MXR M118 Analog Delay Vintage

This is a really old analog delay pedal from MXR, who make a lot of great pedals. This box is a bit larger than the newer reissue which is called the carbon copy. There are three 1/4" connections, one in, one out, and one special out that gives you just the delay and not the actual guitar. This is cool if you want to send some extra effects through another amp or PA or something. This pedal isn't rackable or computer-capable.

UTILIZATION

Setting up this pedal is pretty much a piece of cake. There are only three knobs to work with here: one for delay, one for mix, and one for regeneration. I've also seen these settings labeled as delay time, level and feedback, respectively. The general setup is just like a regular pedal for the most part. I've never set up a second amplifier to try out the delayed signal by itself in tandem with the original sound, however I have done it by itself and gotten interesting results.

SOUND QUALITY

I like this with all of my guitars, no one in particular sounds better with this pedal. I will say that a tube amp will sound better with it than a solid state will, just because a tube always sounds better. The sound is why anybody buys anything anymore, and I think that this pedal more than lives up to its name. The delay sound is rich and warm, and the tone actually feels enhanced by the effect and not deadened or softened like what happens with a Boss digital delay. The effects that you can generate with it range from subtle to completely off the wall.

OVERALL OPINION

This pedal is great for its sound. I've had a hard time finding one online, but I haven't checked all the avenues yet. I'm sure it's going for a lot of money right now (good thing I bought mine from someone I knew!). I think this is one of the better analog delays I've tried. For how useful it is, it isn't as well known as some other ones I could name, which is surprising. I think this is a great pedal and very much worth your money.

The MXR Analog Delay guitar pedal is an all analog pedal that has a 1/4 inch input as well as two 1/4 inch outputs.  It has a power cable that is connected to the unit making a separate power supply or battery unnecessary.  This is not a rack mountable piece of gear as it is a stomp box.



UTILIZATION

Using the MXR Analog Delay is a really easy process as it only has three different parameters and anyone who has any experience with delay pedals or other guitar pedals shouldn't have too much trouble figuring out this pedal.  The three parameters found on the MXR Analog Delay are delay, mix, and regen.  These are pretty basic parameters as far as delay pedals go and after playing around with it for a few minutes I was able to understand everything there was to this pedal.  I don't have the manual for the MXR Analog Delay pedal but it really isn't needed as the pedal is easy enough to use on its own.


SOUND QUALITY

I have only used the MXR Analog Delay pedal with electric guitar - usually a Fender Strat plugged into a '76 Fender Twin Reverb, but this pedal can be used with any electronic instrument that you would want to use it with.  I'm always happy with the sounds that I can get from this pedal as I feel they are always super clean sounding and that the amount of different sounds that I can get is vast.  You can get more traditional trailing delay tones as well as some pretty whacky sounds as well.  The three parameters provide more than enough control for this pedal and while some other delay pedals might have more parameters, I find that you can get just as many sounds with this one.


OVERALL OPINION

I've had the MXR Analog Delay pedal for about two years and it has become one of my favorite delay pedals in that time.  It has a great sound quality and is suitable for any application including recording and live shows.  These are somewhat hard to find these days and the price will vary, but if you can find one at a reasonable price and are looking for an awesome delay pedal, I would highly recommend scooping one up!