Boss DD-6 Digital Delay

Very easy to get great sounds, especially if you are familiar with boss or delay pedals.
Ive never read a boss pedal manual ever! I knew the functions before I bought it, but the manual is clear and will be of help.

The delay effects are of great quality and can be used for a variety of styles excluding old tape echo sort of sounds. It quiet - I have it in the amps effects loop and I dont notice any extra noise or change in tone.

I play a whole bunch of guitars and as said run this through the effects loop. I mainly use it for a splash of delay on certain songs but when you start tinkering with it you end up experimenting quite a bit which is good for creativity. Thats one of the main reasons I got this - for versatility of expression. Rack mounted delays are usually much more flexible but not as spontaneous, whereas with this pedal you can tweak knobs on the fly or even use it in recording purposes for strange effects like changing the pitch of the delays by turning knobs manually. Its so small you can quickly change what applications your using it for.

All the settings are good quality and having the warp, tap tempo and long delay times are icing on the cake.

Im using this through a JSX combo all tube amp. I dont have the level up very high at all - just a splash and its wonderful. You can get some really triipy sounds from it though too.

It chews batteries so another question should be what batteries or adaptors do you depend on?

Many people say its built like a tank. Its made of metal, thats the only similarity. Many parts are cheaply made in taiwan and could easily break but its better than most other pedals. I only ever really use Boss, dunlop and MXR.

Never dealth with Boss.

I used to always want a delay pedal when I was younger to get that ambience. My 1st delay pedal was a DD3 and I loved it. I sold it when I started getting into combined pedal boards but always lost that sense of manual manipulation. I then didn't play live for a number of years and simply used the delays on my pod. Recently I have got back into gigging and playing loud through amps again and this pedal is awesome in the loop. I dont use it for any zany effectes really, just straight forward high quality delay.

You can get so many different delay sounds out of this, and they're all great. I enjoy just sitting down and experimenting with them. Its very easy to use, like all of the boss range. The manual is great too, covers all the little details and there are some great reccomended settings.

It sounds great, I've had no problems with it such as volume dips and what-not. You have the choice of 2600ms, 800ms, 300ms and 80ms delay options, there is also a very cool reverse dalay. I have never found anything to use the warp function for. The hold function is very cool though, you can record up to 5 seconds (i think)and have it looped while you play over the top.

I also think the tap-tempo is a very good feature. Easy to get the delaysn in time with the music. Great for using on the fly live aswell.

I use this with a Mesa Boogie DC-5 Combo amp. A Line 6 FM4, Line 6 DM4 and a Boss TU-2 tuner. My guitar is an american fender double fat strat.

The DD6 sounds great combined with other effects too.

It's built like a tank, as are all the boss pedals. I feel I can fully rely on this one.

Never had to use customer support. But with all the compact pedals there is a free 5 year warranty I think. So if something did go wrong I'm sure the customer support would be great.

I play a variety of music styles, from chilled out acoustic like stuff, to heavy rock and dancy stuff. This pedal is regularly used in all of it. If it were stolen or lost I would definatly get another, if not the DD6 I would get the Line 6 DL4, simply because of the longer hold time and the programable memory.

Overall the DD-6 is a fantastic pedal, If you're after an excellent delay pedal you must consider this an option.

How easy is it to get a good sound out of it?

I could right out of the box, it might be tricky for the new-to-pedal novest who has just started playing, but there is a manual to help them out.

Setup was easy: AC power, audio in cable to input, audio out cable from output, there is nothing rocket-sci about it.

However...

This is a pedal that is able to do meny things; you need to know a little about it or other delays, in order to get the sound you want.

This is why it comes with a manual and there are nice little stickers that go on the sides. This is for those people who hate manuals or people who have a bad memory (and suffer from C.R.S. like me).

Once you learn how the different modes work, you will have only to deal with the countrols: mix, feedback, and time.

I was able to do what i wanted; which is to put a delay that would not distort after my MT-2. I have a Boss DD-3 already, but it would distort with hi imputs. Boss has solved this, with the new pedal. I bought my DD-3, when the DD-5 was being taken of the market, It was cheeper, it was my mistake.

