Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man

Getting a simple delay sound out of this thing is fairly easy, but the other features, mainly the chorus and vibrato are a little tough to figure out at first. The "manual" isn't much help as it is a single small sheet of paper with little useful information. The main problem is that the knobs are so sensitive that at one setting you might have a great tone, but just a few degrees difference will sound bad. It basically requires a lot of time and fine tuning to find a lot of the good sounds. It's not all that intuitive a lot of the time.

I'm using a Japanese Strat with texas specials into a Fender Super 60 amp. It's not particularly noisy at all, kind of surprising for an analog delay. The only time when noise is a problem is if the reverb on my amp is on, then there's a lot of buzz. The effect sounds best with the reverb off anyway, so it's not a problem. My only other experience with delay was with an Arion digital unit, so when I first played through the Memory Man I thought it sounded too indistinct. The more I use it now though, the better I like the warm repeats and overall vibe of the unit. It has plenty of delay time. Is there really any real musical use for more than half a second of delay anyway? This thing definitely belongs in the effects loop. If you put it in front of your amp it has a really flabby sound. The only problem with putting it in the effects loop is that every time you change the volume of the amp you have to adjust the level on the delay. The Deluxe Memory Man has a chorus/vibrato feature that is kind of hit or miss. The chorus sound is terrible. Really deep detuning and slow delay times create a sickening wavy sound that is very unpleasant. The vibrato is better, but still takes some time to find a good sound. On shorter delay times (as in really really short) there seems to be a lot of distortion on the repeats. This may be because the internal trimpots are not adjusted perfectly (see below). The first 20 degrees or so of the delay knobs movement doesn't add any delay onto the signal either. The Memory Man I have is true bypass, so no worries there. It does have a capacitor across the effect output which should theoretically cut some high end off your tone, whether the effect is engaged or not. I haven't noticed this so far, but I might just use an A/B box to switch between the effect output and the direct out instead of running everything through the effect out exclusively. This thing makes its money on warm analog delay. The chorus and vibrato function is just an afterthought.

Electro-Harmonix stuff seems to be really flaky. I bought this thing broken hoping to fix it up myself and get it to work. I spent several hours researching on the web and poking around inside the unit before I figured out what was wrong. This thing has 5 trimpots inside. There are two that, if they are even just a couple of degrees off, will kill all the sound coming out. This is what was wrong with mine. Several hours and a couple of improvised testing tools later I finally got it to work. I wonder how many of those "broken" E-H pedals really just have internal misadjustments. Anyway, this isn't really something that could be easily fixed at a gig, so it could still turn out to be a major problem, so be careful.

No idea.

Well, for $40 and a few hours of time I'd say this was a pretty good deal. I don't think I'd spend the money these things normally go for, but I'm not too big a fan of delay. You may feel differently. It's a fun effect and sounds good, but it goes for big money and I would have a few worries about reliability. While I had the bottom cover off to fix this thing the entire sheet metal case deformed so the screw holes no longer aligned correctly. I wouldn't exactly call it sturdy. The construction inside looked ok and I like how it has a built in power supply. If you really need a top of the line delay I'd say go for it. If you're just looking to dabble, there are plenty of cheaper, more straightforward delays out there.

I did not buy the EH memory man deluxe. The thing is that I was looking for a good delay so I decided to give a try to the EH M MAN.
The unit has some interesting sounds, no doubt about it, but that doesnt justify the price, 350 DOLLARS!!!! In my opinion thats too much for something that does not give that much. As I said before, you can get good sounds for the unit but that does not justify the price. In place of this I decided to buy a BOSS DD3 used, i paid 70 DOLLARS, its a VERY GOOD DELAY and I saved a lot of money.
On the other hand I must say that Electro harmonix has good stuff. I bought a HOLY GRAIL reverb which is awesome and not too expensive.
I think that the POLYCHORUS is a good pedal too. Its expensive, 300 dolllars, but is this case I think the price its justified because it has lots of sounds and options. But I did not buy the POLYCHORUS, I bouth an EH ECHOFLANGER used (80s edition) in place. i paid 200$ for it!!!!!
My set up at the moment is: BOSS DS-1, BOSS DD3, EH HOLY GRAIL, EH ECHOFLANGER, JIM DUNLOP WAH, SAMICK AMP. FENDER JAPANESSE STRAT.
This set up works good for me and at the moment I dont need anything else. I only want to change the amp. Maybe a peavey or mesa boogie.
If you have questions or comments please write to me at esteban_lifich@hotmail.com or max1916@yahoo.com

