Boss DD-500 Digital Delay

I use this with a Fender Baja Telecaster. To me, a delay works better with a clean/crispy
For a delay, it takes very little current : 200mA. As for voltage, it’s a standard 9V.

Esthetically, the pedal looks quite simple. Its color is not as white as it seems from pictures. In reality, it’s even prettier. It seems sturdily built.

The pedal is compact (17cm) for a delay that features several functionalities. The three lower switches are made of metal, the knobs are plastic-made.


As for the settings, it’s damn well designed!
Reverse mode is a real killer!
Vintage Delay mode makes it a rather warm sound (for a digital delay)
SFX mode (allowing to simulate LO-FI/noise type sounds, which can give interesting results if one takes time enough to tweak the knobs)
As I’ve only had it for a short time, I didn’t have enough time to review the other modes. All in all, 12 pretty well done Delays!



The following settings can be tweaked on each delay :
- volume
- tempo (bpm, note (half, quarter, dotted quarter, whole note, 8th, 16th, triplet and so on...)
- feedback, of course ^^
- filters (low, high, decibels, damping and even the pannel for managing stereo effects..)
- tone
- modulation (a rather good emulation of a Chorus effect)

All this using the small lcd screen. Quite useful for all these settings.
It provides high precision and a rather good ergonomics.

Of course, not everything is perfect and it also has its part of cons. I essentially think of the “shimmer” mode. It only allows a single octave ! STRYMON’s Timeline (in its “ICE” mode) offers up to 5.

On this point, Boss couls have done better and offered saveral octaves so as to enhance the sound and create ambiances with that sort of modes. Of course, the mode is still useable if you spend some time tweaking the settings (it’s possible to detune the octave using the “fine” feature, to change the octave to -24, -12, 12, +24). Like with a pitchshifter.

All other modes are mostly good. A great innovation by Boss.

The features of the third switch are a real crush
It can of course be used for tap tempo, but also as an expression pedal! (note that a different function can be assigned to the switch for each preset). Well done, BOSS!

This avoid having to spend more in other types of additional pedals to benefit 100% from this one. Of course, you still can add external pedals for more versatility.

Regarding the looper: classic! Record/play/overdub/stop.
The different delays can be used while recording/playing.
Still, you can’t save your loop (the pedal wasn’t designed for such).





Just an advice if you are a delay fan: if you want to be able to build/finetune your sound, get this pedal! You sure won’t be disappointed.