Boss DD-20

needed to read the manual for some of the features and basic operation (holding down the pedal and pressing the knob to get to certain functions)

I love this thing! I've never really used much delay but this thing's got me inspired. I really like the Analog setting for short delays, gives a really nice slapback ambience, with that nice analog goo (the tone knob is nice here). the Smooth is also quite beautiful at medium settings... sounds better than plain reverb, to me. what makes me love this pedal even more is the ability to get musical sound effects other than delay. I picked up a few tricks from this page... if you do Reverse delay at 1-40 milliseconds, you can get a really nice ring modulation or "frequency analyzer" (Tortoise style) sound, kind of like a warbly tremolo/vibrato effect...quite nice. I also am fond of the Reverse delay at moderate delay times for some really sweet organ type choppy volume swells when playing chords. if you set the delay time low and the mix to full wet, using the Modulation, you can get chorus! and it sounds pretty good. the best part of all this is you have 4 save-patches (plus the manual which will do whatever you have the knobs left on) so you can save 4 or 5 sounds without having to re-dial the effects every time...very useful. the sound on sound/looper is fun too if you've never used that kind of thing. I love the delay effect in general because it makes your guitar sound like a brewing storm, like lightning in the broad sky, brooding ominously. I'm just floored with this thing. I had a hard time knowing what to expect from these reviews...you really must try it, and find your own settings to suit your taste

it won't do the radiohead pitch shift/spaceship noise by tweaking the time knob with no decay setting...you'll need another pedal for that. but the other sounds more than make up for this

boss is great for this

I can't imagine a better digital delay pedal. I used to own an RV-3 reverb/delay combo pedal, and this thing is quite a bit more useful and fun. the twist setting is a total waste of time... unless you want your guitar to sound like a motorcycle... yeah... real cool (you can hear it on musiciansfriend in the sound clips. it makes one sound and you can't change it). I wish the loop could be set for 46 seconds mono (instead of just 23 seconds in stereo). they say there's some way to accomplish this using the "pan" setting but I can't figure it out. I don't even feel the need to buy an analog (or tape--yeah right) delay any more.

I also have a danelectro wasabi rock-a-bye delay/overdrive, and that pedal has a "thicker" delay sound...more low end on the repeats than the boss. I think it's perfect (a little better than the boss) for that jimmy page "I can't quit you" tape slap-back doubling sound. on the other hand, the boss does rockabilly slapback a little better, it's a little leaner and leaves a little more room for the dry signal. I don't play rockabilly, though, and I don't really use that sound. I think the boss will meet just about any delay need, especially if you want options and tweakability. I still might get an AD-9 someday, just because they sound so dang cool and funky

Lots of features, really everything you could want from a delay. I had hoped that this would be THE definitive delay and i'd never need to buy another one.

Sound quality is good in my opinion, but there is one big massive problem i have with it, which prevents me from using it altogether. If you are using a Dunlop DC Brick i'd urge you to try out the pedal through the DC Brick before buying it, because for me it generates a LOT of digital noise that is completely unacceptable in either a live or studio situation. I've tried all sorts of routing options, and as the only digital pedal on the board it is definitely the cause. My pedalboard is silent when i remove the DD20, but when it's in the chain, it actually causes my OD pedals to generate noise too. They're MI Audio ODs so as you might expect they are completely silent under normal circumstances.

Seems well built, you couldn't break it without intentionally trying

Not sure

I guess it's back to my trusty Visual Sound H2O, which contains about a tenth of the features, for about a tenth the noise. As i said earlier you're best off trying this pedal, the noise might not be a problem, or your tolerance for a high frequency ringing may be a lot higher than mine! If not for this little unfortunate aspect, the DD20 would definitely be my first choice for delay.
Unlike some of the other delays like TC Electronic and Eventide, it uses 9V power, which is big plus in my book.

als reines delay supereinfach zu bedienen. es bedarf einiger ??bung, wenn man experimentieren m??chte. denn es gibt ziemlich viele m??glichkeiten, wie sich loop(SOS sound-on-sound) und delays miteinander verquicken lassen. es ist z.b. m??glich einen loop einzuspielen und dar??ber per delay zu spielen. das ist nicht gaanz so komfortabel, denn man muss vorher den delay modus auf einen speicherplatz legen. der loop ist dann auch nicht mehr ver??nderbar. im SOS-modus gibt es leider keine undo m??glichkeit und ein gestoppter loop ist auch nicht wieder hervorzuzaubern. daf??r ist die bedienung sehr eins zu eins und damit ??bersichtlich. ??bung brauche ich noch mit den umstellungen zwischen den modi und den memory pl??tzen. ich habe aber die anleitung auch noch nicht gelesen.

