Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler

Easy to get good sounds, easy to use. Just turn the dial to the delay model of choice; adjust knobs, and hold one of the patch buttons for 3 seconds to save it there. You can only save 3 patches, but if you use the expression pedal, you can get more out of it. Also you can morph from one batch of a model's settings to another batch with the pedal.

The looper is pretty simple too, but you don't really get to use any of the delay models with it. They do include an echo in the looper (which is some consolation) but there's no tap-tempo in this mode so you have to manually adjust the echo time with the dial.

Currently, I'm playing an old Les Paul, running through stereo effects into two small, low-wattage class A 1-12" combo amps.

Some of the DL-4 models are very cool. Others are interesting novelties. I guess it depends on your preferences. I like to use a stereo ping-pong delay to spread my sound out. The DL-4 definitely has this, but I don't think it does as good a job as my Boss delays. It seems like the DL-4 ping pong doesn't separate the left and right channels as far, which is ironic, since one of the adjustable parameters on that model is the stereo spread.

Specicific raves:
One of the models is an auto volume-swell, like the old Boss SG-1 Slow Gear (which I had). However, the DL-4 model does the "slow gear" better than the SG-1 Slow Gear, plus it has an echo on it. So I sold my SG-1, for more than my DL-4 cost.

The "Sweep-Echo" is like a phaser applied to your echoes. I like this very much. There's a "Delay + Mod" model, which is patterned after the EH Deluxe Memory Man. This is very cool. The various tape echo models are also very good. The various digital delay models are good too, but I prefer using my Boss delays for that, so I can use some of the signature sounds of the DL-4.

Oh yeah, back in the late 80's I had a Boss DM-2 analog delay pedal because I was too young and poor to afford a "cool" digital delay. The DL-4's model of the DM-2 nails that sound. Very impressive.

Very well made. Very solid. Very dependable so far. I bought the AC adaptor, because it went through it's first batteries in a couple of hours (though maybe these were cheapo batteries).

Flimsy knobs, but they are well protected.

Excellent. Line 6's support should be the standard by which all other companies are measured. They called me and talked me through a soft reset of my DL-4, and helped me with some undocumented features. Very very helpful, courteous and friendly. Thumbs up!

I would definitely replace the DL-4 if it was lost, broken or stolen.
I like the non-generic, non-digital delay sounds very much, but here are some functionality things I DON'T like about it:

tap-tempo- this gets saved to your patch. I wish it was a global setting. As it is, I tap a tempo into my first patch, play for a while, then go to my next patch, and the tempo is different. So I have to tap it in again. This is kind of a pain. It means I can't really bounce around the DL-4 patches in the midst of a performance, unless I play at the same tempo all night. Perhaps a later software revision will make this an option.

I'm not crazy about the gain on the tube-echo model. This gets a little shrill when pushed, so I leave it alone.

program glitch- If you bounce directly from one patch to another, you'll definitely hear it. I would prefer a discrete cross-fade of some kind.

expression pedal- I found "morphing" settings on the DL-4 to be stupid. All the program parameters go nuts while the pedal is moving (imagine the sound of someone manually turning a vinyl record, and you'll get the idea). While this could conceivably be cool in a freaky way, it sucks for any subtle thing you might want to do.

To be fair, this is an inexpensive unit that does a lot. I have used it as a studio swiss-army knife already; sampling vocal passages from tape, then triggering them back onto other tracks (Loop mode). I've quickly patched it in to use the Echoplex models on studio tracks too.

The DL-4 is small, durable, portable and versatile. Not all the sounds are perfect, but you get a LOT of options in a small package. It's not my ideal, but it's currently the closest thing out there in a stompbox.

This unit is very easy to use, no explanation necessary, very straightforward.

Ok, so I have been told that the designer of Way Huge was consultant to this line of modeled pedals, I find it hard to believe because it sounds weak. If I had owned a dodfx96 or a danecho or a korg dl2o1 pedal I'd think this thing sounds like God, but......it don't. Overall it sounds very very thin, and as the other friendly slammer said the tone never seems to blend with the original signal. whats more, the feel of the repeats is not natural at all.

