Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler

This pedal sounds great, and captures the qualities that made the original pedals classics. But that said, a pedal that is so sophisticated has one obvious set back. I hate the fact that I only have 3 presets. I mean, I have so much to play with and no way of storing it. I am constantly manually turning knobs in the middle of songs to get suitable delay sounds. I'm sure future editions of this pedal will address this limitation. Otherwise it sounds great and I love it. Just frustrated, I guess.

I'll just say what I don't like: The control taper on the knobs isn't consistent, so they are very touchy toward the upper end of their range. Getting your sound would be faster if the taper were more even or if there were a numerical readout.

If you can adjust the in/out levels of your effects loop, the DL-4 works just fine, so you can ignore the review that mentioned this. I use mine in the effects loop of an ART DST-4, which has +4/-10 level switches for the in/out jacks, with no problems.

I don't know how the delay models compare to the originals, but they all sound great on their own.

Looks & feels very solid.

Its easy, but you need to understand that when you call up a patch, the physical knob settings won't reflect those of the patch - people used to vitual analogue synths will feel right at home here. Footpedal use opens up modulations that a guitar player would need an assistant for with another product.

Its very quiet in two ways: first there's very little noise, second it operates at guitar pickup level so you need to be careful setting it up if using with a keyboard, as digital overload is not pleasant in a conventional way. It wants to be in front of a preamp, not after it.

Its very solid.

Answered emails promptly, though I did get a sale person replying when I needed a techy, seconf time lucky though.
NOTE: for UK users, a cheap alternative to the Line6 power supply (#32.50 from distributor) is Tandy's Mains Adaptor for NINTENDO SNES / Control Deck - Radioshack part no 273-7031 - costs a fiver!

Excellent looper, excellent delays.

It's a no brainer - knobs and switches. Dial it until you get the sound that you like.

The manual seems comprehensive.

This thing has been very inspiring. I'm now taking my playing to new levels.

I've always worked with minimal effects boxes (Real tube distortion and / or wah). I've never been into running stereo until now.

I'm running the DL4 with a Gibson L6S Deluxe, Fender Blues Deluxe and a solid-state Crate thing for my other channel.

I'm infatuated with the unit. Of course, maybe it's just that I've never run stereo or delay.

I've only had it for a couple of days.

n/a

I usually play clean or with moderate tube distortion, modern rock type stuff. I've been in bands for the last 5 years or so.

I'm very inspired. With this unit I can take my playing to new levels. I didn't compare it to other units. Hey, I didn't even try this thing in the store. I will buy the expression pedal and will probably buy the MM4. I'd buy another if it were stolen.

this unit is as easy as it gets. plug in, twiddle the knobs until you hear something you like, and play. no different than any other effects box; just a few more features. editing patches is a sinch, although i would have liked it if they would have included the factory settings in the manual. the manual is clear and concise, though they don't mention that you can get 28 sec of sampling by hitting the 1/2 speed button before recording (mabey it's self explanitory and i'm ignorant).

the sounds in this box are just fine. i could probably find a use for all of them. does it sound like tape delay or analog? who cares, it sounds good and you can tweak them much more than most other units. my friend has a tape delay, and besides his making way more noise, i can't say i hear a big difference. the analogs are warm on this unit. the low fi sounds are very subtle and cool. i really dig that sweep echo for it's ambiance. i can't really decide if the expression pedal is useable. you can do some pretty cool laser space effects with it, but it's not something you would want to use alot. it's better to use the tap button for changing delay times on the fly.

it's built pretty solid. who can afford a backup? just take your chances i guess. i would rather they put in an internal power supply, not a wall wart. mount this sucker on a pedal board or get a truck load of batteries; this cord won't last long with frequent gigs

you want a delay that sounds good, is versitile (tonal and mechanical) a whole bunch for very little $. try it.

This pedal is easy to use with the manual. And hard with out!
You can figure out it out in an hour or two if you have any experience with any other type of delay pedals or echoplex or other pedals with sampling capabilities. As for the expression pedal use I haven't taken the time to master that. The manual should have explained it more clearly I think.

To me the effects in this unit are all but useless compared to the actual pedals it was designed after. There isn't a single effect on here with the exception of the sample feature that can take what you play and take the sound as is and delay it. It has tone all it's own which seems to be kind of dry. The only alive sounds you can get are when you mess with the rate with the repeat on full. As for the sample feature that is great simply wonderful I would buy it again for this function. You can have about 24 sec of sample on half speed. And for precise looping it's all up to the timing of your foot with this one. It can reverse your loops too!

It is very dependable. I would feel comfortable have a modified echoplex as back up. But I have to buy one first! :D

these guys called me up in the middle of the day to see if I wanted to go to a line 4 excuse me 6 class, and learn more about line 6's but I knew there would be so many idiots there asking dumb questions. Besides there is nothing they could teach me that would help me. I don't need help with it.

