Carl Martin DeLayla

I wanted to add a bit about the clock noise issue because while the first pedal i bought didn't have an issue with it the second I recently picked up did. There are two little trim pots inside. They are right there very obviously when you remove the back plate. By adjusting them slightly you can get rid of the clock noise (or make it much worse). I was able to dail out the clock with a very slight adjustment. Carefull it's a bit fragile inside.

Things i didn't see mentioned here: 1) you can plug the output half way in and access the delay only. This is very helpfull in a parallel effects loop. 2) using the stereo in/out you can connect TRS to TS cables and set up a crude feedback loop.

It is absolutely great. I have to disagree with many things i've read in other reviews here. I cannot hear any bleed in the bypassed signal. I can't hear any clock noise or other noises other than the normal sound that any good analog delay will make with the feedback turned all the way up. I do not find the repeats to be bright like someone said. I find this pedal to be very fat, and warm. By the second repeat there is almost no treble left. I was afraid to buy one of these because of some of things i read here and i'm happy to report that none of it was true for my unit. I own many great analog delays mxr green machine, ibanez ad-230, ad-9, arion sad-1, yamaha e1005... this can hold it's own with anything. It uses the same panasonic bbd chips as the moog 104 so i think it has the right pedigree.

Side by side with an ad-900 it is impossible to tell them apart by sound, The delay vs. dry on the maxon can go a little more to the wet side. That is the only difference, but the delayla beats the maxon for the super fat sounds that it can generate with the second tap. As mentioned above you can get the delay only sound by putting the jack halfway into the output.

I very much like how you can set it for two full volume repeats (main and tap) and no regeneration. It allows the sound to be much more full and lush than a single tap without that pesky reapeat trail following you around mucking things up. The regeneration has a great decay but i don't like that all the time as it can get in the way and cause wrong notes to trail over where they don't sound right against the new passage or chord i'm playing. The second tap is the best of both worlds.

Another cool thing about the tap. If you set the first tap so it is one the verge of running away you can set the second tap up to push it over the top then turn the second tap off right before all hell breaks loose. if you time it right you can bring the second tap in and out and never go all the way into full runaway. I find this is one of the coolest delay tricks of all time and no other pedal can do it.

another place this pedal shines is short slap back delay. With the tap on the "bathroom reverb" sounds you can create are more rich and complex than any other analog unit i have heard. I would not use anything else (other than my tape delay) for these sounds after hearing the delayla.

It is also worth mentioning here that the newer delayla XL is a digital delay, so it's not really an upgrade to this unit. The bbd chips used in this unit are no longer manufactured.

I've got 6 carl martin pedals that i have used for many years with no issues.

They are very fast with support.

I really think this is one of the best if not the best analog delay pedal out there. I prefer this to the moog unit which i used to have but never liked it's decay characteristic. This sounds very close but i find it more usefull for guitar.

A simple delay with the usual features, plus the extra head for that old style gallop feel.
No battery compartment, comes with a plug.

As it says, echo.
Warm fuzzy and alive, it is not a pedal for those who wants pristine sounds.
It gives an almost reverb like sound, the echo is dark'ish, not as much as a DM-2 or a Maxon AD-999 or 900.
I play with a highgain setup, so this pedal works very well in that system, I don't get that piercing delay I normally get with digital delays, as I use a very open sound in my setup.
My amp is a Bogner Shiva with the 6L6's, the echo fits perfectly with this setup, my speakers are 4 Classic Lead80 Celestions.
Sometimes I just use the clean channel with a distortion and a overdrive pedal, then it also gets stuck into the loop when I only uses the amps own drivechannel.
It handles both both places nicely.

Bought mine a two months ago, I heard about the old ones reliability troubles, but the seller insured me that the troubles was fixed.
Well they are, no trouble what so ever.
Solid and maybe a big tall pedal, but it does not bother me, it is the sound that counts, and it has a very distinct touch.

Asked about the stereo options, got a repsonse within a day, all well explained.
Good company that takes it customers serioulsy.

A very good oldstyle echo box, it has its own personality, and now with the past troubles corrected it is also a reliable pedal.
Most of the time I just use with the main echo only, I really like the pleasent sound it has, and it can take off like there is no end to it, indeed lots of fun too.
The XL may have tempo tap, but I do not use that, I guess that I'll get one more, maybe their upcoming Red Repeat??
Sounds like an equal good delay.

This is an update of my earlier review, I have been in touch with someone at Carl Martin who confirmed my suspicion that there was indeed a problem with the Delayla. However, he reassured me that they now have the problem sorted out and have a policy to repair any unit free of charge no matter how old. This is service as it should be and I can't wait to get my Delayla back.

Analogue delay, very straightforward to use, the only thing that took some figuring out were the "tap" controls. The built in adapter is a very nice feature.

This thing has a fantastic sound to it, very warm and crisp. I find that it really adds something extra to the tone of my setup. It is a little noisy especially on the longer delay settings. Also, on certain settings (especially with long delay and a lot of echo) it would go bezerk in the sense that it would seem to spiral into an orgy of noise.

Well, after I had it for perhaps half a year it broke... First it started sounding like a Harley-Davidson with engine trouble, then it quit altogether. I'm a bit dissapointed because it is expensive and appears to be well built.

Haven't dealt with Carl Martin directly.

I think overall the sound is fantastic but the reliability is crap, especially considering the price.
I play lots of styles, mainly more rock-ish oriented, it is quite good for that, esp for U2 type stuff or more classic rock oriented things. I've been playing electric for about 10 years now. I compared this unit to digital delays and it blew them away sound-wise. I wish it had a feature that would let you set the tempo by tapping some pedal (like the boss digital delays) but I understand that it's hard to do in an anologue delay.

