Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy Analog Delay with Chorus & Vibrato Pedal

I am not a big delay person, but I have a couple delay stompboxes including the Line 6 DL4, a Boss DD-7 digital delay, the Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy, and the delay effects available on my old Boss ME-6 Multi-Effects unit (no longer manufactured, but still very useful).The Memory Boy is designed with the same circuitry as the old GIGANTOR Memory Man analog delay pedal popularized by U2's The Edge. The Memory Boy certainly takes up a lot less pedalboard space! I have never used a Memory Man, so I cannot attest to whether or not the sound is exact, but the Line 6 DL4 has a patch called "Analog Echo w/Mod" that is meant to emulate the Deluxe Memory Man sound, so I can use that for comparison, keeping in mind that the DL4 costs about $125 more, is a digital unit, and has a far more versatile sound palette. The Memory Boy also comes with a power cable, which I believe all effects should (not all Electro-Harmonix products do, and never with Boss or Line 6).When I test delays, I try to see how easy they are to work with by trying to get three sounds right off the bat. The first is Eddie Van Halen's "Cathedral" (Delay 4 o'clock, Feedback up all the way); second The Edge's sound (Delay 4 o'clock, Feedback 12 o'clock); and third David Gilmour's "The Wall" type texture echoes (Delay cranked almost all the way, Feedback 10 o'clock). I used a Blend setting of 12 o'clock and the modulation Depth off in all of these. While it was easy to find these settings, I had to just about max out the delay time to do it. The sound was nice: dark and somewhat blurry compared to digital delays. The Boss DD delays give a brighter and crisper sound and have more delay time available than the Memory Boy. Line 6 DL4 "Analog Echo w/Mod" emulates the sound closely (slightly brighter) and gives far more delay time. Furthermore, the Boss and Line 6 units have control knob level markings that makes it a little easier to remember your settings.I am a modulations person, but those on the Memory Boy were somewhat disappointing and that is the main reason I give it 4 stars. You control the pedals mods with two switches and a Depth knob. The first switch selects the modulation's wave form (saw or square), and I found the square wave to yield strange sounds that alter the pitch in weird ways. The square wave sounded great in my E-H Superego effects loop, but not so good for "normal" playing. The saw wave was fine. The second switch selects the type of modulation (pitch vibrato, chorus, or with expression pedal). I do not have an expression pedal so I could not test that mode, but I found the chorus sound pretty good, somewhat like the E-H Small/Neo Clone. Vibrato is less interesting to me so I probably should not comment on that.Other than the strange square wave mode, the biggest problem with the modulation control is the "Depth" knob which does not allow for much nuance. You can turn off the modulation and just use delay when Depth is turned down all the way, which is great. But as soon as you start turning it, there is a noticeable difference. Even before 9 o'clock it will fluctuate wildly, and you have no control over the modulation rate. Unless you are going for really strange sounds, your options are modulation on or off. So while the modulations sound good in moderation, the pedal gives limited expression with them. The Line 6 DL4's modulation controls (labeled "Tweak"=rate and "Tweeze"=depth for the "Analog Echo w/Mod" patch) provide far more nuanced control over the modulation.The Memory Boy is a good sounding analog delay that is comparable in price to the Boss DD-series digital delays. It will depend on your needs which might be a better choice, whether you want the dark/blurry sound of analog or the bright/crisp sound of digital, the modulations of the Memory Boy or the increased delay time of the Boss DD-. If you owned both units and were trying to play "ambient" guitar, I would use the Boss DD- first in the chain as your infinite repeat delay and the Memory Boy second as your blurring/blending delay. It also sounds great in a Electro-Harmonix Superego pedal's effects loop. If you need a variety of delay sounds, the Line DL4's will give you the Memory Boy's sound with far greater control and delay time, plus many more delay sounds.BOTTOM LINE:(1) Nice dark and blurry analog delay sounds.(2) Limited delay time compared to other units in similar price range, but good for basic sounds.(3) With few exceptions, the modulations are somewhat weak sounding and hard to control, but you can turn them off. Chorus with saw wave and very low "Depth" works best for "normal" guitar sounds.(4) Small unit that does not eat a lot of pedalboard space.(5) Comes with a power cable.(6) Bleak industrial-like appearance.

Just to start off with, I would like to say that if you're looking for a standard delay tone for slap back or to simply add some depth to your leads, look elsewhere. I have never been a fan of delay pedals, each and every time I've purchased one I've sold it off because I never used it. I prefer spring reverb for slap back and a normal, clean delay sound never really did anything for me. What really made me love this pedal is the fact that it's a unique effect unto itself. The modulation is so unique, the chorus sounds like no other chorus and the vibrato like no other vibrato. I use this for more subtle modulation with just a little bit of warble along with a subtle delay time, it's perfect for adding atmosphere and ambiance to both chords and leads. It is truly beautiful and lush at more subtle settings. It is also great at the longer end of the delay time, while remaining just as haunting and dreamy sounding. There is a small sweet spot for more conventional delays, when you dial the modulation past 10 o clock or so you're firmly in noise territory. The chorus especially, it gets pretty wild after 9 o clock whole the vibe has more of a range before going into the more experimental sounds. The self oscillation is more musical than any other delay, I could sit there and twiddle the knobs all day and still probably not unlock every sound available. This is truly an incredible delay pedal, and a steal at this price.

