Ibanez DE-7 Delay/Echo

Ibanez DE-7 Delay/Echo. This pedal has three knobs (delay time, repeat, delay level), two knobs (delay time, delay/echo modes), and a footswitch (self explanitory, on/off). A trained chimp could work this unit without much frustration. If you're having trouble, may I suggest a user manual with LOTS of pictures and words in very big print. Otherwise, re-evaluate yourself why you're playing guitar in the first place.

The delay, echo, and self-oscillation modes are all easily controllable and tweakable. This is probably the easiest delay unit I've ever used.

I will rate the sound quality in three different sections on the three different modes - Delay, Echo, and Self-Oscillation.

MODE 1 - DIGITAL DELAY

I'm very impressed with the delay mode on this pedal. It manages to pull of a clean sounding delay that doesn't sound too digital or harsh. Most digital delays try to focus more on features rather than on sound, and end up sounding way too mechanical and not musically pleasing. This unit does the exact opposite, providing a very clean, unmuddy, unmechanical sound that is practically unmatched (in its price range). This would be best described in the delay sound that most people are looking for, but have not found yet.


MODE 2 - ECHO

The warmth and brilliance of tape echo, smushed into a digital pedal. This is one task that many manufactuers have tried but always failed at. Ibanez is not one of those. They have actually excelled in creating tape echo that sounds like, well...tape echo. The dark, warm, haunting sound of murky tape echo does not fall short on this pedal. This is not a cheap immitation. I've owned, heard, and tried several different analog delays, and the sound on this pedal does not disappoint. The echo mode on this pedal is just as good as, if not BETTER than the previous analog units I've tried. And the best thing is, it is not limited to short delay time (i.e. 500ms) like most analog delays are. This can go from a double-tracked 50ms, all the way to 2600ms (2.6 seconds) without blurring the edges. Amazing. Even moreso, you can get sound on sound, and play over the licks the pedal just processed. All in the beautiful soundscaping analog utopia of TAPE ECHO!! Awesome.


MODE 3 - SELF-OSCILLATION

This section is only for the noise makers. What others would call pure bliss, some would call absolute noise. They wonder why anybody would want to manufacture a unit that makes noises when you turn the knobs a certain way. Well, love it or hate it, this unit does exactly what you could want in self oscillation. The noises this pedal generates are quite similar to the end of Karma Police from Radiohead. I've also managed to get some very very freaky noises that remind me of clowns and circus music, with evil children laughing in the background -- and I'm not kidding. You can get EXACTLY those sounds by turning the knobs a certain way at the right time. You achieve this self oscillation by maxing out the repeat knob (or at least turning it more than half way) and playing various notes. Then while it's "delaying", just sit back and let it do the work. Once the noises get pretty fierce, start twisting knobs and away you go. Twisting the delay time knob to the right makes the sound go lower and sounds like your speakers are going to explode, and turning it left makes the UFO sound and the high pitched whistling-in-a-bottle-underwater type noise. You can also get factory-type industrial machinery type sounds out of this - it sounds like tin or metal being scraped or worked with in the background. VERY cool.

If you're looking for a unit that self oscillates AND sounds good, this is your unit.

I've heard so many stories about Ibanez pedals breaking, power supplies not working, the switches going bad, blah blah blah. From MY personal experience, this pedal is ROCK SOLID. My Godlyke Powerall powers this thing without any trouble at all. As far as the switch is concerned, I'm sure if you don't STOMP on it, you'll be fine. This isn't a soda can to crush for the can machines. This is a delay pedal. I tap my pedals, not stomp on them.

The pedal is fairly heavy, and it seems fine. I'm sure it will hold up for quite awhile. I've taken it to gigs, rehersals, recording sessions, meetings, etc. Still going strong.

Ibanez? Not real sure about this one...

I play alternative/hard rock/ambient/expiramental/noise-making, etc. I've been playing guitar for roughly two years. This pedal is currently my top pedal in my chain. I love it to pieces. It doesn't sound too digital or harsh, and it's not murky or dirty. It sounds just right.

It fits right in my chain :

Fender Stratocaster > Boss SD-1 > DOD Classic Fuzz > Boss CE-5 > Electro Harmonix Small Stone > Ibanez DE-7 > Behringer GM110.

Placed right after every effect, the closest to the amp.

This pedal is better than the Boss DD-3, the Boss DM-2, the Arion SAD-3, almost any pedal you can think of. I love this pedal because of its versatility and the great bargain. I chose this one because I felt it would suit my needs the best and I was right! Sometimes I can't turn the unit off! When I first got it, I played with it off and on for about three hours before I packed up and put my guitar stuff away. And matched with a volume pedal is just the king of all guitar fun. I love it. I sold the volume pedal (EB Mono Vol), but this one is here to stay!

I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a delay pedal - hilbillies, hard rockers, noise makers, or just plain guitar players! What are you waiting for?!?! ;-)

God Bless!

