Guyatone MD3 Micro Digital Delay

If you're accustomed to delay pedals, it's easy. I don't have a manual.

my setup: tele>>>Carl Martin compressor>>>fulltone CS dejavibe>>>Budda phatman (with Raytheon blackplate 12AX7s>>>Budda Wah>>>old TS 10>>>MD3>>>>Gibson GA51RV. Very happy with the tone. I can't detect a change in tone quality with this in or out of my signal path. This surprises me because I'm an anti-digital fanatic. Other delays I've tried (and sold!) have drastically messed up my tone( Boss, danelectro, Akai headrush). It has a very little bit of that hi end "ping" quality but NOTHING compared to other digital delays. It's just warm enough but not so warm that it's muddy.

I don't need a backup. It doesn't seem like the breaking kind and I've done lots of gigs with my tape delay without backup and they DO break.

don't know for sure but the people at Godlyke helped with tapes for my tape delay (also Guyatone - RTE 3000)

I've played 40 years and have a lot of stuff. I mostly like to play party-dance stuff. pop-rock, R+B, rockabilly. I have used my tape delay for 1 and 1/2 years - lots of hours on it. The deal is I LOVE the tape delay sound in my living room ( it has that pseudo-chorused sound from the tape warble) The reality is that in a big room with the sound bouncing all around it's a different deal - the tape echo is muddy and lacks punch. This little digital box sounds better - it cuts better. If you like listening to your hi end analog gear in your living room with the wall to wall carpet go buy a tape echo (the Guyatone is nice) but if you play in wooden bars this little box is actually preferrable. I can't believe I'm saying this since I'm such a no-digital snob. My tape delay is back in the box.

Pretty straight forward and easy to use if you are at all familiar with delay pedals. There are knobs for effect mix, delay time and repeat. There's a micro-mini switch adjacent to the delay time control for short-med-long (et this first and then use the knob to dial in the exact desired delay time). I bought this used, so no manual, but it really doesn't need one. Very simple.

I was skeptical when this pedal was suggested to me as I can sometimes be a bit of a gear snob, but this is exactly the type of delay I was looking for. It is digital, but not at all harsh or overly sterile. It sounds very analog - smooth and warm. Complements the rest of my signal path very nicely (Solid and Semi-hollow body guitars -> Fulltone Clyde Deluxe Wah -> Carl Martin Compressor -> Tech 21 NYC Double Drive -> Voodoo Lab Sparkle Drive -> Guyatone MD3 -> Fulltone Fat Boost -> Fender Custom Vibrolux Reverb). I generally use this delay for a slapback type effect for some Setzer-like rockabilly tones, but I play all kinds of music and will use the pedal for longer delays and it shines for all styles of music. I might also add that this pedal is not true bypass, but it really doesn't need to be. I can detect no difference in tone when this is in or out of my signal path. It's invisible when it is off and completely quiet and transparent when engaged.

I have no issues or concerns with Guyatone products. Hasn't let me down yet.

Never had to deal with them.

Probably the best delay pedal (for my needs) that I have ever played. It has all the quality of the best rack-mount effects but the analog character of the more vintage units. Just a great pedal.

This pedal is very easy to use. 3 knobs: Effect Level, Delay Time and Feedback and a 3-way switch: S, M, L delay times. You don't need a manual; be a man and tinker with it for 5 minutes. You'll master this thing before lunch is ready.

My set-up:
Telecaster-->Tube screamer TS-9 (tone)-->Tube screamer TS-9(gain)-->MD3 Delay--'77 Fender Deluxe Reverb.

The pedal is very quiet. As the other blokes said, it sounds like a true bypass deal. With all of the knob settings turned down, you can kick the switch 'off' and 'on' repeatedly and not hear any difference in amp noise.

I looked at other pedals, but I bought this one because has the self-oscillating feature. If you turn the feedback knob to '10' and strike a note(s), a gradual building up of noise occurs. You can tweak the delay time knob and it makes the sickest sounds! I could just sit here and play chords and warp their frequencies up and down for hours!!1

But if you're less adventurous than that and just want a clean sounding delay, I'll tell you that feedback noise isn't the MD3's key selling point--it's unbridled performance is. I love the slapback delay! It sounds very natural and unprocessed, as do the other, longer delays. You can hear samples of this pedal on www.guyatone.com -- go check it out, if you want.

