You want to know why you hear the name Strymon in multiple gear talk circles and discussion boards around the world? Because they make really, really good gear. Plain and simple. Their latest endeavor seeks to bring a little flavor back from the 80s to the future, namely right now, and showcase all the nuances and intricacies the rackmounted delay units of that decade had to offer, with some modern advancements and improvements as well.
The DIG is truly a Dual Digital Delay, in that there are TWO actual delays working together to form one cohesive sound (although you can run them separately, too, if need be, using the Free Mode option). The rad thing about Delay 2 is that you don’t set an actual time, you just use a Mix control and a subdivision mode selection knob (triplet, eighth note, dotted eighth note, dotted quarter note, and the golden ratio), so the second delay is not only capable of thickening up Delay 1’s echoes, it can also produce some modulated chorus or flanger sounds as well, opening the sonic door for you to venture into really uncharted territory.
As for Delay 1, Time, Mix and Repeats control what it does, as well as a couple toggles for that special Strymon touch. The Time levels on the DIG go from 20ms all the way to 1.6 seconds, plenty of time to figure out how this little pink puppy is gonna fit in with the rest of your rig. Everything from quick, tasty slapback sounds up to long, drawn-out ambient space station delays are available here, and figuring out how to get said sounds is one of the funnest parts about this pedal, as it is with every other piece of Strymon gear I’ve ever played.
The two toggle switches bring in even more tonal options to the mix, and why shouldn’t they? The first switch sets the amount of modulation you’d like your delay trails to have, whether it’s a little, a lot or absolutely none at all. The second toggle lets you select from 3 different digital delay voicings: 24/96 (Modern High-Resolution), ADM (Adaptive Delta Modulation) and 12 Bit (Pulse Code Modulation). Each of these modes offer very distinct sounds, the latter two of which harken back to the rackmount units of decades past, while the 24/96 shows off how far the technology has come since then.
The DIG is not simply another delay pedal; it’s a sonic echo revelation that takes us all back to some of the staple sounds on almost every record during the heyday of hair bands (unless you’re too young to remember that, in which case you should seek out an older friend to guide you on your path to enlightenment). As always, Strymon uses only the highest-quality components, with features not found on other pedals, and it’s all enclosed in a metal box that will treat you right as long as you do the same to it. Thanks to the crew at Strymon for sending this purdy pink pedal our way to review, it was a pleasure as always. Now join all your friends and go buy a pedal from these guys, will ya?
Submitted by Mike B, Website
Demo Rock pedalboard by West Coast Pedalboard
