Boss DD-5 Digital Delay

This pedal is a killer delay pedal. Does anything you could want! Digital delay at it's best! 8 different delays and a tap tempo external feature.

UTILIZATION

A little harder to get a delay sound because of the lot of functions on here but in time you will be fine and dig what you come up with! trust me!

SOUND QUALITY

SOund quality is superb. I've used it on all my pedal boards. Day in and day out this pedal is great

OVERALL OPINION

This pedal has blown me away. I've only begun to scratch the surface of what this pedal can do, and i've made funky/weird loops of sound, bizarre cricket noises, long delays that instead of fading out actually get LOUDER with time. I dont know how else to say it, If you are looking for a delay pedal, you just found it. This thing can do anything.

Also with the price range of 130-160 dollars its a huge bargin compared to other BOSS pedals that might pull off a similar effect such as the RC-2($180-200), or RC-20XL($240-300). Granted i know very little about the FULL capabilities of those pedals, but the DD-7 has up to 40 seconds worth of loop play in "Hold" mode. And the hold mode is so much more sophisticated that what I am familiar with... since previous to this pedal i have only tampered with the DD-3.

Has about every delay time you could imagine. Also has reverse delays and a sort of looping ability that I personally never use. Tap tempo. Hold effect. Reverse mode. Stereo outputs. It's actually pretty fully featured when you look at it. Of course you can attach a tempo switch.

UTILIZATION

I use mine with the tempo attachment pedal. Works simply enough. I used to have a giga delay and got tired of the menus and such. I decided if I was going to use a pedal for delay I wanted to be able to turn the knobs at least. A disclaimer: I normally use analog delays and rack delays only. This is pretty much the only digital delay I own besides an Eventide Timefactor. This is a really easy to use pedal if you know anything at all about delay times. I rarely use the oddball reverse/hold features so I can't really comment on how usable they are. I most often set it to 1/8 dot or 1/4 delay and use the tap tempo. Simple enough. No complaints about the switch failing. Mine has survived a few years of tours and stomping and all that. Pretty reliable pedal unlike some other delays I could mention.

SOUND QUALITY

I use the dd5 with my small travel/small gig rig which includes Dr. Z Maz 18 and a small pedal board. The thing about the DD5 is that it doesn't sound analog and it doesn't sound like a rack delay. It sounds like a digital delay. But it also sounds very very good. Why is that? I really don't know. This was one of my first delays. And after years of trying the best delays money can buy I still like it a lot. It's reliable, easy to dial in, functional, and it simply just sounds right. I don't know what else to say. Maybe my ears have just gotten that used to it. If you want tape delay or organic vintage analog sounds look away. Not to take anything away from the DD5 though.

OVERALL OPINION

I think for a budget delay this might be one of the best of all time. If you find one for a good priced used it's worth a pick up just because. They are super reliable and I know people who have had them for years and beat the sin out of them with no issues.

The Digital Delay DD-5 is a discontinued delay from Boss. This delay has a four knob design like the DD-3, but packs a lot more features into the pedal. The pedal has an Effect Level knob that adjusts the amount of delay that is mixed with the dry tone, a Feedback knob that adjust the number of repeats, a Delay Time knob that adjusts the amount of time between repeats, and a Mode knob that adjusts between the pedal modes. Mode One is a short delay with a range of 1 to 50 ms. Mode Two is a medium delay with a range of 50 ms to 200ms. Mode Three is a longer delay with a range of 200 ms to 800ms. Mode Four is a long delay with a range of 800-2000ms. Mode Five, the Hold mode, is a little different, it allows you to hold a delay (up to 2 seconds) and then play over it like a sampler. Mode Six is Reverse and makes it sound like what you are playing is reversed. Mode Seven ED allows you to output the effected sound and direct sound separately. Mode Eight is quarter notes, Mode Nine is dotted eight notes, Mode Ten is regular eight notes, and Mode Eleven is triplets. The pedal can be powered by 9 volt batter or external AC adapter. Dimensions of the pedal are Boss’s typical 2.4" x 5.1" x 2.9" and it weighs about a pound. This pedal has a single input and stereo outputs as well as a jack for tap tempo.

UTILIZATION

These pedals can take serious abuse from the road and rarely give problems, and the DD-5 is no exception. It is a very reliable pedal and I’ve never heard any complaints in the build of the pedal or quality control. The Mode knob has a solid click feel between settings. It’s a little difficult to remember all the settings, but having only one mode knob makes this easy. All the additional knobs do the same thing no matter what mode you are in, unlike the Line 6 DL-4. The housing and jacks are metal and will deal with life on the road. Including a direct out allows the player to use two amps to get that true full stereo delay and is a great addition from Boss. Tap tempo helps keep the delays in perfect time with the song rhythm.

SOUND QUALITY

This pedal is not true bypass, but the buffers on these Boss delays are very good. Being a digital delay, you are basically getting out what you put into this pedal, and that’s what you expect. Overall though I feel this pedal is a little warmer sounding on the repeats than the DD-3. The delays are very clean and crisp and sound very good. The inclusion of tap tempo really helps if you use your delay for rhythmic playing instead of a basic ambience. Being able to choose between rhythmic delays in Modes 8 through 11 really builds on that. This would be a great sounding and functioning pedal for someone who plays in the style of “The Edge” or contemporary Christian music.

OVERALL OPINION

Overall I really like this pedal a lot better than the standard Boss DD-3. It may be my exact pedal, but when comparing the two, the DD-5 sounds warmer and more natural. The DD-5 boasts a lot more modes and becomes much more useful with its delays and tap tempo option. This pedal has been discontinued for some reason, so you’ll have to pick one up on the used market. When picking between a used DD-5 and a used or new DD-3 I would go ahead and pick up the DD-5. Being a Boss I’d have no worries about the used pedal being reliable, and not only will you get a slightly better sounding delay, there are a few more useful features to boot.

4 switchable delay ranges
11 different delay modes
Compact stereo delay pedal with 1ms to 2000ms delay capabilities
Tap tempo capabilities in real time with optional FS-5U footswitch
Hold mode for sampling passages
Reverse mode for new and unique sounds
AC adaptor or 9V battery operation
BOSS 5-year warranty

UTILIZATION

The DD-5 is my favorite out of the DD series. I got one of these when I was in my first "labyrinth pedalboard" phase, and after selling off most of those pedals, I still kept this one. It is a nice, musical delay, with the right kind of features. It's got a wide range of delay times to select from, and with a footswitch it can do tap tempo. The LED is very easy to see onstage in a dark club. It has a great housing, as always from Boss, and superb stomp switch as well - very durable.

SOUND QUALITY

Here's where the pedal shines. It's not the greatest delay I've ever used, but it is up there. For the price, it is fantastic. I can get great slapback tones, ambient tones, guitar solo tones, and everything in between. The reverse mode is pretty cool - if I remember correctly, it seems like this was the first pedal to offer a reverse delay setting, and it is worlds of fun to play around with. Plugging this pedal into two different amplifiers is another great way to inspire, as the resulting sound is huge!

OVERALL OPINION

Solid 8s across the board from me. There's not a bad sound in the unit, and it's definitely not going to die on you at a gig (unless you run it with a battery - this thing DEMOLISHES 9 volt batteries). I'd recommend finding a tap-tempo footswitch for more versatility. For the price, under a hundred used, I'm not sure if you can find a better delay pedal. Highly recommended.