This unit it very easy to use, pretty straight forward.
Editing is 4 knobs Echo, Tap, Time, Repeat.
No detail manual, but it does provide some samples.

My set up: Strat- Carl Martin Delayla-Fulltone FD2 Fuzz-Amp.
The unit is extremly quiet and transparent/true bypass.
The sound is always Clear, clean never weak in signal chain.
Rivera R100, Roland JC77
My set up is design to paint the picture of me, so I don't try emulate another artists sound. I play everthing from Jazz Funk to variety music.

Built like a tank, I can depend on it.

The company representation is the best I ever encountered. I called several times for information and they were always willing to show support.

If stolen I would buy this unit or the most recent version. This unit is worth the money and is a top quality unit

EASY TO DIAL IN THE SLAPBACK DESIRED

WONDERFDUL

TOTALLY UNRELIABLE

NON EXISTENT

Buyers Beware!!!

I tried every single analog delay on the market and found the Carl Martin DeLayla Analog Delay pedal to be the sweetest slapback, however, it is unstable and is no longer in production, so I'm sending you this email as a WARNING not to buy one new or used! It has been in my pedalboard for the past year that I purchased from AMS on line in 2003 for $264.50 The first one crapped out in the middle of a live open air show in Germany last year and it started warbling terribly. Thank God I use a master volume control (Boss FV300H) and was able to and shut of the signal rapidly and disonnect it from the signal chain quick fast and in a hurry. It was a little embarrassing. When I returned stateside, I went into Victors Music in Paramus, NJ (the parent company) who swapped me out with a brand new one on the spot. Then the second one crapped out two mos ago during another live show in Texas. Same quick fix. I was given a credit for it yesterday and will apply it to the Vox Tonelab SE Monday. Neato! I'm as excited at its arrival as fifteen whores at the New Jersey State Fair dick sucking contest booth ...

Very easy to adjust the parameters and smooth operation of the knobs

Set up is various strats through Nomad 100 & Line6 modulation unit.
I purchased mine mail order from a shop near Manchester and after playing for 4 minutes of home use the device broke down with serious loss of all tone and echo! Music shop was great and send me replacement and this one so far ( 1 hour of use is still working ! )
Sound is very similar to the old fashioned taoe units like a copycat. It has a much warmer strength and real delay ta any digital units I've tried ( Boss mostly )

See above. I heard that the were prone to failure howvever not after 4 minutes hom use!

I emailed questions directly before I purchased to the Denmark staff and they replied same day. The distributor Sounds Great were fantastic and their service was 100%

Easy enough to use, the tap thing can be tricky for someone who doesn't understand delays, but the four knobs and two switches make it easy to figure out.

My rig is:
B-bender teles, boss VWah, guyatone st2 comp, boss od3, fulltone octafuzz, akai p1 phaser, ross phaser, mxr original 70's flanger, delayluh, mxr noise gate, boss volume, boomerang, all into a fender 75 combo. The delayluh is, without a doubt, the best analog delay out there for the price. I used to own two ibanez ad9 delays, and sold them for a line 6 delay. Biggest mistake of my life. The line 6 is lifeless and sterile compared to the real thing, nothing beats the bucket brigade IC's. The CM is so warm, just like my old ad9's, with more delay time, and the tap option, which doubles the delay time. The cool thing about the tap is you can set the level of the second delay, the shorter repaets, to be softer than your main delay, creating a subtle overlayment that adds a lot of texture to what you're playing. The tap delay even gets slightly staggered, just like running two analogs in tandom with eachother. I have experienced the dreaded whining noise when the delay is past 330 MS, but my noise gate works to eliminate that, and I never have the delay up that far anyways. No old analogs had more than 330 ms of delay time anyway.

Had it a week so far, and it looks solid. My buddy has had one for two years without problem.

In the world of digits, it's good to see that some people still cling to the warmth of analog circuitry. I love this pedal, and wouldn't trade it for anything. Sure you could get the maxon ad900 and pay $400, but why? The delayluh is just as good, in my humble opinion. I've been playing for 10 years, and in that time, I've gone through just about every guitar and amp, not to mention literally dozens of fx pedals. Each part of my current rig is there because it's needed, and the delayluh will not leave my pedal board for a long time.

very easy to use, one reason i bought it

beautiful sounds, when it actually works

This thing is terrible. i wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I paid $250 for a paperweight. The box broke with in 6 months, being under warranty, i sent it in for repair, 4 months later i got it back, it worked for about 2 hours and broke again, now it's out of warranty and there is no effect what so ever.

These guys suck. I'm sorry to sound so critical, but i wouldn't buy another pedal from them. Understand their products sound incredible, but the reliability and difficulty in getting repairs done is not worth it.

again, this pedal is incredible sounding, but not reliable in the least. Buyer beware.

worked for a few months, then delay just stopped working. two other CM pedals just went out on me. maybe i'm jinxed, but this is ridiculous. don't feel I can depend on it.

warranty service seems pretty good. just got an email it's on its way back.

if you cant rely on it it doesnt matter how good it sounds

pretty easy. the tap control take a little bit of playing to dial in nicely. after that, its pretty much set and forget.

My setup currently is as follows: Hamer Echotone or Memphis Ibanez Artist clone (one of the good memphis instruments from '78-80) into my Echo Twin 45 head (Japanese Super Reverb clone) and matching 1x15 or a Mesa Formula Preamp and Peavey 50/50 poweramp. currently i am only running this with an older Small Stone.
my only issue with this pedal is that whine coming from the clock chips. it doesnt bother me at all really.
This pedal is a little on the bright side too, which seems a little strang considering its an analog pedal. I think the addition of a low pass filter similar to the DOD FX96 would have really added to this pedal's great sound.

extremely sturdy.
The switches have a nice quiet click and the pots have a good resistance to their travel

I have never had to contact Carl Martin for support, but they were pretty speedy in answering some questions i had about this unit and several other. I'll give them a 5 for this fact alone.

