Carl Martin DeLayla XL

This is a very straight-forward pedal, with nice blue LEDS that show when the effect and the slapback are on. For a few years I've been using two delays to get what I can get with just one delayla xl. Since the two delays in the delayla xl are tempo-locked, getting a doubled echo or a triplet echo is extremely easy to dial in.

The sound quality of the delayla xl is outstanding. I've used Digitech PDS2000, Guyatone MD-3, Akai Headrush 2, Boss RV-3, SIB Mr. Echo, and none of them get close to the tone and dynamics of that classic tape echo sound (PDS2000 is the runner-up). The repeats lose bass as they decay just like a tape echo does. The dry signal sounds virtually untouched by the pedal, and the echo sound is warmer and darker than the original dry signal. When the unit self-oscillates the repeats take on a nice midrangey fuzz.

Excellent build quality & built-in ac power. As dependable as any boutique pedal.

Emailed them asking if there was a way to change the tone of the repeats, got a response within 24 hours (there isn't.) I do wish there were more detailed specifications on the website and manual.

PROS - analog tone, digital tap tempo convenience. Switchable Slapback with fine-tuning makes this two analog delays in one.

CONS - pricey when compared to other pedals with more bells & whistles. No knobs for delay time adjustment or tone adjustment.

This pedal has limitations, but it is the best reproduction of a tape echo I've heard - as good if not better than the digital Roland Space Echo reissue. If you crave Gilmour & Edge style delays with the convenience of a pedal, this pedal is an excellent choice. There are delays in this price range ($385 street) with lots of versatility (EHX Memory Man w/Hazarai is amazing for a lot less) but none of them can match the vintage tape echo tone of this pedal.

Pretty easy to use and you can dial in a sweet sounding vintage delay very quickly. The additional Slapback delay and controls take a minute or two to figure out how they affect the overall sound, but once you get a feel for it the Slapback really gives off an unbelievable tone. It fills up the sound without overcrowding it.
Simple easy to hit footswitches, one for the main delay, one for the Slapback, and one for tap tempo.

Also note the unit has beautiful blue LED's for the delay and slapback footswitches to show if they are on or off.

There isn't much in the manual, but you really don't need much with it.

Sound Quality is top notch. I never thought it'd be that noticable between the cheaper digital delays, but I was wrong. Nice vintage tone and a very clean and quiet signal.

I mostly use it to enhance the sound in certain situations rather than go for extreme delay effects. It's great and really fills up the sound and gives it that extra something that we all look for. This delay can certainly handle the more in your face delay sounds as well. It doesn't have a very long delay, but long enough for anything I can imagine using it for.

You can get a great Pink Floyd sound with it and also U2.

You can get some pretty tweaked sounds when you dial up the slapback settings. It'll self-oscilate and put out some interesting sounds.

Also is True Bypass for when not in use.

Looks & feels sturdy. No problems yet. Metal box construction.

Haven't had to deal with their support.

I play many styles, depending on the month I guess, but mostly straight-up rock and some jam-band style stuff.

I've been playing for about 15 years and this is my 4th delay, and likely my last. I'll stick with this one.

The warmth of this pedal along with the Slapback really give me the sound I was looking for. I thought about running 2 different delays, but there's no need with this baby.

One additional note is that it has a built in power transformer, which I guess is a good thing, but it needs an AC power outlet. It may not fit into your pedal board power supply unless it has AC inputs, like the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power box.

Woefully easy to use.
Had an extra remote in for tempo-tapping, I used my own switch there with a nice result.
This is a very easy pedal to operate.

The repeats has a ghostly airy sound when they have gone beyond 4 repeats, the first 3 repeats are very warm and sounds very pleasent.
Very spaceous and lush.
My Flexi sounded very good with this delay, both clean and with dirt was a most rewarding experience, very highquality analoge like tones.
Added a cool spacious feel, had some fun Gilmoure moments with this one.
Plus if you set the second head loud enough, it will selfoscillate.
Had some fun moments with that.
Otherwise I liked the gallop quality and it behaved much like one of those old tapedelays.
Very vintage in behaviour.
Had no noise, even at loud volumes there was nothing but the amps own natural hum, which is not very loud as it is.

I have no issues, it works like a charm.
Dependable as good gear can be.

No dealings

It is for those who wants a unique sounding delay, it is not for those who likes pristine correct delay, it is grungy and has a distinct tone.
I sold both my T-Rex and Boss DD-5 for this one, not that they where bad delays, far from it, but the CM had that extra quality of having a distinct sound, and that was the winner for me.
I use together with my old Yamaha analog delay in the studio, very sweet.

A real user delay, very warm and somewhat middy in sound, no knob for time settings, tap in the time.
No nonsense in every aspects.
The extra head can be set from half the delay or in odd times, cool when set high in reapeat gives very nice oscillating effects, but that is only in extreme settings.

Engl Screamer top and on my Carmen Ghia.
My cabs are each equipped with two twelth inches Celestions, one with V30's and the other G12h's, the latter for the Carmen Ghia.
Two different setups, one is for guitar in amp only, so I loop in the the delay in the Engl.
The other is a pedal setup thing so it sits on the frontend there.
Sound is a warm and pleasent verb like tone, even without the extra head it gives a good ambient delay that kinda expands the tone.
Works the same in the loop and in front.
I wanted a "dumb" simple delay with tap so this one qualify as just that, simple and userfriendly as it is,the long delays really gets lo-fi cool, very tapelike and ads that extra ambience to the whole of the sound.
I like warm delays with their own special sound, the XL delivers in plenty of that, big thumbs up for that.
I like both with distortion and cleans, loads of Gilmoure and The Edge tones here.