prima. die diversen modi sind aber etwas verspielt und boss gibt sich nat??rlich den anforderungen des marktes hin. z.b. der analog modus ist ein schlechtes beispiel f??r ein digital erzeugtes analog-delay. das ganze klingt dann (man hat ja auch nicht ein ger??t vor augen, welches aus einer anderen zeit kommt) irgendwie so, als w??re das teil defekt. f??r mich viel zu dumpf und wenn die delays ausklingen wird es harsch und kurioserweise viel digitaler als alles andere. warp ist ganz lustig, da kann das feedback zart eingestellt werden und per gehaltenem fusstaster kann das feedback auf voll eingestellt werden. wenn schon tape-modus, dann doch mit 4 virtuellen tonk??pfen und nicht mit wahlweise einem oder zweien, oder? den unterschied zwischen smooth und normal muss ich noch entdecken. pan ist prima. reverse kapiere ich nicht. modulate kann auch spass machen. f??r mich ist derzeit grossartig: superkurze delayzeiten f??r sitar und steeldrum kl??nge mit diesen sch??nen resonanzen die hier millisekundengenau justiert werden k??nnen. entschieden habe ich mich f??r den DD-20, weil ich lange loops langsam ausblenden wollte um einen sich stets neu generierenden klang/rhythmus zu schaffen. funktioniert prima und die resultate sind qualit??tsm??ssig klasse!

ich glaube daran.

ich nutze das teil zum lernen und experimentieren mit theremin, gitarre und percussion. funktioniert! statt der diversen und zumeist nicht wirklich nutzbaren modi h??tte ich lieber speicherpl??tze f??r loops wie bei den RC loopern, eine undo option und sehr sch??n w??re auch, eineingestelltes delay als loop spielen zu k??nnen.

This unit is plug in and play as well as a real challenge for tweakers. There's TONS of features if you want to go into it but it's also quite simple if you just want to set two or three different "normal" delays.

The manual is clear and very simple to understand, and editing and memorizing most settings is as easy as it can be. Some (like modulation) are a little harder due to extra parameters which are not direcly accessible with a destined knob but nothing too difficult, just a couple more steps to remember.

I'm using it with either a Les Paul Studio '95 or a 52ri Telecaster into pedals into either ENGL Classic combo or a Brunetti MC2 combo..

It sounds good. I bet it's not in the league of a T-rex Replica, but the flexibility and tweakability of this delay is something I've never even tought of. I bought it because I wanted a delay that allowed me to rotate between three or so presets, but I've bought much more.

It's not true bypass obviously, but at the same time I don't think this is as bad as some reviewers say. As a matter of fact, I don't think it's a tone sucker.

If you use quality cables and not too many buffered pedals there's nothing you should complain about. Sure, it's only 99,5 % of the original tone, but as a matter of fact I like a buffered pedal after od/dist/fuzzes, and in the end of my pedal chain.

Some people complain about pedals not being true bypass, and the you see them using cheap connection cables that REALLY SUCk THE HELL out of what you're sending into them. At this point, every complaint about sound quality is bull**t.

And afterall this unit can't be made tbp (unless you use a looper) so if you want the amazing (and afaik unique - at least in one single box) features that this pedal has, you shouldn' t worry about it.

THe tape echo setting sounds really great with cleans, most of the settings are spot-on, and some are pretty much useless, but for the price it's worth every penny.

It's sturdy and reliable, I've never had a single problem with it in 4 or 5 months that I've owned it, and gigged with it.

No experience in this area

This stomp is great. Of all the stomps I've bought, it's the one I'm most satisfied with. I'd buy it again in an instant, without even thinking about getting a different delay.

