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Hatsubai « Workhorse delay »
Published on 04/08/11 at 14:29The Boss DD-5 is one of the delay pedals that doesn't seem to get as much attention as the DD-3 or DD-6. It's a fairly standard digital delay pedal with up to 2000 ms of delay, the ability to do external tap tempo with a footswitch, has a hold mode for sampling, reverse mode for reverse delay, an effects level knob, feedback level knob, delay time level knob and the rotary mode switch knob.
UTILIZATION
Boss really packed in tons of features with this pedal. It's housed in the famous Boss enclsoure, so it should be able to withstand even the toughest touring conditions. Although it is FET buffered, the buffer isn't too terrible. There's some tone suckage, but it really shouldn't be enough to warranty a true bypass buffer unless you need absolutely pristine tone. The external tap temp feature is very cool, and I actually prefer it to the way the Boss DD-6 does things. Everything is clearly laid out, and if you have any issues, the Boss manuals are great at explaining what everything does.
SOUND QUALITY
The Boss DD-5 has a similar delay sound to the DD-3, in my opinion. It's digital sounding, but it's not quite as harsh as the DD-6 tends to be. It also has a pretty decent reverse delay feature for some of those real cool effects. That alone make this pedal worth checking into. However, it's starting to get a bit dated thanks to the latest delay pedals on the market. The delay length is also starting to become limiting compared to other delay pedals out there.
OVERALL OPINION
If you find a used DD-5 pedal for a cheap price, I recommend checking one out. It's a very good workhorse pedal for delay sounds, and I find it sounds a little bit more natural than the DD-6 does. That said, considering how old it is now, a lot of pedals out there both sound better and offer more features. If you're looking for the ultimate delay pedal, you'll probably want to look into the Eventide Timefactor.
UTILIZATION
Boss really packed in tons of features with this pedal. It's housed in the famous Boss enclsoure, so it should be able to withstand even the toughest touring conditions. Although it is FET buffered, the buffer isn't too terrible. There's some tone suckage, but it really shouldn't be enough to warranty a true bypass buffer unless you need absolutely pristine tone. The external tap temp feature is very cool, and I actually prefer it to the way the Boss DD-6 does things. Everything is clearly laid out, and if you have any issues, the Boss manuals are great at explaining what everything does.
SOUND QUALITY
The Boss DD-5 has a similar delay sound to the DD-3, in my opinion. It's digital sounding, but it's not quite as harsh as the DD-6 tends to be. It also has a pretty decent reverse delay feature for some of those real cool effects. That alone make this pedal worth checking into. However, it's starting to get a bit dated thanks to the latest delay pedals on the market. The delay length is also starting to become limiting compared to other delay pedals out there.
OVERALL OPINION
If you find a used DD-5 pedal for a cheap price, I recommend checking one out. It's a very good workhorse pedal for delay sounds, and I find it sounds a little bit more natural than the DD-6 does. That said, considering how old it is now, a lot of pedals out there both sound better and offer more features. If you're looking for the ultimate delay pedal, you'll probably want to look into the Eventide Timefactor.