I did not buy it but it seemed well built

NA

Ok I'll continue my rant. As long as delays have been around, probably predating the wah wah, It seems like a total no brainer to build a sweet sounding delay. the tone of this thing is weak. i am no tech but it seems like a better creature could have been built by emulating compression and EQ settings on the output rather than the over complex individual delay modeling. Also, if you hit a note and twist the delay time it doesn't make cool degeneration noises,it cuts off and picks up where it lands with a little squiggle in the interim. also I got to jump on the preset bandwagon. I'd prefer to
assign the tap tempo to a jack on the back and add a 4th preset button. there are tons of rack gear which have this feature as an option rather than committing to it. I am a lead singer/guitarist and am not shy about tapdancing on my pedals (12 of them) but tap tempo seems less important than a 4th preset. And another thing, the analog

delay overdrive freakout is soooo cheesy. I do like the reverse tone though, but not enough to buy this pedal. All in all I think there is no excuse for a lame Delay pedal, it is a total no brainer. With all of the great Tape machines, analog delays like the MXR,Ibanez AD 202, AD 88, AD 9, Digital delays like the chandler , and the Ibanez DL 10 or even the echomachine which has a cool karioke chip in it, or a akai

dd2000, ther is no reason to have come out of the gate with such a poor showing. Give me an Ibanez DL 10 circuit with presets or just give me 4 delays. Yuck. I have never so looked forward to an effect or been so let down by one as well.

It's pretty easy to get a great sound out of this sucker in a hurry - impossible sounds may take a little longer to dial in. The manual is actually written in English by people who obviously want the buyer to nail classic tones. Editing is minimal, and while there are only three storage locations for presets, try storing 3 presets on an echoplex and then QUIT BITCHING. Figuring out the expression pedal could've been a little easier, but it wasn't for lack of clear instructions, and once you morph from dry to reverse guitar and back, you'll never complain about the footswitch again. Trust me.

I don't think the tube Echoplex quite nails it, but all I've had to go by is listening to the DL4 in comparison to old rockabilly and early Elvis recordings - as for the rest, the DL4 perfectly mimics the later Echoplex, Memory Man, Boss Analog, Electro-Harmincs 16-second delay (minus 2 seconds, or a shorter, cheaper Boomerang), my old Digitech 8-second Echo Plus, my RPS-10 (The Adrian Belew reverse box), my old Slow Gear attack delay, and the Roland Space Echo. Stereo in and out is a huge plus, because if you have a stereo chorus or flanger, the outputs can remain discrete all the way to the amp. Sweeeeeeeeet. I use a heavily modified Lace Prototype Strat going into a GR30 guitarsynth and a Korg AX30G, then into a Digitech Modulation pedal, from there into the DL4, and the whole rig plugs into an old Peavey Stereo Chorus 400, which is also true stereo in/out. Hoo boy. The sound is thicker than Hillary Clinton's ankles.

The knobs seem a bit light, but nothing to worry over. I haven't even tried using an adapter - my suggestion would be to buy rechargeable Alkalines, like Ray-o-Vac Renewals, and put them back in the recharger when you're done playing - unlike Ni-cads, they have a full 1.5 volts and you don't have to drain them before recharging. 100+ charges for about $10. And did I mention it's built like a Buick?

This is my first Line 6 product, but the availablity of online info from their web site is impressive and seems like a good omen.

I play mostly ambient loops at home and mostly Blues, Soul, and 70's-type rock when I play out. This works for everything from Country to Chaos (personally, I prefer Chaos). I may end up selling a few of my old pedals so I can buy another one. Anyone want an old Echo Plus?

OK, First off let me say this stomp box is GREAT!!! Has anyone noticed how the reviews in here are HEATING UP! Anyway, I am not going to go into detail about all the functionality, the manual is available on the web, but I will try to make this review friendly and objective and give you my perspective.
For Ease of use I?m going with a 7. It is a tough proposition to design a device with the simplicity of a stomp box and the capabilities of a sophisticated effects processor and I have to agree though that it is difficult to remember what the tweak and tweeze knobs control for every model. It is also difficult to remember the original settings (or for that matter even the model you used) for the stored patches when you pull them up to give them an adjustment.
Overall though Line 6 erred on the side of simplicity as one of my peeves is that for the ?digital delay? model, tweak and tweeze control bass and treble, for the ?digital delay w/mod? model, tweak and tweeze control speed and depth of chorusing (note: chorusing only affects the wet signal), but there is no way to have a chorusing delay that also allows you to control treble and bass. The dynamic delay model allows you to control ducking, ducking would also be nice to apply to other models. How do you control all these parameters in one patch and maintain the simplicity of the stomp box interface, I don?t know, perhaps a MIDI port so you can adjust the settings with a windows GUI then download it to the switch location of choice? BUT HEY IT?S A STOMP BOX RIGHT! Then there is the ?I can only store 3 patches? thing, which is actually pretty good as ?stomp boxes go. One thing Line 6 may consider is to allow the user to change and store the settings for each model in addition to the three locations available by the switches. Or as a minimum remember the last settings for each model as you dial them up.