I like the new "warp" setting. I am able to do some new things with it, while feeding that part of me that loves space rock and will listen to the dark side of the moon for hours.

The reverse mode is tripy too, but I don't like to set the mix at more than 70%, most of the time, but there are times when I want to do something different.

You can use the Hold (sample) mode and play over it, but it's only a little over five seconds... so make it fast.

It is not noisy, aerosmith used it in the studio, on their "nine lives" album.

If you are a member of the anolog cult and feel that all things need a tube to sound good, you are not going to like it... Go buy yourself a memory man (I have one) and go home!
Pet your dog... poor thing has a tube sticking out of his "head", because of you! ("but... he is fully moded for that anolog howl... from that deep purpule album... It sounds... so warm... and... it has... TONE!!!")

You people make me sick.

I would hate to brake it to you (not really), but the godfather of the doted eighth note delay, "The Edge", in all his U2 glory...

He uses Digital Delay! and has done so since the mid 80's!

I used: my fender strat, a jimi wah, in to a Boss MT-2, in to a Boss CE-5, in to the DD-6, in to my fender Blues Jr (amp). I was Happy with what I heard.

I did use a Boss OD-3, then moved to a Boss BD-2 "Blues Driver" (A sweet little distortion pedal).

It all sounded wonderful and I was convenced that I did not throw away my money.

I might buy a DD-5 (to go with, not insted of), to use the tap tempo that Boss did not put on this newer model.

This tap control is what made me keep the Boss PH-3 phase pedal. I do own a MXR Phase 90, but the tap countrol will make the Boss sing.

As for the DD-6... I was not looking for the tap control, I wanted a delay that could handel the output from my Boss MT-2. It passed that test and gave me a few extras.

Oh yeah...

The sound of the Delay is good. I can take the high-powered Boss MT-2 Rocket in to Space and land it on mars.

I would say that it would do any guitarest good to have it in their arsonal.

For you tube people: If you want to do the vintage swells and moans, you might want a Memory man or you might want to shop E-bay for a Boss DM-2 or "TUBE!" echo-unit.

A trick I use to get a "warm tone" (old lo-fi) sound out of the DD-6, I use the spring reverb in my Blues Jr. amp. It will give off all the classic rock sounds of yesteryear. Pink Floyd would be prowd

I could use it for Nuclear Testing and go play a gig afterwards!

I don't know what part of India they hail from... I know "Tom" or "Linda" would be happy to help me out.

I like: U2, Metallica, Recon, Pink Floyd, REM, Third Day, Led Zepplen, audioslave, Petra, and SRV.

Do I sound like "The Edge"? NO! I don't have the cash to buy half the stuff this guy hauls around with him.

I can get a good echo and other delay effects that give me the sound I want.

Is it a good Pedal and would I buy another, if something went south?
Yes & Yes

I wish it had the Tap tempo, but that is not the way boss made it. They did miss the mark, on that point. I also like the memory man I own. It has a vibe/chorus that makes an enteresting sound, for my swells and moans. The EH has more of a "live concert stage" sound, but it is to "closed in" and not as "open" sounding as the DD-6. This is really need, if you want to play the kind of space rock i do. I use a long chain of effects (9 or more stomp boxes), at times, the warm colord tone would get in the way of some other effect befor it.

I run: strat - 500H vol - cs3 - boost -jimi wah - dist (I choose between: od3,sd1,bd2,os2,ds1,ds2,mt2,md2,big muff,fuzzface, or the amp distortion (on my mesa boogie trip. rect. solo)) - (the following are in a the loop of my mesa, if I use that amp) - ge7 - ce5,ch1 or small clone - ph3 - bf3 - TR2 - dd3,dd6, or memory man - rv5 - in to my Blues Jr. or the return on the mesa (if i'm using that amp).

...I can really play some weird stuff or I can make music that can take you to the bottom of the sea to the outer reaches of space.

Then I play strait-up rock. I know what sounds good.

