Simplicity can be a powerful weapon in today’s pedal world, where some manuals tend to read like a Tolstoy novel. The ability to be able to sit down with a pedal and GO, without having to read a bunch first, can be key to gear working it’s way into your rig. Not that the big boys don’t have their place, of course they do, but sometime you just want a couple of knobs that make beautiful noise, and that’s all you need. If that’s something you’re on the lookout for, you’ll dig today’s pedal: the DL-1 Digital Delay from Lovepedal.
I love how this pedal looks, first of all: slick, classy and sleek, with an almost futuristic look to it. Not that that matters, but I’m a designer as well, and love good aesthetics. Looks aside, the DL-1 is a fairly simplistic, no-nonsense delay that adds great depth to your sound, and features some great modulation as well. The Mix knob controls the Wet/Dry signal mix for your overall sound, easily allowing blending of your guitar’s original tone with the delayed effect. Delay is up next, and controls the actual delay time, from 0ms all the way up to 1000ms, or a FULL second, which is not usually found in a pedal this small. The Feedback control adjusts how many times the delay effect is repeated, from one time to multiple times, creating differing layers of sonic washes to play around with.
Finally, the Fidelity knob goes back and forth between a crisper, cleaner digital delay sound and a warmer, analog-ish type of tone, great for mixing it up and having some fun with your delay. The lone toggle switch on the DL-1 Delay either turns on or shuts of the modulation aspect of the pedal. This modulation is actually controlled by the other four knobs, in particular the Fidelity, which, when mixed in right with the modulation, yields some fantastic Echoplex sounds, with a little wow and flutter like the old tape machines have, but at a fraction of the cost or size.
We recently reviewed the DL-1’s counterpart, the HSR-3 Multi Reverb, and both of these pedals turned out to be pretty rad. Slick in look and design, powerful with effect and options to boot, these two pedals will be giving others in the same genre a run for their money, no doubt. Be sure to check out Lovepedal’s website for more sonic offerings, looking forward to what comes next from Sean and the gang!
Submitted by Mike B, Website
Demo Rock pedalboard by West Coast Pedalboard
