Echo pedals for live gigging band

[Rikismyname]

I have a el Capistan and love it but playing live I need ore than 2 echos setup, and is annoying to bend down between songs so I'm thinking of ditching the el cap and getting a Boss DD500 so I can set up delays and name them before the gigs and just go through the banks.

Or

I'm selling some other stuff and could add other echo pedals to my el cap so I have 4-5 delays ready to go.

 

For 50s 60s style would the dd500 do the job or should I stick to individual pedals and add a Belle Epoch/space echo etc?

 

The boss appeals to me because it's compact whereas 3 delay pedals set up would be more money and won't be able to save a preset for each song.

 

 

[Scott Fraser]

The Boss DD20 would give you 4 presets in a case the size of 2 normal Boss pedals.

[Rikismyname]

But what I'm wondering is by going with the boss DD500 what will I be missing ?

 

So the boss is digital delay, but the Belle Epoch etc are anolgue.

 

3 separate delays el cap-belle Epoch-boss Dm-2w or a DD500

[Scott Fraser]

But what I'm wondering is by going with the boss DD500 what will I be missing ?

 

It sounds to me like your primary objective is convenience, i.e. having presets ready to go. This is a huge appeal to me also. I don't see you'd be missing anything at all.

 

So the boss is digital delay, but the Belle Epoch etc are anolgue.

 

For some people analog vs digital is a major deal. I believe it is more psychological than actual, but it's a personal matter for everyone.

 

3 separate delays el cap-belle Epoch-boss Dm-2w or a DD500

 

All in one box has a lot to recommend as far as ease of set up, repeatability, preset sounds. That would be my choice.

[Winston Psmith]

But what I'm wondering is by going with the boss DD500 what will I be missing ?

 

The main thing you'd be missing is the ability to name your presets, which can be really useful in a live setting. The DD-20 will store 4 presets made from any of its Modes, or act as a Looper, and it has a Manual mode, as well, where it acts like any non-programmble Delay pedal. The DD-20 is now discontinued, so you might find one still sitting in a store somewhere, but the great likelihood is that you'd have to buy a used one.

 

FWIW, the EHX Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai will let you create 6 presets, BUT it only lets you assign one preset for each Delay mode; you can't create 6 variations on the 300ms Delay, for example.

 

An Analog Delay like the Waza Craft DM-2 is a nice, warm sound, but neither programmable nor particularly flexible. For a live setting, you pretty much dial in a sound you like, and leave it there.

[Rikismyname]

What I mean is if I get the boss dd500 which is programmable with 99x2 presets which can be named and sell my strymon el Capistan while I be sacrificing tone?

 

It's either

Boss DD500

Or

Strymon el Capistan + Catalinbread Belle Epoche + Digitech Obscura/Aqua Puss/Boss DM-2W

[Rikismyname]

But what I'm wondering is by going with the boss DD500 what will I be missing ?

 

It sounds to me like your primary objective is convenience, i.e. having presets ready to go. This is a huge appeal to me also. I don't see you'd be missing anything at all.

 

So the boss is digital delay, but the Belle Epoch etc are anolgue.

 

For some people analog vs digital is a major deal. I believe it is more psychological than actual, but it's a personal matter for everyone.

 

3 separate delays el cap-belle Epoch-boss Dm-2w or a DD500

 

All in one box has a lot to recommend as far as ease of set up, repeatability, preset sounds. That would be my choice.

Thanks for that, I just didn't want to get the DD500 and regret not going getting 3 anolgue pedals.

[Caevan O’Shite]

For what it's worth, the Belle Epoch- and the Strymon El Capistan, and most of the delay/echo pedals mentioned here- are digital, not analog. Though the Belle Epoch and El Capistan are definitely made to sound and behave much like analog-tape echo-units.

 

If the Belle Epoch appeals to you, I'm not sure why you'd want to ditch the El Cap; they're both digital pedals with analog/tape-flavored tones and characteristics.

 

As for many of the others you mention, it's all down to how many presets you want to be able to choose from, as well as overall sound characteristics.

 

I think that the Strymon TimeLine would serve you VERY well; it has a LOT of variations on echo/delay types, a LOT of adjustable parameters to tweak, and a lot of program slots.

[Rikismyname]

Yeah but the timeline it only offers 1 of the tape modes (single I think) which is the one I least like.

 

Yeah I like the old tape echos but for live use I need something that's set up and ready to go.

I'm the keyboard player and only guitarist in the band and worrying about if the mix is ok or the time is 1 extra thing to zapp the fun out of it.

 

The boss says you can change which tape heads are used out of the 4 to

[Rikismyname]

Need to decide today what I'm doing as there's a boss dd500 I can get B-stock for £200 and I can get £200 for my el cap.