Knobs very sensitive, so it needs some time to get used to the effect. EH "manual" useless.

I have a Frankenstein strat with Seymour Duncans, a 1971 Gold Top LP, and a 1950s BR-9. I have a 1970s Fender Pro Reverb. I did not find the Memory Man to be particularly noisy. The only time I really liked this pedal was with overdrive or distortion, which doesn't, in my view, justify the expense. I found the chorus setting to be particularly annoying -- it almost made me feel seasick (like My Bloody Valentine).

I have heard bad things about EH pedals, but I didn't keep mine long enough to find out.

I play blues, rock, and have been trying to work on some ambient soundscapes. I find that I use some degree of delay almost all the time. I had heard so many good things about the Deluxe Memory Man that I was extremely let down when I finally opened it up and plugged it in. I tend to prefer analog effects, but this one really sounded weak (the MXR, by contrast, really sounds robust). I would not buy another one; I sold mine on Ebay.

Ok---the buttons are very sensitive to the touch and the box itself looks kinda big, but this thing is excellent! To be honest, I haven't even looked at the manual for this thing yet....Its not rocket science, just plug in--and mess with this thing until you find your sound--and believe me, it is not too hard with this unit.

I currently use 3 guitars with when using the memory man, a 94 Fender Telecaster special, a Gibson Blueshawk, and mainly ( My baby ) a Gretsch 6122 Country Classic Jr. Im running these through a Fender Hotrod Deville 2x12...This thing is not noisy at all, and I really like the setup and how well it is built. I mainly play Classic rock, Rockabilly and 50's style when using this--so I dont really use the long delays and drown out the chorus...I like a nice slap echo and such--and the memory man gives you the best analog sound on the market for the money. I play a lot of Setzer material, and this thing rocks out with that---and YES!!! It gives you the spaceship sounds unlike the Danelectro Reel echo...Overall, the sounds quality is very good--and much less maintenance than some other options..It is also very versatile in that you can use the memory man with many different styles of music. I give it a 9 because it's not a Space Echo...hahaa

It seems pretty reliable so far...although I have only had it for a week or so now..I would def. use it on a gig without a backup--it seems much better built thansome other pedals such as the Line 6 echo or the Danelectro Reel tape echo simulator.

I have not had to deal with the company yet, and hopefully I wont have to....But I have heard that they are supposedly pretty good with customer service.

As I said before---I play a wide range of music, but I mostly use it for classic sounds as well as rockabilly...If you are A Setzer fan like I am---the sounds you get out of the memory man will not dissapoint you. I checked out, reviewed and asked many people their opinions on this...and everyone told me that this was the best alternative analog pedal--compared to getting a true machine like the old Roland Space Echo's. I couldn't decide which Effects unit to get---it was either spend $300-400 dollars and get an old use space echo (which surely is the best) however, no warranty, tough to find parts, and the job to maintain it. Buy a cheaper Danelectro Reel tape echo that is not nearly as versatile as the memory man--just very basic and to the point..$100...or go somewhere in between and get a quality built echo pedal with no maintainence and half the price...I chose the memory man and I don't regret it! Unless you are as talented and rich as some of these musicians and touring all the time---don't bother spending all the money...get the memory man...Its time for Roland and Gretsch to get on the ball and go back to the old tape echo sounds...people are craving them and it could be a nice money maker...If someone stole this...I would hunt them down, take my pedal back---duct tape their hands, feet, and mouth, turn my amp and guitar up as loud as possible--and make those crazy spaceships sounds all day long to drive them insane...then I would thing of something else creative...haha Seriously---I would def. buy another one!

