There was a period of time in the early-mid ’90’s where DOD was putting out some really experimental effects, and we were able to track one of them down for today’s featured pedal. The DFX94 is a digital delay, but it’s also a sampler as well, and boasts a full FOUR SECONDS of delay time, which was pretty unheard of at the time it was introduced, and is still pretty lengthy even by today’s modern standards. There’s a lot to explore here, think we better jump on in..
Level, Repeat and Delay are the main parameter controls on the DFX94, and each performs the task its name would suggest. It’s the 6-position rotary Mode switch that makes this pedal fun to explore, featuring modes for 250ms, 1 second, 4 seconds, Infinite Repeat, Trigger and Sample. The first three are just simple range modes, with the label being the max time for each one. Play a run or some notes and switch over to Infinite Repeat mode, and it will capture whatever you just played and loop it, adding yet another interesting aspect to this mystery of a pedal.
The Sampler portion is a little tricky to figure out, but useful once you do. Set the mode, tap the footswitch and start playing: the right hand LED will go out, then come back on when your sampling time is up. From there, you move the Mode knob to the Trigger position, and whenever you need to conjure up the sample you created, just hit the main bypass switch, and it will playback instantly. You have to play with the timing to get it just right, but it really is a fun option to have to add into your other mix of pedals, and can be used in a studio setting as well.
Introduced in 1993, the DFX94 was a product that was seemingly way ahead of its time, and still holds up as an excellent delay option today. The huge range of delay times and optional sampler functionality make it a unique beast in its own right, and improved upon the earlier model DFX91 with that astonishing 4 seconds of repeats to work with. While there’s not a ton of info on these guys anymore, you can find them cheap enough to experiment with and see if they fit your sound – who knows, they might just surprise you, and become the dark horse delay yo’ve been searching for for years.
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