CMATMODS Deeelay

Three knobs: Delay, Repeats and Blend. The delay effect is not overwhelming and warm, remenicent of some of the the great analog pedals. I use delay to add texture and depth to my sound. This is just the ticket. The blend knob is a really nice feature.

There is not much to say here other than Chad Matthews has nailed the delay sound I was looking for. I was not looking for 4 seconds of delay ala the Edge, just enough to give texture and depth to my overall tone. I???ve learned that a little delay usually goes a long way, unless you are into the whole U2 thing. If you are looking for delay up to 4 seconds this is not your pedal. The Deeelay is more subtle. The tone is warm and full like an analog pedal, although it is not sold as an analog pedal. I???m not sure what more I can add other than this is a great pedal at a fraction of the price tag for one of the big name boutique offerings. Jump on these now because once discovered they are going to demand a higher price.


My setup can run from extensive to basic depending on the range of music I like to play. I'm partial to classic rock, blues and contemporary Christian music. I play either a 1976 Les Paul standard or a 1992 Fender Strat with Fralin Blues Specials pickups. My amps are a THD BiValve or a Peavey Classic 50/410 that has been upgraded with some Weber alnico speakers. My old standby is a 1974 Peavey Vintage Twin Reverb that is all original except for upgraded Weber alnico speakers. The THD is played into a old school Silvertone 2x12 cabinet with Celestion Alnico Blues. In the tube department I'm a big fan of NOS or OS tubes. The new Chinese or Russian offerings just don't have the same mojo. On the pedalboard the chain looks like this: Boss NS-2>Boss tuner>CMATMODS Ross Clone Compressor>Fulltone FatBoost>CMATMODS Buttah>Menatone Red Snapper OD>Menatone Blue Collar OD>Boss EQ>Lil Alligator volume>Boss CE-2 Chorus>JD Lauering Tremolo>CMATMODS Deeelay. Most of the time I running compression, some form of overdrive and delay.

Not sure. Have had the pedal too short a period of time. Based on other user reviews, should be okay.

Chad is the best. Nice guy doing good things. Great communication, promptly responds to email. Even takes an interest in his customers.

When I was looking for an upgrade to my digital delay pedal I did plenty or research looking for an analog pedal. When sticker shock steered me away from mass produced, overpriced and in my opinion overhyped pedals, I took a serious look at the Deeelay. I???m glad I did. The online sound samples are helpful to get a nice taste of the pedals capabilities. It was so good I promptly went out and bought Chads Ross clone compressor too (see my review). The reviews were helpful on this website and I found other users on a variety of guitar user forums raving about this pedal. I have been playing for about 32 years and have had the opportunity to try an number of pedals but this one will be my last, it???s that good. Why keep searching when you???ve found your nirvana? If lost or stolen I would buy another in a heartbeat. One last note about the cosmetics of the pedal. My pedal was a dark metallic navy blue. Chad does not do fancy or eye-catching text or decals on the pedal. He just writes with a black sharpie below each knob its function. I went a step further and had some fun making a logo and adding text with white decal paper. It turned out pretty nice. The paper and supplies will run you under $10. You may want to do the same. Anyway seriously give this pedal a listen at the website and buy another of Chad???s pedals instead of giving it away for some boutique pedal manufacturer. You will be glad that you did. I know I am.

Easy to use - three knobs. Has lots of sound variations so a little "tweak time" is a must.

Very usable sounds - very analog sounding pedal. I have had several delay pedals over the past two years and this one is the keeper. Whether I want minimal amount of repeat or a deep echo, it's got it all. Using this with a few other CMATMODS pedals with an American Ash Tele into a Fender Twin Reverb.

Solid, dependable, well made pedals. No backup required.

Chad is the best guy on the planet to deal with. Stands behind his stuff.

Beats everything else I've tried - price was right and very, very happy with the sound of this pedal. Goes from subtle to over the top delay sounds and does them all really well. Would order another without even looking at other stuff if this one was stolen.

This pedal is a no brainer....No manual, just tweak the knobs unitl you find the right setting.

I'm using a variety of guitars, single coil and humbucker equipped, through a variety of amps, solid state and tube. This is by far one of the best delays I've ever used. It's not fancy in any with any full color graphics or even a fancy name. But what this pedal does to your sound is amazing. I remember the first time I brought this pedal down to rehearsal (I've had it about a year now), the compliments I was getting from my bandmates how it doesn't get buried in the mix and how "clean" sounding it is. I think that's the most remarkable aspect of this pedal is how it doesn't clutter up your tone like some other delays do. Also, it's totaly quiet, no hums or hiss at all. I'm totally happy with this pedal and cherish it like it's gold!