the control layout is fairly clear, but using them to get a good sound isn't. like all EH effects, its easy to get some very extreme settings, so it takes a lot of fiddling to find something usable.

fantastic. using it with a gibson les paul, through a few other padals, and into a fender hotrod deluxe amp. sounds great. like i said, not easy to find the sound you're looking for, but once you've got it you wont be dissapointed. all analogue, so a bit less crisp than digital delay (that's a good thing), and just generally warmer sounding. no noise at all. the vibrato and chorus settinds are also great, although it is odd that when you turn the echo down as low as possible (if you want just chorus or vibrato), you need to turn the cho/vib nob a long way up to get much effect, butthen adding some delay seems to make the modulation go crazy, so you have to turn it douwn again. also tried it with a lovely strat in the shop, and it sounded fab. very funky and twangy. you can get a good U2 sound with this, and if you've got an approprite mild overdrive, it sounds great for little wing type hendrixy stuff.

haven't had it for long, but i've had other EH stuff and its been very reliable.

i play mostly blues and rock and funk. i was looking for that hendrixy rythm sound (i.e the univibe type thing), and i bought a roger mayer voodoo vibe, but i just didn't get on with it. having a mix of delay and chorus gives a very similar sound, and has the advantage of being able to use each effect seperately, and it fits the bill perfectly in my opinion. it also has that boutigue pedal vibe, and looks built to take some abuse. only thing i would like is a longer delay setting (it only goes up to just over half a second)

Piece of cake to use. Loads of adjustment and great to experiment with.
The manual is lacking detail but that's no problem because after about 1 hours playing you'll understand just how far you can adjust the parameters,

I use this in live situations on a pedal board. I usually use a Gibson Firebird 7 & a JCM900. No appreciable noise.
The sounds are just fantastic - I tend to use the delay most of all with a touch of modulation. The delay is rich and has that great analogue decay - I don't need another delay unit.

No breakdowns so far so it's OK for me

Never dealt with the company

I play U2 covers, Chris Isaac style & more modern rock. This delay is perfect for my useage. If it were lost I would buy a direct replacement. The only issue that I have is it's 24v power supply which complicates my set-up, but that's all.
Anyone should seriously stop and consider this effect before going digital.

I will have to say the manual sucks for this unit (not much information)but the device is intuitive and easy to use. After all, it is a delay unit, not a Mesa Boogie Amp.

I am currently using this through the effects loop of my Mark IV. The sound is just incredible. It has a very nice "reverb" sound to it, so I use this instead of the Mark's reverb. It does a pretty good job with Chorus type effects and tremolo as well. The delay sound is very airy and adds just a touch of treble (at least with my amp). I am amazed everyone time I use this thing. I play country, blues and 70-80's rock. This thing just fits-the-bill for these genres. As far as noise goes, I don't notice any noise from this pedal, just clear, luscious delay.

I had to send this new unit back for warranty work. It became very noisy. But hey, I got one of the old wooden boxes from the factory for my trouble. I will have to say the turn around for repairs was pretty fast. I can't give a ten in this category though.

See above. They repaired the thing quickly and gave me a wooden box, so I can't complain.

As stated earlier, I play country, blues and early rock n roll. I have been plaing for about 30 years. Besides this, I have a Teese Wah Wah, I am not in to pedals. If this were lost or stolen, I would definetely get another. This is definetly my favourite pedal (I have had many in my set-up over the years)of all I have ever owned.

How simple it is, basically plug it in and it operates itself. Manual not necessary unless you've never played with delays before.

