Electro-Harmonix 16 Second Delay Reissue

A little tricky at first but not rocket science once you play with it a while - need floor pedal for full implementation. Mediocre documentation but only 1.5 layers deep.

Excellent - here is the full review... I love my 16 second delay a bunch. I have the reissue with the floor control pedal. Like Nels I use mine on a table top. I have many other loopers incluiding a stereo pair of Oberheim Echoplex Pros and an Electrix Repeater. The 16 Second may have the best sound of the bunch. I do wish it had an undo function (hit and hold record for 2+ seconds?). Anyhow this is now an unsupported pedal so that ain't going to happen! Makes me wonder how many are out there? Perhaps as few as the first issue... I did send back the unit and had Harmonix do the upgrade to the unit's software which removed the troublesome 4 click intro and allowed for loops of user determined length which I prefer. I was very pissed off that i had to pay another $80 for this functionality but at least they did this upgrade just before orphaning the unit. What I dig about the 16 Second reissue is that I tend to use it more than my other two rack based loopers. It is there right on my pedal bench heated up and ready to go whenever I need it. It is also more portable than my other rack based loopers. So ther eyou go - an update of a 6 bit digital classic - albeit an extension emulation rather than a recreation - but the price was right ($250 plus $90 for the control pedal). The 2280 does not interest me in the least - this has to be the ugliest pedal ever made - rivaling the POG and other recent EH stuff. I think Matthews is losing it - too many products and not enough cool worked out devices. I had the Flanger Hoax for 48 hours before I flipped it on Ebay - totally useless shite! Does anyone even bench test these things? Might be the Russian mafia has been drugging ole Mike to get his tube factory fro a real estate deal/disco deal...

Fine so far....

They did an upgrade just before dropping unit so OK I guess...

Top gear - a blast.. Fripp in a box take 2

I give it a four because is not an easy to use kind of device but is not a good for nothing difficult bitch to handle(!?) like many people say.
I mean, it is difficult if you want to use it literally to make literal loops out of the box as if it were any modern digital looper.
I had it this morning and i read the manual during breakfast then i was reading episodes during trying; in 40 minutes or so i manged to record not only a great esoteric loop but also a fantastic 6 minutes "Ambient song" a la Bill Frisell or Brian Eno,; i had to add some compression and
mastering effects in the final mix but you always have to do that if you want your recording to sound professional; the point is that i had good luck at the very beginning of my relationship with this toy because is actually difficult to understand. you need a while to learn not how to handle it but to predict its acts.
In fact i spend the rest of the day trying to do something good again out of this pedal but all the results were terrible; however i learn a lot of stuff about the mechanism of this fela: Firs of all if you want to take the metrognom or counter off just slide the clix level down; maybe this is something thast only the latest version has, i do not know for sure...
Other thing is that you have to be careful with the gain slider, if you are not using it with moderation you can get some clipping signal and spoil a beautiful loop or fuck your inspiration with undesirable distortion.

8 because you have to be responsible of what are you running through before and after this pedal, how much gain you'll add and where you are going to send that signal once you have it processed; you can go through a series of interesting modulation options and reverse the whole pack of sound you have created and face the result that could be great or shitty, in part it depends of the source.
Anyway i think the sound coming out of this can is quite dream like, it is an analog circuit and is not meant to give you a faithful copy of the original; be prepared to receive the results with a creative attitud because this is not what you think it should be, this is something else...

Seems fragil, i would be very cautious about it, i wouldn't use it as a floor pedal but as a little mixer or console.A little gem.

i don't even want to think about it.

i make Mostly Ambient/Electronica/jazz like ECM/4AD and em:t mixed in a cocktail and served by the techno germans.
Not a main tool but who knows, i like to take risks and chances so probably i will gig with it. It would be a great link between other delays. The chain today: Fender strato/slow attack echo park/ 16seconds electro harmonics/ 20secgiga delay boss/akai analog filter/interface to laptop/logic studio.
I will not use the metronome for that purpose but i looped in the 23 seconds boss and toasted with the akai filter and it sound pretty cool as i add a little bit of phaser and i have a nice distant low tempo beat. I can also take it off as i say before.i wish the pitch shifting
departament were really working, it does something to the sound but not really change any pitch, no in the way that any pitch shifter does.
I think i love this little cute can but i can sell it if a have a good chance of getting the same money that i paid for it or more, but let me use it for a while first.

