Boss DD-5 Digital Delay

This is definitely not the pedal that has the perfect sound right out of the box. It sure took a while to figure it all out and I am now starting to get a feel for it. Don't let all the numbers and small writing on the pedal discourage you from buying or using it. Other than that, it's fairly easy to use. It just takes some time to get your sound just right.

My setup goes like this: Ibanez AX120 > Boss DS-1 > Boss Super Chorus > Boss Acoustic Simulator > Boss DD-5 > Fender Stage 100 half stack. I also have an effects processor and a death metal which I don't put in my chain. Being that it has 11 modes of delay, I can get practically any sound out of this. It's not noisy at all and works excellent with my super chorus and distortion. It suits my playing techniques and music style well. I play an experimental rock/emo/hardcore/electronica type of music (think Weezer + System of a Down and Incubus. I'm very happy with the sound and all of the things I can get out of this pedal.

It's a Boss. What more can I say?

Never dealth with them.

Again, this pedal is great for the techniques that I use and the style of music that I play. I'm turning into a pedal junkie, so this was a great addition to my setup. I'd definitely get another if this was gone for some reason. I can't really think of anything that I hate about this. I didn't really look at the manual. I'd rather use the reading time for experimenting, and I always seem to find it easier to play around with a pedal then to use the example settings in the manual. Maybe it's just me.

its really a cool pedel. i can get delays out of it that sound like its playin like butter. i would put it at a contemperary, rock, alternative, country, and definintly blues. the manual was ok but i figured it out on my own. it sounds like a rack unit worth hundreds but only got it for 130.00 from guitar center

right now im usin it w/ an ibanez RG standared goin through a cry baby, hughes&kettner tubman (if u want a bad overdrive i highly recommend it) to my boss DD-5 and boss OS-2, guyatone vt-3 tremolo, an MXR phase 90, to my arion stereo chorus. all this goes into a boss volume pedel into a marshall g30rcd. i like to play all styles of music like 80s and 90s rock, with a little blues and contemperary. it sounds like a delirious type guitar.

i would definintly gig w/ out a backup. i could leave it in the rain and bring it in, plug it up and play

if u dont believe in delay this baby will change your mind the moment you plug in. it is pretty much a big part of my playin. if it were lost or stolen i would find the theif, have him tell me where it is then break his arm. ive been playin for a year and a half and im never gonna get another one. im surprised i got it new for such a price.

11 modes gets confusing. three controls otherwise but they are very interactive which can be just as nice as it can be bad.

esp viper, customized fender telecaster, old 70's cortez LP copy,thru a boss bd-2(!), a boss bf-2(don't like it much), roktek vibrator(the most surprisingly nice $15 i have ever spent), looped into a boss ns-2(awesome pedal), then an ibanez soundtank delay(!), then the dd-5, into a fender prosonic head(!), and a home-made 2x12 w/ celestion g12t-75's(phew, that's a long list!)
this could be a useful pedal for someone who does blues or something in that vain, but i hate this thing (i play really experimental emo/hardcore). it sounds so digital. it adds absolutely no ambinece pre-repeat (which i know a lot of people hate but i love that sound). it's just thin all around.
it's impossible to keep the thing from self oscillating (i.e.-minimal control of the actual feedback). i know a lot of tape freaks love that, but i can't stand it (cut me some slack i'm only 21, but i have been playing for ten years, so back off of us whippersnappers). if i'm doing a run in 16ths the repeats just kill the clarity of the phrase rather than adding any kind of depth. i personally think the old ibanez sound-tank sounds better.
the one mildly cool thing about the pedal is the reverse, but...if you've ever played thru the danelectro talk back you know what reverse is supposed to sound like.
i bought this as an upgrade from the ibanez and so i could do foward and reverse delay with one unit. wow was i wrong. i'm going back to my original theory of fx units--the less it can do the better it will sound at what it does. i'm purchasing a dan-echo and a talk back as soon as i have the cash.

i'm an fx pedal junky and i've had few problems with boss in the past other than sound quality (i was one of the idiots who perchased a metal zone--sold immediately). so yay for them.

this is a horrible match for me personally. everyone raved this pedal so i bought it and am now $95 poorer with an unusable hunk of metal.
i know most of the people that post here are blues guys, but for me this thing sucked. i want sigur ros or mogwai-type ambience not pat methany. if you like indie rock, try it, but be prepared to be disappointed.
if some stole this i'd hurt them b/c i paid so damn much for it and can probably resell it for as much, but if money were no object--i laugh at them and say good riddance.

I would give this a ten but I remember having to sit down and play with it some before I knew what every mode on it did. As far as the controls it's pretty self explanitory: level=how high you what the overal effect level, feedback= how long each the delay lasts, delay time = how fast. A baby could understand it.

It sounds great.

I have been playing guitar for about 7 and a half years. I bought this pedal just months after begining to play and I was a dumb kid back thena dns till am. I have put this pedal through hell and have not had so much as a little glitch or any problem whatsoever. insanly reliable.

never delt with them which is good

I give this a 10 just because it's been so faithfull to me. Since I have purchased it I have played many different styles of music and it just fits right in no matter what. Now I am really digging the effect oriented guitar playing of Mike Einziger(Incubus) this pedal is definetly good for stuff like that. ;)

Whenver you first pull this thing out of the box it may leave you dumbfound. But once you get the hang of it you can't ask for a better delay inside a stompbox.

