Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Boy Analog Delay Pedal

I am going to rate this 5 stars with the consideration that it is less than $200. Yes, the Memory Man w/ the NOS panasonic ICs has a cleaner delay with less high end trash, but it's twice the price.The Memory Boy is certainly a dark delay, but I like dark delays. They don't get in the way and muddy up your playing. There is a LPF that can be engaged to take some low end out, and you have to compensate by turning up the depth, but you end up with a very low-fi "old radio" type delay sound, which still can be cool. This is not a delay to be doing Edge type delay rhythms.The delay gets more trashy as it gets longer, and is pretty bad at longest delay time (700ms), as you get a high end squeal mixed in with the delay, but for slap back and shorter delays....up to maybe 400ms, it sounds clean enough...just dark. It is actually too dark to use the modulation for chorus and flange effects, like you can with the Deluxe Memory Man. You end up with a muddy mess. But if you're looking for a dark, low-fi delay with good tap-tempo features, it's hard to beat the price of this unit.I would say its closest competition price and feature wise would be the Wampler Faux Echo, which is digital, but sounds very analog. Very similar features, but can get more highs, and has a "shade" knob to add or subtract high end. I've got them both, and will probably keep them both, because they sound different enough. But if I had to keep one, it would probably be the Wampler.

I think a lot of people get sucked into what used to true botique products (Now just as mass produced as any other). The EHX stuff is a great example. The Memory Boy gets 4 stars from me because, its built solid, like other EHX pedals (And I own a few). The issue I have is the 'gain' on the Memory Boy. I am unable to obtain a good clean delay from this pedal. I have a Boss DD-3 to compare to, the EHX MEmory Boy pedal seems to excel at 'dirtying' up the sound of the delayed signal. Not why I spent this kind of money on a delay pedal. That said, and more to the 4 stars, there are options out the yang with this pedal. The abaility to tap a tempo, then sub-divide is great. A ton of other things you can do with it, for example, the loop out/in. That allows for someone to get pretty artsy-fartsy with the delayed signal, not something I am after but, Im sure some kid out there will put it to good use. ALso, a place for an expression pedal. In my opinion, you buy a pedal like this when you reach a certain 'age' in music...40's, done it, seen it, tried it, may as well have one on the shelf for that one song every 6 months that comes along. Everything else I have been able to 'get' with the existing delay pedal. Ya it takes more work, but its clean. So, if you are looking for a ton of features, or a pedal built to military specifications, perhaps the EHX is for you. 4 stars, hands down, great pedal and you pay for all the 'go-go gadgets'. But, if your just starting out, maybe just need some clean delay, then 'fret knot' (heh), there are other alternatives out there for you.

This is unique because it is (1) analog, (2) tap tempo. Those are things you don't usually find in the same package, and in this case you can kind of hear how they've had to adjust the circuit to make them work together. It seems as though the way they set the analog portion is using a digital controller; so when you use the tap tempo function you can hear the digital part as it speeds up the signal to the analog chips.There are other features that are pretty interesting too - for example the square wave modulation (the linear wave modulation does a pretty fantastic job of emulating the wobble of old tape delays) can get some very binary sounds out of it. The knob is fairly straightforward and you can get it to modulate intervals, so you can adjust the tonality for different songs, but not really on the fly. The settings at the periphery can be very inspiring, and it does a great job of making regular delay sounds as well.My only knock on it (and it wasn't enough to remove a star) is the actual quality of the delay - I've played both the malekko ekko 616 v1 and the mxr carbon copy and the ehx pedal doesn't really have the same fidelity. Both of those pedals manage to produce warm delays that are very close to the original. The EHX is kind of like drawing with a brush compared with the pencil of the other two delays mentioned in the review.But, those other two delays are fairly limited in the scope of sounds they can deliver. The deluxe memory boy is infinitely broader, but also slightly noticeably more shallow.I would absolutely buy again/recommend, unless the person was one of those people who claims to be able to tell a difference between different distortion pedals of the same make/model - like people that claim you need to try out a few ts-9 pedals before you find a good one, or something. They're going to need an assistant to adjust the parameters of their pedals rather than get a versatile foot operated one like the EHX.

Great pedal. If you are interest in a good tap pedal for controlling this with presets and multiple outs, check out the Time Traveler at tapestryaudio.com