Need a change? - delays with character

[DarkAxel]

Hey guys so as you might know i've been a proud owner of the Wampler Faux Tape Echo... i used to have the old version (actually the one in Kayzer's video, bought it later from him) and now I have the new version

to be honest, the new version is kind of awesome but probably not the right kind of awesome for me... i mean it made my life whole lot easier due to the Tap tempo switch and it's awesome it has a longer delay time, but i'm not really absolutely happy with the character of the delay right now and the tape-like behaviour etc etc

so i've been thinking about mayhaps trading/just swapping it for something different YET similar

see the thing is i kind of love tape-y delay? so main things i'm looking for: awesome, lively and not obviously fake and stupid modulation, CHARACTER - don't want my delay to be clean and boring and sterile... i want warmth and fucking... you know what i'm saying. .. The kind of delay that makes you want to use it all the time, when you actually have to force youself to be moderate with it because it makes everything sound so much better
Also tone knobs are welcomed... so i can go from lush wall of delay goo to a very sharp and pronounced rhytmical "I am U2" thing... So what should I look for?

Even though it's not tape sim, the Catalinbread Echorec caught my eye for sure! I mean multi head? Trails?
The new Belle Echo looks cool, but the Echorec has multihead, hard to beat that
Never tried the Boss RE-20, it takes up a lot of space and i'm not really sure?
El Capistan is kind of too expensive and hard to come by used (in europe) (for a decent price) these days
Empress Tape - ditto
Catalinbread Montavilianijinianainaiainaia? Lots of people say it's lush, i believe them, Cbread does nice things indeed... and it's actually pretty affordable, which is cool... not sure about any modulation?
EQD Disaster Transport? Now i absolutely love this one, but i only had the older one and the lack of headroom before oscillation was kind of scary i like my delays kind of cavernous and big? dig me? The modulation is really one of a kind though, one of the modulated delays i've encountered probably.. not sure how it is with the new one and headroom, i guess it might be better with the Tone knob?

anyone got any comments? especially those of you who have a lot of Catalinbread experience?

Anyone want to trade? PM...I mean... i kind of need it until the 18th since we have two gigs coming now, but after that...

[Andrew]

I got rid of my Wampler, I though that it was lacking in something

I love good quality Reverbs, though high end delays just don't sound good to me - too pristine and modulated just reeks of cheesey

[Tristan]

Honestly, if you want that, fukk digital I'd say.
Maybe there's some good ones out there but for me there's nothing that comes closer to what you're describing than the Deluxe Memory Man, the new one with tap tempo and the works does sound a bit different (a bit brighter/clearer and a bit more pristine) but it's a really really great delay.
Actually it's the most versatile delay I have ever had, including all digital delays I ever tried (Boss DD-20, Strymon Timeline etc.), the reason for that is that it lies in the mix perfectly whether you want it as a (big) cloud behind what you're playing or as a pulsating rhythmic delay and everything in between, just by changing the way you play/pick, without the need to change any parameter to make the delay behave as such.

[backwardsvoyager]

I've been in love with the El Cap for a while now but more so because of the feature set than the actual character of the repeats, so if you're most concerned with the character of the delay I wouldn't recommend it straight away.
Of the other delays I've owned, the VFE Blueprint sounded the best I think, so maybe check that out too.

If i could choose anything else it'd have to be the Disaster Transport Sr though, Kayzer's vids totally sold me on that.

[DarkAxel]

I got rid of my Wampler, I though that it was lacking in something

I love good quality Reverbs, though high end delays just don't sound good to me - too pristine and modulated just reeks of cheesey

i love the modulation here actually being controlled my envelope is my favourite thing about the pedal

Honestly, if you want that, fukk digital I'd say.
Maybe there's some good ones out there but for me there's nothing that comes closer to what you're describing than the Deluxe Memory Man, the new one with tap tempo and the works does sound a bit different (a bit brighter/clearer and a bit more pristine) but it's a really really great delay.
Actually it's the most versatile delay I have ever had, including all digital delays I ever tried (Boss DD-20, Strymon Timeline etc.), the reason for that is that it lies in the mix perfectly whether you want it as a (big) cloud behind what you're playing or as a pulsating rhythmic delay and everything in between, just by changing the way you play/pick, without the need to change any parameter to make the delay behave as such.

umm is it the blue one or the green one? doesn't really matter because they're both SO EXPENSIVE just wondering

I've been in love with the El Cap for a while now but more so because of the feature set than the actual character of the repeats, so if you're most concerned with the character of the delay I wouldn't recommend it straight away.
Of the other delays I've owned, the VFE Blueprint sounded the best I think, so maybe check that out too.