It's not perfect (it's not tbp and it doesn't have a separate preset selector and tap tempo, but you can add a footswitch), but it's not pricey either and it has such features that you can keep exploring on and on. It even has a chorus setting hidden inside. It has a level knob. A TONE knob. It's delay can go up to 23 seconds. You can set the time in bpms o msecs (which is VERY useful if you play with a click or when recording..). Every now and then someone comes up with a new and very cool - and useful for some people - hidden use for it.

I think Boss did it right with this one. I'm not a huge fan of their products (it's the only boss stomp on my pedal board) but I think that they nailed it right with this one. I see VERY LITTLE room for improvement (tbp, another switch for tap tempo, the analog setting being REALLY analog - still it's analog sounding)and all in all I don't think you can pretend much more out of it.

If you just want a delay to store up to 5 settings (one is the manual), or a delay to do all sorts of strange stuff, or just a fun pedal to explore nearly endless features, get it. Even better if used because it's very reliable.

There is a bit of a learning curve. But that is only because it has so many extra options and features. You can learn the basics in under twenty minutes by just skimming the manual. Tapping into some of it's different modes and output options can take some reading though.

I've been using this unit for about a year now. I was really excited when I got it and it has opened me up to some different sounds. I'm totally sold on have a delay with a tap tempo feature now and don't want to live without it but... I'm going back to my Maxon AD9 for the time being. WHY? Well for the first time since I got the unit I unplugged it from my signal chain to try out a reverb pedal that I thought I might want to use. When I did that it was like lifting a vail from off my tone. I wanted to cry. I totally loved this pedal and really thought it was the be all end all for me.

So don't believe the reviews that say this thing doesn't color your tone. Believe the reviewers who mention how the unit sucks out tone, cuts your highs, muffels your tone, goofs with the bass frequencies... Etc. Listen to them. They're right. You may not be able to tell at low volumes or when you first plug it in. But in a practice setting the difference is night and day. And I can't go back to it now. My amp and other effects sound way too good with out it.

That said I will say that the DD-20 is better than others. I like it better than all the other Boss Delay units I've tried and it hands down beats the Line 6 (the big green one).

Boss. While their stuff isn't always the best sounding, at least it never breaks.

I've delt with them on occasion and they're usually pretty nice and helpful.

Well, I use it for a year and never really disliked it. So I guess it is at least an average pedal. Too bad that that is all it is. I'm back on my quest for the perfect delay pedal. Any suggestions?

It is an easy to use pedal, however, there are tons of sounds to get out of it and the possibilities are virtually endless. To get something useful for your personal taste, it might take a while.

One thing that is quite a shame, though, is, that you can only select from your save-presets IN ORDER, you can just switch from 1 to 4 or from 3 to 1 with one step, but you'll find yourself hitting the right pedal as many times it needs to get back to them. (1..2,3,4,manual, 1)
A little disadvantage compared to the <Line6 DL-4>

Top-notch, just like with so many BOSS pedals.
It substracts nothing noticeable to my overall sound placed in the FX-Loop. The quality of the different Delay-modes is brilliant, you'll have lots of fun especially with the awesome analog "clone".

To fatten my sound for solo parts I mainly switch between different 500ms-600ms analog delay settings. One with only a little feedback, one with quite some and one with a load of. I use it for reverb-like effects, too. The Warp and Twist modes offer some wicked little gimmicks always nice to pull out live and I reserve my manual slots for these, mainly.

I've got mine for about two years now.
It will probably NEVER die on me. In fact, it doesn't even have visible scratches or anything.

Never had to deal with it...

My band is pretty versatile when it comes to different musical styles, but mainly, i'd say we play Hardrock / Blues-Rock.

I run a Framus Camarillo Custom guitar through a <DB01 Dime-Wah>...<Digitech Whammy>...<Ibanez TS9>...<Korg DT10>...<BOSS NS2> into an <ENGL Screamer 50 Combo>. The delay is in the loop alongside a <BOSS EQ20>
The delay itself is the most used effect on my board. It's really that damn good and worth every penny. I'd "rebuy" it anytime.

The greatest thing about it, is possibly the simulation of the old analog delays, simply because it sounds gret and you can do some twisted stuff with it those uber-expensive old DM2's or 3's were never capable of.

Back when I got it, it greatly helped my playing, simply because it made it so much more fun to sit down and practice/write. Never had this experience with another pedal, cept maybe, when I began USING my Wah. ;)

Go, get it!

I

This posting is for you looper people out there.

