Guyatone AD-X Analog Delay

delay Input level, delay level, delay time, regeneration, mode 1/2 switch.

uses an mn3011 bbd chip if you care.

With the switch up you get a single delay line good for doubling anf thickening up your sound.

With the switch down you've got a double tap delay line that gives you that tile or shower reverb sound popular in rockabilly, surf, and retro music in general.

Pretty much three sounds available doubling, slap back, and shower reverb.

Sounds different with different tubes and guitars. With high output pickups you can overdrive the tube pretty easily if you are using a 12ax7aw. The chrunchy lo-fi echos can be a cool effect. If that effect is undesirable you can use a 12ax7 and if it's still too much you can use a 12au7. Of course the delay input also plays a role in setting the tube saturation, but I found the tube is huge factor in the sound of this pedal.

Nice build on these. The jacks are pots are circuit board mounted, but also chassis mounted. It would be better if they were only chassis mounted but no mass production pedals are built like that anymore. At least they have the chassis mounts so the circuit board doesn't get stressed unlike Ibanez and danelectro etc..

This is a cool pedal the delay time is short but the double tap feature, and fat tone make up for that. Would be a ten if it had 300ms.

Cool looking 'tube' based analog delay. features usual controls with the added niceity of a 'mix' kinda function. setting input levels and delay out put levels is cool as it affords a element of control not always avaliable. mode 1-> standard sort of delay while mode 2-> has a doubling rockabilly 'bounce' effect. nice for elvis/eddie c stuff. it takes some tweaking to get what you want. more so than most delays. requires a 12V power supply given the 12ax7, so pedalboard power/dc-brickers/VLpedalpowerers aint gonna happen for most. you need to use the correct power supply - kinda important with this pedal. the manual? hahaha. others have articulated more than I have.

the blending of a mixed signal capacity is real nice, as you can sorta 'move' the delay effect around in the signal mix. tonewise, this capacity to blend has a effect on the sound. you can get a reasonably wet, soft DM-2 darkness or a kinda sterile, thin, typically digital tone (think Ibanez DE-7 in digital mode as reference). both are handy to use. the 'doubling' mode2 is more useful for psuedo 'wacko' stuff, but the guyatone really doesnt go too crazy; mode2 can also be used for overt slapback stuff. still, with but 200ms, it is not really a super heavy delay monster at all - it's a pretty dignified delay actually. it is dead silent in true bypass and the switch engages exceptionally quitely.

well, seems like it's better built than most Boss, Ibanez stuff. the flip series Guyatone put out really is well put together. more substantial that the micro boxes they currently issue. I havent had any issue with either this, or their flip series compressor (GREAT compressor).

no idea specifically, but I think Godlyke is the US distributor for Guyatone gear nowdays.

at the price I paid, I am very happy. it is used in conjunction with a Boss dm2 currently. I like the tone of the Boss better, but I have found that the DM2 is really one of the finer sounding delays I have ever encountered, so I didnt expect the Guyatone to surpass it. It is nice to have the alternative though. I think the pedal sounds better when its been on a while too. I could be kidding myself on that matter though. Anyway, if you need/want a quality built analog delay that hasn't got GOBS of delay seconds capability, then this is as good as any $150 delay out there currently. In the costly world of delays, $150 doesn't buy as much as it apparently once did though!

Pretty easy to use, features have been previously listed below. Of note though, no one has explained the dual outputs. The AD-X has two outputs, so many purchasers thought it was stereo or dual output, it's not. The output closed to the left side is the full time output - meaning all signals going into the delay comes out this output. The second output only has a signal coming from it when the delay is turned on. I'll give it a rating of 6 because this is not explained in the manual, manufactures website or any dealers websites.

Surprisingly good, in fact it rates right up their will my other analog delays. I have an old DOD Performer series analog delay, MXR Analog Delay (bought new in 1980), 2 Maxon AD80s, Maxon AD9 and a Maxon AD900. The AD900 is the reference as far as I am concerned, I have a Carl Martin DeLayla and a Hughes & Kettner Replex besides a slew of digital delays.

The AD-X does give your sound a warmer tone, a little warmer than say the Maxon's, but the Maxon's are a little clearer. The AD-X only has about 200ms of delay, so no looping here, but it does a great job of slapback rockabilly thing. There are two modes, one is delay and one is more reverb like, but not really. The second mode has more of a metallic tone to it, kind of like when you peg the regeneration on the DOD. Both modes are musical, but I have read where some people list it as reverb mode, it's not.

