Boss DD-20

needed to read the manual for some of the features and basic operation (holding down the pedal and pressing the knob to get to certain functions)

I love this thing! I've never really used much delay but this thing's got me inspired. I really like the Analog setting for short delays, gives a really nice slapback ambience, with that nice analog goo (the tone knob is nice here). the Smooth is also quite beautiful at medium settings... sounds better than plain reverb, to me. what makes me love this pedal even more is the ability to get musical sound effects other than delay. I picked up a few tricks from this page... if you do Reverse delay at 1-40 milliseconds, you can get a really nice ring modulation or "frequency analyzer" (Tortoise style) sound, kind of like a warbly tremolo/vibrato effect...quite nice. I also am fond of the Reverse delay at moderate delay times for some really sweet organ type choppy volume swells when playing chords. if you set the delay time low and the mix to full wet, using the Modulation, you can get chorus! and it sounds pretty good. the best part of all this is you have 4 save-patches (plus the manual which will do whatever you have the knobs left on) so you can save 4 or 5 sounds without having to re-dial the effects every time...very useful. the sound on sound/looper is fun too if you've never used that kind of thing. I love the delay effect in general because it makes your guitar sound like a brewing storm, like lightning in the broad sky, brooding ominously. I'm just floored with this thing. I had a hard time knowing what to expect from these reviews...you really must try it, and find your own settings to suit your taste

it won't do the radiohead pitch shift/spaceship noise by tweaking the time knob with no decay setting...you'll need another pedal for that. but the other sounds more than make up for this

boss is great for this

I can't imagine a better digital delay pedal. I used to own an RV-3 reverb/delay combo pedal, and this thing is quite a bit more useful and fun. the twist setting is a total waste of time... unless you want your guitar to sound like a motorcycle... yeah... real cool (you can hear it on musiciansfriend in the sound clips. it makes one sound and you can't change it). I wish the loop could be set for 46 seconds mono (instead of just 23 seconds in stereo). they say there's some way to accomplish this using the "pan" setting but I can't figure it out. I don't even feel the need to buy an analog (or tape--yeah right) delay any more.

I also have a danelectro wasabi rock-a-bye delay/overdrive, and that pedal has a "thicker" delay sound...more low end on the repeats than the boss. I think it's perfect (a little better than the boss) for that jimmy page "I can't quit you" tape slap-back doubling sound. on the other hand, the boss does rockabilly slapback a little better, it's a little leaner and leaves a little more room for the dry signal. I don't play rockabilly, though, and I don't really use that sound. I think the boss will meet just about any delay need, especially if you want options and tweakability. I still might get an AD-9 someday, just because they sound so dang cool and funky

Lots of features, really everything you could want from a delay. I had hoped that this would be THE definitive delay and i'd never need to buy another one.

Sound quality is good in my opinion, but there is one big massive problem i have with it, which prevents me from using it altogether. If you are using a Dunlop DC Brick i'd urge you to try out the pedal through the DC Brick before buying it, because for me it generates a LOT of digital noise that is completely unacceptable in either a live or studio situation. I've tried all sorts of routing options, and as the only digital pedal on the board it is definitely the cause. My pedalboard is silent when i remove the DD20, but when it's in the chain, it actually causes my OD pedals to generate noise too. They're MI Audio ODs so as you might expect they are completely silent under normal circumstances.

Seems well built, you couldn't break it without intentionally trying

Not sure

I guess it's back to my trusty Visual Sound H2O, which contains about a tenth of the features, for about a tenth the noise. As i said earlier you're best off trying this pedal, the noise might not be a problem, or your tolerance for a high frequency ringing may be a lot higher than mine! If not for this little unfortunate aspect, the DD20 would definitely be my first choice for delay.
Unlike some of the other delays like TC Electronic and Eventide, it uses 9V power, which is big plus in my book.

als reines delay supereinfach zu bedienen. es bedarf einiger ??bung, wenn man experimentieren m??chte. denn es gibt ziemlich viele m??glichkeiten, wie sich loop(SOS sound-on-sound) und delays miteinander verquicken lassen. es ist z.b. m??glich einen loop einzuspielen und dar??ber per delay zu spielen. das ist nicht gaanz so komfortabel, denn man muss vorher den delay modus auf einen speicherplatz legen. der loop ist dann auch nicht mehr ver??nderbar. im SOS-modus gibt es leider keine undo m??glichkeit und ein gestoppter loop ist auch nicht wieder hervorzuzaubern. daf??r ist die bedienung sehr eins zu eins und damit ??bersichtlich. ??bung brauche ich noch mit den umstellungen zwischen den modi und den memory pl??tzen. ich habe aber die anleitung auch noch nicht gelesen.

prima. die diversen modi sind aber etwas verspielt und boss gibt sich nat??rlich den anforderungen des marktes hin. z.b. der analog modus ist ein schlechtes beispiel f??r ein digital erzeugtes analog-delay. das ganze klingt dann (man hat ja auch nicht ein ger??t vor augen, welches aus einer anderen zeit kommt) irgendwie so, als w??re das teil defekt. f??r mich viel zu dumpf und wenn die delays ausklingen wird es harsch und kurioserweise viel digitaler als alles andere. warp ist ganz lustig, da kann das feedback zart eingestellt werden und per gehaltenem fusstaster kann das feedback auf voll eingestellt werden. wenn schon tape-modus, dann doch mit 4 virtuellen tonk??pfen und nicht mit wahlweise einem oder zweien, oder? den unterschied zwischen smooth und normal muss ich noch entdecken. pan ist prima. reverse kapiere ich nicht. modulate kann auch spass machen. f??r mich ist derzeit grossartig: superkurze delayzeiten f??r sitar und steeldrum kl??nge mit diesen sch??nen resonanzen die hier millisekundengenau justiert werden k??nnen. entschieden habe ich mich f??r den DD-20, weil ich lange loops langsam ausblenden wollte um einen sich stets neu generierenden klang/rhythmus zu schaffen. funktioniert prima und die resultate sind qualit??tsm??ssig klasse!