Having the sliders there for adjustment of everything visually is helpful. There's a lot of versatility in this pedal, and it *does* take a minute to get a sense for how touchy the controls are, and what the pedal sounds like in the different modes (delay, single loop, continuous loop.) Some of the adjustments aren't super smooth; changes feel linear, rather than tapered, where it would be nice to have some more subtle changes, for example when gradually bringing speed on a loop up or down.

There are also a few things I wish it did that it doesn't; it would be nice to be able to control the pitch and tempo change of the delay/loop separately, or selectively chain them. As is, I rarely sweep them while playing because it's hard to do it smoothly. It would also be great to have things like delay time and repeats controllable by expression pedal. I'd trade the filter sweep for those options in a heartbeat. The octave up setting also affects delay time, so it's not super functional if you want to record a part with the octave up engaged, then shift it down to act as a bassline and have it play in tempo.

I bought this pedal mainly to use as a looper, and compared this, the 1180 looper, and the Boss RC-20 and RC-50 (which came out around the same time as the 16 second reissue.)

The sound quality is quite obviously better on the EH pedals than the Boss pedals, but the Boss loopers seem more intuitive to use to me, so I waited to buy this until I confirmed that there was a mod available to remove the 4 bar count-in. Some people feel that the first edition of the reissue, with the colored knobs, sounds a bit better than the white knob version. I can't say I really noticed. I had the mod done, so it's possible that changing the chip and software to the new version erases any difference that might have been there. The bottom line is that now, the clarity of the loop from this pedal is almost exactly the same as the direct signal to the amp.

I've found settings that do what I'm looking for and don't compromise on sound. It's a great performance looper and delay-- it won't store a bunch of samples and loops, and I didn't want it to (it always feels more real to me to build a loop in the moment, in front of the audience, rather than come in with a whole batch of prerecorded sounds; a sampler will do better for that anyway.) The volume settings are flexible, letting you carefully tweak your levels so that after you lay a loop down, you can still hear your guitar signal in the mix you've created. You can also boost your signal or the delayed signal.

The modulation sounds good, though not super wide-- it's nice to add just a touch to the loop, to set it apart from your original signal. Very flexible.

It's worth noting that this delay sounds truly good on a whole range of instruments-- guitar, bass, drums, vocals, and probably would be fun with whatever you throw at it. Digital clarity and functionality, while still feeling equally as organic as whatever you put into it.

A few other notes: I was a little bummed at first that the signal would decay as I was overdubbing a few times around a loop. This problem improves dramatically when set to looping with the feedback full up. If you set the feedback somewhere in the middle of the range, the pedal is designed to gradually duck the volume of the repeats, so you can use it as a fade out. This can be cool on delay settings, but you have to be conscious of whether you're trying to use the pedal as a looper or a delay. It's kind of a drag that you can set a nice repeating delay and still use the pedal as a great looper, but i kind of prefer using a separate delay into the 16 second, then looping that.

Timing the loops can be finicky, and again it's important to have the repeats full up. If it's not, I've noticed a tendency for the unit to chop off the first beat of a loop. Once your settings are right I've never played a pedal that lets you find as realistic a way to layer harmonies, and build long, evolving parts in real time, and still sound great. Sounds better than the boomerang, headrush, digitech looper, digital echoplex, and others (though I haven't spent as much time with them.)

The pedal is also fun as he** to use just to manipulate noise-- once you get something going, like a really long delayed line, you can sweep pitches, add chorusing, play with volume swells, reverse it, dub on top of the reverse and re-reverse it, dub on that, flip it all around, add parts that shift octaves, and include most of the changes into your loop as you sweep them. Great for experimental music.

Despite the quality enclosure, certain design features make it fragile-- the switches and sliders all stick out, and I had the mode switch snapped off mine by airport security, even though the pedal was traveling in a pelican case. The company the ATA OUTSOURCES its security to (yep, despite all the problems and homeland security spending, hooray,) put the pedal back in the foam crooked, and that was enough apparently to snap the slider.

The stomp switches themselves feel great, not too stiff or loose, and are quiet and true-bypass. However, one friend who owns one had a switch go bad on him within the first couple months of owning it, and another musician I know had the delay stop working after he'd been using the pedal with the input gain set around 7 or 8 to get a crunchy/saturated repeat sound.

I personally would be cautious with this thing in terms of travelling and gigging with it, especially if you're a lead foot. It seems rugged from the outside but seems to have that classic EH finickyness w/r/t heavy handling.

