Boss DD-20

This pedal has many functions. You will probably need to read the manual to use it to its full extent, but it is very user friendly. Apart from presets etc..the operation of this pedal is simple as pie.

This is by far one of the best delay units i've played. I own or have owned a EH Memory Man, Line 6 DL4, Roland SDE1000, and a Korg SDD2000 and i must say the sound on this pedal is outstanding. I mainly use the modulated setting on this pedal as i play alot of U2 stuff. If your choosing between this and a DL4, do yourself a favour and by the Boss its far superior to the DL4. I've tried several guitars through this pedal: Epi LP Goldtop, Fender Strat, and Epi Explorer. Really like how the Strat rings on the modulated setting of this pedal. Amp wise i'm running it through a Vox Valvetronix AD30 for recording. For live use, i run it through a Vox AC30CC. I run the following signal for a nice shimmer effect:


output 1 > AC30
Strat > effects > Boss DD-20 >
output 2 > Line 6 Verbzilla > Amp2

Adds a very very cool shimmer effect! Note: you need the Verbzilla for the shimmer though ;)

Its a Boss. Should be enough said. If it holds up as well as my other Boss pedals, then life will be grand.

Never had to deal with them.

I play an assortment of music, rock, alternative and alot of U2 stuff. This pedal suits it all.

If you cant figure this thing out within 5 minutes you shouldnt be playing pedals, its straight forward take a look at the manual real fast if u have too but its prett ymuch set tempo how much feedback u want and the effect level i keep the tone in the middle and select ur delay of choice and ur set. The manaual is awsome its like the how to for dummies boss always has awsome manauals.

I use Schecter C-1 PLus and S-1 elite guitars both with 81 and 85 emgs. my set up goes guitar into my dunlop classic wah which then goes in my tu-2 boss tuner, i go through bypass and got boss flanger, boss tremolo, boss phaser, boss super shifter, and boss dd-20 delay, into the ns-2 noise supressors returns jack, and the tuners output goes into the nosie supressors input that way my guitar tone gets cleaned and so do my effects it sounds beautiful and everything goes into a mesa triple recitifer. I have only had this pedal for a day but would recommend it before the dl4 ive know 3 people with them and borrowed it form them each and tryed to get to like it but i just wasnt sold on the price tag. plus the reviews for the line 6 dl4 they all breakdown so i dont wanna blow 250 bucks for something that will break boss never fails.

Its boss you dont need a back up or anything its a tank.

Havent had to deal with them ever and i own like 7 or 8 boss pedals and always will becuase boss is the only brand i feel i can trust.

It is an awsome pedal you should try it when your trying out the Line 6 dl 4 most the same features and this one to me has better delay options and it wont breakdown on you. I play post hardcore/rock type stuff and im always using my guitar to do weird sounds or something new and fresh and all the kids love it at shows. If i lost this pedal id probably buy another one asap without thinkings twice. To me its sounds better then all the other boss pedals and it has all the same features if you look hard enough online you can find it for like 10 bucks more then the dd-6 which to me was crap, at least for me it isnt a bad pedal i just want a little more for my money you know.

There is definitely a learning curve when it comes to operating and editing this puppy because it can do so much, but it's well worth it. Once you've read the manual, plan on lots of experimenting in a well lit area and plan on logging your presets as you create them. The controls are fairly simple to master and the LED display is easy to read, but that's where need to grab a pencil and start logging everything else.

As you save your presets, the DD-20 remembers the echo volume, repeat, tone and mode settings, but once you've toggled though the other presets, if you've moved the nobs, there's no way of telling where they were when you saved that preset in the first place. This is all leading to what I think BOSS should do is create a method of saving data to a memory card that could interface with a computer where you could save and load presets.

The DD-20 is quiet as a mouse. It's not a tape echo, but at a fraction of the cost, it can do some things tape can't touch. It's got eleven different echo modes, some of which, even after five months I have yet to use. For my money, the unit is worth the price just for the SMOOTH, ANALOG, TAPE and WARP modes.

SOS: * (sounds great, but I don't use it)

TWIST: * weird spacy swirling thing (I don't use it)

WARP: ***** Really cool layering echo effect! Totally awesome and duh bomb.

