Delay for Little Phatty

[ivanthemonkey]

Hey,

I need some advice on what analogue delay to get for my Little Phatty. I was eyeing the EHX memory toy - simple and cheap. Anyone has experience with it?

Thanks,

Ivan

[Stab Frenzy]

I had a Memory Boy, it wasn't very good so I sold it. I imagine the Toy is pretty much the same.

The MF-104Z is great, but expensive. You might be able to find one cheaper now that the MF-104M has been announced though, or wait til it comes out and hit up ebay when everyone's dumping theirs for the hot new thing.

The Diamond Memory Lane is apparently very good too, but I haven't used it.

Consider a digital delay instead if you haven't got much money to spend; analogue + delay + quality = lots of money.

[nathanscribe]

I like the Memory Boy - it's not got great fidelity, even compared to other analogue delays generally, but it is simple and fun - I get plenty of use out of the square wave modulation. I don't use it much as a regular delay though as I'd agree on the quality = expense thing. This is how I ended up with several delays in stead of just a couple...

If the budget's low, grab a second-hand unit. They all do a very similar job, but which will fit your taste is a matter only you can decide.

I find the Boss DD-somethings to be bland, but are decent and sturdy digital pedals that will cover the basics. They're plentiful and can be had cheap. One of my favourite delays is the (digital) Digitech RDS-1900 rack. Versatile and sounds good to my ears. Old analogue delays tend to be overpriced these days, and typically pedal versions are limited to 300ms delay due to the technology employed - and at longer times you'll get some whine from the clock seeping through. If you want a nice clean delay, go digital. If you want a rough gritty delay, get a cheap analogue pedal. If you want something smooth, creamy, characterful and analogue, you'll need to spend rather more than the Memory Boy costs, but it all depends what you enjoy using really.

[ivanthemonkey]

Thanks for the advice. I actually want a dirty delay to make some crazy sounds live. That's why I thought of going for analogue. I really need something that is on par with the LP in quality...even if it costs more.

[Infinity Curve]

I also had a memory boy, and it didn't jive with me for some reason; just didn't like the sound I guess. Actually just got an EHX #1 Echo(digital delay) the other day in a trade, and was using it last night with my Phatty, and it sounds amazing! Nice broad range on the delay and the feedback is quite long at high settings. I reallized after the memory boy that analog delays weren't really what I was looking for as they don't generally have the long delay times and feedback you get with digital, which is more what I was after. Your needs may be different.

Well worth a look.

[nathanscribe]

Dirty, to me, would suggest cheap a*s nasty old crud, either analogue or digital. Plenty of that about. If by "quality" you mean build, that's another matter.

If cost isn't so much of an issue, then you might also look at the EHX Deluxe Memory Man (either 550 or 1100 versions). Or the Strymon El Capistan, which is a digital emulation of tape and has plenty of interesting control - bias, crinkle, wow & flutter, etc. Or you could wait for the new Moog MF-104M to hit the shops, which should be about $600 in US terms.

I had a Boss RE-20 (digital emulation of the old Roland Space Echo) - it was OK, and played well with the LP I thought. In the end I preferred the Strymon.

You could even grab a battered old tape echo if you're so inclined.

[phesago]

Just buy a used mf104z or mf104sd. You will be glad you bought it. Another decent one is the eventide timefactor, but it's digital. Theyre two different beasts, and I use both regularly. Mf104 is about quality of sound, where the timefactor does more.

[Angstwulf]

Thanks for the advice. I actually want a dirty delay to make some crazy sounds live. That's why I thought of going for analogue. I really need something that is on par with the LP in quality...even if it costs more.

A couple of thoughts rather than recommendations if you are on a budget:

- "dirty" is in the ear of the beholder and what you may consider to be the right kind of coloration may not be the highest (or lowest) quality analog delay in your budget. I still swear by my old Ibanez AD-9. You could argue that the coloration is better or worse than any other analog delay but it is a sound that I like.

- don't immediately poo poo digital for making crazy sounds - that difference in tone that you may see as a compromise might be made up for by the other things a lot of digital delays can do: looping, reverse, more "extreme" modulations, slicing...