Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler

Let me begin by saying that I am a fan of Line6 gear, but I must address some issues with their stuff that I CANT STAND!
1) That stupid owners manual. This thing was written for retarded 15y.o. musician wannabes. I'm suprised it doesn't recommend doing bong-hits before reading it. Hey, Line6? Sometimes professional musicians buy your gear. You might want to consider authoring your user manual so it doesn't sound like it was written by a group of ex-studio musician burn-out's.
2) As far as saving patches, this functionality just plain sucks. Please Line6, no more rotary switch patch selection. They really did a good thing with the new POD XT, which is the reason why NOW I will buy one. If I press a saved button location, I want to see an indication of what I saved, and what the settings were. that flashing LED tells me nothing other that I've altered something.

Good sounds, digital, but who cares. I can get a reall good variety of delay sounds from this thing from subtle to really whacked! I really like the volume swell, delay with mod, and reverse. I tend to not go crazy with delay so it's great for my purposes.

I'm very easy on my gear, and I've had no problems with this. One of the dials feels "sticky", but it hasn't caused any problems. Definaltely get the power supply, and the correct one. They should seel this with the DL4 for the money they are asking, but they know we are ultimately suckers...

Haven't delt with them...

If you are a die-hard analog gear fanatic, you may be dissapointed by this, but for me, it does a multitude of things quite well. It is nice to have three different delay types at you feet for gigs, and nice to goof around with when developing song ideas. I do mostly guitar driven psych-rock, similar to older Voyager One type stuff, ansd this thing can really deliver some atmospheric delay for my purposes. I hop the next generation has a similar interface to the POD XT. That would make it a much better unit.

There are some great things about this pedal, but there are some huge downsides to this pedal. I had mine for about 3 months and ended up selling it.

The good points: With some of the delays you can make some really cool sounds, especially when the feedback is set for a long time and then changing the delay time or vice versa. You can't easily get some Radiohead type sounding effects. The sampler is good and long and is easy to use.

The bad points: There are too many delays, some of which sound very similar. It would have been nice to have had about 1/2 of the delay effects and maybe some reverb or chorus effects thrown in on the same pedal. But then Line 6 couldn't stick you for another pedal.

Bar none, the worst thing about this pedal is the way you save patches. When a setting is store, you have no idea of knowing what the patch is except by ear. If you recall a preset and want to add some more delay time, the DL4 will save the other knobs as they are. That completely sucks, because can't really tweak your presets for a certain room/club unless you know what ALL the knobs were set to in that preset. That alone was frustrating.

I have a Tech 21 TRI-AC and the unit will tell you what knobs were set to for a certain patch by how the LED blinks. That is invaluable for tweaking a sound on the spot. By the way, Tech 21 makes the best distortion pedals out there.

If this pedal is already digital, why don't they go the extra step and fully have digital readouts and presets. This would alleviate most of the current problems. If a $70 Zoom pedal can do it, so can these guys.

I was using this with an Ibanez loaded with dimarzios through an effects loop on a Tech 21 combo amp. I found this pedal to add an unacceptable amount of noise in the system. This would occur even when not active.

The sampler is long, but doesn't reproduce anywhere as good as the Lexicon Jamman did. What do you expect? Lexicon is just a higher quality product in general.

The good effects are great, but there are many that I never used.

The DL4 is tough. I imagine it would last a long time.

never needed

I used this mostly for rock and it suspect most people would dig the pedal. I've been playing for 17 years and I live in NY. Since living here, I've tried to find portable gear for smaller gigs. I have a small rack (eventide, etc.) that I use on the better gigs, so for me downgrading to pedals for small gigs is hard to do. I'm used to having more control and loads of presets, so probably no effect pedal will please me. Still, for the price they want, it should deliver more preset in memory. I hate the way it stores a setting and then you can't change it without the pedal saving the knobs where they are at right then. That sucks.

This pedal would be great for leaving on the sampler/looping modes and getting delay from somewhere else.

I sold mine.

I'm writing this review to clarify some issues I've found in other reviews on this page, see below. It's easy to use, just listen for what tweek and twease do to the sound of the repeats, and find your sound.