ich glaube daran.

ich nutze das teil zum lernen und experimentieren mit theremin, gitarre und percussion. funktioniert! statt der diversen und zumeist nicht wirklich nutzbaren modi h??tte ich lieber speicherpl??tze f??r loops wie bei den RC loopern, eine undo option und sehr sch??n w??re auch, eineingestelltes delay als loop spielen zu k??nnen.

This unit is plug in and play as well as a real challenge for tweakers. There's TONS of features if you want to go into it but it's also quite simple if you just want to set two or three different "normal" delays.

The manual is clear and very simple to understand, and editing and memorizing most settings is as easy as it can be. Some (like modulation) are a little harder due to extra parameters which are not direcly accessible with a destined knob but nothing too difficult, just a couple more steps to remember.

I'm using it with either a Les Paul Studio '95 or a 52ri Telecaster into pedals into either ENGL Classic combo or a Brunetti MC2 combo..

It sounds good. I bet it's not in the league of a T-rex Replica, but the flexibility and tweakability of this delay is something I've never even tought of. I bought it because I wanted a delay that allowed me to rotate between three or so presets, but I've bought much more.

It's not true bypass obviously, but at the same time I don't think this is as bad as some reviewers say. As a matter of fact, I don't think it's a tone sucker.

If you use quality cables and not too many buffered pedals there's nothing you should complain about. Sure, it's only 99,5 % of the original tone, but as a matter of fact I like a buffered pedal after od/dist/fuzzes, and in the end of my pedal chain.

Some people complain about pedals not being true bypass, and the you see them using cheap connection cables that REALLY SUCk THE HELL out of what you're sending into them. At this point, every complaint about sound quality is bull**t.

And afterall this unit can't be made tbp (unless you use a looper) so if you want the amazing (and afaik unique - at least in one single box) features that this pedal has, you shouldn' t worry about it.

THe tape echo setting sounds really great with cleans, most of the settings are spot-on, and some are pretty much useless, but for the price it's worth every penny.

It's sturdy and reliable, I've never had a single problem with it in 4 or 5 months that I've owned it, and gigged with it.

No experience in this area

This stomp is great. Of all the stomps I've bought, it's the one I'm most satisfied with. I'd buy it again in an instant, without even thinking about getting a different delay.

It's not perfect (it's not tbp and it doesn't have a separate preset selector and tap tempo, but you can add a footswitch), but it's not pricey either and it has such features that you can keep exploring on and on. It even has a chorus setting hidden inside. It has a level knob. A TONE knob. It's delay can go up to 23 seconds. You can set the time in bpms o msecs (which is VERY useful if you play with a click or when recording..). Every now and then someone comes up with a new and very cool - and useful for some people - hidden use for it.

I think Boss did it right with this one. I'm not a huge fan of their products (it's the only boss stomp on my pedal board) but I think that they nailed it right with this one. I see VERY LITTLE room for improvement (tbp, another switch for tap tempo, the analog setting being REALLY analog - still it's analog sounding)and all in all I don't think you can pretend much more out of it.

If you just want a delay to store up to 5 settings (one is the manual), or a delay to do all sorts of strange stuff, or just a fun pedal to explore nearly endless features, get it. Even better if used because it's very reliable.

There is a bit of a learning curve. But that is only because it has so many extra options and features. You can learn the basics in under twenty minutes by just skimming the manual. Tapping into some of it's different modes and output options can take some reading though.

I've been using this unit for about a year now. I was really excited when I got it and it has opened me up to some different sounds. I'm totally sold on have a delay with a tap tempo feature now and don't want to live without it but... I'm going back to my Maxon AD9 for the time being. WHY? Well for the first time since I got the unit I unplugged it from my signal chain to try out a reverb pedal that I thought I might want to use. When I did that it was like lifting a vail from off my tone. I wanted to cry. I totally loved this pedal and really thought it was the be all end all for me.

So don't believe the reviews that say this thing doesn't color your tone. Believe the reviewers who mention how the unit sucks out tone, cuts your highs, muffels your tone, goofs with the bass frequencies... Etc. Listen to them. They're right. You may not be able to tell at low volumes or when you first plug it in. But in a practice setting the difference is night and day. And I can't go back to it now. My amp and other effects sound way too good with out it.

That said I will say that the DD-20 is better than others. I like it better than all the other Boss Delay units I've tried and it hands down beats the Line 6 (the big green one).

Boss. While their stuff isn't always the best sounding, at least it never breaks.

I've delt with them on occasion and they're usually pretty nice and helpful.

Well, I use it for a year and never really disliked it. So I guess it is at least an average pedal. Too bad that that is all it is. I'm back on my quest for the perfect delay pedal. Any suggestions?

It is an easy to use pedal, however, there are tons of sounds to get out of it and the possibilities are virtually endless. To get something useful for your personal taste, it might take a while.