I bought this pedal in October of 2002 and from the first moment i decided i would never get rid of this unit. It gives me some very clear slabpack echo as well as nice longer delays without adding any dirt to my sound.
I would love to pick up another so i could dedicate one to short and one to long delay times.
Fits in well with anything from rockabilly to metal.

Very easy to use. It is a plug in and play pedal. I cant see anyone but the most dense person having a problem operating this. Just adjust the delay time to your requirement, and its probably gonna be making a great sound already. The Tap knob takes a little getting used to, but it is a very useful feature. Especially as it is footswitchable. Has everything I expect from a delay, including stereo ins and outs (for which a y-splitter is needed). 30-500ms delay time. Manual is nice too, with snippets from various reviews, sample settings and other product information.

This unit to me, sounds exellent. It is very quiet, when engaged and disengaged. The repeats are not very dark, but no-where near as bright as a digital delay. The repeats tend to distort and get crappier with each succesion. Nice. The max amount of repeats available, are about 7, before the unit is on the edge of oscillating. My only problem with the sound is a quiet whining sound when the time knob is turned down past 10 'o clock (the time knob works backwards). It changes in pitch as the knob is rotated towards the left. Pisses me off a bit, but not noticable when playing. Ive gotten used to it now. Im still unsure as to what the Tap switch is supposed to do. Sometimes it almost doubles the delay time, and sometimes it does nothing. I find it is very reactive to the other controls. With the delay time on full (500 ms) the tone is not as "clear" as at previous stages, but dont let this put you off. I was suprised to find that I only had the delay time at 10 o'clock the most. With the Echo, Tap and Repeat knobs maxed and the ap swith and effect swiches on, the unit does not self oscillate. However, f you play a small chord or phrase, it builds and builds into quite harsh oscillation. Very loud if you have it in a loop (like I do), but you can control the volume with the Echo knob. As the delay time is increased, the oscillation starts to dies at about 4 o'clock, but will slowly start up once you lay something. I dont use oscillation, so this isn't important to me. Overall, I am impressed with the rich, crappy (in a good way) repeats.

Im using this in the following chain:

Maverick SF1 Guitar>Crybaby>Jeckyll&Hyde>DigitechWhammy>MarshallDSL100>Send>Delayla>BossDD3>Return

I find this setup gives a great range of sounds, which the Delaly only adds to. The bypass is not "true", but to these ears, it does not interfere with tone. Although, if you get the unit oscillating loudly, sometimes you can switch the pedal off, and hear the noise still. Not a problem, because I dont use self-oscillation, and you'd be a fool if you bought this wonderful piece of equipment for that.

This is a VERY solid pedal. Im not sure what its made out of (my guess is aluminium) but it is very robust. I cant see this thing breaking anytime soon. The two stopm switches are solid two, giving a nice click when engaged. Not as hard to activate as an EH pedal, but still reassuring. The two orange LEDs are very bright too, but only when you are directly above them. Pots are metal shafted, with an easy action. My only concearn is that hey might get damaged, should a way-ward foot swing their way. Pedal is mains powered via a hard-wired mains cable (no wallwarts!!). The plug looks a little flimsy, but I wont be stomping on that...

No need for a back-up. This thing is a metal brick. Having said that, ive only had it for a few days, so we'll see what happens. I will let you know of any problems.

Never required them, but they seem like they would be helpful people. Ive always though of Carl Martin as "Boutique Boss".

I will play anything and everything. This unit does everything I ask of it and more. I have been playing for almost 5 years (come back!), and after joining the HC forums a few months ago, ive become very aware of my tone. I spend hours tweaking my gear, to get the best sounds from it. If it was lost or stolen, I would save up and buy a new one. I love everything about it, exept the little whining noise. If that was gone, this thing would be perfect. I wish it had tap tempo, but what can you do. How many other analogue delays have that feature? It really helps me make the music I love. I had a few clean ideas floating around, that sound absolutely exellent with this pedal. If this pedal does interest you, I can only tell you to find one, and try it out. Im not gonna tell you to run out and buy one, because you might not like it, but im willing to gauge that 9/10 people that try it will like it. A tad expensive, but you get what you pay for. As I was writing this review, I was aware that Maxon have re-issued the AD9 Delay, with a list price of $350! You can pick up one of these for $250 new! This unit is a pleasure to play through.

I had to go to the website to get an idea on how to adjust the settings. Once I tried their settings, I got a feel for it. Easy after that.

I use a CS5 through a TS808,looped to a KOB and a proco rat into a Narrow Tweed Bassman. The pedal does color the sound some, but not that much. You have to understand that modulating the signal is going to color the sound no matter what you do, the main thing is not to kill the tone. It does not kill the tone in my opinion but it does dampen it. What I found is you can put it in a AB-loop pedal and get it out of the signal path when your not using the effect and bypass the untrue bypass (if you will). Also, a tone-boost can be put in the signal path to fight the beast. I play "red house" using the echo and it sounds really close to Jimi's sound. It is worth having just to play that song alone.

I'm not qualified to answer this one because I haven't owned the pedal long enough.

The website was nice.

For rock-n-roll, it rocks. I had a boss DM-2 and it sounds much better.

Bonehead simple. You'd need a labotomy to screw it up.