I've used this pedal with carvin and fender teles, and through a variety of amps, bogner, mesa, marshall, fender, to name a few, as well as in conjunction with many stomp boxes. I need to say, this is a DIGITAL delay pedal, for god's sake, it's not going to sound like an analog delay 100 percent, because it's NOT an analog delay. It lacks a whole bunch of bucket brigade chips, and it has never been advertised as an analog delay pedal. That said, if you need a quality delay, that emulates analog delays, as well as some really nice digital delays, combined with a looper, than check this pedal out. For a live situation, this pedal can't be beat. Tap tempo is something rarely found on delay pedals, and it's usually difficult to use,forcing you to hold a switch down for two seconds, and then tap your delay time, and finally another two second hold, to get out of tap mode. The dl4 eliminates all that, by having a dedicated tap switch. Three presets, no matter what anyone tells you is more than enough for any gig situation, how many guys have five delays on stage anyway. In a studio, you don't need to change delays on the fly anyways. I have owned a maxon delay, as well as a carl Martin delayluh, and i do prefer the CM for certain things, the line 6 does an adequate enough job at the analog sound that I can leave my pricey analogs at home. I get so frustrated reading reviews here where people bash this product for not being the real deal. It's not and that's why it is called an emulator box!!

I've had this pedal for nearly four years, and I've never had a single thing go wrong with it. I treat all my gear with care, and don't let anyone near my rig when I'm not around, so maybe that is why it's still going strong. As with all pedals, if you throw it around, it will break!

I want to give a fair review, because I think this delay is worth it to anyone who plays out a lot, and wants versitility from a delay pedal. If you want to spend $300 on a maxon or carl martin go ahead, it may be worth it to you, but most people can not afford that luxury, and this pedal will get the job done for a lot less dough. I am not a fan of line 6's amps, guitars, or distortion boxes, but this delay, and the fm4 filter modeler are, in my mind, the best modelers out there. Go check one out, and don't believe the hype till you've tried it out.

Spend a little time with the manual. Everything else was easy.

Strat w/Kinman AVn Blues>various dodads of a True Bypass nature>Boss CE5 to split signal>DL4 stereo in & out>two Top Hat Club Royale 212s.

Very clean sounding. Since I like atmosphere but not a delay-type connoisseur, I'd have to say the sounds are incredible, seemingly "friendlier"--if not warmer--than my Boss DD3 or RV3 (definitely cleaner). I like the preprogrammability and Tap Tempo button very much. I use a stereo delay for that Brian May harmonizing stuff, a rockabilly slapback, and the Anolog w/Modulation that gets me into Jim White/Jeff Buckley territory.

Embarassingly unreliable, for all the comments below and my personal experience. Had it a month, rehearsed with the band a couple of times and it died on the very first gig. Fortunately there were only four songs to go. (Owned an AX212 that quit on me too; maybe it's me?)

I wish it didn't sound so good or offer such versatility in one package, coz now I think I have to either go through the pain of having it repaired (fortunately an authorized repair shop is ONLY 90 miles away) or get another one: I really don't want to have three or four delay pedals on my board.

While I've received responses for the AX212 problem, Line 6 was not as helpful as their authorized dealer/repair rep, Sweetwater Sound in Ft Wayne IN.

It's really too bad this thing isn't more reliable.

Almost foolproof; turn it on, dial in a delay model, turn the knobs, press a footswitch to save your sound, that's it. Tweak & Tweez are easier to figure out than on the Modulation Modeler, but you'll want to check the manual until you get used to them. Tapping in a delay time is much easier than with the Akai Headrush. The manual is short on real specs, and a little overboard with "how cool is this" text. Some nice pictures of old effects pedals.

PRS Santana SE into a Boss GT-3, into a string of delays & loopers. A lot of the time, I'm using a Roland guitar synth, as well. The DL4 doesn't seem to add any noise to my system; if it did, I'd junk it.

I didn't expect to get exact relicas of classic delay sounds from the DL4, I expected reasonable reproductions, which is what I got. Some of my favorite sounds are the oddballs, like Auto-Volume, which sounds like a Slow Gear patched in front of a delay, or Sweep Echo, which has a chewier sound than the Delay w/Mod. The Tape Echo models don't really do anything for me, but I'm not a devotee of old Echoplexes or Roland Space Echoes. The Panning Delay is nothing special, and neither is the Stereo Delay, but they fill out the list of standard delay flavors. I give the DL4 an 8 for sound quality, mostly because there are a few sounds that just seemed, I don't know, too mundane.

This is the issue that made me look through all the posted reviews before submitting mine; I was really surprised at the number of players who got stuck with dead DL4's. If I'd read these reviews, I probably wouldn't have gotten the DL4, becuase I hate to have my gear screw up. I bought my DL4 almost 3 years ago, and its never failed me! I use it live, I use it in my little home studio set-up, I use it all the time, and it always works. My 3 memory slots keep their presets, and I haven't had a C cell in the DL4 since the day I bought it. I don't know what happened to all those players who got defunct units, but my DL4 was made in the USA, and a couple of reviewers mentioned that their DL4's came from Malaysia. (I own a Malaysian-made MM4, which I bought used,and it works fine.) I usually have at least one other delay/looper with me at live gigs, so I always have a backup.