TAPE: ***** Modeled after the Roland-201 Space Echo. Multi-head feature can let you create driving rhythms akin to The Edge.

ANALOG: ***** Modeled after the BOSS DM-2. Sounds excellent. Very cool retro echo effect.

STANDARD: *** Standard digital echo (sounds great, but I don't use it)

DUAL: *** You can set two delay times. a) 1-100ms b) 4ms-23seconds (haven't messed with this to much yet)

PAN: * (stereo... I don't use it)

SMOOTH: ***** Excellent voicing, kinda in between the Analog and Digital modes. Use it all the time.

MODULATE: * (haven't messed with this one at all)

REVERSE: * (don't know where I would use this one)

Built like a rock! I've owned many Roland/BOSS products over the years and have yet to have one break.

Don't need it.

This is really incredible unit. Amazing, considering the racks of stuff you use to have to tote around. My band plays everything from rockabilly to surf to swing, so a good echo unit is an intrical part of the sound and the DD-20 can do it all. I use a VooDoo Lab Pedal Power 2 to power it and the rest of my stomp boxes, so batteries aren't an issue. This is without a doubt the most powerful echo pedal I've ever used. My only wish is that in the future BOSS would include some kinda of computer interface/memory card and double the presets from four to eight.

Considering the amount of options on this pedal, it is amazingly easy to use. Each mode works quite similarly for setting up and the saving feature works easily. There are a few little tricks for each setting that you NEED to read the manual to find, like holding down the left footswitch to change the rate and depth of the modulated setting or how to access the 4db output boost. But for 90% of the ability, it's dead simple and well layed out. The manual is long which is great to fully explain everything this can do.

I play two main guitar setups: Fender Ash Tele or Warmoth H/S/H -> Boss GE-7 -> Doobtone Boss BD-2 -> Barber Direct Drive -> Indyguitarist Boss TR-> Boss DD-20 -> Fender Hot Rod Deluxe.
Top notch! This pedal is so full of features and it does 99% of them so well. The analog and tape delays are beautiful. I can honestly say (as I was able to compare at home) it nails the DM-3 sound AND it can give much longer delay times. I don't know how the tape delay holds up but it is a very nice sound. The modulated mode is just plain gorgeous, but make sure to lower the depth and rate as the stock is a little over the top in the beginning. I do wish the dual delay setting could get a longer short delay time to get some of the dual sounds of the Edge like on Bad. I love that the saved memory banks setting can be changed temporarily, so you can touch up tempo or effect level when playing live. The specs say this pedal takes 160ma to run so it should be run off a good power supply, but it will work (and is how I use it) off a daisy chain which amazed me. The daisy chain does occasionally (and I haven't totally figured out what makes it come or go) allow a noise tick in the background in time with the blue tempo light. This is due to the daisy chain so you can't get mad at that and it really cannot be heard (way less noticeable than any overdrive pedal noise). Other than that, no noise to complain of whatsoever. The pedal works well with other pedals, so it's great to add ambiance or full out layers.

The thing is incredibly solid, with that same Boss feel. No problems with it at all.

Never had to deal with them.

I can't say enough good things about this pedal. Between the analog and the modulation, you can nail U2 sounds right on, in perfectly dialed times to match the recordings, and saved in the memory banks for easy call up. With 23 seconds of delay you've got more than you'll ever need for delay stuff. I could ask for a few more memory banks but then it wouldn't be as easy to switch up on stage, so I'll keep the 4 (plus the non saved one). If it were lost, I'd buy another one immediately. It takes less space than the Line 6, accepts normal power supplies, has a visual display of time, and has one more memory bank. However, the line 6 does have a couple more modes though. I'd still take the Boss any day.

these controls definitley take a little bit of getting to know, if you really want to know how to use this thing. not bad at all though, once you get it. definitley not just a plug and play, this thing has lots of features, so obviously you have to take some time to figure out how they work.

fender tele deluxe 72 reissue, ernie ball vpj, menatone fish factory, boss tu-2, foxrox octron, EH holy grail, crybaby wah, other assorted goodies, running stereo into a marshall 62 bluesbreaker combo reissue and a peavey classic 50 212 combo.