Sound quality, is there an 11? The Line 6 sounds GORGEOUS! It is quiet and clean. I have never heard another delay with such a smooth decay. Every repeat is exactly as you would expect, no artifacts or noise (unless intended by the model) until it quietly fades to absolute nothingness. The sounds go from pristine true digital to lo res where if you turn up the repeats far enough this thing will actually feedback!

Dont know, but it is built like a brick #@%! house

Dont know

Delay has long since been my primary effect and I have been through many a delay pedal in my time, the Line 6 is by far my delay of choice today. I use the delay through the effects loop with no other effects other than the occasional wah. I play spacey original music you can hear at http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Studio/6153/ . Sure there are a few things this pedal doesn?t do that others do, I miss the pre-delay of my Korg, the way wacky modulation of the Chandler etc. One thing I don?t miss is the 2-hour battery life of my old Digitech. The Line 6 uses four C cells that really last multiple 10?s of hours. One less wall wart to worry about is a plus in my book.
One suggestion for the guy who wanted a dotted eighth in the rhythmic delay, rather than tapping in at ?1 e and a? tap in at 1 and 4, this gives you three full beats, then dial in 16 notes and you?ve got 3/16 or a dotted eighth.
Anyway as said I wasn?t going to go into detail about all the features, so I didn?t even mention true bypass, loop sampler, 15 delay models all that kind of stuff you can read on the box, suffice it to say that this is a great STOMP BOX!

What are most of these folks thinkin? I own a real DM-2 and am intimately familiar with vintage echoplexes, Memory Mans and the TC2290. All of which were modeled.

The models do not remotely capture the true vibe of the originals. The wet sound never seems to truly mix with the original. It always seems distant and fake. Furthermore, I was easily able to make the unit misbehave (make digital hacking and coughing noises) just by digging into a note. Real DM-2s are very forgiving of signal levels.

The unit also adds a noticeable high-frequency "toppiness" to all the sounds. It made my rig sound like a blizzard of nails.

I know and respect many of the previous reviewers immensely and I think the folks at Line 6 are really great people. Therefore, I will remain anonymous (I don't want to openly diss anyone). However, if you own (and love) the originals DO NOT SELL THEM TO BUY THIS UNIT! You will be terribly disappointed.

Close but no cigar. The only people that will like these emulations are people who have never owned (and loved) the originals.

Modeling has a long way to go.

Note that my low rating has nothing whatsoever to do with build quality (excellent) or customer support (again excellent). Sound is by far the most important criterion and this unit fails miserably.

My .02, your mileage may vary.

Pretty easy to get a good sound out of it quickly. The only difficulty is trying to remember what the "tweak" and "tweeze" knobs actully do on each preset (they control sifferent parameters depending on which effect you're using). Instruction manual is clear and well written - spend a bit of time and you wont have nay problems.

One caveat - the DL4 is designed for use at instrument levels only, not line levels. This means YOU CANNOT USE IT IN THE EFFECTS LOOP OF AN AMP. I tried for days to get mine to work in the parrallel FX loop to no avail. The send from the FX loop was clipping the DL4 (sounded bad!). Also found that there was an unnaceptable drop-off in gain when the DL4 was engaged in this configuration. The DL4 scores a 2 for use in an FX loop.

However, the unit sounds GREAT in front of the amp. And I mean GREAT! Unfortunately, I get all my gain from the preamp in my ampfilier (not from stomp boxes) so the unit was not much use to me and I had to return it. The unit scores a 10 if you want to use it in front of an amp.

This unit is built like a tank (and is even the same colour as one). I wouldn't forsee any problems.

Line6 were very helpful in addressing my concerns and had very promt and informative email responses to my questions.

At the end of the day, the DL4 was simply not designed to work in the FX loop of an amplifier. Despite its high tech origins, it's designed to work more like the Tube Echoplexes it emulates so well - in front of an amplifier. If you want to use it in this manner - buy it now and you won't regret it. If, like me, you want to use it in an FX loop, look elsewhere.