I like to use it for looping - and not just in the SOS mode, which can be frightening if you forget to step on and hold the record switch - you can erase the loop if you are not careful.

You can actually preset a patch to become a looper, with you can then easily turn the record feature on and off, and set the feedback time in order to achieve Fripp-like flexibility: a gradual fading out of old material (you can set the time of the fade or have it not fade at all, with the turn of your feedback knob) so that over time, your looping can become more freeform, and you aren't just stuck with a rhythmic bed, like if you were looping with a Jamman or RC-20 (nice products too, but also limited).

Here's how:


1. Set a delay time to 23 seconds in quarter note mode and save this to a patch.
2. Start to play and press tap simultaneously (either using external or internal footswitch). Make sure you've enabled the record (or on/off) switch.
3. Finish phrase and press tap again
4. Now you can set the decay of your 'SOS' loop.
5. You can also turn on and off what you record in the loop, without fear of fumbling and deleting the loop by not holding down the switch in SOS mode.
6. If you use the pan delay, I believe the total amount of loop time is actually 46 seconds. That's enough, I think.
7. You can also set up your patches to all be 23 second loopers, and then you can record a loop, switch to the next patch, record another loop, and have two going on simultaneously. That's fun. However, once you switch to the next patch, the first loop will disappear.

Clean. A digital delay. I run a multi-effects unit into it, so then I can record different ambient sounds (reverb, panning, delays) to create nice ambient levels.

It is a tank.

It's been great. I've used it to create a stereo image for electric guitar, acoustic guitar, ambient music, whatever.

This pedal is moderately easy to use. I did have to spend some time with the manual, which is quite lengthy, in order to get a decent grasp of the basic features. Once I had a grasp of how to use the pedal, it was quite easy to get several delay settings that were just what I was looking for.

I use this pedal with a Peavey Valve King 112 amp and a an Epiphone Les Paul standard plus flame top with PRS McCarty pickups. I mostly use this pedal on the standard digital delay setting with the level at about 2 o'clock, the repeat knob set to about 7 o'clock, which is just enough to get about one repeat, and the tone knob flat. This setting, allong with a tapped tempo, works really well for giving your lead tone an extra measure of thickness and sustain. The repeats are very faithfull to the input signal and are always clean and clear. The tape effect seems doesn't seem to be a whole lot different than the standard digital delay, but I beleve that the wow and flutter parameters can be adjusted if you want to bust out that manual. The analog delay sounds are a nice approximation of the high frequency attenuation and signal degredation that normally occur with such delays. The warp and and twist functions don't seem very usefull, but are certaintly different than the standart delay types. The dual delay gives you a slapback delay as well as a standard delay. While this feature is pretty cool if you want a twangy type sound, it seems like it would be a time intensive task to dial in just the right delay times for each of the two delays (which again, you'll want the manual to do) for a particular song. The pan delay setting is really cool through a stereo rig, as the dry sound would come out both sides and the delay pans back and forth giving you a swirling sound. However, this setting through a mono rig is a waste of time. I find that the smooth setting sounds really nice on clean tones, giving them a great deal of warmth, but isn't that discernable from the standard digital setting with some gain. The modulate setting is kind of nifty. It puts a chourousing effect on only the delayed signal. This sounds very cool for clean tones. I wish the pedal had a loop so that you could run any external effect on only the delayed sound. The reverse delay is a cool sound, but I find it difficult to use. The sound on sound feature is a very cool extra. I find it to be a great practicing tool for improvization and I have even used it live for a backing rhythm track. It would not do the job if you wanted to make and store several loops and manipulate them on the fly, but if you view the feature as an extra, it is really great to have. Overall, the effects are very quiet and with the addition of a tone knob, you can take the edge off those repeats if you so choose. I find that it gives me every sound I need and then some.

It's a Boss, but it does have a sort of flimsy face plate protecting the liquid crystal display. I havn't had any issues with this, but I could see how dropping something pointy on the screen could ruin it.

Never had to deal with them.

I play blues and classic rock music and it seems to work quite well for these styles. I've been playing the guitar for eight years now and have become a gear freak. I know a great deal about pedals, guitars, amps and the like, but don't have the funds to purchase everything I wish I could. I am a college sutdent, so much of my gear choices are cost to tone comprimises. This pedal was not one of those comprimises! It is my favorite peice of gear other than my Larrivee OMV-09E acoustic guitar and I use it constantly. As far as non-rack digital delay's go, this thing is the way to go. Download the PDF of the manual from the boss website, read up, and then go try one out and hear for your self!

