A couple months ago, we reviewed a tasty fuzz pedal from St. Petersburg, Russia, called the Termofuzz, which was one of the most fun and diverse fuzzes I have had the pleasure to review. Well, the guys and gals behind that pedal are up to it agin, this time switching directions and offering up the Breaking Bad Delay Deluxe. With graphics and functions both nodding to a certain spectacular TV show, this delay is about as inventive, expressive and sonically diverse as you can get in this small of an enclosure.

Mix, Feedback and Delay start us off with the main control knob section. With the Mix present, dialing in the perfect amount of delay is a key option for the Breaking Bad Deluxe, and a welcome one at that, great for anything from subtle lead runs to big, fat walls of echo pouring out of your amp. Feedback sets the number of repeats for the delayed signal, but be careful with this one, as it will turn into a self-oscillating beast with a slight turn of the knob, which can be both exciting and scary simultaneously. The Delay range goes from 51ms to 650ms, for a wide array of textures to dial right in. While nothing super new or fancy, this basic control section has good range, and boasts a very useful set of sonic options to choose from.

The two toggle switches on the Breaking Bad Delay are what really make it stand out from other delays in this functions/price range. The Bright toggle adds more high frequencies into the delayed trails, making the sound pop out a bit more to cut through the rest of your bands’ noise. Shift Line spent a long time developing this pedal, using a PT2399 chip and creating an analog filters circuit to both reduce clipping at high levels and bring in some of that fabled BBD chip analog sound. The Mode switch (originally called “Meth”, ha!) adds onto the complexity of this delay, turning your once tame, unsuspecting and unassuming pedal into a beast of immense proportions. Flicking this switch increases the max delay time to SIX SECONDS, but also turns it into a big old noise monster, with the delayed sounds being thick and having a fat low-end, producing absolutely uncontrollable and astonishing delay results. Be careful with this mode, people: be very, very careful.

Another cool and unique design coming to you straight from Russia, the Breaking Bad Delay Deluxe is a sonic marvel, with great classic delay tones and an entirely new and magnificent other side to it, breaking sonic boundaries and amps that try to stand in its path. One side note: there’s also a smaller version of this pedal, too, for those of you that like your pedalboards nice and compact – check it out HERE. Thanks to Oleg and the folks at Shift Line, make sure you check out their complete line of pedals, they’re really making some fantastic gear!

Submitted by Mike B, Website

Demo Rock pedalboard by West Coast Pedalboard