Update of my previous review
I've owned the de-7 for about 8 months and wish to
submit an updated review. Took a good deal of tweaking to
get the sounds I sought.

Great echo effects. It can achieve many effects associated with the tape delay units of bygone years for
a very reasonable price. I am able to imitate some of
the early Pink Floyd tape effects in the echo mode such
as in "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".

My gear never leaves the house and is treated with TLC.

Never had to deal with them.

Absolutely fabulous for the price. You get the best of
both worlds-analog echo and digital delay. There are a lot
of great sounds in this box. I've had it since 8/03 and am
still discovering its capabilities. A great effects pedal.

The unit has a huge delay time (2.6 seconds I think).
It sounds precise, bright, a bit metallic, sharp, loud.
It does not sound soft nor warm.

It's not a subtle effect by no means. This delay is meant to be used for delay based playing (U2, Muses, etc ...). It's not the kind that you want to use for adding some air/thickness to your solos.

Blues-rock players steer clear !
I'm not saying it's not useable for those, but there are better dedicated units out.

It sounds wonderful with clean arpegios (better than most other units).
It doesn't sound as good with distortion.

The switch is a big concern and a bad concept anyway.
It's likely to crap out on me very soon.
I have the new version (2 springs near to the shaft as opposed to the older ones that has the springs in the corners)

VERY VERY BAD DESIGN !

If you want to add some "air" to your solos, this is not the one you're looking for. If you're a blues/pentatonic player and want to stomp on this for your solo, look elsewhere, there are better units out there.
If delay/echo is a big part of your sound (like The edge) then this is it.
Better for rythm than for solos.
Better with cleanish tones.
Very proeminent delay that wants to take over your sound.

Well, quite easy I think, if you know your way around delays. Anyone can tweak the knobs, but to have it work and sound great within a band is another story. There was a manual included and it covered the basics, but it all boils down to just fooling around with it for a while.

I mainly use a very pretty Epiphone les paul with a bigsby tremolo. With band practise I'm forced to use a Hughes & Kettner amp (although they're not my favorites). I'm a real pedal-geek, so I've got a range of other pedals, but my main setup is: guitar, boss tu-2, pro-co RAT II, small stone phaser, DE-7, Holy Grail Reverb, amp. At home I have a vox pathfinder 15 watt, which I don't particularly like, but that's another story. The DE-7 is not noisy at all when used with a proper adapter. When it's off it doesn't seem to eat my tone away as some effectspedals do. You can get all sorts of delay effects when it is switched on, but sometimes it just gets a bit muddy when used with the band, but I've found some sweet spots. The echo is just great! Our band plays some radiohead-covers and other stuff. I would be reasonable to say we are a bit of a Radiohead wanna-be band (I wouldn't say clone, bcause we're nowhere near Radiohead). I'm the guy that does the weird effects at the end and tries to mimic Jonny Greenwood's edgy riffs... And the DE_7 is an important part of that sound. It can do the psychedelic depressed echo-y sounds quite well as well as the oscillating noises at the end of Karma Police... The only thing I don't like about it is when you switch the thing off. The delay stops emediately where I would like it to continue and die away for a while...

It's dependable. The next world tour with or band hasn't been planned yet, but I'm sure it will survive one when properly stored in a flightcase. You don't want to smash it against the wall, but hey, these pedals are not ment to be smashed against walls. I'm not sure it would survive a fall down a flight of stairs either. Don't abuse it. If you're nice to it it wll be nice to you.

never dealt with them

Well, I already told you we play Radiohead covers. The DE-7 fits in nicely. I've been playing for about 4 years now and still no good, but I like toying around with my effects. I would surely buy it again if it broke down, especially for the price. I'd like to try a space-echo, but I don't have the cash. I've choosen this unit over the boss dd's. Mainly because it's just as good (or maybe better)at a fraction of the price. It's a very inspiring unit and although I try to blend it in the music we make it often stands out and gives a new demensoin to the song.

I would say that this pedal is very easy to use. I has a time knob, repeat knob, and level knob; you know, moron stuff. It has a switch for delay mode and analog echo mode. The other switch is for the delay range, but if you don't know what the numbers mean, just fool around with the switches and see what they do. These controls are simple and effective and are easy on those of us with higher blood pressures.

First, my setup. I am currently using a Fender Highway 1 Strat, a Crate GX212 combo, a Boss Super Phaser, and I am now glad to add the DE-7 to my setup. It sounds great with my equipment (especially when I use the phaser and the delay together). I can easily replicate the effects-antics of Mike Enziger of Incubus and Omar Rodriguez of The Mars Volta. One of my favorite things to do with this pedal is make noise though. Try it: put the pedal on echo mode and turn the repeat knob all the way up. The signal oscillates and becomes increasingly loud; and if you fool around with the time knob, you can make some cool swooshing noises like Todd Weinstock of Glassjaw. Other than that, the delay mode goves you smooth and flawless repeats while the echo mode does the same and a little more.