For a huge company, they respond pretty quickly by email and will actually help you over the phone. They stand by their products and seem excited about them. The fact that you can get someone on the line that knows what they're talking about technically when you have a problem is rare these days with established music companies. Hopefully they keep it up.

I'm really surprised that this thing has been dogged a bit in some of the reviews. It seems like its downfall is that it's in some ways too much for people looking for something easy, and in other ways not enough for people looking for a hyper-programmable, do-it-all delay/looper. I found it was a great buy because of its sound quality, and that it's well thought out and should offer good solutions for people who want several different things from it. Its usefulness as a wicked-long digital delay with lots of sound shaping opportunities is great. I think they knew when to stop in terms of tacking on different types of modulation options and so on; This thing probably sounds rad in combination with the flanger hoax, HOG and POG, and some of their great new compact pedals.

I thought about this for a while before I bought it because it's a bit of an investment, including the foot controller. Really worth it? For me it is. If you already own a Boss looper or something and don't mind not being able to tweak and **** up the loops and noises afterward, and don't notice the degradation just from having it in your chain, it might not be.

It does take a wee bit of getting used to.. you really have to keep your music in time to create a seamless loop. I got used to this quite quickly though.. The manual was great help.

I must say, i bought this pedal right before they stopped making it, and mine had the software update on it, meaning i could stop the four beat count in.. FANTASTIC. I can understand the 4 beat putting people off.. but it actually helps you keep time!

The sound quality is fantastic. Both for live, and recording. The reverse is amazing, and the octave is great for putting down good low bass lines.

I play and play over the top, and never really notice a sound quality loss. Of course it does get a bit crazy 10 loops over!!

The chorus is a nice effect too, but can be a bit over the top..
Once you get used to it, great sounding loops are easy!!

I haven't had this pedal for that long, but think it will be fine. Im tryin to look after it, cos i dont think i'l be able to get another one.

All the EHX pedals may seem kinna flimsy at some stages, but of my other 2 pedals they have lasted over 5 years, with loads of gigs, and use.

I would cry if i lost this! Its fantasic. wether you will use it to practice (which it acts as a fantastic tool!) or live, i think you'l really impress your listeners.

I bought the pedal.. then found out you really do need the footswitch as well.

Great pedal.. best i've ever bought. I use it mostly on the acoustic guitar, but its class with electric too.

I didnt want to go BOSS cos they are just so plain.. EHX are so different, boss just sounds nice but "normal". You play through this thing and people will be like wo!??

Im going touse this live, and I cant wait to show it off.

The main problem I had with it..like everone else is the 4 BEAT COUNT-IN, and the way you set the LOOP LENGTH.

Most people who do live looping are used to the PUSH-RECORD-PUSH system to define the length and tempo of the loop. This peda des not do that out of the box.

I learned recently that Electro Harmonix were making updates to the pedal to fix both these problems. You have to send it in to them with $35, and they send it back with the ability to choose which mode to loop in. E-Mail them, or call at: 800-633-5477 for more info.

After learning this, I thought twice about selling it, and sent it in to be updated.

I hope this helps someone who is not considering this pedal for that reason.

Yes. It is not an immediate grasp. Well worn musician and an MS in engineering as to education, I had to think before enjoying ....
Good end user manual but the technician would enjoy some figures and schemes.

I mainly bought it because of the delay and modulation excellence. Versatile, from superb reverb like fullness to Grand Canyon multiple echoes. Modulation shines and gives life to both guitar and -even more effective- my fretless Manne bass. I do not need any other effect for my fretless playing.

Excellent looping reproduction provided you correctly set the various level/gain options.

It is an ehx. Absolutely reliable if you know how to deal with them. My first one was a Little MUFF some 25 years ago... I got acquainted.

no idea

I play everything, being a bass player and doubling on guitar. sometime a one man band relying on midi network and PC. Do you want to have more complex looping and archiving capabilities: use a PC sw (Ambiloop my choice). With a midi pedal it allows everything you need for complex solo work or band live acts...
For spicing up a solo performances, linked with a drum machine, the gear fits the bill and stimulating: you can drive any audience crazy. And if you're enjoying yourself alone in your attics ... delightful! Grat fun and practice.

