Boss DD20 Giga Delay alternative

lincolnblue

I am after a DD20 (I think) - I want a delay pedal that can store presets, does dotted 8th and if possible has a loop function (although that's not essential). I've seen used DD20's on ebay for around £100 which is about what I have to spend. Any suggestions of an alternative?

ThePrettyDamned

Not sure about alternatives, but the DD-20 is a great pedal.  It has dry through signal, too (I think).  Which means it won't ruin your guitar tone when you switch it on

randomhandclaps

It depends how you use it or what you want a delay for.  I am torn with the DD-20.  In the studio the DD-20 it's cold and uninspiring, however gig-wise it is a great, great tool.  As roadworthy as anything Boss build, has pre-sets, light up display and it as easy to use 'on the fly' as you like.

guitarfishbay

If you only need 2 presets you could always go with two regular delay pedals.

lincolnblue

The main use for a pedal is live which is why I'm drawn so much to the DD20 - heard so many good things. Maybe I'm talking myself into it...

thisisguitar

I had one on my board for several years, it's a great live pedal. Never missed a beat, and the presets are very handy.

thisisguitar

Btw, remember you need 200mA to run it.

Grunfeld

I haven't found an alternative to the DD-20.  Every time I try a different echo pedal (cos we all likes a change) I end up putting the DD-20 back on fairly quickly. 

Of the six or seven other pedals I've had on and off the board I'd say the DD-7 (its biggest plus being its small footprint) would be the only other one I'd consider for live.   I think an external foot switch for tap tempo is mandatory though (for both of those) -- it makes life much easier. 

I agree with what's been said about the DD-20:  it is a great live pedal.  (The display, the on the fly adjustment, and my fave is the way I can set the level so that when I kick it in I'll have it boost my volume too.

Moltisanti

i had one on my board when they first came out in about 2002:

Good:

- Presets

- Digital display of delay time

- Lots of delay types

- Solidly built (although i did manage to knacker mine dropping something on it, which is a first for a BOSS pedal, but Roland UK fixed it)

Bad:

- Needs it's own power supply really, or a big chunk of a decent multi power jobby (my cheap one hated it, it was very noisy)

- It's massive on your board, more like 3 BOSS pedals than 2, and it's heavy

- Not the most organic sounding, it does the job but doesn't have the character of a Strymon etc (but it is a lot cheaper)

Moltisanti

i think the big green Line 6 one does presets, and i've seen that on a lot more pro boards than the BOSS< if that means anything...

Bidley

Grunfeld said:

my fave is the way I can set the level so that when I kick it in I'll have it boost my volume too.

I had no idea it could do this, interesting...

dean2371

TC Electronics Nova delay fits the bill apart from the looper. If you're looking for something cheap the Nux Time Force has various models, stores presets and has a 40 second looper in a metal case all for around £40

not_the_dj

+1 for the TC Nova. I've got the IB modified version and love it. I did used to have a DD-20 but with the seperate footswitch for tap tempo it was just too big (never liked the press and hold function to use tap tempo from it's own footswitches)

hugbot

Vox delaylab does everything you ask.

crunchman

Reliability wise I'd take the Boss any day.  I had 2 Nova Delays go wrong on me - and they are full of alien technology you can't fix.

I have a Strymon Timeline now.  Well worth saving up for - or do what I did and sell some overdrives to fund it.  Most of us on here probably have enough drive pedals for 3 pedal boards.

guitarfishbay

Personally I think it sounds great.  I sold my chorus pedal after getting a DD20 because I liked the modulation mode enough and always use delay with chorus so didn't see a point in keeping both.  They are big but that is only a problem if you don't have the space.  I run mine from a Voodoo Labs PP2+.

I like the TC Flashback but feel they really missed a trick by not having a display on the x4 (which is out of the budget set here).  A Flashback x4 with LED is probably the only thing that could tempt me away from the Boss.  For recording I've always used plugins for delay anyway, I pretty much always want my delay post distortion so it makes most sense for me to do it that way.

Grunfeld

Bidley said:

Grunfeld said:

my fave is the way I can set the level so that when I kick it in I'll have it boost my volume too.

I had no idea it could do this, interesting...

I don't know if this makes a difference what amp you use but I have the Boss in the FX loop of a Marshall JVM with the loop volume at the 50:50  position.  The amount of boost is determined by the level knob on the DD-20.  So I'll kick the FX loop in on a solo which will bring in an echo-boost.  For songs where I don't want that boost I just drop the volume on the DD-20.

lincolnblue

What is the Nux delay like?