Never satisfied with my delay

[goosekevin]

I don't know exactly how to phrase this but n matter what delay I try, I never end up satisfied with it
I love e effect itself and sometimes things get close but every pedal I have tried (dd20x2, custom delay, disaster transport sr, time factor, el cap, line 6) has fallen short of what I want

I don't know exactly what I want
I play noisy punk, indie music on guitar and bass in a grizzly bear/radiohead ish band
Tapey delays sound good to me generally, murky stuff, foot switchable oscillation is always fun, mod is good, tap is useful but not necessary
Maybe the ilfdd? Or boss tape echo

I don't really know why I'm making this thread but am I just using delays wrong? I currently have the dt sr and its just not what I want

Help is appreciated

[sylnau]

Maybe EAR AD4096 or Fairfield Meet Maude delay.

[Gone Fission]

What hasn't worked for you of your old delays? The tone or how they delay, like delay intervals, repeats/regen? Can you describe any of the near misses? ILFDD is freaking awesome, but it might not be your kind of awesome.

[goosekevin]

a combination of everything
with the dt, the first repeat always seems too loud compared to the rest of them and it doesn't sit right in the mix (also the knobs will be really hard to read on stage)
the line 6 stuff is too sterile, same with boss, it never reacted right
i dont know what it was about the strymon

[Ghost Hip]

Looks like you've only tinkered with digital delays, have you tried all analog?

Is Strymon all digital?

[rfurtkamp]

Depends on which era of punk-type stuff you're looking for and what you want.

For me and punk delay, it begins and ends with an Echoplex. Accept no substitutes. No digital games, no modern stuff, no 'gunning for the 50s tube plex', just a shitty EP-3 or onward, in a battered box, that you have to swear at a ton.

Play one first. They are a genuine commitment in time and energy to keep running beyond the cost. "Ray's guitar broke" says it all.

To remove sterile from most stuff, set your EQ or put a EQ with the delay in a loop (or find one that the tone of the delay repeats is adjustable, this will vary radically based on what you're using amp and guitarwise).

Alternative is to find a vintage rack delay with dedicated dry/wet outs, and use them in an amp that lets you run both sets of inputs/channels simultaneously. I used to abuse my Bassman heads with the wet/dry outs of my Digi RDS-series rack delays (since they have a button for phase correction on the back!) They're all the fun of a PDS-series pedal delay without the cost, with actual headroom, and adjustable modulation. Can control delay time with CV if you're so inclined, and set up on top of an amp, it's no different than having another row of amp knobs.

I'm a delay snob far far more than a fuzz one, if there was ilovedelay.com I'd be a founding member.

Runing multiple delays since the Stone Age here.

(and Strymon is *all* digital, not that there's anything wrong with digital run right, as much as I don't like that particular company's ear for sound)

[Achtane]

Run a parallel line with the delay through a dirt pedal?

[Bellyheart]

I recommend the memory boy deluxe. Stellar thing.

[rustywire]

I take it you haven't had a DMM.
Get a DMM.

[Sardocasm]

I went through the same thing until I got my ILFDD. I went through a VM Superdelay, a Strymon Timeline (which I hated because to me it sounded terribly sterile), and a bunch of others and for awhile even swore off delay since I could never find one I liked. I'm glad that finally changed, but it's a staple effect once you find the right one for you.

It definitely sounds like you should look for either an analog or analog voiced delay.

[retinal orbita]

I recommend the memory boy deluxe. Stellar thing.

I've been eyeballing this lately. I've had a dmm, a 616, carbon copy and a DD5, currently using a dmm w/h and a DD7 and I have a delaylab that I love but it's just too BIG!!

I would do a flashback but, correct me if I'm wrong but no tap tempo, I'd consider a flashback 4x, or another tap delay too....

I totally dig this thread. I'm never happy. The delaylab I like but I hate the insane amount of presets and buttons, and the size. Put that in a ehx size enclosure and I'd be happy. Or update the dmm w/h to fix the volume drop and improve the looper just a bit and fuck man I'd be set forever....

[PetZounds]

I've had an ILFDD, and I would recommend at least trying it.
It sounds incredible but not really the delay sound I was looking for.
I'm still not sure precisely what that sound is just yet, but, you know.

Two delays that have been on my radar as of late:
The brand-new Industrialectric Echo Degrader looks really tight.
And the EAR AD4096, which I've heard a lot of good about.

[leaves turn]

Been running the Belle Epoch for a few months now. Beefy repeats with very musical modulation. I particularly like the separate controls for mix and repeat gain, and how if you set it up right your soft notes will have clean repeats and loud ones will be distorted. Also the echoplex buffer clips boosted signals in a great way.

[Bellyheart]

Flashback has tap tempo. It's more like pick tempo. You hold the foot switch and then hit the strings twice and then release. I think that is how it's done.

I have the delaylab and it is definitely too big and too much for me specifically. I don't mind the size too much but it is way over the top for what I need.

[osbornkt]

I would HIGHLY recommend the Empress VMSD. You've got so many options...The tape settings sound stellar, the normal delay is quite nice for a digital pedal, the reverse has a lot of options if you're into that, and the oscillation/feedback is nice as well. Not on a momentary, but you can do it as a preset and essentially do it momentarily. It's a good box if you don't mind the price.

Also have an Echo degrader on the way. I'll report back how it compares...

Other than that, memory boy is a pedal I've always hated, yet can't get rid of...the delay on an RV-3 is nice, but it gets a bit into weird territory is you're doing punk stuff...Had a malekko 616 and really didn't like it. Seemed too tame.

Thanks for making me realize how many delays I've gone through.