One thing that is quite a shame, though, is, that you can only select from your save-presets IN ORDER, you can just switch from 1 to 4 or from 3 to 1 with one step, but you'll find yourself hitting the right pedal as many times it needs to get back to them. (1..2,3,4,manual, 1)
A little disadvantage compared to the <Line6 DL-4>

Top-notch, just like with so many BOSS pedals.
It substracts nothing noticeable to my overall sound placed in the FX-Loop. The quality of the different Delay-modes is brilliant, you'll have lots of fun especially with the awesome analog "clone".

To fatten my sound for solo parts I mainly switch between different 500ms-600ms analog delay settings. One with only a little feedback, one with quite some and one with a load of. I use it for reverb-like effects, too. The Warp and Twist modes offer some wicked little gimmicks always nice to pull out live and I reserve my manual slots for these, mainly.

I've got mine for about two years now.
It will probably NEVER die on me. In fact, it doesn't even have visible scratches or anything.

Never had to deal with it...

My band is pretty versatile when it comes to different musical styles, but mainly, i'd say we play Hardrock / Blues-Rock.

I run a Framus Camarillo Custom guitar through a <DB01 Dime-Wah>...<Digitech Whammy>...<Ibanez TS9>...<Korg DT10>...<BOSS NS2> into an <ENGL Screamer 50 Combo>. The delay is in the loop alongside a <BOSS EQ20>
The delay itself is the most used effect on my board. It's really that damn good and worth every penny. I'd "rebuy" it anytime.

The greatest thing about it, is possibly the simulation of the old analog delays, simply because it sounds gret and you can do some twisted stuff with it those uber-expensive old DM2's or 3's were never capable of.

Back when I got it, it greatly helped my playing, simply because it made it so much more fun to sit down and practice/write. Never had this experience with another pedal, cept maybe, when I began USING my Wah. ;)

Go, get it!

I

This posting is for you looper people out there.

I like to use it for looping - and not just in the SOS mode, which can be frightening if you forget to step on and hold the record switch - you can erase the loop if you are not careful.

You can actually preset a patch to become a looper, with you can then easily turn the record feature on and off, and set the feedback time in order to achieve Fripp-like flexibility: a gradual fading out of old material (you can set the time of the fade or have it not fade at all, with the turn of your feedback knob) so that over time, your looping can become more freeform, and you aren't just stuck with a rhythmic bed, like if you were looping with a Jamman or RC-20 (nice products too, but also limited).

Here's how:


1. Set a delay time to 23 seconds in quarter note mode and save this to a patch.
2. Start to play and press tap simultaneously (either using external or internal footswitch). Make sure you've enabled the record (or on/off) switch.
3. Finish phrase and press tap again
4. Now you can set the decay of your 'SOS' loop.
5. You can also turn on and off what you record in the loop, without fear of fumbling and deleting the loop by not holding down the switch in SOS mode.
6. If you use the pan delay, I believe the total amount of loop time is actually 46 seconds. That's enough, I think.
7. You can also set up your patches to all be 23 second loopers, and then you can record a loop, switch to the next patch, record another loop, and have two going on simultaneously. That's fun. However, once you switch to the next patch, the first loop will disappear.

Clean. A digital delay. I run a multi-effects unit into it, so then I can record different ambient sounds (reverb, panning, delays) to create nice ambient levels.

It is a tank.

It's been great. I've used it to create a stereo image for electric guitar, acoustic guitar, ambient music, whatever.

This pedal is moderately easy to use. I did have to spend some time with the manual, which is quite lengthy, in order to get a decent grasp of the basic features. Once I had a grasp of how to use the pedal, it was quite easy to get several delay settings that were just what I was looking for.

I use this pedal with a Peavey Valve King 112 amp and a an Epiphone Les Paul standard plus flame top with PRS McCarty pickups. I mostly use this pedal on the standard digital delay setting with the level at about 2 o'clock, the repeat knob set to about 7 o'clock, which is just enough to get about one repeat, and the tone knob flat. This setting, allong with a tapped tempo, works really well for giving your lead tone an extra measure of thickness and sustain. The repeats are very faithfull to the input signal and are always clean and clear. The tape effect seems doesn't seem to be a whole lot different than the standard digital delay, but I beleve that the wow and flutter parameters can be adjusted if you want to bust out that manual. The analog delay sounds are a nice approximation of the high frequency attenuation and signal degredation that normally occur with such delays. The warp and and twist functions don't seem very usefull, but are certaintly different than the standart delay types. The dual delay gives you a slapback delay as well as a standard delay. While this feature is pretty cool if you want a twangy type sound, it seems like it would be a time intensive task to dial in just the right delay times for each of the two delays (which again, you'll want the manual to do) for a particular song. The pan delay setting is really cool through a stereo rig, as the dry sound would come out both sides and the delay pans back and forth giving you a swirling sound. However, this setting through a mono rig is a waste of time. I find that the smooth setting sounds really nice on clean tones, giving them a great deal of warmth, but isn't that discernable from the standard digital setting with some gain. The modulate setting is kind of nifty. It puts a chourousing effect on only the delayed signal. This sounds very cool for clean tones. I wish the pedal had a loop so that you could run any external effect on only the delayed sound. The reverse delay is a cool sound, but I find it difficult to use. The sound on sound feature is a very cool extra. I find it to be a great practicing tool for improvization and I have even used it live for a backing rhythm track. It would not do the job if you wanted to make and store several loops and manipulate them on the fly, but if you view the feature as an extra, it is really great to have. Overall, the effects are very quiet and with the addition of a tone knob, you can take the edge off those repeats if you so choose. I find that it gives me every sound I need and then some.