the delay sound here is really really great. i mean it's digital delay, so if you're expecting warm analog, i'm not sure why you're even reading this, although the analog modler on here aint too shabby. it's not "cold harsh digital" sound, decently natural sounding, and a bunch of different sounds to choose from, all pretty cool. there are a few that you will rarely touch if you are not interested in sound experimenting at all (warp, twist) but they can give you some freaking cool noises when you get the hang of them. the standard and ping pong sound great, analog is good, tape... eh, dual... eh, not really a true dual head because you don't have alot of options with head #1, more like a slap back with a long delay somewhere in there too. i have had this thing for a while now and still don't really get the "smooth" feature. the mod. delay, however is really beautiful, and you have full control over the depth and rate as well as the usual delay controls. sound on sound recording is cool. i would give this a 9, HOWEVER there is some tone intereference. the treble loss is minimal, athough it is there, but even when you have this thing bypassed, there is that dreaded digital HISS that is loud and clear. it sounds like it's raining inside my amp with this thing in my chain. and i tried running it on batteries, which did help a little, but it's pointless, they didn't even last for one hour and failed right in the middle of a performance, really embarrassing. the delay sounds are really good, but you have that horrible hiss and small tone loss to deal with.

i rate this low only because of the poor battery life, other than that, no problems

dont know

my band plays from indie rock/pop to experimental and ambient stuff. i love delay and rely on it heavily as a songwriting tool, not just an effect. this pedal has a lot of great features to offer, memory storage of up to basically 5 settings, very easy to change sounds, you can program in BPM, this comes in handy because we play to a click track, so all i do is dial in the tempo and i'm right in with the song! tap setting and ext. pedal option (you can use your two on board pedals for various functions from switching to tapping to bypassing to many different combinations). and most of these sounds are really good digital delay sounds, along with 23 full seconds of delay or s.o.s. looping. some people may never need that, but it allows me to loop parts live that no other delay pedal will. however, for all the tone freaks out there, myself included, these great features come with a price! TONE. i would say this is killer for live performances and times when you are allowed a little HISS (it totally kicks the Line 6 dl-4's ass in user-friendliness), but if you're going into the studio, this may not be the pedal for you. however if you are one of these full midscoop distortion always on 11 trash-tone dudes, you will not even notice the shortcomings of this pedal on your 'guitar' sound, so go for it. i'll hold on to it and probably just put it in a bypass loop. way better price than that line 6 pedal i might add...

Pretty easy to use right out of the box. A little understanding of the dials is needed to get a good sound, but to use the other features it really helps to read the manual, which is ok, not great.

Prior to getting my DD-20 yesterday, I had a DD-6 for 2 years. I felt it was defintely worth noting that the DD-20 DOES NOT colour the tone, and that I actually noticed an improvement in the tone, particularly the clean signal when I changed over to the DD-20. The DD-6 I found actually affected my tone and I didn't realise it until I used this little gem.

In my opinion, the DD-20 is the most powerfull delay PEDAL on the market. It's rival, the Line 6 DL4 has options that the DD-20 doesn't have and vice versa, but to me the DD-20 sounds just that little bit better.

The Analogue feature is suprisingly good, as is the smooth function.

I have never had a problem with Boss gear in 12 years, and I don't see that ever changing.

As above...

I don't think I will require any more of their support.

I play a style in the midst of Cog, Tool, Karnivool, APC, The Butterfly Effect, etc. and Delay is one of my most important effects. I wanted the best delay I could get, and now it's mine.

As I mentioned earlier, the tone that comes through is squeaky clean which is a very valuable feature of the pedal.

it does take a while to play with every potential thing this pedal can do, but its not hard...

just updating a previous review, and responding to some of the comments here talking about how its "universal" that the 'twist' and 'warp' modes are useless and nobody uses them. WRONG! Those are really the only two modes I use in my live shows. My solos are really to busy to have a lot of repeating notes here and there, I use the twist and warp purely for their intersting sonic capabilities, and there are several. come on, isn't anyone here into noise? twist gives you some of the weirdest noise achievable, and it varies greatly with adjustments to the delay time. a super cool toy. and warp is the best tool for soloing, intensifying a particular part of a solo by maxing out the feedback and increasing the speed - its so useful if you're like me! so, don't listen to people dissing these two functions. don't get me wrong, I love the analog and tape modeling, and the reverse and modulate are great too. and the looping. what I would call 'useless' would be the 'digital' and 'smooth' modes, but they're not useless either, they're just not the noises I'm looking to make. to each his/her own...