The 16 sec is something different, not something for everyone and for everyseasons. I do not think it was even intended for. It'll be an other piece for amateur or for the working, creative, musician.
I am not everyone. I've slected my preferences. I've got tons of instruments, first class ones, today playing Mannes, Alembics, Ibanez and a Fendere Roscoe Back. through SWR or DI and PA. Main effects are Digitechs and Korg. The 16 secs fits perfectly.

being fairly experienced in all things effects.......i found this thing to be annoying at best....
it muddied up after only 3 overdubs...

it seemed to me to be a little quiet in my fx loop...no noise persay..
my rig is Gibson LP custom---ibanez ts-9---Line6 Fm4----fulltone soulbender---Line6 echo park---mxr blue box---70's e-h smallstone---2 Dl-4's---and then the 16 second (for the time that i write this...but gettting returned very soon)-----al into a vox ac-30w/2x12 extension cab
im in a rock ban called novella, and the 4 bar count in really really turned me off as i like to loop on the fly with the press of one button...this thing isnt even going to make it to the practice space.....

eh pedals are hit or miss as far as i am concerned...i want to love them... but of the last 3 new eh pedals ive bought( little big muff, nyc big muff, and the 16 second) all 3 have been sold or returned....i have hopes that something will change

never dealt with them

Novella sounds like portishead meets black sabbath....i had hopes that with the 4 minutes of savable time that i would fall for this pedal, but the sliders got under my skin the second i tried to set a tempo to match a sequence with my midi keyboard rig( ms 2000r--yamaha s08---trinity rack---darkstar---a-station)....i have been playing for 19 years, worked in music instrument retail for 6....
this gets in the way of creating ....simple as that.....and its all cuz of thatt damned 4 bar count in..

complicated. impossible to use live due to the stupid 4 bar count before you start recording. can only record 4 minutes and save 1 loop. If they ditched the 4 bar count, and let you record more, and save 20 loops this thing would be at the center of my rig. I heard the old ones are better.

exellent sound quality, electro harmonix pedal seem to add a certain warmth. you can get killer reverse sounds like hendrix, add mild flanging/phasing roto sweep effects, speed up loops and do all sort of crazy things with this. it pisses me off that you get all this and then find out it is really useless in a live situation. Recorded a couple cool things with it just miking the amp and making a couple crazy loops and manipulating them.

Unfortunately i did not do what I thought it would, but if they improved it and did not charge so much (i bought it on sale at guitar center for 250, now i know why the price was cut)

the greatest sounding useless pedal in the world. whoever designed this was on acid.

The 16 Second Delay IS easy to use. The loop/delay modes all have useful purposes, it only took me about a week to understand all the functions. I've read a lot of reviews of people bitching for stupid reasons about ease of use for this pedal. look.. The 4-bar count in. People say its confusing cuz you don't know when its starting to record, but you just keep playing, and no matter when it started recording, if you play it correctly, it will loop over right when you began. If you've ever used a metronome for practice, setting the loop length isn't hard. I'm buying the footswitch so that it will be amazingly easy for live control.

The sound quality for this pedal is awesome, I don't think anyone can dispute that. It has perfect reverse and speed changing that sounds badass. The sweep is unique and I noticed if you have any noise at all in your chain, you can turn on the sweep and it turns it into warm sounding modulation

Electro-Harmonix pedals are dependable and sturdy. I've never used a pedal with sliders like these but after some months I know its not some pussy cheap factory made quality but you could drop it and it should be fine. I guess maybe if you threw that shit..

Electro-Harmonix are nice I've contacted them for information I'm sure they'd help if you broke a pedal or something

This pedal is badass I think any intelligent person can use this in a lot of unique and awesome ways

I'll be honest, I found it hard to get my head around this pedal. The main confusion for me was that some of the sliders worked the opposite to the way I expected them and also that some of the sliders had two different 'modes'. I mean, its not rocket science, but I'm not a rocket scientist either. I'm a guitarist and I found it all a little baffling. However, this is the downside of having so many features (and having many features is a good thing!)

Gibson les paul platinum studio with Bareknuckle VHIIs, through a variety of Catalinbread, Analogman, Keeley etc pedals into a Marshall JCM800 2203. It wasn't noisy. The effects were good, although I would question the necessity of having a sweep modulation option with the unit. I found it worked well as a delay.

All the little sliders worried me regarding reliability, but in the time I owned it, I never had any problems. And the price is quite prohibitive, so I guess I would have to gig without a back up.

I emailed them, they replied in 2-3 days. Not exactly super helpful, but decent enough. Can't complain!