Well, I just got it, so I don't really know yet. The pedal seems to be built to take a pretty good amount of abuse, and I don't abuse my pedals very much.

It's a wait-and-see.

I play a small range of styles including some funk, jazz-fusion (kind of) and a "hardcore-esque" style (I'm VERY lousy with the categories, but I assure you I don't play Emo and definitely not Punk). In the short time that I've played, I found my self absolutely despising delays, but falling in love with this one. I would definitely buy this pedal over a Boss delay (even though Boss makes some pretty solid stuff). I love its simplicity, and it looks cool too. If it was lost or stolen, I would definitely buy another. This pedal is beyond great for the price and is a MUST-BUY for the less-wealthy musician longing for a dealy, or anyone who just wants one.

This is with refernce to the adapter issue. Just bought a DE7 and expected problems after reading some of these reviews. Got the guy
in the store to test a standard multi-adapter (#7, about $10) for me and it worked. Got the unit home and tried it with my 2 other multi-adapters running my Boss CE-5 and Dano Fab-Tone (all 3 different brands, output 300-500mA) they all work just fine. I can only guess that some people have had polarity issues. If the polarity at the jack-plug is reversed, it obviously won't function at all. So there you go. Enjoy.

Easy to use.

UPDATE:
If you want a great digital/analog delay get the DE-7! The delay section gives you precise,hearty repeats at long or short intervals...CLEAN.
If you like the DM-2,but can't afford one,the DE-7 can do the job...and more! Since it has it's own delay volume knob,you can let the DE-7 "BLOW-UP"(oscillate)all it wants,without damaging your speakers.Plus,it gets longer repeats.Tweak the rate knob and your space ship can land or take off.
I don't leave home without it!

These boxes are kinda frail.I know it's supposed to be a "stompbox".But if you stomp it too hard,knock it around or get it dirty,YOU'RE ASKING FOR TROUBLE!
It's NOT a Boss.
I managed to fix the switch though.

Too bad,Ibanez makes some cool stuff.

Very good!Had mine for 2yrs. and it's "still alive and well".I think DE-7's have better tone than most of the Roland/Boss stuff and can really get WILD!You have total control of all of it's aspects.I just wish it were stereo.My DD-3 was a little too thin sounding,so I sold it to a friend...he's happy.But my DE-7 gets NO REST!
I use it all the time.

STOP SAYING SILLY THINGS ABOUT THE ADAPTER PROBLEM. The ibanez one is not special but it's simply a STABILIZED adpter, that is required for many other pedals (my morley wah is fucking noisy and quite worthless with a non-stabilized adapter). I just bought a stab. 850 mA adapter and it works perfectly connected in parallel with the delay, the wah and two dist pedals, just warms a lot but that's an ampere problem... and it was just 10 ?...

Relatively easy to use-takes some tweaking to get the
sound you seek.

Sounds good (especially on the echo mode) with a good
chorus pedal.Make no mistake, though, this is a digital
box with all its conotations.Nails the David Gilmour sound
pretty well(the main reason I bought it).Seems to interact
well with my other pedals.

Haven't owned it very long to comment on this aspect.
Seems quite sturdy, though.Easy to turn off and on, unlike
some of my other beloved pedals.

Never had to deal with Ibanez.

Good pedal for my style.Very versatile with 3 delay
modes and the echo mode.Definately not a toy. Seems well
built and a good value for the price.Lots of good sounds
to be had. Buy an Ibanez AC-109 adapter-it has a voracious
appetite for 9 volt batteries.

I think its pretty easy to use. Im not a fan of alot of pedals in my setup. Nor am I a fan of pedals with too many features. This one however was alot of fun to experiment with. I dont use the delay much but the echo is killer. The manual for it is boring, so I threw it away and started experimenting with it. The pop up buttons are a nice touch. Once you find a good setting, just push em down and you cant accidently reposition them.

Sound quality its ok on a clean or chorus setting. In the echo mode it deteriorates if distortion is used and the echo volume and depth (length of time the echo goes on) is too high. Generaly this can be avoided since too much volume and depth can get you lost after awhile unless you are playing the same three notes over and over again.
I use a Les Paul through a Dunlop Wah, Ibanez distortion, Ibanez delay, Johnson Chorus, Danelectro EQ to a Marshall AVT50 half stack.

I have had it for a couple years and gigged with it numerous times. I have read here that the pedal will not work with any adapter other than the Ibanez power supply. Mine works fine with a standard five plug loop (used to supply power to this and other pedals) and a generic power adapter. I beleive its a Realistic power adapter from radio shack.

Never had a problem, so Ive never dealt with customer support

I play mostly rock, blues, and metal. This pedal works well in all situations. Ive been playing for over 20 years. If it were stolen, I would probably replace it with the same one, although I am tempted to see how well other brands sound since this is my first real echo pedal. I would say that this pedal is probaly somewhere between a cheapo and an expensive one by the way its constructed. Its not cheap plastic but its not a metal tank either. Good value for the money.