Boss DD20 Giga Delay

I find most Boss pedals to be pretty self explanatory. Some compact pedals can get tricky because they try to cram so many features into such a tiny pedal.

This is nice because even though it IS a bit more involved, it's still rather easy because they were able to spread out all the features given more hardware space and a display screen. (i.e. more knobs and buttons and even an extra foot pedal)

Reading the manual isn't exactly required to know how to get some rad delays out of this, however after doing so I realized just how incredibly versitile this pedal is.

Brilliant. No tone change, no hissing or humming. The delay models sound incredible. Totally legit.

It's Boss.

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I'm in a reggae-rock sort of band with a lot of intricate guitar parts to trip it out. I use a good amount of delay, and now with this thing I'm going to be using a whole lot more.

Honestly, for a while I couldn't decide between this and the Line 6 DL4. Considering that I'm more interested in quality delay as opposed to strange effects or loop features for my music, the DD20 was the way to go. Besides, the loop feature on the Boss is quite sufficient, you just can't do the single play back that the Line 6 offers.

It seems like they really spent some time on this thing and attempted to create the ultimate delay pedal. Mission accomplished.

This is worth being late with the rent.

This thing is pretty easy to get the hang of. Keep the manual handy and you'll be fine. The manual isn't super clear but it does the job for the most part.

I do not place time based effects between my guitar and amp, only distortion devices. I am running an EH Deluxe Memory Man post-mic with my Strat/Marshall rig. I am using two Giga Delays for a completely different kind of thing. Here's my setup: I have a prepared, table-top acoustic guitar, table-top electric guitar/feedback loop, short wave radio, and two CD players running into an old Tascam 4-track that I use as a mixer. I run the stereo outputs of the mixer directly into the first Giga Delay. The stereo outputs of the first delay feed the second delay which outputs directly to either a house sound system or into my hardrive for recording at home.

There is a little digital hiss but it really hasn't been a problem and I'm near obsessive about noise. If the pedal is set correctly the signal should far out weigh the noise. I was very surprised at the sound quality. The tape delay is lovely and can get that natural phasing effect, very intoxicating. The beauty part is the seemless switching. I was on vacation last week and made hours of recordings with nary a glitch. Even using the Sound On Sound setting, flying sounds into the loop, there was not a click or pop in sight.

It seems built really tough.

I don't know and hope I don't have to.

I'm using two Giga Delays for soundscapes and so far I am really impressed. By mixing and matching the analog settings with the digital settings a wide range of subtle delay textures can be achieved. I haven't tried the unit with my regular guitar rig but that's not what I bought it for. I bought it to make live soundscapes/imaginary soundtracks and it seems to do this very well indeed.

Ease of use is a relative term here. It's easy to plug in and start playing. But getting it right can be a little tricky. You need to ensure a couple of things are done right to get this pedal to be noise free and operating like it should.

First, use a larger power supply than recommended. A 200mA 9VDC won't cut it. It will run OK on that, but you'll notice a light hiss and sometimes a high-pitched ringing that's very faint. The draw of that pedal is +\- 200mA, which is maxxing out the standard Boss PSA-120, or most 200mA power supplies for that matter. So I'd go with a 1spot (which I have done) or maybe one of Boss's new PSA models. I didn't want to put this under the sound quality category because I want to talk about the tones in that section.

Second, it turns on by default with a -20db setting. Change that! Even it you're not running it in an effects loop. You have to power up the pedal with left pedal depressed, then you'll see your LCD has a db setting on it. Select the mode that says "Stereo + 4Db" and press the "write" button to save it. I missed that in the manual, and apparently most other people do too.

I've been playing this for well over a year and I just now discovered those two items, which are probably the most critical when considering buying this!

These need to stand out in the manual, but they're barely noticeable. I'm going to give it low marks there. There's no way you could have figured those things out (and more on this thing) without a well written manual, and it just doesn't do a good job explaining everything.

OK, here's where it does a great job. I love the analog & tape settings, and like that I can change the tone with the knob. I've actually used the Warp & Twist settings live so they're not useless. Never used the SOS (Looping, basically) because I have an RC-20XL. The standard setting sounds just like a plain old DD-3, which I also like. There's multi-head emulators in there too, but I've haven't done the "Edge" thing in a while so I can't comment on those. I was hoping the reverse setting would be more like the old Boss Slow Gear, but it's just really hard to make it sound good. Too bad.

I've also discovered the modulation setting lately, and found I really love it! I don't play with chorus, but having just a little bit of warble added to the repeats only can do some great things. It reminds me of using tremolo arm for vibrato a la SRV Riviera Paradise, but I'm using fixed-bridge guitars. Very nice. I think you can edit the modulation mix and/or waves too. A very useful tool overall!

Now for the bad: I used to swear to everyone that this didn't suck tone. Well, I A/B'd it in 3 scenarios with a True Bypass loop and here's what happened: By itself, with no other pedals in the chain, it hardly changed, but did slightly take off a little top end. With just one other pedal (buffered) before it, it seriously altered the tone. Made everything sound way more sterile. With the DD-20 in the pedalboard, it altered it even worse! I don't think I can recommend this as the greatest digital delay pedal, but still I have to have tap tempo somehow. What to do... If I can find a better digital delay that lets me tap easily and gets a good tape or analog sound out of it, this thing's gone! I'm about to give up on digitals and get a good analog, but I'd miss the tap tempo... sigh.