super reliable, gig without backup regularly.

n/a

really, this thing is just absolutely superb. some people get noise unless its using its own power supply - I have no such problem. I use a visual sound 1-spot, and I'm powering 8 other pedals simultaneously - no noise. so many capabilities, so many uses, $180 might seem like a lot to spend on a single pedal, but from where I stand, this thing is a great value, and a great musical tool.

If you read the little manual-booklet it's very easy to use.
I even learned something I didnt know about some types of delay while reading the manual.
Editing patches is also quite simple. Almost too simple (don't press on the write-button twice accidentally).
As always, experiment a little and use your ears in order to get good sounds.

No problems here. It's just fine.
Only thing is: it makes you want to have effects on the loops.
But that can hardly be called a problem.

This was one of the main reasons to buy Boss.

I play the violin.
I've just made the decision not to buy 19" rack-units but good pedals instead.
On www.pluwin.nl (as soon as the sound clips are there) there's no boss to be heard. But I've used my old trustworthy roland re800 on some of it.
These days I also use a LRBaggs para di preamp and a 1929 violin.

This is the first time I've ever picked up a pedal like this. It looks intimidating when you look at pictures online or in catalogs, but ANYONE can figure out how to program different settings and presets in minutes. Most of the other pedals I've used were singles that were pretty much brainless, this one is just as easy to use as any single on the market. One pedal changes between delay modes while the other turns the effects on or off. Setting the delay time is made easier with a push knob so you can program a subtle delay, a full-out echo, or even use it as a loop since it has up to 23 seconds of delay.

SETUP:Peavey 8x10 with a MAX 700 head and a Dean Edge Pro 5.

As a bass player, I was very concerned with my pedals sucking tone from my signal, but this thing pumps every bit of sound right back into my amp. Also, it's like having several different pedals at your feet. It has 11 delay modes built into it with four programmable settings and a manual setting. You can set the delay signal to decay (like an analog delay) or you can just keep it going. All of the modes on it have a lot of possibility for a wide range of sound, none of which will negatively affect the tone of your setup.

I haven't been able to try it out yet, I've only had it for a week. However, I'm concerned Boss pedals could easily survive a nuclear holocaust.

Haven't had to deal with them yet. I hope I won't have to.

I can see how guitar players would love this, and I think a lot of bass players should give this a shot, too. Having a delay can add so much to any style of music and really bring a new depth to your sound. If your local music shop has one of these in stock, mess around with it some. It's better than any single delay on the market, it's like having four delays at your feet, and for the money it can't be beat. I'd hunt down anyone who dared steal this from me, and I'd certainly buy it again should I have to. This pedal has opened new doors for my music, and it will do the same for anyone else who buys it.

it takes practice, but you can get any sound you were expecting to get out of it

i think if the level/tone wasn't recorded in the presets, it would make switching easier

it's solid.
don't depend on batteries though. i had them die on me during a show once

never needed to

when i bought this pedal, i wanted to be able to have looping abilities as well as normal delay. from playing this for countless hours i found that for looping, the sound over sound mode isn't necessarily the best. with that you can record one track and have it repeat, then go only to your first preset, and not being able to switch anything else after that.
i set it on standard mode and use the tap tempo to record the entire guitar line as one long measure, then set the feedback all the way up. if you get the timing right, it does the same as the s.o.s. function, except you can turn the effect on and off while it's repeating. so that means as long as it is on, you can add track over track for as long as you want.
i use that same method while taking advantage of the stereo inputs and outputs. if you have a guitar line looping, you can plug in a bass and that out to a seperate amp, and it will loop the bass line into the bass amp. then i'll sit down and play drums.
this is perfect for when i'm writing

just for that capability alone, if anything happened to this pedal, i'd buy one the same day.