Beautiful analog delay. It's so rich it's more than just delay. It's a whole new dimension in sound. It's simply unbelievable, don't leave home w/o it. I have used it with my '62 Fender Jazzmaster and '62 Fender Jaguar and '64 Fender Mustang through a Fender HOTROD Deluxe and Marshall JCM800 through a myriad of FX pedals in front and behind it. But the Memory Man does better last in the chain. Everyone who uses delay NEEDS this delay pedal. Whether your going after Kevin Sheilds, the Edge or Jimmy Page's sound...get it.

Yes.
Yes, no backup needed. But would be cool to play through of them simultaneously

never dealt with them.

Simply beautiful...seriously. I've always heard of the Memory Man, but was never motivated to get one and hated myself for not getting one years ago. It's more than an analog delay pedal. The Chorus is just as rich and atmospheric.

This pedal may seem complex, but in reality it is dead simple. Controls are sensibly laid out, and the paramaters they control offer both ease of use and wide flexibility. One can easilly use this pedal merely by exploring it. Some people have become concerned that the clip light is on while they play. However, if you read the manual that comes with the pedal you will see that the clip light is supposed to come on. Also, if one listens to the pedal it should be obvious that even with the clip light flashing quickly the pedal still sounds fine -no clipping. To find out what the clip light means - read the manual.

Sound quality is amazing. I should have bought this pedal years ago!!! This little guy dishes out so many great sounds, and so easilly. Where I spent hours programming my old Boss GT3 to try and get delay sounds that I liked (and yet never really achieved) the memory man deals out stuning beautiful sounds at the turn of a knob. Not only is it easier to use than say a boss OD-3, but it sounds SO much better. It has life, warmth and vitality. It is, simply put, a joy to play! I Love this pedal. And far from a one trick pony, this pedal is quite frankly almost limitless. Every turn of the knob produces some usefull and recognizable sound. The only problem is that I have found so many great sounds that I would need about eight of these things on stage to be able to use them all. To accomodate this I just use a middle ground setting for live play, and tweak the delay time between songs. When recording I get more specific. And don't discount the chorus vibrato effects - they are great! They help subtley mold and shape the various tones that this pedal can offer,giving you an even broader palete. Simply fantastic!

You know, some EH products are built like tanks, others like tinkerbell. My memory man is a tank, so I'm happy. The knobs couldn't feel more solid or sucure - easilly the best knob action I've tweaked. The jacks are so solid they are actually a little tight, and require an extra firm grip in order to extract the cables. So far - it's preformed like a rock.

N/A

Beats the poop out of all other delays. Forget digital and go analog! This pedal is almost alive it's so warm and friendly. Not only does it sound great, but it is more versatile than much of the competition, such as the maxon delay, or the line six crap. Best yet, it has "classic" sounds. You turn it on and tweak the knobs and all these familiar, classic sounds start comming out. In short, like a Fender Twin, or a Vintage Tele, this unit's sound comes together a little bit more than others - it seems more mature, more fully realized some how. You feel like your playing a real deal, and not an imitation.

With Electro Harmox stuff you have to put in some time figuring out what everything does.Knobs on every EH effect give you a wide variety of sounds so it's important to sit down and mess with each knob and do a long study of experiments. These are not for beginners cause you wont know what you're listening for. Put the time in and you will find the sound you want.

I'm using a Gibson LesPaul Gothic with the following : Octave muliplexer and the worm into a Mesa recording Pre and a marshall solid state power amp and then into a Mesa 2x12 cab. What I like about this Delay is that you can get a bit of overdrive out of it if you want to by over lapping your echos and playing hard. I just played it vs. a DOD digital delay and the Memory Man had superior sound quality. The Notes were fuller and didnt sound like a robot.TONE!!!!

my buddy toured with one in Europe and he had his loose in a backpack with a bunch of other stuff. It got really scratched up and has a hum now. The Echo is still great but its not the same as mine. I imagine if he had a ATA case at the time they would still sound the same.

never needed anything

If you are just starting out , buy this and put it away for a while. Come back to it from time to time and see what it can do for you. One day you will find what you want with this pedal .This really is the best out there.