To make a long story longer:

If you want clean delay that lets the sound come through without alteration (U2 - Joshua Tree or Metallica Leads), this is a must have.

If you want to play in that old time rock and roll echo sound (pink floyd, the who or the Zep), you need go elsewhere.

I do both and I mix them! Ooooooooooo...


Thank you, for your time...

...Go in peace.

First, I have to give a giant "WTF?" to all those guys who claim this pedal is noisy. It's not the pedal. It's your lame (guitar, cables, amp, house wiring, sister's hair dryer, ceiling fan -- just pick one...)

My gear is whisper quiet -- here's the rig:

Carvin SC90 to Traynor 50 Blue + extension cab -- effects loop out via George L's to Boss TU-1 + Boss DD6 + Boss CU-1 + MXR stereo chorus + MXR flanger. I even have a Carvin FX2 rack unit for effects back up, and still no hiss.

Note to house rockers: if there's a fluorescent light on the same circuit as your amp, you'll get hiss and hum. Fluorescents have their own electrical ballast that hums like a drunk monkey.

Awesome. And I agree with "Motorhead": if you can actually here the difference between chips, you're either lying about it, or you need to go out and buy a $3k effects processor. Criticizing a pedal for sounding digital is like playing basketball with a retarded kid, and calling him foul for double dribbling.

Note to all: you CAN kill (or at least injure) a Boss pedal. 1) use the wrong adapter, and 2) plug it into the out jack on the tuner. I burned up something in the unit, so now it only works with an adapter -- no batts. Still, it works great...

Yea, right. Incidentally, the 5 year warranty is on parts only. If you blow it up somehow, it's hardly worth paying $65 an hour for a solder monkey to fix it.

Great pedal. Just a pedal, not a sophisticated rack system. You get what you pay for.

Extremely easy to use. Manual is simple and easy to understand.
Tap delay is OK, but could be improved by making it easy to shut off. Best feature of the pedal is the HOLD function. It can add sustain at the end of a chord run and will disappear quickly entering a solo run.

Good to excellent. No noticable noise. Used with Telecaster and Fender Blues JR amp. Good sounding....

It's a BOSS.

Not needed yet.

Good for country, rock, and blues. It will become a regular part of my arsenal.

Simple, just adjust everything to taste. I don't use the tap tempo feature much, but it is pretty tricky to use.

I use this with a bunch of other effects - Digitech Whammy, Dunlop Cry Baby 535Q, Boss OD-20, CH-1, PH-3, BF-3, Zoom PD-01. This thing just plain rocks. It's my favourite effect by far, the sheer scope with it is phonomonal. Combining it with other effects and using fade ins is so atmospheric, especially with the variety at your feet. The repeats are smooth and bright, which some may consider cold but I like it that way. The hold function is also useful for writing solos and other things.

Had it for nearly a year and had no problems - it's a Boss. *groan*

N/A

Although I don't always use the extra modes on the DD-6, I still believe it's worth the extra money, it's nice to know those modes are there, especially for a weird recording session. Overall I simply love this pedal, Boss have crammed a lot into it and for the money it's simply wonderful. One of the best delay pedals you can buy.

Basic delay sounds are easy with this unit. However, it takes a while to get familiar with functions like WARP (which I love) and TAP TEMPO (which I don't use). This isn't a slag; it's just not as "plug & play" as a fuzzbox. I wish the effect level worked like a wet/dry blend control, allowing me to send a wet signal with a lower (or absent) dry signal. The delay "tail" that can be heard after the switch is stomped off can be useful or annoying, depending on the application. It requires familiarization.

My gear includes a Tele, SG, kalimba, theremin, and various tube combos. The DD-6 isn't dead quiet, but far from distracting. In general, I prefer the DD-6's slightly bright repeats to the less-defined repeats I get from my beloved Digitech PDS delays. If you use delay primarily for ambience, this box may be more than you need. If you use it for "compositional" effects and need clear, discrete echo, this will deliver. My ears like it better in front of the amp, instead of in the effects loop. Your mileage may vary.