Looks very wellmade, good switches and lovely chickenhead knobs.
Like the extra input for a remote tapper.
I am getting one more so I don't need to take it in and out between my two setups.
It has worked as it should, so no complaints here.

Never delat with them

I use it with my highgain amp where I wanted a warmer delay than the old rackone I used to have, so I stuck it into the rest of my rack stuff and use a remote switch as tapper, works very very well there.
Gives me that slightly older fatter sound, a mix of both worlds love it.
On the other setup where I play more swampy stuff...ah yeah baby here it also shines with those glorious lo-fi warm analoge like tones.
It is a sleeper delay for sure.
For those who really likes a different delay with a tapelike ambience this would make a fine choice.
I'll look forward to what else those guys will come up with.

A breeze to work with.
Tap in the tempo, presto...correct time.

Lofi warm, funny, whacky and different.
Plus you can get some classic sounds out of it too.
Defently has a vibe of its own, it filled up my practice room with cool sounds.
Made my overdriven sounds huge and nice.

No troubles.

Friendly and swift answers on a couple of questions I had.

Cool pedal, will get you what you need, a real workhorse albeit a fun one.
Typical CM product, very nice and clean.
I have nothing but praise for this thing!
It makes me wanna play, that is what it is about really.

One main delay, two knobs, a second delay head, same configuration, just different names on the knobs.
How hard can it be?

I have a 57 Fender Twin reissue, the delay is very warm sounding on this amp, very good for clean sound, adds a real cool ambience to the sound.
No noise, very quiet operation, the slapback sets in after the first repeat at half the maintime.
You can set the head to doubling the main delay and totally opposite.
Great feature, had a DL-4 first, sold it to get this one, like the sound much better and the simplicity is preferable over all the bangs and whistles of the DL-4.

Has performed flawlessly, I am thinking about getting one more for my other rig.

Had no dealings, expect no trouble, my buddy had the old Delayla, they fixed it for him, he only paid for the shipping, has worked nicely ever since.

I play mainly clean country and some rock, it performs rather well, it suits my needs just fine, no hazzle just doing the job.
Would buy one again if it got stolen or lost.
I love the slapback alot, adds a cool ambience, very U2 and Pink Floyd like.
While the DL-4 was a nice unit, the sound of the CM delay just appealed more to me.
Good tool that gets the job done.

Simple straightforward delay, with a nice nod to function instead of too many features.
When you switch it on the delay starts at 1 second, tap twice to get your tempo, the sync is good.
The second head can be adjusted for more trippy gallops, the extra head kicks in after the first ping, gives the sound a nice spacy feel.
Did not read the manual, no need really, I like to try it instead.

I use it with several setups, fendertop(Showman BF), a Marshall(1987ri) , and a Vox AC-15.
Plus a small home direct setup I use.
The delay is nice and on the warmer side, gets slightly midrangy when it delays tones out(cool lo-fi quality), it has its own personality for sure.
Never muddy and blends good with your own sound, the first delay sounds very close to your org sound.
Sounds good with od and distortion, it can take alot of input without a hitch.
No noise that is worth bothering about, very quiet operation when clean, the noise when you use od/dist is most likely your amp or dirtpedal, it does not add extra noise.

Had it for 4 months now, it has seen quite some action, no trouble what so ever, the tap works well, the contacts a firm and solid.
Have an old Boss for backup, it is still collecting dust in my rack.

Asked for a few things pr email, got a response very quickly, very polite and helpful people at Carl Martin.
Nice experience.

I use it for everything from fusion to flatout rock to pop.
Bought a Plexitone at the same time, I used together with my old MXR Flanger and my Ibanez CS-9 chorus, got a CM compressor too.
They replaced my Fulldrive2 and my old Boss DD-3.
Sold the Fulldrive and had enough to justify both the Delayla XL and the Plexitone.
I am quite happy with the delay, no fuzz it just works night after night, and the sound is very useable, I sometimes use a remote for the tapping, neat feature.
If you are looking for a reliable and functional simple delay, this one will fulfill your needs, plus the sound is nice and warm.

N/A::::This is not a complete review. I have a Delayla XL being sent to me, but while I've been waiting I've been doing some research. After some vague email exchanges with tech support at Carl Martin, it turns out that THIS IS A DIGITAL DELAY with an analog thru. Meaning that the dry signal doesn't run thru any AD/DA conversion, but the echo signal does. This isn't to say that it won't sound/perform great, but with all the sales pitches either stating or alluding to this unit being "analog" its not exactly what I would call an accurate description. I mean, I could get a Line 6 delay emulator ($150ish) with the "wet/dry" mix all the way to "wet", run it thru a LOOOP tru bypass effect loop pedal with a wet/dry blend ($50 ish) and still have enough to pick up a DM 2 on ebay for the cost of this unit. When it arrives I'll check it out, but I'm betting I'll take advantage of the "30 day money back" guarantee from the online store that assured me it was all analog.

N/A:::see above

N/A:::see above

well....it took awhile to get them to admit it was digital...but they were quick to respond...half an hour between emails.

N/A:::see above

Four knob very easy..

I don't know if it's analog or digital effect but in every case the sound is very very warm. I use Delayla with Deluxe Strato and Engl Screamer Amp in a professional Coverband.The other effect are G-Force Tc-electronics and Compressor,3band param eq,The Fuzz,Contour & Boost,Chorus x II ,Two Faze ,Tremo' vibe (C.Martin).The Sound of the chain is great,warm & very silent.

I used Delayla in tour for only 15 day..but the other C.Martin stomp no problem.

I send email to info C.martin and 24 hours after the answer!

I play the Guitar for 28 years ( the last 20 like in professional mode)and the Delayla xl is the best echo-delay which I used.(Excuse me for my english...)