Let me repeat, this pedal is clean as a baby's wet ass! Your tone will be as pure as a debutante on the day before the High School Prom. "Ohhh, snap!"

I just got this thing, so it's hard to calculate it's long term reliability. The construction isn't as solid as I'd prefer (it's very lightweight and tiny), but it's seems steady enough. If you're anything like me you don't thrash your equipment because you're on a budget and you need shit to last.

This company seems tight. They have a great website, so I imagine they'd be very accomodating to your questions and such.

This pedal can be used for any style! ANY! Like I said, you play clean rockabilly blues or noisy destructive anthems (like a feedback fiend) and this pedal will "turn your love around", Benson style.

One thing that I found interesting/strange is the rubber gasket battery seal. Some people seem to like this. I prefer the TS-9 battery lid--thats how they all need to do it, dammit! I am kind of worried about accidently ripping the seal of the MD3, then being "eff-ed" with no battery cover. We'll see.

I've played for 9 yrs, so I've seen all kinds of effects come and go. This seems like a legit purchase. It really is a good value if you're a sensible musician who wants a non-digitized tone, and more options than the other leading pedal (ahem, *coughcough*BOSS*cough*) can bring.

Very easy to use if you're familiar with delays. Manual was fairly sparse. Gets you headed in the right direction, though. Your standard delay layout: effect level, delay time, and feedback, in addition to a slide switch for short, medium, and long delays.

Incredible value for the money. Reminds me of rack delays it is so clean. In fact, I think of it as the perfect compromise between an analog delay (in the fact that it isn't very harsh and cold) and a good digital delay (doesn't muddy up or incorporate a lot of IC noise. It will, however get noisy on extremely long repeats with the delay tone knob past 3:00. This is where the 3-way slide switch comes into play. If you are encountering the processor noise associated with pushing the delay time too far, on say, the short delay setting, you can just push the knob up to the medium setting and you instantly have much longer delay times at less extreme levels of the delay time knob. I find this to be an incredibly useful feature. I know processor noise is not typically seen in digital delays but analog, but I feel it's a fair trade for the pristine repeats you get with the md-3.

seems a bit shoddy, but it is fairly new, so I can't really say....

I play everything out there except for country... I use this for the more psychedelic/experimental/modern rock formats I play. I've been playing 10 years. If there's a delay out there, be it analog or digital, I've probably owned it. I really like this for it's neutral sound and low price. The boss stuff always sounded very artificial to me. I currently own a Hughes & Kettner replex, but I think this might replace it for it's cleaner sound and better behavior in bypass. I am ratiung this on a price/performance ratio, of which it could compete with anything.

very easy to get good sounds right out of the box,there are 3 controls and a toggle switch for dialing up short-medium-long delays.

I bought this pedal after my Dan-Echo died on me,I must say the sound of this little unit is far superior than the Dan-Echo.The sounds I get go from rockabilly slapback to arena rock delays the guyatone is extremely versatile and very simple,the delays are also very clean and crisp with no coloration what so ever.

I have put it on my pedal board to stay and find very reliable there is a heavy duty foot switch on it.

Never dealt with them

overall I think this pedal is a great bang for the buck,it sounds warm compared to other more sterile sounding digital delays,has a very wide delay time 20/sec to 2600/sec and very versitile,if you like going from slapback to more adventurous delays this is the pedal for you.

Relatively easy to use. 3 knobs and small switch to select delay length. Very easy to use. Be a little easier to use on stage if the switch to select delay length was a little larger. Other than that, dialing in the setting you want is easy. I don't have the manual anymore, but if I'm remebering right, it was the generic Guyatone manual that comes with all their Micro effects.

Works awesome. Delay sounds are clear and pleasant sounding. No distortion or coloring to my ears. Not overly bright, like a lot of digital delays are either. Also, doesn't seem to meess up the signal when it's off. Not noisy at all -- very, very quiet.

I use it mostly for solos or quiet accents in the background and it works terrific.

Totally dependable. It's been on my pedal board (and taking up very little real estate) for about 6 months now and no problems what so ever. Haven't even thought about getting a back up. Footswitch is built good, knobs are solid,casing is really nice. I've heard people dog Guyatone for the way they set up the battery compartments, but no complaints here. Not as indestructable as an MXR pedal, but about 90% of the way there.

Now, one thing and I guess would go under reliability. This thing will eat a battery. If you use it, use a power supply. It really suprised me how much power this thing draws. I'v got an SKB pedalboard with an internal powersupply and it bogged the whole board down. Had to put a battery in the delay to get power back to the rest of the board so my other effects powered off the board would work.