 

Just not sure.

I could sort the dd500 out with all the right/different delays and name them before the gig, or set the el cap and adjust the mix here and there,P and get a 2nd and 3rd delay pedal of some kind.

 

I don't use ambient delays, it's more of a 50s/60s echo (shadows/surf/50s gretsch stuff)

[Winston Psmith]

Need to decide today what I'm doing as there's a boss dd500 I can get B-stock for £200 and I can get £200 for my el cap.

 

Just not sure.

I could sort the dd500 out with all the right/different delays and name them before the gig, or set the el cap and adjust the mix here and there,P and get a 2nd and 3rd delay pedal of some kind.

 

I don't use ambient delays, it's more of a 50s/60s echo (shadows/surf/50s gretsch stuff)

 

You should be able to get a Surf/Echo sound out of a simple Analog Delay, like the Carbon Copy, or emulate it with one of the Delays you already have. The DD-500 would be overkill for that kind of sound, unless you're looking to program in 99 or so variations on Slapback Delay? I'd hang on to what you've got, and look around for a good price on the Carbon Copy, EHX Memory Boy, or the Boss Waza Craft DM-2, all of which are Analog pedals, with small footprints, and low current draw.

[Rikismyname]

Thanks winston.

 

But the ability to set the mix and delay type/time/ for each song appeals to me.

 

On some instrumentals we do the delay times are completely different also the amount of repeats.

Meaning I have to twist the knobs a lot live.

 

Another two pedals would sort this and could dedicate one for longer delays and one for slapback and then use the 2 inside the el cap.

 

But live wouldn't the boss get the samish sounds and all I would have to do is tap a pedal and know it's saved like I played it last

[Winston Psmith]

Thanks winston.

 

But the ability to set the mix and delay type/time/ for each song appeals to me.

 

On some instrumentals we do the delay times are completely different also the amount of repeats.

Meaning I have to twist the knobs a lot live.

 

Another two pedals would sort this and could dedicate one for longer delays and one for slapback and then use the 2 inside the el cap.

 

But live wouldn't the boss get the samish sounds and all I would have to do is tap a pedal and know it's saved like I played it last

 

Either Boss pedal (DD-20 or DD-500) would let you store your custom sounds; on the DD-500, you can also name them, so you know exactly what sound you have underfoot. The DD-20 only displays the Delay Time.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Thanks winston.

 

But the ability to set the mix and delay type/time/ for each song appeals to me.

 

On some instrumentals we do the delay times are completely different also the amount of repeats.

Meaning I have to twist the knobs a lot live.

 

Another two pedals would sort this and could dedicate one for longer delays and one for slapback and then use the 2 inside the el cap.

 

But live wouldn't the boss get the samish sounds and all I would have to do is tap a pedal and know it's saved like I played it last

 

Either Boss pedal (DD-20 or DD-500) would let you store your custom sounds; on the DD-500, you can also name them, so you know exactly what sound you have underfoot. The DD-20 only displays the Delay Time.

 

I bet that either of these Boss pedals would sound fine for you, especially in the middle of a live band mix.

[Rikismyname]

Gone with a Source Audio Nemesis with 8 presets recallable by an up/down switch.

 

The boss was a smidge out of my price range and have no extra money as it's Christmas (kids 😒) so got a 2nd hand Nemesis to try out as I need something this week to sort out before rehearsal.

 

Looks really good and has an app to tweak further and try other people's settings.

Also they are adding a binson in an update soon so you can take one of the delay engines out and swap for it.

12 engines, but 24/25 available/swappable.

 

Think tape/ tape noise/ analog/ binson should be enough

[Caevan O’Shite]

Best of luck, keep us posted! Be sure to post your review of the pedal...

[Scott Fraser]

Think tape/ tape noise/ analog/ binson should be enough

 

Precisely why I went with digital devices as soon as they became available, long ago. To get as far away from tape, tape noise & analog as possible.

[Caevan O’Shite]

Think tape/ tape noise/ analog/ binson should be enough

 

Precisely why I went with digital devices as soon as they became available, long ago. To get as far away from tape, tape noise & analog as possible.

 

I completely understand that; and yet, I absolutely love the quirky tape-flavored characteristics that my Strymon El Capistan gives me, including a sort of spongy, squishy "Wow & Flutter" type modulation (that can be dialed in for more or less or none at all) that I find so very much more appealing and pleasurable than typical chorus-type modulation. I also love the degradation with each regeneration/repeat and tape-crinkle/splice/etc. artifacts that can be dialed in or out to taste. Noise, however, is NOT an issue