I play rock and some more esoteric stuff, I like to shred but also to mess around with loops and effects. Been playing 11 years. I loved the retro-vibe of the unit, and the ability to just while away the day jamming over loops. But I just found, because of the complexity of the layout, it was hard to be spontaneous with the unit, which I think all delay units should be. I have since sold it on, and recieved an email from the guy I bought it off and he said it's the best pedal he has ever had and he is in love with it - different strokes for different folks I guess. At the end of the day, I would say the best thing to do would be to try one of these out, in-depth, at a shop. Then you can see if it's the right thing for you. If it is, then I reckon you are in for a treat. If not, then it can be quite a pricey error. My main mistake was that I was looking for a delay pedal which had some looping capabilities; I think this pedal could be better classified as a looping pedal that has some delay capabilities.

Just received an email. The looper will be able to be sent to Eh for a software update, to have the option to get rid of the 4 bar count in.) How about tap tempo????

The 16 Second Delay reissue is a real mixed bag for loop fans. It's easy to get a good sound out of the 16 Second Delay, but getting a good loop is another matter. The manual isn't bad, and it benefits from being written in English, rather than translated, but it's very limited in scope.

If you're used to the loop setting on a Line 6 delay, or a Boss Loop Station (tap to start recording, then tap again to play loop) you'll need to learn a new, somewhat annoying method for catching your loops;beats, bars and measures. You use one slider to set your loop length by number of bars, then you set your tempo with another slider; the tempo varies from 60bpm to 240 bpm, but the only way to measure your tempo exactly is to connect the MIDI Out to a drum machine and read the display on the drum machine while you move the slider. All this and you haven't started to record your loop yet. Once you've set the bar and tempo with the sliders, you step on the Record switch, and the Record light starts to blink in tempo. After 4 beats, the Record light stays lit, and you can record your loop. If you've underestimated the number of bars needed for your loop, the 16 Second Delay will start playing back whatever it's recorded once it reaches the bar count you've set, possibly cutting you off before you've cmpleted your loop. You can set the bar counter higher, but then the unit will quantize your loop to the next nearest bar length. If your sense of time is very good, you may be able to sync your loop in the first few tries. If you're like most humans, however, you'll need some practice before you can get everything to link up. Some players might never get their loops to sync up.

I expect that everyone who reviews the unit will have something to say about the 4-beat count; most people will hate it, some people will probably even return the unit because of it. While I like this unit a lot (see below), this is possibly the most cumbersome feature I've ever encountered on an effects device. "Try it before you buy it" is the best advice I can give any loop fan approaching the 16 Second Delay. I give the unit a 5 purely based on what a pain the 4-beat count is.

I use the 16 Second Delay with my usual array of loopers (a DL4, a Loop Station, a Giga Delay), and my GT-3. My main guitars are LP Specials (one Faded Cherry, one Special SL in black with a GK-2a pickup attached) or my Ovation Legend. My main amp is a Roland JC-90. Everything sounds good through the 16 Second Delay.

I tend to place my Giga Delay in front of the 16 Second Delay, so I can use the Gigs Delay's SOS loop function. I find it's easier to cature a loop in another looper, then move it into the 16 Second Delay. It's a complex workaround, but my loops don't get cut off. Once I have a loop going in the 16 Second Delay, it's really time to play.

You can pitch shift your loop with the Fine/tempo slider, moving in half-step increments. While this prevents you from moving into Asian-style microtonality, it means that your loop is always in tune with your instrument. You can flip your loop over with the Fwd/Rev switch, and listen to it backwards. One of my favorite tricks, which isn't in the manual, is to capture a loop, pitch shift it, reverse it, and then overdub. Yes, the 16 Second Delay will allow you to tweak the hell out of your loop, and still overdub it. Next, try adding some modulation to your loop with the Sweep controls. Because the throw of the slider isn't very large, you can get a lot of different sounds by moving the sliders slowly. (I would bet that the Line 6 "Sweep Echo" effect is based on this function.) You can get twisted vibrato effects, deep, swirling phaser sounds, even a sort of chorusing, but only on your loop; your input signal doesn't go through the Sweep effect. I've read a few users who claim to get chorus and flanging effects from the 16 Second Delay, but I'm not sure how, unless they meant this effect.

After I've abused the loop enough, I can store it in my Loop Station, instead of depending on the 16 Second Delay's Magna Storage. In spite of the grandiose name, Magna Storage only holds one loop.

For sound quality, I give the 16 Second Delay a 10.

Ah, here's another tricky part. Electro-Harmonix toys have always had a sort of Heathkit-project-box look. They dent pretty easily, and I've seen a few 70's boxes where the circuit boards had come loose. So . . .