I use this thing with about 10-20 effects which I change on regular basis. This thing is dead quiet. I use a Fender '62 reissue with a Fender Prosonic amp.

It's Boss. They don't break

I've heard horror stories on Boss from friends but I've never had any experience myself so I can't judge that

I play experimental music but I guarentee that you could use this unit for everything. So if you don't have one or you use something else, trade it and get this piece

Not the easiest stompbox ive ever laid hands on, with 4 knobs and 11 modes i would say it diserevs a 7 (maybe 6 1/2). if you looking for some specific sounds you might be a while :)
The manual is okay, i dont like the settings boss gives (not just the ones for the dd-5) it gives you some useful info about tempo which is nice i guess.
Ive been thinking about getting an analog mike reverse mo but i dont know yet. i recomend the tempo footswitch, it takes up little space and will help a lot.

My setup (alwats feel stupid entering this): Old Reverend Slingshot/Fender Mustang/American Telecaster->Boss TU-2->VOX V847 (modded for AC cable)->Stigtronics Distortion/Boss HM-2->VS Jekyll&Hyde->Boss TR-2->Maxon FL-301-Boss DD-5 (with footswitch)->Fender rocpro 100w head->marshall 1960a cab.
Its not to noisy, im using it for more wierd stuff than actual repetitions. to get a good warmer/less digital sound turn down the effect knob.
Works for me.

Its a Boss.
I dont have the cash to gig with backups.

Ive never dealt with roland (heard its a nightmare but have suffered nothing first hand).
Like i said, i might have analog mike to mod it.

i play:
Rock and Roll
Blues (with old guys)
Punk (with young guys)
some swing
some ska
Emo (yes i have chosen to use the acursed word, get over it).
and ive dabbled in metal and hardcore.

i have been playing for 3 years.
I dont lose things, *IF* it where stolen (and i wasnt in jail for killing the guy) i would get another, or maybe a memoryman, i dunno.
I like the sound, it does its job well. i hate when people try to get me to say bad things about it. my favorite feature is mode #3.
The other products i compared it to where: both maxon analog delays-not enough time, boss dd-3-not enough features, line6 dl-6-to many features.
I use it tp write, but nothing to complicated (that i couldnt play live that is).
share? im oldest child! we dont share.

Very east to use. Great manual-easy to understand.

I have only tried one other delay (memory man) and I prefer the boss over the analog delay. The boss is much cleaner, has less noise, and still has a nice fat/warm sound. I understand that a good analog pedal will have some noise but why put up with it just to say you are using an analog? I use a marshall amp with a les paul standard. I love to play older U2 stuff and find that the boss gets me very close to that Edge sound.

Haven't had it that long but so far so good. Seems to be built very well.

Don't know, haven't dealt with them.

Great delay for the money. The only thing I wish it had is presets but I guess if you want presets you can buy a rack unit. I would most definitely buy another one if something were to happen to it.

the manual helps some, but it's pretty damn easy, you just gotta figure out how it fits with your own sound to make it useful cuz it can do alot

this pedal is much fun, you can do so much--I love the hold mode: record a superfast funk rythymn and solo like a freak over it (it takes some practice to get the timing right, and is more difficult in a band setting, but by yourself it's fun) the reverse thing is supercool too, and I may actually look into the mod the other dude talked about to eliminate the dry signal. I can and quite often do spend hours tweaking the d.time knob while the feedback knob is cranked up. I don't play what most would call "music" so this is fun for me. another good one is to turn down the delay time but turn up the feedback.

it seems to be super sturdy and my paycheck would force me to use it without a backup, which should not be a problem

i mainly make noise with my guitar and this pedal sure does encourage it, but don't get me wrong you can really use some of it's sounds for things like "songs". I've been playing for about 4 years. My gear includes a Hamer Duotone, Fender Princeton Chorus Amp, zoom505, and a Boss Blues driver. I would replace it ASAP if it were stolen. I just wish Boss wouldve thought of a wet/dry mix thingy for the reverse mode.

This is a piece of advice for simo. I also own a DD5 and I love it. If you want to spend around $55, go to the Analog Man website and he will install a switch on your DD5 that will eliminate the dry signal in reverse mode. Or, if you want to shell out $130 and you have room on your pedalboard, get a Danelectro Back Talk Reverse Delay pedal. It has a wet/dry knob that lets you blend in as much (or none) of the dry signal as you like. It also sounds really fantastic and gets all "10s" form me.

Not very easy to use. It has 11 different modes. The tap function is easy to use, though. I've had mine for 3 months and I still haven't learned to use half of the modes. the manual is ok. just to get started, but the settings get boring after a couple of days.

My setup:Ibanez AR250(Les paul double cut look alike)--Carl Martin Hot drive n' boost (try it!!!)--DD5--RV3--old Hohner tube amp.
I think the DD5 sounds good. Not astonishing. It's digital, so of course it doesn't sound vintage. The good thing about this pedal is that it's incredibly versatile. I'm looking forward to years of experimenting with this thing. A big minus is the reverse mode. you can't shut off the direct signal.

I play a mix of rock, jazz and hardrock. It suits me really well.
I think that the digital sound has it's own kind of charm. You can really do some funny things with it.