I think so. It's held up well.

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I use an external footswitch for the tap tempo. I use the 2nd footswitch to switch through the 4 + 1 presets, and I use 'em all! The tap tempo is the BEST one I've used. That Line6 Echo Park is such a pain because it's too easy to accidentally turn the effect on or off when tapping. Other than that the Echo Park gives this thing a run for the money, and I'd actually prefer it due to the smaller footprint. But, like all things Line6, it must have it's own dedicated power supply and other stupidities engineered in. I still like the DD-20 better than the Line6 DL4 too. I like that I can light up the display so I can see what time it's set on at a glance. That's saved me a few times.

Needs a better buffer and more clear instructions. Has great tones at hand. Very friendly to use playing live.

Very easy to use -- I'm a non-techie by choice, and a few years ago got rid of all the silly gadgets, and went back to pedals and a very good quality tube amp.

Editing is easy, setting the memory is easy, setting depth and rate is easy. It's all just turning knobs, which I completely love.

Just one complaint - no way to completely turn it off, other than unplugging it. You can shut off the signal with the left footswitch though, so it's not problem.

Perfect. It sounds exactly as I expected. I have a DD6 one step up in the signal chain, and I expected it to be at least as good. It's better, with more features. Love it.

Oh, and it's TOTALLY QUIET. I've read reviews that it makes noise. No, it doesn't. It's not the Giga Delay making noise. I'll prove it -- here's my rig:

Custom Strat with EMGs
Boss TU-1
Boss DD-6
Boss DD-20 (Giga Delay)
Boss Super Chorus
MXR Stereo Chorus
MXR Flanger
Cry Baby Fasel Wah
Boss FV500 volume pedal
Traynor Custom Valve Blue 50 (all effects in loop, in that order)

...and my signal is totally quiet. Order of effects matters, but amp makes all the difference. Traynor's are notorious for being very quiet.

It's Boss. 'Nough said.

Have never dealt with them.

I have a deep, abiding respect and appreciation for Roland/Boss. For non-boutique gear, they're probably the best.

SO many features but nice and simple if you know about delays. The fact you can save 4 patches on it makes it a 10 for me, i've had some trouble finding a use for some of the settings but the manual does explain applications as well. The SOS feature is awsome as it allows for quick looping and a push of a button deletes it. I use this unit more than my RC-50 looper for live preformace becuase its super easy to get rid of a goofed loop.

I'm using this pedal with a Marshall JCM2000DSL and 4x12 cab, american ash tele, and it sounds fantastic. I use the analog setting the most. Awsome sound. No noise issuses. No signal loss whatsoever. I remember when I first got it getting some noise that i think was caused by a low milliamp power supply. I'd use a 500ma adapter or higher, the boss PSA120T i think might be a little low juice for this thing even though it says to use one.

No problems so far. Used it on many gigs and dropped it several times. Rock Solid.

I manage a music store and deal with Boss/Roland on a daily basis. Rarley does anything break. When it does the always fix or replace it with no problems. Never dealt with as a consumer so cant really say.

If you need delay, this is the pedal. A DD6 on crack per say. The analog tone can only be beat by the EH memory man but if you've used that pedal you know its huge and lacks features. With all of the settings and the 4 patch memory, its a no brainer for me. Push down the big knob and land the spaceship!

The Boss DD20 is an easy pedal to use, despite it having more features than most delays. The types of delays range from subtle to drastic, up to 23 seconds. It even has a "modulation" setting that provides a very good chorus effect, and you can enter four presets. This allows you to have load a reverse effect, the chorus, a slapback, and a long echo, all interchangable with a stomp on the switch. The SOS (sound on sound) feature allows you to stack loops of up to 23 seconds. The manual was helpful, but could be better. Some more experienced users may want more details in the manual.

I've read many reviews that say this unti can be noisy. I've only experienced noise when used with another noisy pedal, like a multi-effect unit. By itself it's quiet as a mouse.

Built very well as all Boss effects are known for

I give this a 7 only because Boss's website was helpful in providing info on the unit before I bought it.

This unit is extremely versatile. I can't think of a type of delay in the mainstream that you wouldn't get from this unit other than reverb sounds. I've been playing over 25 years, mostly rock or new age/atmospheric. I wouldn't choose another delay over this and would like to replace it if lost. I do use it for looping, but there are better pedals specifically for looping. With practice it could be used to loop an 8 measure rythm phrase while soloing over it live in the SOS mode. Add in the other features and this is about the most versatile, high quality delay stomp box on the market.

Very easy to use, nice sound

Very good delay sound, but just had to write this review because although this things has a great sound...it is noisy.

built good

never dealt with

Sounds very nice...great delay...but has a small amount of noise in background. It's not tha bad just there. Very nice overall though