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Hi there.

I was just thinking about this for history's sake.

Back when I wasn't into delays, I could not figure out the point of the modulation that was included on a lot of the pedals. NOOOOOOW I understand that, besides being just a cool effect, it's a way to emulate tape warble.

Does anyone know what the first delay pedal was that included modulation? I'm guessing it's the Deluxe Memory Man, but I couldn't find a resource to tell me.

I think a better question would be the first delay pedal without modulation. I am no delay expert but I'd guess early delay and echo units had modulation naturally such as tape delays.

Well yeah I guess that's what I meant my good friend Jared.

I'm talking like the first delay pedals that included "modulation", as in something emulated sexy warble-warbles. I think the Boss DM-2 was one of the veeeeeeeery very first delay pedals, but I wondered who and when and what and why and/or how they decided to put some cute modulation in there. Like was that the brilliance of Mike Mathews or what?

If we're talking about pedals and not actual tape units, the Memory Man had chorus added to it in the late 70s. Not sure what else was before that.

DMM ?

I am no delay expert but I'd guess early delay and echo units had modulation naturally such as tape delays.

The modulation on a properly-spec'd Echoplex or Space Echo etc. is nothing significant, nowhere near the crazy wow and flutter folks seem to think.

There's a grit, a presence, the ability on some units set up right to get both oscillation and cleanish repeats simultaneously.

But modulation? Not really.

My guess for earliest stuff with modulation is the first of the non-tape combo effect units (or the Roland 301 Chorus Echo tape/analog chorus combo).

Never worried about it much though, it wasn't something you saw outside of the 301 or the DMM before 2000 unless you're counting multieffects or rack stuff that just has everything under the sun.

What about the DM-1??? :3

zRobertez wrote:What about the DM-1??? :3

I don't think the DM-1 had modulation, it was just straight delay.

bigchiefbc wrote:

zRobertez wrote:What about the DM-1??? :3

I don't think the DM-1 had modulation, it was just straight delay.

I didn't know there even was a DM-1... ? Im just trying to brew some mystery hehehe. I didn't think the DM-2 had modulation either. Unless its inside or always on. I don't know, I've never played one

zRobertez wrote:

bigchiefbc wrote:

zRobertez wrote:What about the DM-1??? :3

I don't think the DM-1 had modulation, it was just straight delay.

I didn't know there even was a DM-1... ? Im just trying to brew some mystery hehehe. I didn't think the DM-2 had modulation either. Unless its inside or always on. I don't know, I've never played one

Indeed there was a DM-1, in the same line of pedals as the CE-1, the BF-1 and I think one other one. The DM-2 definitely didn't have modulation, it's just straight BBD delay.

You don't get them with modulation early, the delay stuff was so damn blisteringly expensive they tried as soon as feasible to add bonuses to buying the units.

The Digi PDS is the pedal version of their RDS line, which



is a low-resolution digital delay with LFO settings allowing you to get chorus and flange or apply the LFO in non-musically useful ways.

My old Boss DE-200 (circa '84) that I got used in the late 80s when nobody wanted them had a LFO that was applicable at any time setting as well, same deal.

DMM I suspect was designed to give that whole combo of delay/chorus that was popular or convince people that it was capable of doing both.

Of the vintage rack toys with modulation that are just simple non-programmable delays, I prefer the Digi RDS-series because the LFO is applied after the delay buffer - so you can sample and hold and mangle and twist and go back to scratch. The sample/hold is also unaffected destructively by twisting delay times, so you can mangle the sample and return to origin point at any time. The Boss DE-200 is destructive and doesn't allow that.

There's a reason I still run two in my rack.