I returned the Memory Boy for a Boss dd7. The Boss had many more features and was much more versatile for the same price. If I could afford the memory man I probably would have gotten it. The boy was a poor compromise. It just sounded like a muddy mess no matter what the settings. As a disclaimer, in 20 plus years of playing I have never really liked or used delay in a live setting.

My son has been adding various instruments and devices to his armamentarium of sound production and distortion equipment. He loves this little box. It actually modifies the sound of whatever you put through it about twice as much as advertised for some technical reason my son explained but I don't understand. It had something to do with the specs given being the average while one actually has a lot more room for experimentation. Anyway, he immediately starting something that sounded a bit Pink Floydish using this box with his electric guitar. Several days later he was playing something quite interesting and creative using this box, only he was playing his I-phone or something! Well, the point is that this is a lot of potential creative sound production for the price. Soooooo, if your considering this, I can tell you to just buy it, if you can find it, as it appears it is being discontinued, which has something to do with the great price. Simply a lot of fun and potential for the price from a company that makes good quality equipment. This is a great deal.

A very "meh" sounding delay. I sold it for a Boss delay and couldn't be happier.

This pedal has great tone, and tons of warble. I'm very happy with it. I don't think it is an all in one delay. You'll probably want another type of delay in your arsenal, but for analog delay sound, this is a good one.

You can get some beautiful tones out of this pedal. Warm and sweet delay, just like hot glazed donuts!!The deal is, the controls are VERY sensitive. If you are on of those who play with the exact same settings always (specially tempo), you might not like the pedal. But if you don't do this perfectionist shenanigans, you will love it.

Don't cheap out. Get a BOSS DD-7. This is basically "slap back", not long delay. Very basic.

Straight out of the box it is easy to get a good sound out of the Memory Boy, mastering it is another matter entirely though! The four controls are easy enough: Delay controls the delay time, Depth controls the how much modulation you get (from none to lots!), Blend mixes the dry and wet signals (with the 12 o'clock position being equal), and Feedback controls the delay repeats up to and including rampant self-oscillation (be careful with this, the first time I touched it I turned it too far clockwise and was briefly deafened by the horrifying shriek eminating from the 4x12 my head was in front of). So far I have mostly used the pedal for creating ambient soundscapes or spaced-out clean riffs (works especially well if you have a phase pedal running at the same time). It's not so brilliant for heavier stuff as any distortion, regardless of where it's coming from in relation to the pedal, seems to drown out all the repeats though I suspect having the signal more wet than dry would help with this. Brief experimentation shows that it would also work very well for rockabilly and surf sounds... as I usually play crushingly heavy doom metal this pedal has certainly opened my eyes to other possibilities! My main guitar is a Jackson KVX10 (high-output twin humbucker) and my amp is a 1984 Peavey Road Master (160w valve amp).One thing to look out for though is that the sound and operation seem to depend on how it's set up and powered. I first tried it alone in my amplifier's effects loop powered using the supplied adaptor, and then as part of my effects chain powered using the pedalboard supply. In the chain the delays are longer, the sound warmer and the feedback more controllable... the instruction leaflet says to only use the supplied adaptor but that's really there to stop people sticking any old power supply in and blowing it up, as long as you're running 9v / 200-250ma you should be fine.

Excellent Pedal does all it says works well for me and being true bypass it doesn’t change my signal .I found You do need to take the time to get used to dialling in the settings as they are quite sensitive especially the depth settings almost off for the Delay but once doing so you can get great sounds .

This is a very versatile guitar pedal and capable of many different effects from rockabilly to psychodelic sounds.I have had great fun with this pedal and would recommend it.I play a Fender Telecastor and use a Roland Micro Cube.

Per cominciare, amazon mi ha fatto arrivare il pacco addirittura con quattro giorni d'anticipo rispetto alla data prevista, dunque tempistica e consegna perfetti!Pro: Molto regolabile nonostante solo quattro knob che tra l'altro sono parecchio standard in quasi tutti i delay; lo switch per rendere il suono in vibrato o in chorus o per usare il pedale d'espressione è ottimo e utile per la modulazione del sound; lo switch della forma d'onda è molto utile anche se non vi è parecchia differenza tra le due forme messe a disposizione;Contro: Prezzo comunque caro per un delay analogico; il knob del feedback è parecchio sensibile al livello di suono (potrebbe risultare fastidioso per qualcuno);

Got this from the uk since i couldnt find any here in finland. Perhaps it is because this is cheap and for the money you get a great delay pedal. happy with it!