It's a Boss, but it does have a sort of flimsy face plate protecting the liquid crystal display. I havn't had any issues with this, but I could see how dropping something pointy on the screen could ruin it.

Never had to deal with them.

I play blues and classic rock music and it seems to work quite well for these styles. I've been playing the guitar for eight years now and have become a gear freak. I know a great deal about pedals, guitars, amps and the like, but don't have the funds to purchase everything I wish I could. I am a college sutdent, so much of my gear choices are cost to tone comprimises. This pedal was not one of those comprimises! It is my favorite peice of gear other than my Larrivee OMV-09E acoustic guitar and I use it constantly. As far as non-rack digital delay's go, this thing is the way to go. Download the PDF of the manual from the boss website, read up, and then go try one out and hear for your self!

The pedal is intuitive, once you have read the manual! The manual is comprehensive and well-written. I was able to demo each mode/variation with ease.
There is an on-board preset storage for up to four presets. Sadly, there is no facility for downloading or uploading any settings as there is no MIDI or USB connectivity.

I used a Cornford Harlequin with a LP standard to assess the sound quality.
Though extensive permutations are offered by the DD-20, I felt the general tone of the delay was lacking in faithful representation of the input signal. There's an apparent bandwidth restriction resulting with harsh, cold repeats. When used with through a driven amp, the delays became increasingly muddled.
I connected the straight to my Mackie mixer to access the sound quality through my studio monitors. The difference was remarkable, unfortunately I have no requirement for outboard effects.
The best mode was probably 'Tape'. The worst without doubt was 'Warp', a kind of pitch-up oscillating effect that goes 'down' when pressure is released from the pedal. I don't know what Boss were thinking when they created that one!

No comment

No comment

The DD-20 attempts to cover every variety of delay. The interface and manual make the pedal accessible. It has a clinical timbre with some evident narrowing in bandwidth.
It proved to be more suited to direct-line than connected to a valve guitar amp.
I would have been happier with less functionality and better tonal quality for live use. This one is going back to the shop!

Well, it's not the easiest unit to get around, but it serves it's purpose well.

Ediiting patches is a breeze, and always has been with boss products, but really all your saving is 'mode' 'tempo' and 'beat' settings. I do wish that 'tap' tempo was easier to get too, I find myself setting it into 'tap' mode right after boot up, and then when I need to change patches I lean down and select them. It's just faster that way, live or in the studio.

The manual is pretty good, better than others out there, but not as good as some. It's got a lot of functionality thats for sure, and some hidden features that the manual reveals.

I'm pretty disapointed...but at the same time it's what I expected. Considering the price of the unit compared to the DD-6...I find that they sucked out some tone and put in more functionality. But even then, it's nothing like that of my Maxon AD999 still in my board or the TC Electronics VDP Vintage Delay I used to own.

The repeats are lifeless, and the pedal sucks out some highs and compresses the low end too much for comfort. I'll be surprised if this unit dosn't find its way back to the shelf if I can't find more value in the features before I get frustrated with tonal quality.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great digital delay for the price. Compared to the DD6, Line 6 DL4/Echopark, and Marshall Echo head it's on par...compared to the TC Delay or Trex Replica... it definatly falls short.

However, the delays always ring through clean no matter what pedal I'm using with it!

I'd honestly give it a 6.5 because I can't give it a 7, but it dosn't deserve a 6 either...

Boss stuff is always dependable. I got a BD-2 from the early 90's thats TRASHED, modded by Keeley, and TRASHED some more... still works, no repairs made... I would not expect anything less from this unit

never had to deal with them for problems, however I know the local rep and he has always bent over backward for me!

I play a good mixture of various styles of rock music. Hard, soft, metal, emo, punk, alt, 'canadian', I mix it all up and go for it. Until now my rig has been comprised of mostly botique or analog gear.

(rig one)
Gibson LP/335 -> Ernie Vol Jr. - Vox V847UJ wah - Fulltone Fulldrive 2 10th Anniversary Mosfet - xotic RC Booster - Crowther Hotcake Bluesberry - Fulltone OCD v2 - MXR Phase 90 block logo pre-Dunlop - Dr. Scientist Tremolessence - Maxon AD999 Delay - Boss DD20 - 1973 AC30TB

(rig two)
Warmoth VIP/Gibson LP -> MXR Dynacomp pre-dunlop block logo - Crowther Hot Cake - Boss/Keeley BD2 - Maxon AD9 - 1985 Fender Twin

As far as what I do this pedal has some good qualities, but it's hardly worth replacing with another DD20. I'll use it for quite a while, but it's only renting space on my board instead of taking out a mortgage. I'll probably replace it with a Replica or TC Delay when I have the money again.

for the money, it dosn't really shine, but it's not a throw away either....

Okay, I'll preface this by telling you that I have very little experience with stand-alone delay pedals, and I don't usually play with delay. That said, I have a bit of trouble using this thing - but maybe that's because I haven't put in enough time with it. I've tinkered with it while soling (using my toes to twist knobs, etc.). I guess that's not the best time to figure out how to use a pedal. At home, I really only use the SOS (sound on sound) feature so I can practice improvisation. It is easy to get a good sound; all of the echos, slapbacks, etc. have a good sound. It all depends on your playing.