I've had it for a year now with no problems at all. That being said, I always gig with a backup no matter how good a pedal is because you never know...

I've talked to the builder via emails and was always quick to reply and answered every question I thew at him without batting an eye. Since this purchase, I've picked up a couple more of his pedals and he was helpful with those purchases also. In fact, one pedal I did buy from him arrived to me without a battery option and since I use batteries almost exclusively he told me to send it back and he remedied the situation all within a weeks time. Great service!!

I play 60', 70's, 80's rock and blues. I've been playing for about 35 years. I own a boatload of effect pedals, probably enough to open my own store (ok, I'm stretching it here). If something ever happended to this pedal, I would contact the builder and get another immediately. I know I've given all 10's here but honestly I can't find anything I don't like about this pedal or wish it had. I mean, to look at it, honestly, it's just a plain grey box with three knobs and letters written with a sharpie under each (D for delay, R for repeat, and B for blend.

Very simple to use. No manual & none needed, once you realize the "delay" & "mix" knobs work in reverse (higher settings to the left).

Signal chain is: Fender USA 57 RI Strat w/ 62 RI neck (Jumbo frets & Texas Special pickups) to: Sweet Sound MoFaux Vibe -> Keeley TS-808 (rhythm) -> Keeley TS-808 (lead) -> Dunlop Crybaby Classic -> Keeley Compressor -> Xotic RC Booster -> CMATMODS Deelay to: 1966 Fender Twin Reverb (JJ tubes).

This delay is exactly what I was looking for. Warm analog sound, compact size & runs on 9volt power. I'm a "set it & forget it" kind of guy. I don't need tap tempo or a buch of variations on the sound, just a good sounding delay I can use to fatten up my sound a bit. Use it mostly like a faint echo in the background (don't really notice it's on, but definitely notice when it's not).
One concern I had was the lack of a level control. Since I would set this pedal at unity volume anyway I was very pleased to find no noticable change in volume whether pedal was on or off (and no change in tone thanks to the true bypass switch).

This pedal is capable of much more than I use it for. Just tweaking the knobs a bit I was able to get that classic U2 delay thing going & a little more produced a nice hall style reverb. I really didn't notice any noise at any settings.

Seems well built. Haven't had any issues yet.

Chad seems like a nice guy. Actually cut down his production in order to spend more time with his family - I admire that.

Been playing 20+ years. Started out with Punk & Thrash in my teens and now play old man music (blues & roots style).
Would prefer the jacks to be on the top of the pedal instead of the sides but I have that complaint about all my pedals.

In the past I've owned: Line 6 DL-4 & T-Rex Replica. Both sounded good enough but... both are too big (especially the DL-4), both used "specialty" wall warts & were both very overpriced (especially the T-Rex).

The CMATMODS Deelay is NOT a pretty pedal, but it is a very good sounding and user friendly pedal at a very reasonable price. It is perfect for my needs.

REMEMBER: It's not what you play through - it's what you play through it!!

Straight forward pedal. Knobs are close together so that you have a compact "no step" area on your pedal board unlike other pedals that render half the pedal a delicate area. This pedal is a no BS pedal without costly bells and whistles. The maker custom configured mine to fit my pedalboard at no extra charge. Comes with standard DC in jack for use with standard pedalboard power supplies. Slim design makes for a compact pedal that doesn't take up much real estate. No manual needed. Nice bright led.

I use this with a Gibson LP Studio with P94's through a Mesa Nomad 55 combo. My pedal setup is EH POG, Holiest Grail, Black Finger and Wiggler. Also a Vintage Maestro phaser, and a few other utility pedals. This pedal is not noisy at all. The repeat knob will self oscillate if wanted, there is a bit of distortion noted when in self oscillation mode that may be desirable or undesirable - definitely not the best/worst distortion ever. Analogness is not to drastic - which is a good thing IMO. The notch at the high roll off isn't too exaggerated and is very smooth. The best thing about this pedal IMO is that the blend knob's 50/50 point is right at 12 oclock, and the dry tone is completely unaltered. If there was a 9.5 rating i'd do that because of the distortion on the oscillation mode, but since my Holiest grail does that very well, i didn't get this pedal for that purpose.

