Line 6 DL-4

builttospill

Took my recently acquired DL-4 to a band rehearsal last night and I have to say I’m mightily impressed. My big box DMM is off the board temporarily for a rest, this bulky and sometimes unreliable green box is definitely not replacing my DMM, that pedal will never leave my side.
 Before the rehearsal I’d already set up three presets for a few songs, all presets seemed to cut through nicely and didn’t get in the the way of my playing at all. I really like the tape echo, I’ve got it set short for a gritty slapback and that sounds great, The analog delay which I think is based on the DMM? is brilliant. With the digital delay I’ve managed to set up a nice long Mogwai/Ten Rapid sounding delay which seems to work well with distortion.
So overall I’m really excited about this pedal, the looper/sampler is great fun, it’s only fourteen seconds but it’s very intuitive. It’s a bit of a pain that you can only activate the looper by turning the delay model dial, does anyone know if there’s a mod for this? Maybe an extra footswitch to activate the looper? I know the DL-4 is not everyone’s favourite delay and has reliability issues but I love it, anyone else love theirs?

Nature_1

Dodgy footswitches aside - I loved my old DL4.

Only reason I got rid of it was because the M5 had all the DL4 models and I could properly tempo sync them!

Sweep echo

steamabacus

Anothe rlong term DL4 user here . For all its 'faults', I still think it's the most intuitive ambient looper.

It is mod-able for a looper switch, too. (Although I can't vouch for it personally - never done it to mine)

http://www.pedalhaven.com/line-6-dl4-mods-looper-switch/

jeztone2

Used one for 11 years, but then discovered the M5 had most of the same sounds, 24 presets and a smaller footprint. But yes, the first “Classic” modeller product. 

John_P

If I could fit one on a board I would use one - cool pedal. 

ICBM

builttospill said:

So overall I’m really excited about this pedal, the looper/sampler is great fun, it’s only fourteen seconds but it’s very intuitive.

You can get twice the loop time by setting it to half speed. I always used it like that.

english_bob

ICBM said:

builttospill said:

So overall I’m really excited about this pedal, the looper/sampler is great fun, it’s only fourteen seconds but it’s very intuitive.

You can get twice the loop time by setting it to half speed. I always used it like that.

...and then set it back to normal speed and hear everything you recorded in double time an octave higher.

Then flip it backwards  

I haven't had a DL-4 for ages, but the looper is what I miss most about it. I don't use a looper enough to buy a separate one, but no other delay has had the same combination of interesting features and intuitive workflow.

There's an American band called Minus The Bear who do a ton of DL-4 looping in their music- worth a listen for inspiration.

builttospill

english_bob said:

ICBM said:

builttospill said:

So overall I’m really excited about this pedal, the looper/sampler is great fun, it’s only fourteen seconds but it’s very intuitive.

You can get twice the loop time by setting it to half speed. I always used it like that.

...and then set it back to normal speed and hear everything you recorded in double time an octave higher.

Then flip it backwards  

I haven't had a DL-4 for ages, but the looper is what I miss most about it. I don't use a looper enough to buy a separate one, but no other delay has had the same combination of interesting features and intuitive workflow.

There's an American band called Minus The Bear who do a ton of DL-4 looping in their music- worth a listen for inspiration.

Yeah! he has four DL-4's on his board... great band!!

builttospill

steamabacus said:

Anothe rlong term DL4 user here . For all its 'faults', I still think it's the most intuitive ambient looper.

It is mod-able for a looper switch, too. (Although I can't vouch for it personally - never done it to mine)

http://www.pedalhaven.com/line-6-dl4-mods-looper-switch/

Thanks for that I may consider that mod! I read somewhere that it's not worth replacing the main footswitches as this contributes to pressure on the PCB is this correct @ICBM ? 

ICBM

english_bob said:

I haven't had a DL-4 for ages, but the looper is what I miss most about it.

Sadly the looper is what made me sell mine. It screwed up with some sort of software glitch at a gig - when I hit record, it started playing the loop from the previous song and just would not stop no matter what, until I unplugged the power - which would have been even worse if it had happened in the middle of a song rather than the start... and after that I never trusted it.

builttospill said:

I read somewhere that it's not worth replacing the main footswitches as this contributes to pressure on the PCB is this correct @ICBM ? 

You can replace them with a type that doesn't contact the board at all, but it's a huge amount of work and in my opinion not worth it. The stock switches are fine as long as you threadlock the screw caps on the inside so they can't work loose.

stickyfiddle

Brilliant pedal until it inevitably broke. I'm not sure if it was the first, but it was certainly the first successful feature-delay-with-presets and for that alone it will always be remembered

I've never quite understood why they haven't done a "v2" with lower noise floor and better switching. 

english_bob

stickyfiddle said:

I've never quite understood why they haven't done a "v2" with lower noise floor and better switching. 

I'm sure last time there was a DL-4 thread someone who is/was involved with Line 6 said that the figures from their service centres on repairs never gave them cause to think anything needed changing. 

EricTheWeary

english_bob said:

stickyfiddle said:

I've never quite understood why they haven't done a "v2" with lower noise floor and better switching. 

I'm sure last time there was a DL-4 thread someone who is/was involved with Line 6 said that the figures from their service centres on repairs never gave them cause to think anything needed changing. 

The lack of analogue dry through ( that the right term?) gets picked on as an issue now and something they could correct with V2. Although it seems to be an issue that never really bothers anyone unless it's pointed out to them ( apologies to the OP if I've just done that!). IIRC, it can cause problems if using the DL4 in an effects loop as effectively the dry sound from the loop has a lag from the normal dry sound. 

stickyfiddle

english_bob said:

stickyfiddle said:

I've never quite understood why they haven't done a "v2" with lower noise floor and better switching. 

I'm sure last time there was a DL-4 thread someone who is/was involved with Line 6 said that the figures from their service centres on repairs never gave them cause to think anything needed changing. 

Yeah, i'm sure there's a reason for it, and that must be that the current version still sells (and must have paid back the R&D a decade ago)

ICBM

EricTheWeary said:

The lack of analogue dry through ( that the right term?) gets picked on as an issue now and something they could correct with V2. Although it seems to be an issue that never really bothers anyone unless it's pointed out to them ( apologies to the OP if I've just done that!). IIRC, it can cause problems if using the DL4 in an effects loop as effectively the dry sound from the loop has a lag from the normal dry sound. 

Yes, it can be a problem - but only in parallel loops that don't go to 100% wet (effectively series), including some that say they do but actually don't, like Mesa. The simple solution for me at the time was to modify my Mesa.

english_bob

stickyfiddle said:

english_bob said:

stickyfiddle said:

I've never quite understood why they haven't done a "v2" with lower noise floor and better switching. 

I'm sure last time there was a DL-4 thread someone who is/was involved with Line 6 said that the figures from their service centres on repairs never gave them cause to think anything needed changing. 

Yeah, i'm sure there's a reason for it, and that must be that the current version still sells (and must have paid back the R&D a decade ago)

There's that, of course.


I found it. It was Impmann:

http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/124537/line-6-dl-4/p1