I used the unorthodox output arrangement to my advantage. I typically play through various amps in mono at band practice or gigs, but I will run a cable from the second output to the PA mixer and set levels so that when I hit the AD-X the whole place can't get away from my tone. I don't use this as my primary delay, that job is assigned to a Maxon AD80. For sound quality I will give the AD-X a 9, for being what it is.

I own two of these units, one new from Musician's friend and a second one used off of ebay. The seller was selling it pretty cheap because he thoguht the second output was broken. In terms of reliability the enclosure rates up there with any of my Fulltone products, but the issue internally is another story. The tube socket is mounted on a remote circuit board and the way the tube/tube socket is sandwaiched into this thing, I can understand why you regularly find them going very cheap in need of repair. You have to perform some type of yoga to get the tube out without damaging things.

Secondly, the footswitch is soldered rite into the main circuitboard. I contemplated intalling one of those miracles of the civilized world, a Fulltone 3PDT footswitch and making this unit true bypass, but this would result in surgery more advanced than most people would like to perform. So replacing a failed footswitch is more difficult than some, but it is a lot easier than replacing a TS-9 Tube Screamer's footswitch. So I will give it a rating of a 7.

I have called Godlyke (the US Distributor) more than a few times and everytime spoke with friendly informed people, so they get a 10. Have not had to use the service department, don't expect to.

I have over 300 pedals, so I think I can be objective in my rating. I love the small footprint for it being a tube powered stomp box, it does it's job pretty well, so I'll rate it a 8, I would of gave it a 9 if both outputs worked full time like the Maxon AD80 or AD9.

I have all of the Guyatone FLIP series, twelve in total, a few of which I bought from a gentleman selling them used from Australia, so they were never available to the American market. It's too bad that the AD-X doesn't have more delay time available, but I think the designers wanted only the rockabilly thing.

I play mostly rock and blues, from ZZ Top/SRV/Hendrix to old blues standards and some modern rock from time to time, so this delay applies to some of this music, but it by no means handles all of my delay needs. I would recommend that you listen to this unit before buying it. It's value may go up since Godlyke is no longer importing them and the bucket brigrade chips are going the way of the dinosaurs.
If lost would I replace? Tough question, but probably not seeing that I have alot of other gear. Rating based on price paid/sound quality/customer service/flexability - I would have to give it an 8.

Pretty much standard delay pedal controls, but you do need to futz with it a bit to get it set up for the sounds of your liking. The Input and Delat controls seem to be interactive, but like most things in life, A little effort is required to get the best out of it. There is a mode switch that seems to shift it between delays and reverbs, and I'm still getting new sounds out of it. I bought the unit used, and so I don't have amanual, but I'm getting the sounds out of it that I bought it for since about 5 minustes after I first plugged it in. What can you say about a box with knobs on it?

I've tried three digital reverbs and the Line 6 Delay modler in a vain attempt to get a warm slapback and some of the more subtle sounds you can get out of a Space Echo or Echoplex. None of them sounded very organic to me, the line 6 came the closest, but my happines with if faded fairly fast, and I found it was gathering dust.
Right out of the box I was impressed with this thing as i quickly dialed in the two main sounds I was after. Mind you, I'm not trying to capture either the Echoplex or Sapce Echo sound, if one need those sounds verbatim: get the original units. But this thing does sound very natural and warm, it integrates with the rest of my gear and is actually reasonably quiet. With a bit of manipulation of the controls, you can get a very good doubling effect as well, which I considered to be a big bonus. I'm using the delay with a 63 Fender Telecaster Custom, a 52 Les Paul goldtop, an ibanez AS-100, and a Route 101 Solimar Custom, running into a banmaster Reverb in a 2 x 10" cabint with Jensen C10Q reissues. I'm not attempting to emulate any specific artists, but I couldn't help but try some Brian Stzer-ish licks, (made me wish I had a guitar with a bigsby) The other tone that coms to mind is the delay sound on some of the early Led Zeppelin records when playing bluesy licks.

Not sure about reliability. haven't had it long, but the other guyatone stuff I've used has been pretty dependable. It seems to be ruggedly constructed from quality material If it went down at a gig I could certainly live without it.

Haven't dealt with them, they do have a nice website.

I play roots/blues/rock/country, and this pedal is right up the alley i was looking for. I've been playing for over 35 years, and am fussy about tone, and this thing has it, in addition to providing delays, it also seems to fatten my tone when it's in the chain. It doesn't seem as if Guyatone had any claims of this unit sounding like anything else, and I like the fact that it just does what it does without calling too much attention to itself. I don't know if the tube inside it is a gimmick or not, as I've often found to be the case with tubes operating at 12 volts, but the pedal does sound great, and at the settings I use, sounds very natural without adding any harshness to the tone, if you set it up right, it does seem to add a bit of overdrive, sort of like an Echoplex, but this sounds best if it is used very subtly. If I lost it, I would look for another, in fact, I'll probably scour E-bay for another one, if I can pick it up at a reasonable price: I guess they no longer make these. b Maybe a longer delay would be nice, but I didn't buy it for that, and so I'mnot too concerned, there are other devices out there if you need that sort of thing. It is also a very cool shade of pink with garish electric green script on top: always nice to spruce up the pedalboard.