The 16 Second Delay looks delicate; there are a lot of small moving parts to break, especially those sliders, which don't look as if they'd survive a collison with a stomping foot. I intend to get the external footswitch and move the 16 Second Delay up off the floor. That way, I can use it live, while trying to protect it. While I always have at least one other looper available, nothing else does quite what the 16 Second delay does, so yeah, I'm using it without a backup. I give it a 7 for reliability, because I know other users are going to wind up with broken parts.

Dealt with them years ago, when Elctro Harmonix and I both lived in Manhattan. Back then, they were friendly, and approachable. I would hope they haven't changed completely

I'm an experimentalist, or I wouldn't need this thing at all. I think it's a great toy, I've been waiting for the reissue. I've been playing since before BBD's, and I have a bunch of other loopers and delays. If something happened to my unit, it would be hard to afford another one right away, but I'd try. I love the Sweep, I hate the count-in. I wish they'd make an expanded, rackmount version, with metal sliders, stereo I/O and programmable memory, to go up against the Gibson Oberheim Echoplex. I would warn any potential user to really check out this box before they buy it; it's a lot of money to spend if you're not happy with what you get. I give the 16 Second Delay an 8 for value because, frankly, it's an expensive toy, even if you love it.

If you've seen/heard the original 16 Second Delay in action before, you already know that this isn't a "delay" pedal per se (though it could do that if you wanted it to). This is a special effects looper...NOT like the Loop Station, where you want to use it for solo practice sometimes, as well as using it live to loop yourself and play over a riff in time. If you've seen guys like Nels Cline and Bill Frisell use the original, and that's why you're reading this, then read on. If you're looking for something along the line Boss Loop Station, or the Boomerang, then this is definitely not the piece of gear for you.

Is it easy to get a good sound? Hell yes. It's not totally intuitive, but a once-over with the manual (which is well written and thorough, by the way) and about an hour of trial-and-error, and you'll be making crazy-stupid loops you can be proud of...at least for the moment!

Is it hard to get a precisely timed loop? Once again, if that's what you're going for, get the Boss Loop Station. Hell yeah, it's hard to get something precisely timed on this. But, once again, that's not why I wanted it. On the original, the first slider went from 0 to 16 seconds. On this reissue, it goes to 32 bars, with the tempo slider being right next to it. On top of that, when you hit "record", it gives you a 4 beat count before it actually starts to record, which I initially found annoying. (you don't even wanna know what users of the original think of THAT!) But being that I've never used the original, I don't really have a point of reference, so I don't mind the count-off anymore. In fact, for certain applications in my shoegazer-ish band, the count-off comes in handy. Another difference is the pitch/tempo control. On the original, it goes up and down in microtonal sweeps, whereas this reissue tweaks in steps. Yeah, this is possibly my least favorite of the "improvements". But I've learned to live with it; I just don't have the money to get the original, which I've seen go for upwards of $1200.

I've had this unit for just two weeks and I'm already implementing it in both my rock band and my avant jazz band. Yeah, pretty easy to use.

Here's my current set-up:

Ibanez RG470--Boss Tuner--ProCo Rat--Boss DS-1--Ernie Ball Volume--Boss Super Chorus--Boss DD-3--EH 16 Second Delay--Boss Loop Station--Hiwatt 50 (British reissue)--Marshall 1x12 cab

This pedal has been an excellent addition to my chain. The sound quality is great, especially when using it on short delay setting. I like to use the short delay setting in tandem with my DD-3, and then hit "Play" on the 16 Second and get a really sick loop of what I've been playing...for up to FOUR MINUTES! Okay, I never really need that much looping time, but ya never know. And with the Loop Station in front of it, I can save a ton of cool loops to be used for later, do multiple reverses on loops...it's a pretty sick combination if you're into doing loops in a free improv/experimental situation, a la Nels Cline (yes, I'm fan of this guy! http://www.nelscline.com), Fred Frith, et al. I like the sweep function on this a lot. It won't effect the sounds being looped, but you can add it on to whatever has been recorded. Also, you can use this as a chorus/flange type effect in the short delay mode.

One of these days, I'm going to have an actual, GREAT guitar, maybe a '72 Tele or something. But for right now, this unit in my chain sounds great.

I haven't used it extensively just yet, but I do baby it. It's not cheap! I may buy a backup in the future, seeing that it's not selling nearly as well as I thought it would thus bringing the price waaaaaaay down. Works for me!

I haven't encountered any operational problems with it just yet, but if I do hit a wall somewhere down the line, I'll put up another review.