Turn it on and play with the nobs. Could it be easier? The only difficult thing is learning what the tweez and tweak do on different models, but all you really have to do is turn one and listen.

Since I don't know exactly what all the originals sound like, I won't base it on that. The delays are incredible sounding. Very full. I don't care if it can emulate an echoplex perfectly (but I hear it does) I just care if I like what it sounds like. Not to mention the true bypass.

I got this thing out of the box and felt like throwing it at my car to see just how big the dent in my hood would be. This thing is big, heavy and green (perhaps they should have called it the incredible hulk? maybe not) I would feel safe using this unit as a bullet proof vest. Its indestructable.

I'll say no opinion because I've never dealt with them, but they seem nice enough in the manual.

This is, in my opinion, the greatest pedal every made. Well its the greatest one I've ever used and thats no opinion. Perhaps this is because I love delay and have always wanted a Space Echo. Imagine my delight, getting a space echo plus 15 others for under the price of a space echo (and no tape to replace) plus presets. Which brings up something. There are those of us who want EVERYTHING. More presets seems to be a big one. Cant you just be happy with the amazing pedal that you have? If you dont like to bend over (heaven forbid) then put it on a table so you dont have to. Stop your complaining. I play Verve and its great for that, but since Im the only one who plays verve that doesnt matter. Its good for what ails you... My one bit of advice...if you have to choose between the power supply and the expression pedal (just for intance) get the power supply. OH NO! I gave almost all 10's! Someone yell at me. Sorry if I feel the pedal is THAT good. I'd give it a 15 if I could.

This was quite literally all I wanted for Christmas. I'd been upgrading and replacing my stompbox gear over the last six months, and the one thing I wanted to rid myself of the most was the hideous Danelectro Dan-Echo. I got a Line 6 POD recently, and was so pleased with it, I was instantly intrigued when I heard about the new stompbox line from Line 6. The Delay Modeler is easier to use than most multi-effectors and rack mount devices, but has a lot more depth than most stompboxes. So, it's easy to get good sounds right out of the box, but you really need to consult the manual--"tweak" and "tweez" serve different functions on every delay setting. That said, I'd have to say that this is a piece of gear where the learning curve is fun, so I really could care less that it's taking time to learn its different functions. And I don't have to squint at a tiny little screen of menus. One nice bonus is the ability to use stereo inputs, so you can use stereo effects in front of it.

I expected it to sound great, and it does. I've upgraded all my effects gear to be true bypass, so this was an important selling point for me. When it's off, it's off. But there are some truly gorgeous, and some downright trippy, effects that this thing produces. My main guitars are strat, tele, les paul, SG, and I play everything from punk rock to rockabilly to blues to jazz.....meaning I play as often as I can. I wanted a good-sounding echoplex effect for playing twang and rockabilly on the tele. There are two--tube and transistor, and they're great. I was surprised at the depth. You can add wow and flutter, as well as tube saturation, with the tweak/tweez.....I didn't realize how useful this was until I ran this model into the marshall setting on the POD.....voila--"communication breakdown".....I like the stereo delay's ability to put different delay rates on different channels--if I wanted to, I could get that U2 sound--I don't--the sweep delay is very cool, and I'm sure I'll find a use for it....it's sort of like a phase shifter from outer space.....I'm surprised to find that I like a lot of the other delay models that I hadn't heard before.....the memory man and boss analog delays sound just like the units I'd used years ago, but the lo-res delays (you can adjust it down to 6 bits) are very cool sounding, and I expect will be useful for non-guitar applications as well. The Roland Space Echo is also great, and this whole unit costs less than one vintage Space Echo would (and it's smaller). For ear candy, throw in the ping-pong, auto-swell, and reverse. I use effects probably more subtly than these, but you never know what situation will present itself down the road, and if I can get the riff to "are you experienced?" nailed with the reverse setting, I'll be thrilled. As it stands right now, one of my presets is a subtle reverse delay, which in some ways is preferable to a straight delay for quieter arpeggiated passages. So, it doesn't necessarily have to be ear candy.

I expect that it's dependable. I don't bring backups of stompboxes to gigs. I might not even bring it to the gig. I depends on the gig. It seems very sturdy though.

Never dealt with them. Nice web site though. I read the manual before I made up my mind.