The overall sound quality is good; It's a very clean sounding delay with a little bit of a "skronk", meaning that it sounds different than the original signal. It has a modest shimmer to it when used with vibrato and has a very clean bypass, although it is apparantly not the much desired true bypass that tone junkies everywhere wet their pants for. As for the butt plugs who end their rants with "tone is everything" and the like, all I can say is relax! The original units that these neo-retro-vintage pieces were all based off of weren't true bypass, in fact, a lot of those classic signature sounds were plagued by noise and hum. The one thing that I am noticing about the delayla is that there's a kind of a high pitched ring-modulatory clang sound on the echo on the higher frets of the neck, which doesn't occur on the rest of the neck when the pedal is on. It might be the dreaded "whine" sound that everyone has been complaining about, or it might be that I need a set up on my guitar. I'm not too sure, but it's not so bad that I find the pedal unusable. One other cool detail is the fact that the delayla does a single repeat better than most of the analog units I've tried. Not a huge deal, but certainly noteworthy in my book. Finally, I like the tap function a lot, but not necessarily for it's intended use. By setting the tap knob at 12 o'clock or higher, you can use it to limit the repeats, in effect giving you the ability to switch from more of an airy sound to a more concentrated sound for leads. Again, not the most important feature on the pedal, and no one else I know seems to be able to tell the difference, but what the hell do they know any damned way?

Yup. Me and Delayla 'been seeing each other for about a year now, and no problems so far. Our anniversary is coming up...

None so far, hopefully none in the future.

Overall worth the money. If you are afraid of squeals, hiss and other non digital traits, than don't buy this pedal. While these problems are there, they are so incredibly minimal that few people will notice them unless you point it out to them. The choice is yours: live with analog noise or be one of the many souls who have gone the way of Digitech. You don't see anyone trying to "recapture the magic" of those pedals, now do you? If you need a good sounding delay that has more tone and soul than a boss dd-5 this is an excellent candidate. While Carl Martin is, in essance, the rich man's boss pedal, there is oh so much more than what you bargained for.

Easy to get a sound, no probs with that - if you stay around the "noon" position . Manual is not that good - mind you, mine came with a slip of paper explaining that "in case you use it in 300 - 500 ms mode you might hear a 16 KHz clock pulse in the output" - the whining many others have noticed. And, yes, it is there. DO NOT BUY THIS WITHOUT CHECKING IT IN YOUR SET-UP. It is a prizey piece of gear, remember.

Sound is OK, as analogue goes. I can get the sound I want out of it - short slapback. Do not compare it with digital - it is not far. It takes some time for your ears to get used ot analodue delay.

It also has a problem if placed before the 63 Tube Reverb in the effects loop of my Mesa Boogie MKIII. Makes a crushing sound, even if the level is set low.

Yeah, I think it is hard to destroy one built like this. Apart from the switches.

N/A, thank God.

I play rock and blues and variations thereof. For me, it is good, yet expensive albeit limited in it's use. Not excellent, though - specially that whining, once you know it is there can drive you nuts.

This is my first delay pedal in about 15 years of playing (I've never really been into effects), and I found it easy to work out. They give you some sample settings in their pedal catalogue. No manual required. I wanted an analogue delay before they went the way of the dinosaur. The digital ones seem too sterile to me. CM get bonus marks for having a built in power supply, which does make the pedal bigger than average. Also, an extra switch for tap (2 leds) is worthwhile and something no other analogue delay has. I believe you can hook this up in stereo to two amps if you use a single stereo cable (one stereo jack). THIS PEDAL IS NOT TRUE BYPASS as the the previous reviewer states. Its a buffered passive bypass with problems (see below). Also, CM told me about 3 months ago they were still making the Delaya and didn't mention finishing it, so check around. I guess they have a good supply of B'o'B chips.

I've had it for about 6 mths and I don't go through 'honeymoon' periods; a piece of gear has to grow on me to get praise.
I'm using a handmade hollow body tele equiped with Kinman pups (AVn-60's I think) into and Allen Old Flame (BF style 40w). Also, have a strat with Kinmans. This pedal has a real transparency about it which I prefer over the thicker 'lusher' Ibanez's for example. I think it has 500ms of delay but from 6:00 to 9:00 (ie slowest) it gets pretty noisy so I don't use it that slow mostly. It also gets squealy if you go above about 3:00 on the level knob, and as others have mentioned, if you go too high on the repeats it goes bananas. You expect some noise from an analogue delay but I find that the full range on 3 of the knobs is not very useable especially for practice and recording applications, so points off for that. The biggest fault of this pedal is that when the delay level gets high it bleeds badly over into the bypass signal (someone else noticed this below). This to me is totally unacceptable for such an expensive supposedly handmade, thoroughly researched pedal. I almost wanted to return it because of this but will avoid using higher delay levels, further limiting the pedal's usefulness. THIS DOES NOT DESERVE A 10!!! It is a fair way off being perfect and I'm holding it to a much higher standard because of its price and proclaimed quality.

No problems so far but I'm careful with my gear. The switches do seem a bit weak but hopefully they've been tried and tested for reliablility and longevity.

Not bad. I've emailed CM directly and you usually get a response from the guys that run the show within 24-48hrs which indicates they're keen on service. Of course a true test of service is when something goes wrong after they have taken your money. Time will tell.

