Boss DD-3 Digital Delay

This pedal is extremely easy to use. the knobs are clearly/logically labelled. If that isn't enough the manual is very helpful as well. 99% of users should find the sound they need in minutes like i did.

I had been using a Zoom GFX 707, and i was impressed with the delay on that initially. I also tried the POD and my Spider amp has delay as well but something about those didn't feel quite right either. Recently i phased out my GFX and made the transition to a pedal board and stompers, so a good delay unit was in order. Within minutes of taking the DD-3 out of the box and sticking it too my board i had the delay sound i needed, and i was very impressed. the sound i needed BTW is The Edge (U2) sound.

Also of note, i am using a Powerall with five pedals and there is no noise.

I gigged with it the first time last week and it worked very well. 2 of my 6 pedals are Boss and they stand out construction wise next to my other pedals. Very heavy, very durable.

I am the guitarist for a rock band (www.revolutionofthevoid.tk) who does a number of different styles. I think everyone should have a delay pedal but that is just me. I am a big fan of the Edge and U2 but my playing is funkier than that as i am also a HUGE fan of Tom Morello and RATM/Audioslave. Both players use delay differently, and i like this pedal because i can do both.

Guitar -> Digitech Synth Wah -> NexFx Fuzzstortion -> Cyrbaby Wah -> Boss DS-1 Disortion -> Ibanez SC-10 Chorus -> Boss DD-3 Delay - Line 6 Spider 210.

Like i said above, i had been using delay on those multi FX jobbies, and even though they aren't bad they don't compare to a dedicated delay unit. When i first started playing i was in love with delay but got bored with it. Now i feel like writing with it again! My band mates are going to kill me lol.

As for the reason i wanted this pedal, it was the last piece i needed to complete my collection and i splurged (yes splurged, not alot of cash in MY pocket) on a brand new Boss. Everything else on my board was used, and used delays aren't that much cheaper than a new one so there ya go.

No secrets here; you get three ranges of delay, dial-in echo length and wetness.

You have to accept digital delay for what it is -- a reasonable facsimile of analog. You can always complain: even though there are people who believe in the digital world on its own terms, most of us intuitively favor analog sounds -- that's why I play a guitar and not a synth. However, used live, very few people can tell the difference between analog and digital delay. (I'm not talking about guitar geeks like ourselves but the normal person sitting there listening to you -- ask them.) Works better with a good reverb behind it (puts more air in the delay, as my son says), and you need to keep the mix reasonably dry. Generally, the cleaner the better, since distorted sounds delay to mud. Higher frequencies work better too, since they chime more -- so play up on the neck. You have to be careful not to let the pick clip your strings without playing (between beats or at the ends of phrases), since that produces the annoying click. I run a Tele or Gibson 333 into delay, chorus, tremolo, fulldrive, Rivera 55. Use delay for slapback, plate-type reverb, and (occasionally) echo. Can get a very nice, mysterious-type sound for blues. Overall, the sound is adequate to good.

Haven't had trouble with Boss pedals. Don't have a backup.

Never tried.

Play church worship music, blues, folk, some jazz. Have 35 years experience. This pedal accomplishes what I want for the money; it's an acceptable compromise on that score.

I bought this device new in 1995. Very easy to use. The manual can be read in 5 minutes and you will understand entirely how this works.
I didn't really like the "Hold" mode, however.

The sound quality is very high. I used it with a Fender Performer 650 and Marshall MG30R. The possibilities with this device seem endless. Whether you like long delays like, let's say Pink Floyd, or something that sounds more like an extra reverb, this will do it. You can also achieve very short echoes like that 50's rock sound (think of the Stray Cats). In the end, there are so many possibilities you will end up custumizing your own sound. But you have to be willing to test it massively.

This device comes with a five year warranty but I doubt you will ever need it. Boss pedals are very reliable.

never needed any

I have a couple of Boss pedals and this one is my favourite. As I said before, the delay can be modulated like you have no idea. IT'S EXTREMELY VERSATILE. When I bought it, I tought I was paying a lot of money for this, but I have no regrets. I play mainly blues, but I like other styles and this pedal fits them all.
Just one warning: if you play a live show and plan to use it a lot, buy a power supply because it will eat your battery in an hour!!!
If it got stolen, maybe I would try one of the subsenquent versions (DD-5, etc...) to compare, but for someone who's looking for a delay effect, I strongly recommand the Boss DD-3

Only 4 knobs. Very easy to use.

Ok, this peadal sounds crystal clear. Effect is very strong. If you play melodic solos, then this is the right pedal for you. It suits with any amp (valve heads or solid state combo crap). I would racmount it, because it sounds better, than most of rack effect proccesors (I'm not talking about EVENTIDE).

It is BOSS!

Never dealt with the company.