My DD-6, after light use and still under warranty, bit the dust suddenly earlier this year. At first there was no signal at all, even with a fresh battery. Then, with the adapter the signal came through with all the bottom end filtered out. I doubt that this is typical, but be warned that even the mighty Boss company puts out a few lemons. If you play in a Police or U2 cover band, a backup would be prudent. The 3-month-old replacement hasn't seen much action, but has shown no problems.

I would've preferred a shorter turnaround time than 6 weeks (this is a large corporation, after all), but Boss replaced my unit with a new one.

I like the compactness, the flexibility, and the sound quality. Wish it had a dry/wet blend control. If lost/stolen, I'd still have three other delays, but I'd consider looking for another DD-6, albeit used. It's one of my favorite effects.

Purchased DD6 to replace my DD5 that finally broke (sob). DD6 was easy to use, as long as you use it for what it's intended!! Check it out:

I used my DD5 for tap-tempo in the following manner: with pedal OFF, tap 4x on my remote switch, turn effect ON and voila! instant tap-tempo delay for a couple bars then I turn it off.

For the DD6 to get the same feature, I have to do the following: before the song starts, hold down pedal for 2sec to access tap tempo. Then, tap-in my tempo and hope it's pretty close. Then, I hold down the pedal again for 2sec to turn-off tap-tempo so that I can turn the effect off. Then I play song as usual, turning-on pedal when necessary and praying that our tempos match up! If they don't, I have to: step on pedal for 2 sec, re-tap tempo, step on pedal for 2 more sec, then turn off when needed.

I'm usually a big BOSS fan but, shame on you BOSS for bad engineering! At least give a guy an OPTION for a remote tempo tap!

However, this pedal works fine as long as you like to leave delay on or don't turn it off and on all the time for 4 bars at a time like I do. Thus, while it's easy to figure out for me, it doesn't work for me. Ease of use I'll give a 3 since there are workarounds but with too many headaches for me!

Very pristine sound quality! For my tastes...TOO pristine! I guess they used different converters between the DD6 and DD5...my sound is warmer with the DD5.

BOSS pedals are great, overall. Can't give an opinion on this one since I only played one gig w/it.

VERY GOOD!!! They've gotten me parts for broken pedals, no problem! Yay!

Warp feature is cool. Other than that, I won't miss this one! Hopefully, I can get my DD5 fixed! Let me know if you have questions on this puppy...I'll gladly answer them!

it may not be the easiest pedal to use because of it's versatility, but one can definitely manage. if one can't, one should get their head checked

beautiful. not noisy, the amp you use doesn't matter really. even a DI from the pedal to my computer comes off sounds quite nice. it's extremely versatile, so if you fiddle around long enough you'll be able to get a million sounds out of this pedal.

i plan on getting an older analog delay in the future, and then i'll be able to make some comparisons. the analog would be used mostly so that i could have more than one setting of delay used in a song, and so that each delay would have a different sound to it. i will definitely keep going with this pedal regardless how great the analog sounds.

nothing's happened so far, and i can't see anything going wrong with it. hopefully this doesn't break down

this works for anything style of music (it's delay after all). if it were lost or stolen, i'd buy one the moment my pockets had enough cash in them to afford a new one. i love everything, although in a live scenario it is difficult to push the pedal to it's full extent (you've gotta tend to stick with one set of settings per song), but that's no problem for me. i wish it had nothing else. buy this

Easy to use, although when i first got it, it was soooh magical I spent a day honing exactly the right mix with the effect level.
Absolutely piece of cake though if you fall in love with it, it will take up all your time.

no noise
Effects are rad and clear.
Reverse is my favorite especially when running it at the end of my line up just before a memory man then into my amp.

Toronado>TU 2>super OD>Big Muff>Electric Mistress>DD 6>Memory man EH

my only gripe is the small stutter between samples when reversed but it makes no comparison to the bad gaps in the echo park on all settings urgh to line six

100% built like a presidential bunker yet small as a presidential concience

Never asked them but there's support on boss everywhere

MBV Shoegazy drone and Earth pummelling.
It's essential to me already
I'll alwys have one or it's equivelant
I love it
I listen to it feeding back all day