more then just a stomp box to make echos....BUT making echoes is it's primary function!
There are 2 kinds of Delay types....old style Analog....and Digital. Some players love one and hate the other. This is nuts...they both have zero to do with capturing a natural echo. They are both excellent in their own way. BUY ONE OF EACH....you will use them both!
ANALOG DELAY
There were not any digital chips to make digital pedals of any kind when the first analog delays were made. They used what is called a bucket brigade device chip...a very crude form of recording a note or chord...then recycling it over and over fading the short recording as it is repeated...until it fades away.
It looses nearly all the top and low end of the sound it has recorded. The trick is to make this note sound pleasant. Secondly the recording can only be held on the chip for a short time so the time between each repeat has be much shorter then for a digital delay.
It looses nearly all the top and low end of the sound it has recorded. The trick is to make this note sound pleasant. Secondly the recording can only be held on the chip for a short time so the time between each repeat has be much shorter then for a digital delay.
DIGITAL DELAY
Digital Delay works on fairly simple format...A digital recording is made of the incoming signal in tiny amounts then each recording is played over several times with an evenly timed space between each little recording...this short recording of your guitar signal is called a 'sample.' A sample can be stored reasonably long time so slow repeats are possible with a digital delay.Analog delay is not natural delay because it eats up highs and lows and distorts what's left. With digital you create a perfectly clear recording of the guitar signal...and it repeats unchanged...that does not happen in nature either.WHICH IS BETTER
Analog... tends to give the echo a soft and unobtrusive ambiance. Digital is so crisp and clean it helps stop the clutter that echos can create. Having one of each is ideal...each one creates the mood best suited to it's application.
HERE ARE MY CHOICES
MIGHTY SOUND
M-5 DELAY
It should be a $150.00 USD pedal made in California....but it is not.
When I first saw it I thought it was yet another Mooer re-brand. It took a lot of research to find out it is a new line of pedals designed stateside but made by Cherry Music ...not a bad looking website...but very little info on each product and no videos at all.
The controls are classic for an analog delay.
Echo ...Time...and Feedback
Simple...how loud the echo is to your dry signal...how many repeats and how long the time is before the next repeat arrives.
It takes seconds to learn how to use it. The sound is warm but clear. My ears tell me it has a dynamite buffer built into the delay circuit...because it is is full... but tight sounding.
It is a little gem. Any price less the $65.00 USD is a Steal. It is the very best value for money for a pedal of any kind Hell...even the cosmetics are great!!!
Current Price $23.00 USD
HEY THERE BUNKY.....get the F. OFF THIS BLOG RIGHT NOW AND GO TO
ALI EXPRESS AND GET ONE!!!!
NO DELAY ON BUYING A DELAY...
NUX
TIME CORE
DIGITAL DELAY
Nux basically specialize in digital pedals. The quality is excellent. At least as good as the bulk of mainstream and Gourmet pedals under $200.00
So keep an eye on any pedal that might benefit from being digital. If Nux make one check it out. This thing sounds great on Bass guitars as well. They make 3 other delay pedals each having more and more bells and whistles.
Even this pedal has a few. Most notable is a Phrase Looper.
This is a bullet proof basic pedal. It is a keeper.
They do a re-brand for Donner. I have the Donner...but now the Nux is cheaper then the Donner.
The spec shows are up there with some of the best.
Current Price $44.00 USD
TC ELECTRONIC FLASHBACK DELAY
The best digital delay on the planet is the STRYMON TIMELINE a large pedal with 200 presets and an infinity of functions. It is $450.00 USD.
The price says it all.
At the bottom of the 'Serious Delay Pedal' category is the TC ELECTRONIC FLASHBACK...there are several versions even a mini with just one sound (You can download dozens of different sounds to replace it...but it still just has one sound)
There are delay pedals that are marginally better then the Flashback...but why bother...in short if out of 10...the TIMELINE is a 10...and the FLASHBACK is a 9. Why bother with a 9.4 or a 9.7 ???
For only a tiny improvement you can spend a lot more money then the $110.00 USD that the FLASHBACK goes for and still not have the best. The flashback is used by hundreds of pro's that find the sound quality superb...and prefer its incredible simplicity to operate.
(me too) lol
The rack mount version that the Flashback was derived from has been the mainstay of Pink Floyd since 1976.
The rack mount version that the Flashback was derived from has been the mainstay of Pink Floyd since 1976.
But why buy?
....well as for myself...with 45 pedals...this timing thing was just too alluring. I find I use it a lot more then I ever used the NUX.
It sounds great...the selection of sounds is better then the NUX and it is dead simple to use
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TONE CITY T4 TAPE MACHINE
Tone city was founded by J. WONG.......who is the guy behind the better Mooer clones. He thought with his skills to design a true clone, the freedom of a bigger budget ....then add to that a that a handmade Chinese product at a low enough price that we could not resist..
Well...maybe...lol
But after giving a few a listen I found the..... a clone of the B & F of Finland's... Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay which is analog modeling of a tape delay pedal is a winner. It trys to sounds like a early 60's EchoPlex tape delay...the early tube version. I owned one...it is merely an impression of one.
But it sounds great...and that's enough.
The Sound City T4 .Tape Machine
...is a very excellent sounding pedal.
At $89.00 USD...compared to the Deep Blue..$338.00 USD. Tone City have a winner.
Now ...this is where it get's interesting.
There is a clone...maybe even a counterfeit look alike from China...Mogoo I suspect.
Sometimes Mogoo get the sound
right...especially with their OD's but this time. NO!
In fact some players have bought the Chinese clone used and paid 2 or 3 times the $37.00 USD price thinking that they have an original.... for they probably do not know these clones exist... Now many have gone on line warning others to NOT BUY A DEEP BLUE DELAY that the Mad Professor product is crap.
So you have been warned!!!!
But it sounds great...and that's enough.
The Sound City T4 .Tape Machine
...is a very excellent sounding pedal.
At $89.00 USD...compared to the Deep Blue..$338.00 USD. Tone City have a winner.
Now ...this is where it get's interesting.
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BOGUS CLONE |
Sometimes Mogoo get the sound
right...especially with their OD's but this time. NO!
In fact some players have bought the Chinese clone used and paid 2 or 3 times the $37.00 USD price thinking that they have an original.... for they probably do not know these clones exist... Now many have gone on line warning others to NOT BUY A DEEP BLUE DELAY that the Mad Professor product is crap.
So you have been warned!!!!
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THE ORIGINAL |
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