14-15yrs playing, blues, rock, intrumental, experimental. Prefer cleaner tones which the CM works well with. The best feature of the Delaya is the transparent sound, tap feature and built in power supply. Main weakness is bleed over on higher delay settings.
OK, I'm giving this an 8 (a rating of 8 or more is excellent on my scale) despite the pedals limitations. I think its a well featured pedal which doesn't quite live up to its own potential, BUT for value it destroys the Maxon AD900 which was retailing for about $400+ when I got the CM. CM gets bonus points for not being greedy bastards ala Maxon. Here's why:
-The maxon only has 2 or 4 defunct BoB chips whereas the CM has 7!!!;
-The maxon required batteries or WW whereas CM has built in supply;
-The maxon is not a two in one pedal with a Tap switch unlike CM;
-The maxon is not handmade unlike the CM;
-I don't think the maxon can opperate in stereo and mono unlike CM (correct me if I'm wrong).
AND YET SOMEHOW THE MAXON-900 WAS SELLING FOR NEARLY TWICE AS MUCH AS THE CM PURELY BECAUSE THE BoB CHIPS USED IN THESE PEDALS HAVE RUN OUT AND THEY KNOW THEY CAN!!!!! = PURE GREED BY MAXON/IBANEZ etc. The Maxon would have been overpirced at the same price as the CM! I think you can still get the Maxon900 in some places for its rip-off price mainly bc Maxon is releasing them in small trickles to bleed as much out of people as they can. If your dead keen on an analogue delay and you don't want to donate a kidney to Maxon, get the Delaya (contact CM) which overall all is a much better deal and that's assuming that the Maxon has no squeal or bleed over problems which it probably does on high settings.

This is a very simple pedal. Turn the knobs and listen whats happening.The manual gives you a couple of settings to0

I normally play with analoque tape-echo's and that's the real sound but they are very fragile too.I have an original echoplex and a Dynacord Echocord Super but for live gigging the Delayla is the best
match there is for a stompbox. It's not noisy . You got Ventures,Hank Marvin, convincing Rockabilly ( especially with a tele )out of it.
I use this in front of a Fender Twin Reverb or for a smaller gig I use
a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe. A Tip : Do not set the echo volume too high because you get a squealing tone out of it

This is solid as a tank and it has true bypass.
I would use this without a backup

Never used Customer Support

I play Rockabilly,Surf,Hillbilly,Country music and this is a analoque
delay stombox I thought I never would find.I'm playing for 15 years and I'm gigging frequently so I know what I'm talking about.If it was stolen I would buy it again but CAL MARTIN DOESN'T MAKE THEM ANYMORE !! So if you find one....buy it.
you still cab get one....buy it.

Easy to use since I only use the classic slapback setting (or a variation) that is stated in the manual.

Excellent. I play Rockabilly and Country and this pedal is an essential part of my sound. I used to play with a DD3 by Boss but found the sound of that one too metallic. This Delayla is a nice, warm and fat sounding delay.

I don't expect any problems.

Never dealt with them.

Excellent pedal. Excactly what I was after. Not cheap but the Boss DD3 is almost in the same pricerange nowadays so the Delayla definately gives you more value for money.

This unit is easy to use when adjusting the basic delay settings, the tap function which simulates a second head on a tape delay requires some experimenting to understand how it works. There is not much in the manual to explain how the tap function works. Although with only 4 settings echo, tap, time and repeat - it doesn't take long to figure out how to get a good sound out this unit.

I'm using this unit in the effects loop of a Rivera KHR55 amp, this unit is very quiet for an analog delay and best of all it does not color your sound. I have not experienced the problems mentioned on the previous posts regarding high pitched whine on the higher delay settings or hearing delay when in bypass mode at higher echo settings however for the most part I am not using settings that extreme and I'm not using the unit in a studio environment. There are analog digital delays on the market that have more character in terms of sound quality however they tend to color your sound and add more noise. The Delayla gives you the warmth of an analog delay with the clarity and lack of noise you get with the better digital delays.

Built like a brick shit house - I don't anticipate any problems.

Never had to contact them.

I play hard rock and country music - this unit works for both. The only other effects unit that I have is a TC Electronics SCF. I compared this to the Line 6 DL4,Maxon AD80 and Electro Harmonix (can't remember model)- all of these units have pros and cons however the reason I purchased the Delayla was 1)It does not color your sound, 2)It is quiet, 3)Has true bypass and 4)There is no external transformer (it is built in). Yes I would replace this unit with the same if it went missing - although these units will become increasingly hard to find as there is only a limited number left.

The basic delay functions are pretty straight forward; however, the manual is rather generic. It doesn't really explain the function of the tap switch, which is apparently intended to simulate a second head on a tape delay. It is easy to get basic delay sounds, though.

I found the tone of this delay pedal to be a little on the thin side. It sounds better than digital, but not quite as good as the Maxon delays, which are the best in my opinion. I have owned/used a Boss DM-2, Boss DD-3, Boss DD-5, Line 6 DL-4, Korg SDD-1000, Maxon AD80 and AD900, H & K Replex, and SIB digital Echodrive. I did notice that this pedal emits a high-pitched whining sound on longer delay settings. It was very distracting...so much so that I got rid of it. This pedal is NOT true-bypass.

It is well-built and seems rugged. I wouldn't think you would need a backup.

I've never dealt with them.

I play acoustic instruments in tour bands and recording studios in Nashville. The sound of the pedal was pretty good for the most part, except for the high-pitched whine on longer delay settings. If they could fix that problem, then it would be a much better pedal. But until then, it's not worth the money. I did not notice any bleed-through when bypassed. Tone is everything.

Using DeLayla is easy. There are the basic controls for delay(echo volume, time and repeat) and volume control for "tap", which emulates dual head tape echo. Manual was ok, but there wasn't info about few quite strange things I found out..