If i could choose anything else it'd have to be the Disaster Transport Sr though, Kayzer's vids totally sold me on that.

Thanks, the VFE does look amazing and i forgot to mention it Couldn't really go for the DTSr, because of the 300ms limitation on one of the delays... too short for me

[01010111]

Yup, the memory man with tap tempo has what you're talking about in spades. It's supremely flexible and has some great character to the repeats. The one I have isn't the blue one, it's the dmmtt550.

The 616's are pretty awesome too. I'd look into the lofi if I was you.

Seriously, though: ILFDDELAY

[Tristan]

I have the green one, I don't know, I also tried the blue one but I found it a bit more difficult to dial in exactly the way I wanted because of the longer delay time it has, besides that it seemed to sound yet a little bit more clean and pristine to me (less similar to the old Deluxe Memory Man), I haven't tried both side by side though.
The biggest downside with Electro Harmonix is that it's not always built as sturdy as it should.
I'm actually thinking of selling my Timeline and replacing it with the DMM550TT on my board but getting a Deluxe Memory Boy to go with it as a backup in case the DMM550TT breaks down.

[DarkAxel]

Not a fan of the 616 i'm afraid doesn't work for me

Yeah, the Memory Man does look amazing but if i had this kind of money, i could easily buy a used Empress Superdelay which would probably be my choice if i had that kind of money, but I'd like to keep it around 200 dollars max (for a new one)

[MEC]

Seriously, though: ILFDDELAY

[Tristan]

In that case I'd say, if you stretch your budget a little of the ones I know of these could fit your criteria:
Cusack Tap A Delay
Dr Scientist Sunny Day Delay, ILFDD
Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Boy
Empress Tape Delay
Way Huge Supa Puss

About the Empress Superdelay, I don't know, in a way I went the same route shelving out loads of cash for the Timeline but in the end for me as a real delay lover the Deluxe Memory Man just brings more to the table.

[DarkAxel]

250 is still kind of doable i'd say... possibly...

out of these, the favourite is probably the Empress but i'm mainly looking for lets say testimonies

oh one thing... i guess the Tap is not really a must-have... for now the main things i'm really curious about are the EQD, the Empress and the Catalinbreads (mainly the Echorec and the Belle Echo, but that just came out, so no dice)

[hollowhero]

To be honest, I found the el cap to be a little flat/sterile sounding...that's why I ended up selling mine. The most character-packed delays I've had were the DMM, EAR AD4096, and the ILFDD

[zRobertez]

The DT has the best modulation out of the delays I've been through. Ive had one for a month or two and I'm liking it so far.
The supa puss has a lotta lotta character to it. Its different in many ways.

[misterstomach]

i was fortunate enough enough recently to find a big box dmm for $175. had to buy it. maybe it was $200 actually, but either way, i had to buy it. easy flip. needless to say, i can't imagine flipping it. it's just amazing. i have it and the disaster transport and between the two of them i'm pretty well in heaven as far as delay goes. for the budget though, disaster transport is a really good delay with really cool footswitchable modulation. i love mine. not so much a tape sounding delay really, but i can get into the memory man territory with it.

[colin]

Subdecay Anamensis Echo seems like it might be another one to add to your list to check out. I've never played one, but I really liked the old Subdecay Echobox and the demos of the Anamensis sound great.

I'm really happy with my El Cap and SDD, but if I were to add a third delay I'd probably be seriously considering between the Anamensis or the Endangered Audio AD4096 (especially if the deluxe version I've heard about happens).