I've been playing for about 16 years, started out in speed metal, then started getting into prog, then some jazz, then over into the free improv/experimental realm, and then back over to rock. I'm in two bands, one a shoegazer-ish rock band, the other an avant garde jazz band. This really fits well with both groups,though I don't use it a whole lot. Interestingly enough, I'm incorporating it more in my rock band than in my jazz group, where I originallly thought it was going to be the inverse. If it were stolen or lost I would definitely buy another one, or if I'm rolling in dough when/if that happens I'll just get the original! Once again, I wish it was identical to the original, but so it goes. For now, this works just fine!

I am very disappointed with this pedal. Just like the person who reviewed before me, the loop section of this pedal is virtually unusable. On stage, forget it. If you are used to a regulat looping pedal where you hit a switch to loop at the beginning and the play switch at the end, it will be even harder to use this pedal. It counts 1-2-3-4 then on 5 it starts recording your loop. So if you are trying to loop in the middle of playing, you have to conciously think and hit the record button 4 beats before you want to record. This is ridiculous. Way too much thinking when you are up on stage playing. I have tried for many hours to perfect the technique i just described, i have been trying for 4 months now with no luck.

Now you can loop at the beginning of the song without too much problem. For instance if i was going to loop something. I would hit the pedal and wait for the 4 beats then record... But i could never do it onstage b/c that just isnt my style. I like to loop in the middle of a song or at the end.

Also the quantize function sucks. Not to mention the 4 beats before recording, it has to go through 4 beats before you stop the loop to start playing it. So after you record a loop if it cuts on the beat count of 2, it has to go to 3-4 before it will play again. So you really have to time it right and know how many bars and be able to use a shitty tempo slider.

I used this pedal with my acoustic and electric rig. Martin Hd-28-->Deluxe Memory Man---->Sans Amp Acoustic Di... Electric Rig: Time Machine Boost--->Fulldrive 2--->Fulltone Soul Bender--->Deluxe Memory Man---->Line 6 dl4--->Dunlop EQ--->Keeley Compressor--->16 sec delay--->Framptone Amp Switcher to DrZ MAz 18 and Fender super reverb.

The delay really shines, and on the rare occasion you can get a correct loop it sounds great. Very great sound quality. I can use the delay with any effect combination in my chain. Overdrive, Distortion, or clean, it really sounds great. It really shines on setting i use my compressor. The delay is the best thing about this pedal, but the delay isn't worth $400+. I'd say the delay is a mix between a line 6 dl4 and deluxe memory man. It has a dry signal level and a echo signal level which makes for really cool delay paterns. But definately not worth the cash just for he delay.

As far as reliability goes i dont think there are any problems. The thing is built like a tank. I put it through some punishment and it still works although one of the swithces on the back broke off. The switches are delicate but it was an easy fix with a paper clip.

EHX was helpful and not so helpful. I called them because i bought the pedal used and didnt have an instruction manual. Without studying the manual, you can not use the pedal. I called them and asked them a few questions about use and they oferred no help but to send me a new manual. It did get there in about a week. But after reading the manual i still couldnt use the loop function. So i called back and asked for some help. They said there was no help to offer, the pedal is how it is and thats it, there is nothing they can do. But they did tell me they are working on a new design for it with improved loop functionality

Basically i cant stand this pedal. Its got a great delay section, but i bought it for the 4 minutes of loop time. I didnt like this pedal so much that i was willing to take a $100 dive and sell it for $300 to guitar center. Do not buy this pedal without playing it first. If you want a great delay get a memory man or delayla or dl4. If you want a looper get the dl4, boss rc-20, or boomerang. This pedal plain and simple isn't worth $400 and it is definately not worth $479. This is possibly the worst pedal as far as ease of use goes, and probably my biggest gear let down ever. Save your money and get something else

Definately requires a few reads of the manual before getting the hang of it. Have used it at a couple of gigs and have to change setting for different songs, can get very confusing. Had the loop switch instead of delay activated during songs (Easy to do) and think I'm going to switch delay off but actually activate loop causing major f**k ups.
Thing I'm really upset over is the loop function itself. It is of absolutely no use to me as it requires a 4 beat count in before looping which is totally useless on stage with a drummer. It assumes that I can amazingly guess the tempo of the song as I'm playing and set this using a vague slider switch, ridiculous! The reason I went for this box in the first place was for the looper, now I only use it for the delay and flanger effect, wish I had gone for the Z-Vex Loop Junky instead as I originally planned.