Amplifiers I use with DeLayla are Fender Vibrolux(6L6 tubes), Fender Deluxe(6V6) and Leksis(great finnish amplifier with EL84). My main guitars are Fender tele- and stratocaster. Most of the people on this page say that DeLayla isn't noisy, but I can't agree. I found out few "special features" 1) If you use longer delays(300ms-500ms), and little bit brighter sound, sound quality gets worse and very high whining noise will appear(So high, that in studio only 3 of 5 could hear it). 2) There's always some low frequency noise in the delay sound, not typical for the analog delays or tape echoes 3) There's some problems with true bypass. If the echo control is on higher levels you'll get quiet delay sound although the pedal is off. And if you put lot of repeats to your sound to get nice feedback effect to play with, the bypass doesn't work like it should. In spite of those problems, I like the sound of the pedal. The problems are not that bad, and in live situation you have no problems. The slapback sound is very good, and you can get nice big sounds with tap feature. Of course, time control for the tap would be more usable than volume, then you would get all the possibilities of dual head echo. Edge-style delays work fine, so does the feedback effect(lots of repeats, and then turn the time knob). I wouldn't say DeLayla sounds just like tape echo(tape echoes I've been using are Pearl Echo Orbit and Dynacord super-62), but I wouldn't say it's worse, it's just analog delay sound. And like I said before, it's great in live situation. Small box, and you can get many things out of it. I play in many bands and do studio work, and styles vary from rockabilly to house, or from pop to jazz. DeLayla works very well in most of the situations.

I can depend on it. It's lots of more reliable than tape echo to work with.

When I noticed the problems I mentioned before, I E-mailed to company, and they answered almost immediately. That was great. They knew about the high noise on longer delay times and true bypass problem, but couldn't solve them. That wasn't that great. Has anyone of you found out same kind of problems?

I play different styles of music, and DeLayla is in my live setup. In studio I sometimes use tape echo or digital delay instead of it, but not always. It has it's own great sound. Other delays I have are Boss DD-5, H&K Replex and Dynacord super -62 tape echo. All of them have good and bad sides, but DeLayla has moved H&K and Dynacord away from my pedalboard.

Plug it in, set the knobs, use the footswitches. So far no problem...

Ass! Now I know analog delays are suppose to be noisy, in fact that's why I like them, but this was ridiculous. Nasty, distorted, unmusical sound. And no matter where I put it in my chain it sounded horrible and had a HUGE amount of bleed through when bypassed. Maybe it was the pedal I played but I hated it and couldn't get rid of it fast enough. Maybe it was a lemon, but recently I tried a Trem'o'vibe. I wanted to love it but once again the bypass was noisy.

I returned it and would not rely on it for anything except for it to sound like ass. Instead I bought the Maxon AD-900. Some people love it, some people hate it. I like it a lot but the price is too high. The shop I bought the Delayla from didn't have a refund policy, only store credit. So I ponied up the extra cash and bought the Maxon.

I have had no dealings with them nor do I plan to.

I just can't understand the rave reviews. If it works for the other users then more power to them. For me, I hated it. I even tried to justify that I liked it, I mean it has great features, it's a great idea and Carl Martin seems highly respected. The one I had still makes me cringe. Based on this pedal and my 'test drives' of other Carl Martin pedals, I will never own one. If they are good, their quality control has a huge curve.

The settings suggested in the "manual" give good default sounds that you can then tweak--as you wish. These settings are good because they acquaint you very quickly with the controls and tonal ranges of this angel. it's very easy to operate...just use your ears.

The sound is truly superb. I don't mean to gush and all, but to my ears no other high end analog delay comes close to this thing. I play a Custom Strat w/Texas Specials and a Tele w/Fralins through a Nick Greer Sonic Boom (CLEAN signal boost--very nice) into the Delayla--both through either a Mesa Boogie (through the effects loop--try it!), Black Face Twin or Bluesbreaker Reissue (TUBE AMPS!). Sometimes compression (Ross), sometimes not. The Delayla is remarkebly quiet--as other reviewers have noted as well. This is a high end analog unit and you are paying for noise-free and you get it! This thing can nail any recorded delay sound I've ever heard--if copying someone else's sound is your gig (not mine). It works great with the clean boost, just as I expected. The Greer gooses the sweet midrange harmonics (I EQ the front end) and delivers them like caviar to this truly incredible delay unit which them serves up a tonal banquet through the output stage.

Too new to tell. No back-up. It appears to be quite solid and well made.

Have not dealt with Carl Martin directly, so no opinion re CS.

I play an eclectic (but groovy, man) mix of Dead/Allmans (cira Skydog)/phish//Stones/STI/SRV/Miles Davis/W. Panic and Jimi, inter alia (told ya!). Been playing since 1968 (I learned Stairway off the radio for chrisakes...). In my opinion, effects of whatever type, are only useful if they work in organic complement with your amplifier, picking dynamics/touch and overall tone to help free your spirit to create the music you hear WITHIN. The Delayla is one of the very few effects I've tried over the years (and I've tried a great many) that accomplishes this. It is transparent and adds beautifully to your tone--like fine wine. I cannot stress too much the fact that it is a transparent effect that does not sabotage your tone--wet or dry (or pre-delay tone). Again, you expect this in a high end analog unit and the Delaya delivers wonderfully. I AB'd against it the Maxon AD-80 and the Delayla was superior in terms of overall tone and transparency. The AD-80 was darker and simply not as musical. I find myself leaving the Delayla on in my signal path almost all the time because it truly enhances my sound--whether I'm playing clean, medium gain or with a fairly high amount of power tube saturation. AND, most importantly: it leaves picking dynamics fully intact--this is why we play expensive high end tube amps, right?; again, none of the coloration or synthetic tone-robbing you get from digital units (they should be banned!) Finally, the second tap works well and gives you great slapback--very interesting feature, but I am not using it much yet. The red on/off lights are quite nice (pretty actually), and the built-in power supply and AC cord are, well, soooo nice after all the 9v batteries I've gone through over the years. I really feel like I've stumbled upon one of those effects units that will become a collector's item once they're no longer made. Carl Martin: you did a helluva job--THANKS!