When I think delay, I of course think of The Edge. I haven't figured out how to sound like him, but I really don't want to, either. I'll use delay to add some airiness or extra sustain to solos, but I use it very sparingly. My favorite setting is the SOS.

It's a Boss. A big reason for choosing this was because it seems that the Line 6 DL4's don't last very long.

No experience with Boss.

I've been playing for 11 years, and this is my first dedicated delay pedal, although I've got some multi-effect processors that have some delays. I wanted some delay to use with my stomp boxes, but as far as delay goes, I only need the most basic of units (just for the extra sustain and air delay can provide). I also wanted something to loop riffs so I can practice at home. A Loop Station or Jam Man cost $250, and they only do loops (albeit they loop much more than the DD-20). This pedal does both for $180 brand new. It gives you about 16 seconds to record a riff, and that's plenty to jam with. It certainly does what I want it to. For people who use a ton of delay, this thing has a lot of versatility for both standard delay and tripped-out effects. I would certainly recommend it.

Easy to use. Four knobs on the right side: Effect Level, Feed Back, Tone, and Mode. Knob on the right adjusts the delay time. Push knob in while turning allows for faster scrolling through the delay time. This thing does it all folks. Write and select buttons underneath that for the memory settings.
The manual is pretty cool. Very helpful in explaining how to set the memory and tap functions.

You can get pretty much any delay sound you want out of this thing. Slap-back to phsycadelic and back. It does a good job of emulating analog delay. I also have a Morley ECV Pedal, which is analog, and I can almost duplicate that analog sound on the DD-20. I place the E. Level @ 3 o'clock, F. Back @ 12:00, Tone @ 10:00 and the mode on the Analog setting. I set the Delay Time at 300 ms. Almost spot on. Pretty impressive for a digital pedal. I actually run my Morley into the DD-20 and play 'em both together as if I had two Morley's even though the DD-20 has a dual setting that emulates that. I don't have a problem with noise since I power it from the adapter through a power conditioner. My set up is as follows: 2003 Highway One Strat with Fender Vintage Noiseless P/U's-Boss TU12 Tuner-Crybaby Classic- Crybaby Bass Wah-Digitech Whammy Wah4-Boss SD-1(MIJ '85)-Big Muff Pi R.I.-Boss CE-3(Soon to be Modded)-Ibanez FL9 R.I.-Voodoo Lab Tremolo-MXR Phase 90(R28 Mod)-Morley ECV(Chrome '97 R.I.)-Boss DD-20-Fender Blues Deluxe.

Boss makes some good shit.

Never dealt with them but I hear that they are great.

I've been playing for about 10 yrs now. I started out playing classic rock. Zepplin, Hendrix, Beatles. I play a mix of blues, rock, jazz, and latin. I also like to create sound effects and this works great with the twist and warp features paired with the Whammy Wah. I use delay almost all the time so I would definitely replace this if I lost it or if it was stolen because delay is an integral part of my sound and this does everything I need it to do. Still need how to figure out how to use the reverse mode though. All in all, a great pedal.

This pedal is pretty simple, even for all the knobs... It may take some searching through the manual to figure out *SPECIFICLY* what sound you want, though...
I like that it lets me save settings (and the settings don't get wiped when it's unplugged)... I haven't looked at the manual to comment on it.

It's a delay pedal and has a great range of delay types... I mainly use it for ambient/noise and beefing up sounds... it can do everything from short slight reverb and slapping echo to ridiculously long, never-ending whale-sized delays... I am pretty poor and only have a few other pedals (cheap ones at that) and I play through my PC's speakers because I can't afford an amp... so I can't really comment on "noise" because Playing through PC Speakers kind of MAKES it noisy... I have noticed that it can sort of flatten the sound, and when I use the Sound On Sound function, the volume of the play back is quiter than the original sound (which is sort of annoying)

It's a Boss and so it's obviously reliable... But honestly, tt actually seems more likely to break than Boss's smaller pedals if I dropped it pretty hard... I am very gentle with it and always carry it in it's box though...
I would gig without a back up because I treat this pedal with care... I doubt I could afford to buy another one. Never had a problem yet, though... probably should use it with an adaptor though.

Never dealt with them.

I play just about everything BUT traditional butt rock tone-fetish music, so just about any effect is fun and cool for me... I play varying styles of music from 80's Indie to pure noise, and I can find a use for this pedal in nearly all styles I play. I seriously think a kill switch would have been a useful feature, because it might get a little crazy with extreme amounts of distortion before it, set on a long delay... and then you can't stop it unless you switch through other settings really quickly or something... Just try to avoid lots of distortion and high volume before the pedal... it's fine if you can have a distortion after it, and just switch it off to stop it... I suppse I can't really complain, seeing as how I use it for noise more than anything else though!

This is just a response to users experiencing noise problems. I've tried with several adapters and this has in all cases. I'm using a VisualSound 1-Spot. Place the DD-20 first in the chain!!!
- buffers are improved
- ticking with blue tempo led is gone

This thing likes it's power clean. Note: using a PedalPowerII, I had to use a separate adapter.

It is very easy to get a good sound out of this thing, just twist the knobs till you find a setting you like. Editing and saving a patches are a breeze and shouldn't require that you read the manul but good for you if you did. The manual is pretty good, it explains the basics but doesn't go into great detail. I think it does the job though. This pedal really isn't that hard to operate, you might need to read the manual for some of the stranger effects but not for basic stuff.