First thing you notice, right out of the box--it's HUGE. This is serious real estate for someone who uses a lot of effects. I don't. I'm building a pedal board, and it will include the DL4 with three fulltone pedals. I'll leave an open slot for a power supply, and maybe an open slot or two for optional devices (perhaps for the expression pedal), but that's it. I've been playing 20+ years, and have gone from a purist no-effects rig to one that's shoegazer overkill back to the fairly simple rig I have now. There's been a lot of carping on this board regarding the lack of presets available (there are three, up to six with the expression pedal). That's a personal thing. I you need a lot of presets on the fly, maybe you should get something else. Personally, this issue would only be pertinent in live performance situations. In that case, three is enough for me. Actually, it's plenty. There's nothing more unexciting than going to see a band where the guitar player spends the whole gig staring at his pedals. I can understand why some folks might want more though, so this is something to consider. For me, it's a wonderful complement to my dream rig--customized strat, wah, fuzz, overdrive, DL4, boogie combo.....I may not come up for air for months....and oh yeah, that Dan-Echo makes a great door stop.

Don't take it personally... do you work for Line 6? Or are you a frustrated part-time musician/full-time unix sys admin, haven't heard RTFM since the 80's :-) I'm kinda of bored with constant rave reviews that go 10, 9, 10, 9, overall 10. (BTW H-C, My math book tells me overall is 9.5 :-) I admit I was guilty of this in the past, part of it is excitement over a new toy (so now I try to wait a while), and the other part is human nature that everyone likes to think their decision was the greatest, and do not want to say their new purchase has problems or could be better. People have actually gave 10's to the Line 6 spider, I mean come on! Line6 is a great company, but they really screwed up with the spider so lets pretend that they didn't make that product :-)

I never said you HAVE to bend over to twiddle the knobs to get a different
model every time you switch. But, if you want to switch to more than 3 max models (as per the .pdf manual on their website), you do.

You're saying you can get 6 settings with the morphing capability, but not really. You can change certain params with heel down/toe down, giving two different sounds, but you can't morph across models. (Page 9 :-)

In a nutshell, my beef is that you have a unit
capable of many great sounds, but you can only access subset of them live. No doubt it's a great deal, and I'll probably break down and buy it. But I would have paid an extra hundred or so if it could scroll through patches.

Ordered an amp cover for my flextone, and they sent me the floor board cover rrrrrrrr.

Not to compare it to a cheap sounding unit, but I like the switching on the zoom 505 (not default mode). You can set it to scroll but the
sound does not change, and the LED flashes. Then, when you get to where you want, you hit it a second time to confirm.

I've read reviews about this for as long as I've heard about this thing. There has been nothing but good reviews, and this is just one more.
This thing is a little tricky at first, but doesn't take much. My advice to everyone is to get an expression pedal, and if the $60 price tag seems too much, use a volume pedal. It works fine, and you can find them for as low as $20.
The manual tells you everything you need to know, and offers some great history on all the different types.

My rig:
60's fender strat >EH Qtron>Teese RMC3 Wah>Ts9 modded to 808 specs>route 66 American OD > Dod EQ pedal > Delay > Fender Deluxe 112+ > Rocktron Hush Super C.


The sound is great, I've heard of other pedals sometimes giving off a hiss/hum, and sometimes having the delays repeating even when they were off. Not the case with this pedal. All of the different settings are great, and range from run of the mill delays to super spacey effects. The sweep echo and tube echo are two that can get some truly cosmic sounds. The possibilities are endless, especially with an expression pedal.

I play jam/rock music. I like delay for unique solos and spacey effects. The looper is what sold me on this, I'm not a delay freak so the 3 presets will be more than I'll ever need. The 15 different models will probably be rotated in and out as I find uses for them. The looper is fantastic. With the stereo inputs I can plug a bass and guitar in and construct a song with guitar and bass parts and then add leads as it plays back. Plus the looper has delay built in to it as well.
I cannot emphasize enough the versatility an expression pedal adds, and using a volume pedal is a quick economic work around if you don't want to spend another $60. (just plug the output of the volume into the expression pedal jack and you're set.) This thing is a great price, considering all the sounds you get, plus 14 seconds of looping, this thing is a steal. The sounds are crystal clear, and with an expression pedal the changes and morphs are seamless. Another nice feature is the delay time goes to 2.5 seconds, longer than some of the originals it is based on.
This thing is a great help in writing music, i use it to add to songs when I can't play with other band members.
Line 6 is a reliable name, and the sound quality is pristine, since most delay pedals go for about half as much as this, and don't have looping, the choice seems obvious as to what is the best delay pedal on the market.