Mine shipped from MusicToyz without a manual. I really didn't understand the "tap" part of this delay. Names like repeat, delay, time, tap... are a little confusing at the beginning. I still don't know too much about the tap, just that it sounds half as long as without the tap.

I'm using a 1957 Fender, a minimoog, a Elektron SidStation and a Sequential Prophet 2000. The sound quality is a bit on the quiet side compared to my Echoplex. Also, it's kinda lo-fi sounding. I try to saturate it as much as I can to give a dark sound, but it sounds too clean to be dark. In one word, "pretty". That's what it sounds like, but I'm used to "dark". I bought this so that I wouldn't have to use my Echoplex when I'm practising on my guitars and synths. It sounds killer on synths, but guitars make it sound too "dainty". I don't care if an effect sounds clean. I want it to have character. It's not very juicy in that department. I do like the way that it sounds lo-fi. It has an edge to it, but it's still quiet. You can crank up the repeats to make it overload into oblivion. Pretty cool for sound interesting sounds. I wish that it could have a more tape saturated dark tone, but that's a different technology altogether. Sounds more Eric Johnson like than my Echoplex. I play darker stuff, however.

It seems at first glance to be well built, but on closer inspection it looks pretty fragile. I treat it with care like everything else that I work for.

It's wierd that it didn't come with a manual, and the "tap" thing is pretty vague, even from the website: carlmartin.com. I guess I should e-mail them.

I like to have a thick, dark tone with my guitar. I think I will have to play with it some more, but for now, it's fine. I can use my Echoplex when I record in my home studio. I usually like only using one or two effects in a chain at the most, so that the guitar tone can stay as pure as possible. I also have a TS808, RMC wah, Victoria Reverberato, Echoplex, and, hopefully soon, an AnalogMan SUN FACE. It's great with synths and drum machines and it's at a very reasonable price compared to Big Briar and other bucket brigade delays. It's a good alternative to my Echoplex.

This is the effect to use when you're not using an effect! In other words, it does the job it's designed for, without impeding on your sound! Absolutely first-rate piece of work! To tell the truth, it doesn't sound quite like anything else currently available, even at twice the price! Word of warning....It's a limited edition model, so buy one while you have the chance! The layout and operation couldn't be simpler, and bringing in the second tap button really does sound make it sound very much like an old tape machine. The information booklet is worthless, but who needs it? It's so simple to operate.

I'm using it mainly with a Suhr Strat Classic and a self-built Warmoth Strat with Kinman p/u's, and it sounds full and lush with both of them. I especially like the way that the gradual modifications can be entered in a very subtle, delicate way, and without any of the grating noises that some of the other top brands suffer from. It is very quiet, perhaps due to it's being AC only, with no 9V battery option. The effects are strong, but not in that over-the-top way we've become accustomed to. I'm using it with a Cornford Harlequin amp (no reverb), and it compliments it perfectly. I'm in tone heaven! (especially with Kinman's pickups!) I mainly wanted it for the retro "Hank Marvin" thing, and also to emulate Mark Knopfler's classic sound. The combination does it almost perfectly!

It seems to be very well made, but I've only had it a couple of months, and it's my first experience with a Carl Martin product, so I guess only time will tell.

As this product was not released in Japan, I contacted Carl Martin, and they gave me a list of US outlets, but also told me that, if I was unable to find one anywhere, they would sell to me directly. Fortunately, I could get one quite easily through Zzounds. Can't complain about the service!

As I said earlier, I'm into the older style of instrumentals, (same vintage!) so my gear suits me very well. I've been playing for 37 years, so I know what I like! I'm just glad that I probably have the only DeLayla in Japan, so I certainly hope that I don't lose it, especially as it's an LTD edition pedal!! There's really nothing about it to dislike. Guitar-wise, apart from the above mentioned Strat bodies, I have a PRS Custom 22"Artist Package", a rare "Snow-White" Parker Fly Deluxe Vibrato, a Rickenbacker 325V63, a Gibson ES335, 2x Steinberger Spirits (very modified!) Martin, Larrivee, Ovation & Takamine acoustics. Buy one if you can find one. There's nothing to touch it on the market. It leaves my Alesis Midiverb III in its wake!

This is a basic pedal, which means that you have the instant gratification of knob, twiddling, no screens or paramaters to scroll through. YAY!

This is about as close to T.C. Electronics quality in a delay pedal as it gets. The sound is very pristine. The echoes are very natural sounding, not a lot of coloration like some units (namely the line6 delay modeller). I've tried this pedal through several amps including a bogner shiva, a bad cat, and my personal fave, a fender vibrosonic (with a 15" speaker) It sounded great through all of them, but the bad cat really let the true beauty of the delayla's transparent and pristine sound come through, more so than the fender.

I'm not sure yet, as I've only had it for a few days. I'm confident that it'll survive, 'cause it's made by the guys who designed the old T.C. electronics pedals. Need I say more?

Like I said, I just got it. I'm not sure what kind of customer service they offer.

I'm very pleased with this unit. I'm an avid effects user/collector, and this is quite easily one of the best sounding pedals in my arsenal. It is certainly a step down from the freakishly wide array of possiblities that the line6 delay unit offers, although it offers more than the L6 in the realm of overall sound quality.

I bought the device couple a months ago and I'm very satisfied with it. It's very easy to use with its four controls, no patches, just set the sound by using the controls. Manuals are not needed. Be careful with the repeat, the sound may begin to oscillate if the repeat control is set over clock 12.