I play blues, jazz, funk, rock, metal. I am shred-guy, so this is a must-own pedal for me. This is the best delay pedal ever PERIOD.
I think I go and buy another one.

as with any decent pedal, it takes a while to play with the settings. i laugh when i read reviews by people who have had it out the box five minutes. 4 knobs, but theres so many varied settings and extreme ranges it takes months to truely master.

my setup is=

'mongrel' guitar (EMG 81's) -->autowah pedal-->EH muff --> crybaby --> HM2 -->DD3 --> 5150 half stack

bit of a shoegazer setup, the variety and quality of sounds are just crazy. theres the 80's 'handbrake' delay (think van halen) all the way thru to 'mush' (thats *good* mush). all pretty quietly done. the hold function could do with a longer sample time mind.

it seems to sound ok with tranny amps as well, my practice amp has no problems.

ill avoid the usual 'nuclear holocaust' cliches about boss pedals, ill just agree with them all. they are totally invincible.

however, at 60 quid a pop, gigging without a backup is the only option :(

dunno about the horror stories mentioned elsewhere, but i asked for the manuals for the DD3 and HM2 pedals (both totally obsolete + ancient) and they arrived, good as new, a few days later. good stuff.

all in all, a jolly good pedal. versatile effects, nice sound, subtle throbbing to balls-out mayhem.

and best of all, senor, eets built like a breek sheethaus :D

only problems - the battery eating, and the price. both easily overcomeable.

i would like - longer delay times. possibly a precise delay time display. and another one. delay effects are the best for turning 'two note' riffs into really decent song-backbones.

if stolen - id save and save and save.. and steal it back :P (seriously, id go for a DD5 for the extra delay time)

4 knobs thats it, doesn't take long to get the sound you want

Personnally, I find the only useful setting on this pedal the 800ms and hold mode. These 2 modes can give you beautiful, lush sounds such as mogwai or pink floyd as well as experimental sounds. The rest is pretty useless. But my biggest problem is that it makes my tone sound too metallic and treblely, though it could be my guitar(i'm in desperate need for I new one, and am slowly saving up).

its a boss, built to last.

Even though i only like half the features on this pedal and it mucks up my tone to a nasel high pitch far too often, just for the 800ms mode it deserves a 8. I'm going out to try a Ibanez de-7 and if its any good I'll use it for my main delay-echo and keep this for when I want to play(make) noise-art rock.

easy to setup n use and the manual isn't really necesscary as it is so user freindly.

the normal delay sound a fantastic but the hold function is a bit useless. i play it in a loop with a chourus pedal the guitar i use most of the time is a Burns Marquee through a Marshall amp

i've heard a rumour that after a gig one night a rather careless lead guitarist put it on the ground forgot about it and ran it over!! there was only a tire mark on it and it worked perfectly. in my experience the only reliability problem is the short battery life.

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overall it is reliable, dependable and very easy to use. if it was stolen i would kill the guy who took it and if necessary buy a new one.

Very easy to use. The manual is one page..and really it only needs to be about 0 pages.

I have Guiatar > Fender tuner > Zoom gfx 707 > Boss DD-3 > Amp. (unfortunaltly i dont have an amp right now, so im using my computer speakers) This pedal makes no extra noise whatsoever. I have heard that this sounds better than the DD-5 or DD-6, but i have never used those, so i cant say. I really wanted a Delay pedal when i heard the begging part of Comfortably Numb (you notice a VERY warm peaceful giutar in the background, which Dave bends the note down and with Delay) that is one of the best sounds i've ever heard. so i bought this =) If you listen hard, you can notice that it adds a slightly warm sound to the tone, like compression, but its very hard to notice, and i like that sounds anyway. I dont really see a huge advantage that a rack has over this. I mean if you can find some use for 1 minute of delay..i guess you should get a rack. But if your just playing normal i would STROGNLY recommend this.

It's made by Boss.

Dunno. but with such a great effect i imagine their a good company

It's not a matter of what style of music you play, its a matter of if you want Delay. (but i play rock/alternative). I have been playing for 7 years. If it was stolen, (after killing the guy and assuming i had any money) i would definatly buy this again. One thing I havn't really found a use for is the HOLD feature. Its kinda cool if you hold a note and then play with the Delay Time while its repeating. But I dont think i would use that in a song. Also, the 50ms feature is ussually way too fast to notice it. I mostly only use the 800ms feature, and it sounds wonderful. I can't think of anyting they should have added to it (although i think the DD-6 has like reverse, and i kinda wanna play around with that). Again, if you're looking for delay, and you dont need 5 minutes of it, than i would get this instead of a rack. And perhaps you dont want many pedals in your setup...than i soppose a rack would be better, but this is the most Band for the Buck. I Highley Rocomend this pedal!

Set it. Step on it.

Two lines to parise this thing. The DD3 is the best delay pedal ever. I use it in loop, together with a wah. That`s my setup basically. Sounds great, always, everywhere, on any sound.

dependable. If U R unlucky the knobs break.
It was some money to fix it but I only want my DD3, so I fixed it.

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I normally don`t write reviews on pedals.
Too many factors can bias your sound....DD3 is special. I tried many delays from rack units, other pedals and all that, but nothing delivers like this little brick.
The sound is so real, so organic, and psychedelic
I used to having six seven effects in chain, but I got bored after 15 yrs. of playing: too much hassle to set up, to many transformers.....
The only one I kept is my DD3 and my crybaby. And my sound has never been so complete and personal.

Easy to use!

I play a PRS Custom 24 through a Fender Twin Reverb and it sounds great. WARNING: I got LOTS OF NOISE using the 9 volt adapter that Guitar Center pushed on me since they didn't have the 9.6v Boss PSA-120 adapter in stock. Don't let them tell you that 9v = 9.6v, or you'll pay with NOISE even when the pedal is off. I returned the 9v, got a PSA and now it's silent.

I depend on all my Boss stuff.

Never had to deal with them. Nothing breaks.

I needed a delay that sounds good when manipulating the delay time while playing. DO NOT BUY THE DD-6! It sounded like garbage when I changed delay times while playing. I returned it and got the DD-3, which sounds much much better. Key: Make sure you get a PSA (or other) 9.6v 200 mA adapter!