Except for the batteries, this pedal would be a 10.

Never had to deal with them. Sent in the warranty when I got it and haven't heard anything.

Can't give this one a rating because I never had to deal with them

I paly everything from Zepplin to contemporary Christain and this pedal works for everything. I've been playing for 16 years and it's the best delay I've ever owned.

It suprsed me how good this pedal was. I bought a Wah Rocker and that pedal was very disappointing -- completely unusable -- terrible sound. But as bad as the wah rocker is, this pedal is good.

Looked at Boss delays mostly. Read the reviews of the Guyatone and very smartly went with it. Thought about the Line 6 delay modeler also-- too much money for me.

Only thing I wish it had was a larger switch for the delay length selection that you can move with your foot on stage.

It's a good pedal. If you're looking for a delay this is a great one.

Simple to use. No need to fuss with input/output levels. Level sets the mix, delay time sets the number of ms, feedback controls how many repeats. Turning feedback all the way up will cause the unit to self oscillate.

Sounds superb. Does not color the original signal, very quiet. I've tried it in the effects loop as well as straight in the input and was pleased with the results either way. Switching on and off is silent. What I really like is the fact that it sounds really natural, doesn't have a digital signature to it. It really does behave more like an analog delay.

It's new, so time will tell, but it feels ruggedly built. I bought the AC power supply for it as well, so no need to deal with the rubber gasket. I do like the rubber gasket though, makes it easy to change the battery if you had to and keeps the unit from sliding around.

Excellent value for the money.

same as below

Exceptionally natural sounding without having true bypass. I was thoroughly impressed. It does exactly what they said.......Not any warmer, colder, ...etc. There is no change in tone when you activate the delay. Which is the best part, you can't hear any pops or tone change or anything just the delay is added. That blew me away without true-bypass. I run it thru the front input not the effects loop. That's maybe why the person below heard that noise they said. I have NOT heard that noise at all.

Supposedly it eats batteries so I have the power plug. The rubber gasket was clever but I did not like it. Just get a power plug for it and you'll be fine.

Outstanding Value!! If you told me this was a true-bypass delay unit I would have believed you. My rig consists of: Marshall JCM 2000 DSL 50 w/ JJ's, Marshall 1936 cab w/ Celestion Vintage 30's, Spoonful Overdrive Unit (true bypass), Fulltone wah (true-bypass), Guyatone MD-3, Carvin DC127 stock and Fender Strat Plus w/ Kinmans.

If you understand delay, this is fairly simple to use. Maybe the small switch for choosing between 3 different areas of delay time will throw someone off if they don't understand it, or don't know what range of delay time they prefer prior to using it. Otherwise, its easy to use.

I like the delay, but I'm adding my review because I notice something no one else has really mentioned here. I didn't notice this for at least a week or two after I bought it. The pedal in and of itself is only slightly noise - in that it only adds a little bit of noise to the overall signal on itis own. What is strange is that when I play a note, the first delay repeat adds a distinct hum sound over the notes of the repeat (and hence the overall mix coming out of the amp). It's most audible on the first repeat because it is the loudest, but it may be in the others as well. It is very noticable and annoying once you hear it. If you dont play anything note there is no hum, and the original unaffected note doesn't have any hum either - if you dial down the level of delay mix all the way so that you hear the normal signal only, you dont hear any hum. It only comes along with the repeats. Now, the signal doesn't sound that harsh, it sound fairly natural, it doesnt sound excessively digital on the repeats, and only higher notes (say, E and B string avobe the 12th fret) cause that very slight digital "shh" sound to be added to the repeats, so the processing level is decent enough. In a live mix this hum isn't going to be that noticable by any means, unless your cranked through the house and are the only one playing, in which this all will be at best slightly noticable to a few people in the crowd examining your tone more than your notes. So for some it woont be a big deal at all
Its not a rack unit, so it might be wrong to expect it to perform with that type of quality. I'm not slamming the pedal, i'm just hoping to pass on some information to would-be buyers to make a more aware and satisfying purchase.
The gear I'm currently using is as follows: G&L legacy [or a Gibson SG] => Fulltone Clyde => Phase 45 (true bypassed) => Route 66 (sometimes)=> Rivera M60 => (effects loop) Boss EQ => Morley Volume Pedal => The MD3 => back into the amp. It may be that I'm experiencing this mostly because its through the effects loop, but I have tried setting different levels for the loop and such in case it was just a problem with the signal of the effects loop being too strong for it - that only made the repeat hum more or less drastic, but did not at all remove it. It could also be because of an adaptor, though I don't remeber the hum goingaway the few times 've use it with a battery, as I wasn't listening, and even so, using a battery all the time is impractical. It possible that this is from how I am using it, so I dont want to assume its all the pedal, but at the same time, I'm fairly sure I'm not doing anything too out of the ordinary with it that would cause it to hum the way it is - that is, only with repeats. Your best bet is to use your ears and see if you find the same thing.