The sound quality is exellent as a vintage sound from a endless tape echo. The output is stereo, the sound comes from the second with a delay . The result is even better if you connect the second channel to another amplifier. The best quality is received when using tube amplifiers.

This is much better than my ZOOM 2100. Today I want to use Dalayla because of its sound. I think the analogue technic is the key factor in this. It's maybe difficult to simulate a vintage sound with a signal processor, the result becomes sterile and cold.

Before I bought the device I asked some technical things from the Danish company. I got the answer (e-mail) very fast. The Finnish dealer said that they have problem with deliveries because of lack of components. Their WEB pages could give more detailed information about this exellent equipment. Delayla is quite expensive, if you compare it with other effects including much more features.

I'm mainly playing instrumental like Shadows. I like a clean guitar sound. I think the best sound is created by using a tube amplifier and equipment like Delayla. Delayla is expensive but it gives value for your money.

This is my first weekend of using this, but the pedal allows (actually, encourages) me to focus on my playing and not the pedal. It sets the mood like candlelight. To me, ease of use is not just how easy it is to get a good sound of something, but how hard it is to get a bad sound. I found the DeLayla very intuitive to use, easy to get inspired by and difficult to be technically or creatively frustrated by. Before this pedal, I bought and quickly returned a DODFX96 Echo FX, which required a lot of tweaking and had a frustratingly small margin for error with regard to knob settings and even the power suppply. This delay has its own power cord and is truly plug and play. There are no patches to edit -- this is all analog, baby! The Tap footswitch seems useful for when you want twice as many repeats. The Tap level sets the volume of the second (tap) delay. To me, that's the only of four knobs (Echo, Time, Repeat) that requires more than a second thought of decision-making. I'm giving this category a 9, however, because when Repeat is all the way up, the unit will repeat the delays louder and louder until the thing goes into massive Bucket Brigade feedback, which does not end until you switch the delay off. I'm not sure if that was an oversight or cool noise-making allowance. But it's certainly one way of very easily sounding bad. There is no manual in the proper sense, just a dual-purpose Carl Martin catalog / sample settings for all their pedals. This is my fourth Carl Martin pedal, after the Compressor-Limiter, Parametric EQ and Noise Suppressor. I'd say that next to the Noise Suppressor, this one is easiest to use and be confident about your settings and sound.

Sound quality is excellent. The echos are haunting and very warm. It isn't noisy at all - in fact, I put it AFTER my Noise Suppressor, so the noise gate won't trim any of those pretty echos. I've tried it before the noise gate as well, and there is no extra noise this way.

My signal path is:
Guitar - Vox wah (optional) - Morley Little Alligator volume (optional) - Carl Martin compressor - Carl Martin 3-band semi-parmetric eq - Big Briar Moogerfooger 12-Stage Phaser - Voodoo Labs Sparkle Drive - Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner - - Carl Martin Noise Suppressor - DeLayla - MESA/Boogie S.O.B. - THD Hot Plate - Mashall 1960 cabinet.

From the compressor to the DeLayla, all the pedals are Velcro-mounted on a Furman SPB-8 pedalboard, and wired up with George L cable.

As previously mentioned, the DeLayla only gets "noisy" if you have the Repeat knob turned up all the way. The echos are highly consistent in tonal quality and loudness, thanks to the built-in power supply, I believe. That wasn't the case with the DOD FX96 I briefly owned, which could sound great for about 5 minutes and then start to crap out, as its innards started heating up or the power supply started heating up.

I think the Edge would approve of this delay. I'd say he could get his sound with this, as could Scotty Moore. I'm just trying to be me.

The one sound I wish I could get but can't is Van Halen's 800-ms Cathedral delay, which I once applied to one of my own songs. This only does 500 ms. But it's about half as cheap as the Big Brial Moogerfooger delay. It's also less noisy and smaller than the Electro-Harmonix Memory Man Deluxe, by the way, which also does up to 500 ms.
I would like to try this on vocals, which I haven't gotten around to yet. There is no stereo output, which may be a disappointment for some folks.

It seems solid. I've gigged more often than not plugging straight into an amp, so gigging without a backup delay would not be a problem.

I'll take a point off for that feedback that can crop up if your Repeat knob is all the way up.

I've never dealt with the company, which is in Denmark. Sending this thing out to Denmark to be repaired is something I hope I won't have to do. I would like to e-mail them to pick their brains about using the Semi-Parametric EQ with electric guitar, and I would certainly expect them to respond. They seem to be reputable, have a decent Web site and seem to care about the quality of the products they produce, similar to the Danish T.C. Electronic.

I play bluesy, sometimes jazzy alternative rock and pop. I've been playing about 16 years. This pedal suits me very well.

I've had a love-hate relationship with guitar effects in general over the years. For recording and performing, I had taken a hiatus from them, but the Vox wah and Carl Martin Compressor drew me back little by little, long after I decided thay my Roland GP-16 and Digitech RP-10 compromised my tone more than they were worth, especially the RP-10. I may still use the GP-16, but not in the signal path of my amp and speaker cabinet.

As for analog pedals, I decided to go whole-hog several months back and get a pedal board, since part of the reason why I wasn't using my Carl Martin compressor was that it was a pain to take it out of the box and set it up.

DeLayla completes my all-analog pedal board nicely. This is a fun effect - as much fun and as high in sound quality as my Moogerfooger Phaser - and well worth the price.

You could get a Rockman Stereo Delay for nearly $100 less on EBay, but this is way more portable.

I wish it could do 800 ms of delay, and a stereo output would be nice. But you can't argue with something that sounds great and doesn't require much futzing.