This is where this thing shines. you can get anywhere from short delays to long crazy delays. A very versatile machine here. I love the sound of this thing-you get a different type of delay tone depending on the type of delay you choose. I notice no tone loss from my amp and I'm pretty picky. I'm running this in the effects loop of my Peavey triple XXX. My favorite short settings are the analog, standard, and smooth, while my favorite long delay settings are smooth and pan. Excellent for crazy deep sounding solo's or just making the rhythm parts sound bigger.

come on it's a boss

I hopefully will never have to deal with them.

I'm really shocked by this pedal. I never was a huge fan of delay until I bought this thing.

I have 2 small problems with this thing though.

first the batteries were dead when I opened the box.

and secondly I wish that in the preset mode it would display what type of delay your using. They could have put it right there on the LCD screen. This is really anoying cause you have to write down your settings to remember what your using. Sounds great though.

The DD-20 is easy enough to use but read the Manual for hidden tricks on some of the functions.

I gave this unit a 4 for the sound quality since I noticed this thing amplifies noise in the signal chain. This unit adds white noise and a pulsing sound from the tempo indicator,to your guitar signal, I heard the noise quite clearly in my non master volume Plexi with no guitar signal. I tried the Boss PSA adapter and the Voodoo Pedal power II+ and got the same noise....... This pedal does alter the tone of your guitar, it was very apperent to me after I put the DD-20 in its own loop. I spent as much as the DD-20 on a Keeley Looper and a Radial PB-1. to get rid of the extra noise this pedal adds to the signal path. I created a loop in which I put the PB-1 before the DD-20. The Class A buffer and the adjustibility if the PB-1 eliminated the pop from the hardwire bypass switch and matched the tone and volume level of my other 2 pedals so when I switch the DD-20 into my signal path I cannot hear any audible difference in tone or additional noise.
I found that Analog, Tape, Smooth and Modulate are very usable, I mostly use tape or analog, I am 45 years old and play classic rock blues and funk.... warp and twist come on Boss

This is my second Boss pedal, the first was the TU-2 It seems built well
at around $180,00 I doubt I would purchase a backup

I sent my DD-20 back for service, They returned my pedal in the same condition in which I sent it in, They stated that my Pedal met factory specfications... Roland USA was very professional in responding to my problem, they were truely professional and very responsive to getting my issue solved however the were not able to recoginize my problem at the factory

Overall for a Digital Delay, the units Delays sound good. I was not too happy with the coloration of my guitar tone by adding this pedal into my signal path but with the PB-1 buffer and the DD-20 in its own loop I was able to fix the tone sucking..... I like the memory features and find them very useful, I can truely say I like this pedal but due to the hassle and expense of the additional gear to make the DD-20 work for me, I would probably not look at purchasing additional Boss pedals. With the money I spent on this project, I could have upgraded to something like a Diamond Memory Lane... Oh well once bitten twice shy.

It simple you turn the knobs how you want the delay set, what type of delay, then settings..Simple.

Great sound quality never had a problem with it. I have 3 of these little guys in my setup, one with each amp i use. i have them runing through the effets loops in my amps. i run a Carvin V3, Peavey JSX, and a Roland JC-120. I run the jsx and v3 with different distortions and the delays sound so rich through all of them.

Ive been using the DD-20 for some time now and every one i have is very dependable never had a problem them.

never had to deal with the company on this product

I recommend if your searching for a delay get this one cause theres so many different possibilities of delays and sounds, I have 3 of these and love them all.

This is just an extra detail to my review below:

The 'modulate' mode gives one of the sweetest, subtlest chorus chimes I've ever heard. Luscious. And I never even liked chorus! Even back in the '80s I thought it was a cheap, cheesy and synthetic effect. I have tried other Boss choruses, Yamaha, and heard the supposed top of the range TC Electronic, etc. But the sounds in the DD-20 stand up to any of them and it's not even a dedicated chorus pedal.

So I'm selling my old analog Boss CE-3, which I kept for (very) occasional use. There's more room on my board now, and even though I'm still not completely sold on chorus, I can understand why it is such a ubiquitous effect.

After about 3 months of use, if anything I am even happier with this pedal. A very strong 9.5 rating

i am not a techy, but i got the dd20, out it uot of the box and started right away playing with my band. i have NEVER used a delay before, but it took me hardly 5 minutes to get very nice and useful delay effects out of the thing! now that i??ve read the manual, i can handle it much better of course, but it was very easy from the beginning on.

i use the dd20 in chain with a boss chorus. thats my whole setup. i??m having no noise probs.
the sounds are all really good, i first bought the dd20, then checked some other delays like the digitech , ibanez and the line6. none of them sounds as good as the boss (the dd6 is just as good, but has much lesser features). i??m really glad with the sound. i use the crazy effects warp and twist often, too, playing in fusion and pop bands. it really inspired me tu play with these sounds.

i owned several other boss pedals, and just like them, the dd20 is built like a rock. no way to wreck it.

never dealt with them.

this is not the cheapest, but by far the best and most versatile delay unit on the market, i??m very happy i got it and i would buy it again in a heartbeat.

There's a lot going on, so you have to read the manual. Things have moved along quite a bit since my last delay, an ancient Boss DD-2. Still, it is easy to program and the controls are set out very intuitively. The factory presets are all pretty usable, and the manual has some good suggested settings - the slap-back echo for instance, was more or less identical to the rockabilly sound I worked out for myself.

