Vox Deca Delay, now with First impressions.

Branshen

http://www.gak.co.uk/en/vox-tone-garage-double-deca-bucket-brigade-analogue-delay-pedal/87204

Looks great in my opinion and the both mode with some modulation sounds killer. 

EricTheWeary

Tempting price. The dual mode is interesting, does something typical analog delays can't, although you can't fine tune it for wackier effects ( maybe a good thing). Almost half the price on that offer of my lovely minifooger which similarly is tuned to be bright on short delays, quite dark on long ones. This has modulation and the dual function too. I suspect not an obvious all purpose delay, maybe more of a second delay for some soundscaping stuff?

Branshen

I'm thinking of this being a delay to trail my lead playing. It's a shame that the world didn't seem to catch on to this product, the dual mode is unique, but I guess that's why it's gone down to 69 quid. 

EricTheWeary

There was a mini range that were all relatively expensive ( over £100, a lot for a casual punt maybe)and it looks like they have gone out of production. Just looking at the original GP review of the range and the delay is the pick of the bunch by the look of it and this is a good price for a proper BBD delay.
I know with the Carbon Copy they were a must have pedal and then lots got sold on as folks discovered they didn't really like the darker analog delays after all. So, you probably need to know if you like this flavour of delay, although at £69 almost worth buying to put in a drawer somewhere for a rainy day.

Branshen

Thanks for the advice. I think it'll be a good match as my DD-7 in analog mode is great, but it keeps too much of the attack for my liking. looks like analog is the way to go. A NPD may be in order this week. 

EricTheWeary

And WTF is that guitar ? |)

Branshen

Had a quick zoom in on 1080p and turns out it's a Pure Salem Electric End. Looks great when it's horizontal. 

http://www.puresalemguitars.com/models/electric-end/

Branshen

Just got the deca delay today. First impressions are that it's a really well built pedal with firm pots, and it's MIJ. The red LED lighting up the interior, showing the BBD chips is a cool touch.

Sounds-wise, it is a dark delay as expected, not much surprise there. the modulation knob gives the repeats a nice warble that helps keep the repeats distinct from the original notes. Even maxed out, the warble is not overbearing unless you get the delay time above mid way in the long mode. So if you're looking for heavy modulated short repeats, this will not do it.

I have a DD7 to compare it to and I can confirm that the DD7's analog mode is amazingly authentic. The one up that the deca delay has over it is the ability to add some modulation to the dark repeats. The modulated mode of the DD7 is much heavier than the deca delay with maxed out modulation, however, the DD7 modulated mode is not emulating an analog delay, so you get very clean digital delays with heavy modulation. 

The both mode is an interesting one, because the short delay is so short at the setting I have it to (aiming to achieve a fairly short "long" delay, 300-400ms), you don't hear a dual delay, instead it's barely noticeable, almost like a subtle reverb. 

Branshen

After having it a couple days, I've decided that it's going back. If the modulation were stronger on short repeats, it would fill a roll, but at the moment, my boss in analog gives 85% of that sound so I can't justify a space for it on my pedaltrain mini.