The pedal seems reliable, but I try to treat my gear well. It sticks mainly to a pedalboard, so it's seen little abuse other than being shoved in my guitar case for testing out other gear at the gutar store (delay is important to my sound and infludences how I play, so I bring it with me to test gear). Seems like it could take a beating and has a generally study metal case, but I wouldn't take it on a rigorous tour without a back up by any means. The stomp switch doesn't seem much use (I keep delay on basically all the time) and it doesn't seem sturdy enough to take constant abuse. Still, its not flimsy and will work for practice use and weekly gigs.

This pedal works and was an upgrade from the terrible Ibanez soundtank digital delay I was using. Ive been playing for 9 years thus far, and am fairly picky about tone. I might not have gotten it simply because its not true bypass, but I use delay all the time so that doesnt matter to me for a delay pedal. I don't know if I can say it affects the sound substantially, but its digital..its basically inevitable. Still, thats nitty gritty stuff unless you have the money to be a complete purist (buying or modding everything to true bypass). This hum really gets to me though, and makes me want a new delay (if money wasnt an issue, I would probly have something else by now). This helps my sound overall, and as I said before, if used tastefully, a mix of delay adds quite a dimention to ones sound (it does for me at least, and countless other pro's). If this was stolen, I'd fork out the cash for something else most likely. I chose this one becayse Guyatone seems respectable, it had the features I wanted (inexpensive but not cheap, up to and over 500ms of delay time, good reviews, seemed quality), and I was hoping to finally have a solid delay that I never had to think about again. The hum think defiantely frustrates me and makes me go "I should spring for a new delay." Delay helps me make music, but the hum gets in the way, for me. If your considering this pedal, just check it out, crank the repeats and delay level and see if the hum is audible. If it is, that trust me, it will come back to haunt you if your a tone nut even when the levels are lower. If not, than play on, it will do the job!

This pedal is not the easiest to use pedal I've ever used but it's as easy as it gets for a digital delay. That's why I'm giving it a 10. The knobs are easy to use/understand, and the micro switch (that selects between SLOW/MEDIUM/LONG delay times) is as easy to use as a Boss.

I play a Strat w/ active EMGs (SSH) through a Fender Ultimate Chorus. I use a true bypass strip to bring my effects into or take them out of the signal chain so I don't "technically" run this pedal into others unless I want all the effects on.
This lil' guy is smooth & rich. Kinda like a Cuban cigar. I bought this pedal hesitantly when my Boss MD-3 kicked the bucket (NO* BOSS PEDALS ARE NOT INDESTRUCABLE!!!!!) and I realized I don't need all the bells and whistles. A friend of mine steered me onto Guyatone pedals recently (also own the Wah Rocker and the OD-2 Overdrive) and I thought I'd try the MD-3 first AND I'M GLAD I DID!
I play modern pop/rock covers (Incubus, Creed, Nickelback) and can nail any cover sound I need to w/ this pedal. I've uncovered some "natural" un-digital sounds in there too.

This pedal is tough. Unlike some who bash Guyatone for using a rubber surround to hold the bottom in place, I think it's a great design and the fast battery change that the design allows has saved my but more than once. I've always used the MD-3 w/ a power supply but use batteries in my OD-2 and the rubber is in great condition after dozens of battery changes.
Only reason I give it a 9 is because of the plastic knobs and the jacks. I have no worries about them failing, but metal would be more sturdy.

Never dealt w/. Sent in 3 warranty cards but have never heard back from them.

This pedal is great. It is very versatile and I love the fact that it accepts a Boss adaptor. I can't imagine ever needing another delay unless this one was stolen (in which case I would find the perp and bound & gag him to a chair and throw lawn darts in his general vicinity while blidfolded right before rushing to the music store to buy another)!
I love this pedal.