I simply couldn't stand the looks of this thing so I removed the paint to reveal a much more pleasing color of muddy silver! I removed the decals as I can memorize any setting I need for later. But I just use the sample effect mostly. "F" resale value someone would buy this piece from me just cause of it's cool modified looks, and the sample feature!!!

This unit is not that difficult to use,It just has alot of delay models and perameter possibilities.The manual is well written and easy to understand.Editing patches is not difficult again just a little time and experimentation will be required.

I have been reading some of the previous reviews on the DL4 and here is my spin.I think the rave reviews are abit over the top and I also feel the pedals detractors are a bit ruthless.This padal is not an echo-plex(Im sorry but you cant touch the real deal)but this pedal is pretty cool.Let me tell you how I came about purchasing my DL4,I was ripped off,so I had no delay pedal,to top it off my EP-2 was being repaired so I needed a delay(I cant play without one).I had previuosly tried out the DL4 and decided to get one,The pedal got me through my gigs.My only complaint is the coloration.when I played say my fuzz straight to the amp and then clicked the DL-4 on ,I heard the difference,yeah I got a nice sounding delay but a coloration that I did not like.I have not tried it through the effects loop but this may be the answer to the prpblem.I will keep this pedal around because the loop function is so hip and, I love the bakwards function as well.

This baby is built as good as they come.THis padal wont need back up.

Line6 people are very cool and helpfull.

Again, I feel all the guys saying that this pedal nails all these delay sounds are a bit fanatical. The similations are pretty good but not the real deal, but on the other hand who wants to hall around all of these old units to gigs?and maintain them?If you dont have an echo-plex you wont miss it will you.

Sorry, it's not easy to use. A distortion pedal is easy to use. This takes some getting used to... especially the fact that the "Tweak" and "Tweez" knobs perform different fucntions depending on which mode you are in. Luckily, the manual is really clear and easy to understand. If you're curious, you can print it out from their website (which I did before I bought it).
I didn't buy this pedal because I thought it would be easy to use. I bought it for the wide range of features.
One recommendation: Once you dial in a setting you like, WRITE DOWN THE POSITION OF THE KNOBS IMMEDIATELY. If you save over a setting (accidentally or on purpose), God help you if want to find it again. It can be done, but it will take you quite some time if you don't have your notes.
Another recommendation: when writing down your settings, I've found that the traditional "o'clock" settings are inadequate. Some knobs (especially delay rate) yeild a VERY wide response between say 10:00 and 11:00.

My setup: American Standard Telecaster - (whatever distortion I happen to like at the time) - DL4 - Ampeg Reverberrocket 1X12.
It's true bypass (although you can turn it off), so it's not noisy (but the way the Tele buzzes, it's not like I'd notice if it was).
I play in a band with a spaced-out, hypno-indie rock sound, and this thing works GREAT for our songs. Although this thing has many cool and useful settings, it really took me a long time to find three that were "just right." My favorites are the Space Echo setting, the sweep echo setting, and (total surprise to me) the Memory Man setting.

I really have only had it for about two months, so I can't really say. Seems solid. So far it's nothing but smooth sailing.
I have gigged with it already... without a back up (this thing costs $250, how am I going to buy a back up?), and it performed just great.

Haven't had to deal with em.

I've heard a lot of people (most of whom it appears didn't actually buy the unit) slagging it because it doesn't sound EXACLTY like the vintage effects it is supposed to (key word) EMULATE. Well, duh!
I have to admit that I've never used a Space Echo. But I have heard recordings that it was used on. And for the money, I'd say the DL4 APPROXIMATES the sound very, very well. Same with the Echoplex and the Memory man. But then, I wasn't looking for an exact replica of the originals (nor did I expect to find one). I was hoping that this thing would get me close enough. And I am completely happy with what I got for my money.
If I could afford a Space Echo, an Echoplex and a Deluxe Memory Man, don't you think I would just roll on up to the vintage boutique in my Mercedes, waltz through the door, pull back the lapel of my Armani suit, pull out my bulging money clip and slap $2,500 in cash on the counter ("No, no my good man. You keep the change.")

So, now after defending the DL4, I do have some critiques.
1. The buttons are too darn close together. On a darkened stage, you really have to pay a lot of attention to which switch you're stepping on. But, to be fair, I do have ridiculous boats for feet, so this is not strictly Line 6's fault.
2. I wish there was a way to turn the pre-loop delay off and on while using the Loop Sampler. Once you've got the loop sampler selected, the delay is on. You can turn the loop on and off, but that delay is there for good (unless you turn the delay time knob all the way counterclockwise, and then it's all the way off, and you have to crank the knob to turn it back on... and that's no good). It would be much more effective (especially in a live setting, for my purposes, anyway) if the delay on the loop sampler could be turned off and on with one of the footswitches (I'd gladly sacrifice the admittedly cool but completely impractical "half speed/reverse" function).
3. I wish they had just made the power supply part of the unit. It's ludicrous to expect to run this thing off of batteries.
4. I've complained many times that analog delays have too little delay time. This time I've got to go the other way. I think there's too much delay at times here. Much of the usable delay lies between 10:30 and 12:00 o'clock on the delay time dial. That's only about one third of the knob's full range, but about 2ms to 500ms are packed in that small space. That means you have to be VERY precise and careful when cranking that knob around. A little tiny nudge can have a dramatic effect.