Despite being pissed off with the looper I actually really love the sound of this pedal as a delay and flanger. Very warm sounding pedal with great tone and decay. The true bypass is great and doesn't suck the tone.

Last gig I played I had to bypass completey as it started making horrible humming noises. I am powering the unit through a multi-adaptor DC output box which EH don't recommend so that could be the cause but still caused headache.
Although a sturdy box, 2 of the cheap selector switches at the back of the unit managed to snap off as they were shipped to me from the US. Tried to get it replaced under warranty but eBay seller was a joke. Still trying to source the switches at the moment (if anyone knows, please let me know). They seem to be a mjor floor in an otherwise solid build unit.

Emailed EH about switches and they did get back to me very quickly with a source for the parts. Unfortunately the source is in Germany and still can't seem to get in touch.

Very expensive unit and although it is a very good looper, it is totally useless in a live situation because of the 4 beat count-in. If they got rid of this and loops could be recorded at the touch of the switch then this pedal would be superb. As it stands, I do use it regularly as it has the best sounding delay I've used but I wouldn't buy it again knowing what I do know. Maybe the proposed external foot switch adaptor might change my mind.

My Ehx 16 sec delay came yesterday. I had a chance to play with it all last night. Needless to say, i was very excited when i got it. For detail intructions on the various functions, you can check out http://www.loopers-delight.com/loop.html

This is actually my first Ehx pedal ever.

Cost.
Most people are selling it for $500. The cheapest new price i could find was $450 shipped. I got mine from www.8thstreet.com . It's not cheap that is for sure.

Function.
It is a looper, up to 4 minutes (more on this below). It's main function is not as a delay even though the name is 16 second delay. It's just marketing gimmick.
It can function as flanger, chorus and delay up to 1 sec. These are controlled by speed and depth knobs. The effects quality is very good in my estimation.

Other notables.
You can control the volumes of the dry effect and the wet effect. Also you can control the gain of the guitar input, which is extremely useful.

You can change the tempo or change the pitch and the tempo together.

There is a metronome, controlled by the clix slider. You can also see the tempo indicated by the LEDS.

Noise.
This is something i always pay intention to. I am happy to say the 16 sec is very quiet. Increasing the gain slider control does not produce excessive noise or hiss. Normally more gain = more noise. I think Ehx did a real good job here.

True bypass?
YES! This may be the only true bypass looper. I did not have a chance to open it up yet, however, i believe the true bypass is controlled by a relay circuit, which is what Dave Fox does on his pedals also. There is also something called the DSP bypass, but i won't go into that.

Ease of use.
I would rate this as a 5/10. It is not an easy pedal to just plug and play. I had to actually read the manual.

Aesthetics.
Let's face it. Ehx pedals are butt ugly. UGLY! However, the 16 second is not so bad When i think of ehx i often thing weak, fragile and ugly. The 16 sec is surprisingly very sturdy.

Size.
approximately, 8"x6"x1.5"

The looper.
This is what it does mainly. It is a recording looper, not a delay. The sound fidelity is very good, to my estimation. The looper works in tempos and bars. Let's say you want to loop 8 bars, with each bar 4 beats, so 4x8=32 beats, you set the slider to 8 bars and record away. If you want to loop odd numbers of bars, you can do that too. The tempo is control by the fine slider. 4 beats are played before the recroding begins. The metronome can be truned on to assist you is you like.

I have not tried to overdub alot of tracks yet, but so far, 3 overdubs does not lead to lost of the highs. Also when you overdub, you can control the volume of the previous overdubs with the feedback slider. This is a real nice feature

The 16 second can slimulate self oscillation when on delay mode a-la the feedback slider.

The looped recording can be reversed. I haven't played with that much yet.

Like i said you can record up to 4 minutes. The last recording automatically saved into the "magna store" and is automatically saved evem if you unplug the device. Very nice.


Negatives.
Changing the tempo is not good. The 16 second has problems when you slow or speed up the tempo. The sounds gets jumbled up. The tracking is not good. Changing the pitch is the same. The sound is so-so.

No tap tempo. To me this is not so bad. Some people might not like it.

4 beats lead in to recording. Before you can record, there is always a 4 beat start off, not matter what. WTF!??!!? To me, this gets in the way, and may make it difficult to use live allow with a drummer There should be an option to turn that feature off.


Conclusion good tool to have. Like i said before, i think all bedroom player should have a looper. This one is especially nice.

I'll add more comments if i learn of something new.

Question?

ps, if someone knows how to turn off that annoying 4 beat lead in, i would really appreciate it!