Eleven settings cover most of the bases. Surely nobody uses all of them. Some I use more than others: Twist and Warp I never use and I agree with some other reviewers that the Standard delay mode sounds kind of cold and clunky. I prefer the Tape and Analog settings, or Smooth for a nice even decay. I also agree with those who say it picks up some noise, especially if it is last in your signal chain. Works quietly on its own (with a Diago Powerstation), but put overdrive and compression in front of it and you get tiny hiss and the faint sound of the flashing indicator light. But on the whole, the sounds are fantastic. You can emulate pretty much anything you want, from a shimmering wall of sound to just a subtle thickening up of your lead tone. Even the sampler 'SOS' mode is good fun: some people say 23 seconds of delay is overkill, but it is just long enough to record a medium-tempo 12-bar progression to jam along with... Four programmable presets is plenty: one short, one medium and one long delay, plus the aforementioned slapback Sun-Sessions echo. Then there is the manual mode, which you can adjust on the fly - plenty, plenty. Very good.

Usually, you take Boss's reliability for granted, but this was the specific reason why I chose this unit over the (more expensive) Line 6 DL4. I don't pay much attention to any one single review, but the overwhelming number of people on Harmony Central saying their DL4s were flimsy and temperamental hit home.

Bomb-proof construction, 5-year warranty - the usual hallmarks. A comfortable 9.5.

Btw - My DD-2 was the only Boss pedal that has ever crapped out on me (20+ years old) - the rubber lining around the battery compartment screw wore out, which meant the latch mechanism wouldn't work.

Never dealt with them. They are prolly alright if you manage to get through, but I always find their website a bit intimidating. That's the problem with huge corporations. Still, reliability's so good, hopefully never need it.

A programmable Delay pedal, with or without tap-tempo, is a must for me. I run up to 8 pedals on my board, but if I could only have one, it would be this one. Throws up all sorts of possibilities, and I am nowere near exploring its whole scope. It scores over the DL4 in its number of presets, price, size, and reliability, plus the delay doesn't cut off abruptly when you stomp it off. Lots of name players use the Line 6, but something about the DD-20 just seems much sturdier and more professional.

I think it is easy to use to color my sound(add space), but to get into some U2 Edge type delay sets or anything like that, it would be hard to do with any delay pedal. They aren't that easy unless you have lots of experience with delay pedals. The manual is OK, nothing spectacular. I believe mine is the latest and greatest as far as firmware goes.

I have tried various delay pedals, and this one is great! It is basically a DD-6 with 5 presets you can program. I've tried it in the effects loop and through the front of my Fender Hot Rod Deluxe and a Blue Junior, and it sounds equally well through both, so I run it in front just for simplicity. Great sound, I believe that there is no better delay pedal than this. It rivals the Line 6 Delay box so closely, it just came down to price.

Um, it's Boss man. Do they get any more reliable?

I've never dealt with them, becayse I haven't had to. Great products, well built.

I play at church in a Praise and Worship band and we do all of the contemporary music, which sometimes requires some complex delay sets. This unit can do it all, and then some. I don't think there is anything missing from this unit, or anything that I would change. It's great!

In general, the controls and settings on this pedal are the easiest to use amongst any pedal I've tried, save for perhaps the Line 6 DL-4.

I would give it a 10, except that there's one problem I have with the unit. When you power it on, it starts in "Manual" mode. Normally for stage and rehearsal use, I have to set it to "Memory" mode to access my 4 presets, and have the right pedal become the tap tempo switch. In order to do this, you must first tap the right switch, then hold it down to "lock" it into memory mode. Not only is this procedure very annoying but is also very unintuitive and hard to discover when you first start out with it. For this reason, my rating goes down to a 7.

I don't normally play covers, but this pedal is completely capable of getting *any* delay or tape echo sound I've ever heard. The analog delay's breakup and decay can do that dub-style reggae (think Rupie Edwards, Yellow Man). The dotted tempo mode makes getting Edge's syncompated delays a cinch. I use the "modulate" delay with typical "doubling" settings to get that Joey Santiago thick lead sound from several Pixies songs, and the "smooth" delay with slapback settings can cop a really cool rockabilly/surf sound. Many awesome sounds are in this box.
The delay that I use most is the single-head tape echo, and what I really appreciate about it is the "tone" knob that allows you to dial in more murkiness to the repeats. I think the tape sim sounds a little cleaner than the DL-4 - but it's not offensively pristine either. I don't think it'd be a hard choice between the DL-4 and the DD-20 if the tape sound is what you're after - it'd just be a matter of taste.
What makes either of these pedals better than a real tape-echo, in my opinion, is the tap-tempo features. Having a tap tempo allows you to adjust the tempo to the natural flow of music, and just plain makes a delay sound better - more musical. Until now, a feature I've never seen on a pedal is the "dotted" tempo settings that allow for those syncopated delays to be controlled from the tap. This ability to control a syncopated delay so that it actually slows down or speeds up with a song - this makes the DD-20 truly unique.
The main reason I wanted to contribute a review is to counter some of the earlier reviews complaining about noise. I also run this pedal through a homemade bypass box, and it passes my acid test, which is this: I put the pedal in bypass and then stomp on my looper pedal enough times that I can't remember whether it's "in" or not - effectively creating a double blind test for myself. My test results are that there is no possible way for me to detect whether the pedal is "in the loop" or not. There is no noise at all from this pedal, and it seems *perfectly* set at unity gain. There are lots of pedals that fail this test, including many boss pedals and even some purported "true bypass" pedals.
I can only imagine that there are variances in quality control or that other reviewers posting here have some ground-loop problems in their rig. I run this on an MKS pedal pad with the PedalPower module.