Easy to get the simple slap-back delay it was designed for, but with a little imagination and too much time on your hands you can convince it do all sorts of twisted stuff. 4 knobs (clean volume-also controls input, delay volume, delay time, repeats and the switch controls short or shorter delay), outputs for clean wet, or you can run in mono.

A little noisy as almost all analog delays are (listen for the subtle hiss between notes when it's working-just the Way Huge and an old Electra I have avoid this). Nice warm slap back. It self oscillates very easily, so play a note, and twiddle the delay knob-the pitch shifts and there's a throbbing in time to the original delay. It also distorts easily, crank the input, dime the output and the input signal will come out clean, but the repeats will be distorted. Send them to different amps, EQ them differently, put some effects in between-loads of fun. I'd give it a 6 for regular sound, a 10 for wierd stuff, so an 8.

Looks solid.

No idea, never tried.

Would I buy another? probably if it was cheap. I think it's a cool studio tool, less useful except as slap back live. Kind of a shame that hardly any were delivered. Anyone tried replacing tubes to see what it does?

All's you have to do is twiddle a few knobs (4, actually) and one switch (to go between delay and reverbish type sounds). It's quite easy to get a good sound out of it, although a good sound for one person may not be good for another. Anyways, I got it without a manual, and I had absolutely no problems getting a great sound within 5 minutes.

Using an American Ash bodied Strat (stock) into a Tube Works Tube Driver into a Vox Wah (stock) and then the AD-X, to a Peavey Classic 30. I have found the effect to be extremely quiet on all settings, unless you crank the repeat time, as this gets it to self-oscillate very easily! The number one complaint on this unit is that the delay times are too short and unusable....well, 200ms, in my opinion, is very usable. Granted, I keep the "delay time" knob cranked, but it provides an excellent slapback effect and it's wonderful for thickening things up a bit. I don't really have any favorite artists that use delay much, but I really like the sound of this box. It mixes with distortion excellently, and even sounds cool with the wah. It also has stereo outs, a cool little feature if you wanted to experiment with it...

The only issue here is that it is tube powered. It's built rock solid, I can imagine stepping on this bad boy for years without problems. However, as I said, you have to be careful because of the tube inside, although I think it would be pretty hard to break it. The main issue is just tube life...also, make sure you use a power supply with this, as all delays will suck batteries like a vampire...

Well, the AD-X is no longer being made....the fellow I got it from emailed Godlyke (Guyatone's momma company, maybe?) and got some info on the pedal for me. Apparently people weren't satisfied with just the 200ms of delay time, and they had to stop production. There were about a 100 blown out a Musicians Friend and a few more at various other stores nation-wide, but supposedly these are pretty rare. Anyways, Godlyke replied quickly and was very friendly with the guy I got this from, so I would only imagine they would do the same for you...

Overall, I think this is a much better pedal than people crack it up to be. If you can get past the 200ms thing, which really isn't THAT big of a deal to me, it's awesome. Very warm and organic, one of the best delays I've heard. I'm not sure if I'll be using it on my board a whole bunch, as I'm more into blues and blues/rock music, but I will probably hang onto this pedal since it will likely increase in value as they become scarse. Good pedal, snatch one up if you can....

This is not the easiest Delay unit to use in that there are two controls that are highly interactive: Input and Delay. Time and Repeat are self explanatory. The input and delay controls seem to allow you to use this delay as an overdrive...sorta. Also, it allows you to determine the loudness of the repeats (just like normal). It takes a little while to get this sussed out, but then comes the fun.

Sounds wonderful. I love it. It excels at echo and reverb type tones. That is what it was made for (not long undulating repeats). You can do the feedback thing, you can also do the Albert Lee doubling. It sounds really warm and great. I use Reverend Rocco and Slingshot guitars (humbucker and p90 pickups, respectively), and Reverend Hellhound Combo and Halfstack.

Don't know. Seems reliable enough. I have had other guyatone products and they were fine. This does have a 12ax7 tube in it, so you can't drop kick it.

don't know

If you like roots rock, funk, classic rock, rockabilly or country, you will dig this pedal. It sounds good. One quibble, it is not true bypass, but I don't really detect any tone problems because of that. Like it alot