The pedal is intuitive, once you have read the manual! The manual is comprehensive and well-written. I was able to demo each mode/variation with ease.
There is an on-board preset storage for up to four presets. Sadly, there is no facility for downloading or uploading any settings as there is no MIDI or USB connectivity.

I used a Cornford Harlequin with a LP standard to assess the sound quality.
Though extensive permutations are offered by the DD-20, I felt the general tone of the delay was lacking in faithful representation of the input signal. There's an apparent bandwidth restriction resulting with harsh, cold repeats. When used with through a driven amp, the delays became increasingly muddled.
I connected the straight to my Mackie mixer to access the sound quality through my studio monitors. The difference was remarkable, unfortunately I have no requirement for outboard effects.
The best mode was probably 'Tape'. The worst without doubt was 'Warp', a kind of pitch-up oscillating effect that goes 'down' when pressure is released from the pedal. I don't know what Boss were thinking when they created that one!

No comment

No comment

The DD-20 attempts to cover every variety of delay. The interface and manual make the pedal accessible. It has a clinical timbre with some evident narrowing in bandwidth.
It proved to be more suited to direct-line than connected to a valve guitar amp.
I would have been happier with less functionality and better tonal quality for live use. This one is going back to the shop!

Well, it's not the easiest unit to get around, but it serves it's purpose well.

Ediiting patches is a breeze, and always has been with boss products, but really all your saving is 'mode' 'tempo' and 'beat' settings. I do wish that 'tap' tempo was easier to get too, I find myself setting it into 'tap' mode right after boot up, and then when I need to change patches I lean down and select them. It's just faster that way, live or in the studio.

The manual is pretty good, better than others out there, but not as good as some. It's got a lot of functionality thats for sure, and some hidden features that the manual reveals.

I'm pretty disapointed...but at the same time it's what I expected. Considering the price of the unit compared to the DD-6...I find that they sucked out some tone and put in more functionality. But even then, it's nothing like that of my Maxon AD999 still in my board or the TC Electronics VDP Vintage Delay I used to own.

The repeats are lifeless, and the pedal sucks out some highs and compresses the low end too much for comfort. I'll be surprised if this unit dosn't find its way back to the shelf if I can't find more value in the features before I get frustrated with tonal quality.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great digital delay for the price. Compared to the DD6, Line 6 DL4/Echopark, and Marshall Echo head it's on par...compared to the TC Delay or Trex Replica... it definatly falls short.

However, the delays always ring through clean no matter what pedal I'm using with it!

I'd honestly give it a 6.5 because I can't give it a 7, but it dosn't deserve a 6 either...

Boss stuff is always dependable. I got a BD-2 from the early 90's thats TRASHED, modded by Keeley, and TRASHED some more... still works, no repairs made... I would not expect anything less from this unit

never had to deal with them for problems, however I know the local rep and he has always bent over backward for me!

I play a good mixture of various styles of rock music. Hard, soft, metal, emo, punk, alt, 'canadian', I mix it all up and go for it. Until now my rig has been comprised of mostly botique or analog gear.

(rig one)
Gibson LP/335 -> Ernie Vol Jr. - Vox V847UJ wah - Fulltone Fulldrive 2 10th Anniversary Mosfet - xotic RC Booster - Crowther Hotcake Bluesberry - Fulltone OCD v2 - MXR Phase 90 block logo pre-Dunlop - Dr. Scientist Tremolessence - Maxon AD999 Delay - Boss DD20 - 1973 AC30TB

(rig two)
Warmoth VIP/Gibson LP -> MXR Dynacomp pre-dunlop block logo - Crowther Hot Cake - Boss/Keeley BD2 - Maxon AD9 - 1985 Fender Twin

As far as what I do this pedal has some good qualities, but it's hardly worth replacing with another DD20. I'll use it for quite a while, but it's only renting space on my board instead of taking out a mortgage. I'll probably replace it with a Replica or TC Delay when I have the money again.

for the money, it dosn't really shine, but it's not a throw away either....