After it dies, I'll let you know.

At least Boss has their manuals online now. Not so long ago, Boss/Roland was charging money for their manuals, which was reprehensible in this day and age. Having never had to deal with Boss/Roland, I guess that says something about their product reliablity in general, but doesn't leave me with an inkling of how to rank them for support.

I try to run the gammut of styles, playing original music only. From rudimentary jazz to "alternative" to new age to eighties metal to nu-metal to alt.country. I just love to play. A good pedal is one that doesn't get in the way, and a good delay pedal with lots of flexibility is key to so many music styles. I love this pedal.
As I wrote earlier, I can only use delay pedals with tap-tempo. That said, at the time of purchase, I only compared to the DL-4 and the Wasabi delay pedal. The Wasabi was far more limited in sounds and those cheesy tail-lights were just too embarrasing. The DL-4 has so many issues from the strange power conectors to switch failures to noise issue that I had to steer away, as cool as the true bypass feature seemed to me.
If it were stolen or lost, I'd prolly buy it again - the price is really great for all these features, some of which can't be had elsewhere.

Just an update to my review (which is the one below).

I got my DD20 replaced as I suspected that something was wrong with it, and the new unit works fine. Merest hint of some white noise at higher volume levels, but that's it. No more whine.

Perhaps just an issue for people to be aware of - if your unit is noisy, it is probably faulty, as mine was.

Lots of bits & pieces to find your way around, although OK once you've worked them out. Two nice big stomps that are hard to miss.

Two parts to this...

The first part is that this unit does add a little extra hum when in your signal chain, even when not on. I have had quieter delays - my little Guyatone MD3 was better in terms of no white noise until you turned it on. The DD20 scores there in that there is no discernible increase in hiss when engaged as opposed to when off.

Second thing, if you stick this at the end of your signal chain, and you happen to use other pedals in front - such as overdrives - be prepared to pick up a whole heap of noise. I got a lot of whining sound (like when you have a TV on) and a clicking noise in time with the tempo.

However, when I moved the delay to the front of my chain, this largely disappeared, so I presume that this DD20 doesn't like have its input signal pushed hard. I tried with batteries and cable power - no change.

Like the stereo outs and all the settings - very tweakable. They've all been described already, and i'll add my voice to those praising them. They do their job and do it well.

The hiss is the one thing that lets it down - the fact that I have to have it at the front of my chain removes some flexibility from it as it means my delayed signal is effected by what follows, rather than having the DD20 repeat what has gone before, if that makes sense.

Haven't had it long enough to find out. Boss are usually sturdy enough - and it came with a 3 year guarantee.

NA.

Think it's good if you require a very flexible delay, and it does what it does well. I've used the memory man, guyatone MD3, and the other Boss DD delays, and whilst the Guyatone was quieter and far easier to use, the DD20 definitely tops the others and has far greater potential.

As for me, i've been playing for almost 10 years, use G&L ASATs and a Comanche through an Orange AD30 amp and a heap of other effects such as Banzai, Maxon, Aphex & EHX. I play rock, indie/alternative, gospel music & contemporary church worship. As I said, the damn' thing is so versatile you can use it for whatever you want.

If only it didn't hiss a bit, then it would be great. As it is, i'm going to check out the Line DL4.

Very obvious and easy to use. Anything not obvious is well covered in the mannual, output and pedal modes are detailed on the back of the unit. Good to have delay time readout in both S/MS and BPM, very useful. My previous delay pedal was a Yamaha DDS-20M which had a sound on sound function but was quite fiddly to use. Have also used Zoom multieffects which I have been very unimpressed with. This unit is wonderfully easy by comparison.

All modes except warp & twist,(see below,) sound great. I especially like the modulate setting, not because I'm a big fan of modulation effects but because I don't like modulation effects enough to buy a dedicated unit. This unit gives me the modulation effect for the few times I need it without having yet another box in the signal chain.
The biggest criticism I have of this unit is the twist effect, which works the wrong way for me. It would be wonderful if when you press the pedal it slowed down the delay and dropped the pitch, That would earn it a 10 insted of a 9.

Only had it a week but Boss are generally pretty reliable.

never had to deal with them. Website is good for manuals & specs.

I play most styles you can play on the guitar, been playing twenty five years. I chose this unit mainly for the memory function and general wealth of features. I play modified strat with EMG PUPs, home made baritone, Hohner electro-acoustic. Signal chain is,

"guitars->guitar-selector->Award/Session_Overdrive/preamp->DD-20->Dry_into_Valvestate_8080:Dry_&_Effect_DI'd_via_Behringer_ultra-G_into_desk."

The twist effect works the wrong way for me. It would be wonderful if when you press the pedal it slowed down the delay and dropped the pitch.

Another function which would be very useful to have would be the ability to copy patches stored in memory to the current manual setting. This would make it much easier and quicker to set up for each song for live work.

Would certainly replace if lost/broken.

Pretty intuitive to use if you're familiar w/ digital delay. I will say it's easier to program than my ZOOM 508 delay, which is already pretty easy. Editing is simple enough. Easy to store settings. The manual is well written.

I think if you do-do's out there would just read the stinking manual BEFORE you plug it in, you wo