No problems. Had a look inside and the pedal's hand made construction looks very solid and secure.

Only had it a week but if the maker follows up as fast as he has with order and construction, then i'm sure it's stellar support.

I play rock music and this pedal is great for getting digital verbs to warm up and smooth out, also great for ambient delays. 13 years playing and recording. I'd definitley buy again. Best pedal for the money with true bypass.

3 knobs... you turn them

it sounds very good but at the longest delay times there is a little fuzziness around the delayed note. Chad told me this is a function of the design and is the trade-off for the analog like sound. Once you get down to about 300 ms, about where an analog would be, it disappears.

looks to be very well built

Chad answered my e-mails extremely quickly and was very helpful. I'm sure that would continue if I ever had need.
I wish this category had an 11

for the price it is a very, very nice delay. Sure, I'd like to have an expensive analog, but I can't justify that at this time.
I would buy another in a second.

conventional delay set up. Delay length, blend and repeats. These are labeled with a sharpie (D, B, and R) but it's easy enough to figure out. 9 volt dc input jack. true bypass.

My chain is EJ strat>>fulltone mini-vibe>>keeley katana boost>>keeley modded ts-9>>maxon 0d820>>maxon sd-9>>analogman bicomp>>cmatmods deeelay. From there it goes into a Victoria 35310 tweed Bandmaster clone.
This pedal rules. Plain and simple. I bought this as a temporary replacement for my analog carl martin Delayla, which isn't made anymore, and I think that this pedal is superior in every way. everything from slap-back up to 500ms of delay time is available and let me tell it is true and WARM delay, with no clock whine from any precious bucket brigade chip. As you can see from my pedal board, I have spent a ton of cash on well made pedals, and this pedal stands proudly along side them. I think this cmatmods guy is going to be the new keeley or analogman here shortly. Not to slag either of those, but this box is homemade and looks homemade- but it sounds great. I can forgo the candy-apple red finish and two color silk-screen and save the extra 150 bucks for another pedal.
I've only had this pedal for about a week now, but being a delay fiend of sorts, I knew right away that this pedal is something special. I would put this in the t-rex replicator category for sound quality. The replicator does more stuff (tempo tap-midi control)but I think this pedal may have it beat in the headroom department. The Replicator is the only other digital pedal that I would ever let near my pedal board, but it costs well over 350 bucks (maybe more, I have'nt checked recently.)
This is not only a bargain, but a gem-worth more to my ears than the 122.00 I paid for it.

I can't honestly say since I've only had it for a week now.

Answers emails pretty quick.

been playing for 13 years. Would definitely buy another one.
GET EM WHILE THEY'RE CHEAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a very simple pedal to use. Just the 3 standard nobs you would find on most any delay: Delay, Repeat, Volume. The size of it is quite small, which is nice 'cause I like to pack everything into a small pedalboard.

This pedal is GREAT! For the money I have not heard anything that comes even close. I play a Fender Jazzmaster and Gibson 335 into Fender Tube Combos. I go for the Space Rock, Trippy stuff normally, but like most all styles. I am a delay junky so I have/had many of the standards: Boss dd 2 & dd3, Analogman dd3, Maxon ad-900, H&K Replex, T-rex Replica, DLS Echotap, Diamond Memory Lane, SPF I5, Toadworks Redux, Guyatone MD2 and a Roland Space Echo. Of these pedals the DLS Echotap and Diamond Memory Lane are my fovorites. I prefer tap tempo. But This little thing is actually up there with them in sound quality. It is Very warm, Very Analog like. If I didn't have a great Analog to compare it to, I would never know that it was digital. In a band setting people wouldn't know. Like the web site says what goes it is what get repeated. I have encountered no unwanted noise at any volume with it.

For anyone that doesn't need tab tempo, wants a warm, analog like delay and doesn't want to pay an arm and a leg, this beats any other delay pedal I have used under $200. Of course there are times you might want the crispness/harshness of digital or the noise of a real analog but for everything else this pedal is hard to beat.

It's build quality looks to be Top grade. I have had no problems with it.

I spoke with Chad a few times via email about the pedal and he was was great. He answered my questions within 12 hrs.

If anyone wants a Very Warm delay pedal that is compact, well built and well priced, check this out!