Well, so it's not perfect. Oh, well. I still love it. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for vintage style delay effects who, like me, can't afford the real thing.

If I lost it or it was stolen, I'd be one very sad dude. And, God help me, I'd fork over another $250 ($265 if they stole the adapter too) to buy myself a new one.

this is an extremely easy to use box. i am using it mostly for creating loop based music, and i had great loops going ten minutes after i opened it. the delay modeling half is easy to get great sounds out of, the only tricky thing is remembering what the tweek and tweeze knobs do, but the manual does a fine job of explaining that.

i am using a steinberger guitar wired with a piezo pickup to capture the sound of me drumming on the guitar and the trans trem system for lowering the tuning to play basslines. the loops are fed to a lexicon reverb unit, mostly to liven up the drum sounds a bit, and then into a pearce g2r. it captures the sounds well, even when i layer the loops on like crazy. the first loops you lay down fade out as you overdub new parts, but this just enables the loops to change and evolve. i can start with a mellow african groove, and slowly turn it into a scary dub reggae groove, live! i love it.
as for the delay sounds, they seem to work just fine for me. i usually use the analog with mod (memory man setting) or rhythmic delay setting for creepy dub effects. i have not a/b tested it with the boxes it is modeling, but i am perfectly happy with the way it sounds in my rig. i am not overly concerned about noise, but this unit seems very quiet.

i have had it for about three months and have been gigging rigorously without a backup. it seems to be very sturdy. like i said, i hope to get another one to use in my live settup, so that one would sort of serve as a backup i guess. it is so much cheaper than other looping machines out there (jam man, boomerang, echoplex) that you could conceivably buy a dedicated backup, but i dont feel like i need to.

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this thing is perfect for what i am doing. for anyone who wants a cheap, but nice machine for creating ambient or otherwise loops, i highly recomend this unit. it is a huge help to my practice time as well as its amazing potential in live band or solo situations. if i were just using it for delays, it might be a little too much for me. i just want a subtle thickening here and there for the most part, so all the models to choose from are a bit wasted on me. as a looping tool, it is an indespensable part of my life. i spend countless hours looping, changing, evolving, mutating. i have progressed musically at a much greater pace than before i incorporated this into my daily practice. it has enhanced my sound with the band i am playing in, live and in the studio, and i now have the option of taking solo guitar gigs (you can create some very convincing drum and bass grooves with the setup i am now using). it inspires me to make music. if it was lost or stolen, i would consider a boomerang, those look very nice, but considering my budget and my attatchment to the one i have now, i would probably grab another.

I found it so easy to get sounds out of this that literally five minutes into a store demo I knew I had to have it. Editing patches is easy, love the Tap Tempo switch. I took off one point for this: even though I have no problem with only 3 programs that can be saved, I wish there were a way for you to retain your favorite settings of each of the 16 models, even if only 3 can be saved to the footswitches (for instance, if I manually turn it to "Reverse" it would go to the last setting I had for it rather than going back to the factory preset each time). A minor quibble, but one worth mentioning

Here's where this thing really shines. I'm a professional player and am often called upon to play many different types of guitars and this sounds consistently great through all of them, mostly Strats and Tele's and Jerry Jones, Godin acoustic-electrics, you name it. I use either a Rivera or Mesa Mk1 combo amp and it sounds great through either, either in front or through the effects loop. I feel this is really the key point - I don't know about how well it 'models' any of the things it claims it does. I even own a few of the originals and have never even been tempted to AB them because the sounds on the DL-4 are so good I like them in and of themselves, regardless of how well it imitates anything else. Plus, having such a wide range of great sounds in one box makes it a gigging must. My absolute favorite guitar innovation in the last five years, without a doubt

Very rugged, still pretty young though. So far, so good

So far so good here as well. My questions usually get answered and it's pretty easy getting a hold of someone who knows what they're talking about

I'm called upon to do everything from rock, R&B, country, in their more mainstream permutations and lots of other offbeat projects, including touring with a West African vocalist, a group doing a cross between middle eastern music and Weather Report, a 21-piece rock orchestra and sessions for sountracks doing lots of Daniel Lanois/David Torn type sonic texture stuff and this has been consistent in delivering the goods in whatever situation every time. For me, indespensible