I play experimental guitar, using guitar synths and loopers to create dense soundscapes, or one-man-band performances. I got the DL4 primarily for the looper, which I like very much. I've been playing since Surf Guitar was born, and I own a pile of effects pedals, including a number of delays, analog and digital.

The DL4 gives me a few sounds I use all the time, the Looper, the Auto-Volume and the Reverse delay, but the Looper is the one I use most. Double-clicking to reverse the loops is a real pain, but I've learned to live with it. I've gotten some really sick, really fun sounds from the Sweep Echo, and most of the other sounds are usable, if not inspiring. The default-switching is kind of a pain. In a live setting, you're kind of stuck with your three user presets, if you need to change sounds halfway through a song; between songs, you can dial up a new sound.

When I got the DL4, it was the only delay/looper pedal I could find. Boss hadn't released the RC-20 or the DD-20, and I wasn't sure about the Akai Headrush. I wish it had one more switch, for reverse looping; that would be all I need. I give it a 7, because it's expensivefor what it does.

This an addition of my review of 07/24/2003.
It's a reaction on the last review of Derek, who wants 30 seconds of sampling time instead of 14 seconds.
You cabn easely make the SAMPLER-time 28 seconds, by pushing the right knob for one time, before you start recording.
There could occure a slight tone loss - I really NEVER did notice.
I use the 28 seconds-mode quite often.

Excellent!
It's very easy to dial in a great delay sound and wail away. It's pretty much a plug and play. That's one of the things I really dig about this little green machine. It's wonderful to plug in and go right at it. Once I kick in the loop sampler, I can get lost in it for hours. It's a great way for me to impress friends when they come over because they get not just 1 but 2, 3 4 guitars all at the same time making beautiful music together. I can dial in Edge sounds, Police, Eddie Van Halen, Incubus or any band that uses delay just fine. I'm more interested in creating sounds and can dial in great sounds very easily.

I just wish the loop sampler had 30 seconds instead of just 14 sec. I can't even finish a 12 or 8 bar blues to jam to. Oh well. Nothing is perfect.

I have a PRS quilt ten top Artist III http://prsguitars.com/showcase/discontinued/as3.htm
Very nice!

Use it in conjunction with either my Mesa Bogie Mark 4 stack or my Marshall Valvestate ( not nearly as nice as my Boogie ). I have several effects reanging from Keeley modded distortion pedals,



It is not noisy in my setup. I don't understand why some people say that. The delay sounds are vast. Although you will not be able to get the analog richness of the Space Echo, you will never be able to replicate those kind of organic sounds with any digital pedal. With that being said, the delay sounds are musical and sound very nice to my ears. For getting all of these possibilites in a pedal is awesome. I'm a happy camper :)

I have read some things about this pedal crapping out on this board. I originally purchased a refurbished model because they had no new ones in instock. It was beat to hell but reburbished. It would crap out on me so I took it back to exchange it for a new one at Guitar Center. So far, not a problem. I think if your somewhat gentle and don't slam on it like you would do with your Boss pedals, it would probably last frever. I also purshased the 1 year warranty at Guitar Center so if it has any problems, I can always swap it out for a new one :) No, I don't feel I would need a back up.

Another thing, the sticker that is on the front panel is coming off. I think I will swap it with another. They could have used some stronger glue to keep it on better perhaps.

I haven't dealt with them as of yet. Hopefully I won't have to. I would get an upgrade only if they offered more loop sampler time. Try more like 30 seconds please.

I play everything. Alerna Rock, Aggro Rock, Nu-Metal, Old school Metal, 50'2, 60'2 and 70's music. Jazz, Blues ( Santana like ), classical, Space Rock and more. It's all music and I love it all. It fits a wide range of styles wonderfully.

I've been playing for 19 years. If it was lost or stolen I would be very pissed and get anothe one or hunt the theif down. It's somewhat expensive but I would get another one.

Another plus is that now I can leave my costly boutique Space Echo at home to keep it in mint condition.

These are my current effects:

Space Echo re-201
Boss DS-1 ( made in taiwan )
Keeley Modded Ds-1 Ultra Mod ( http://www.robertkeeley.com )
Keeley Modded Ts-9 to 808 specs ( great for good blues overdrive )
Boss DM-2
Boss CE-2
Boss PH-3
Modded Vox Wah ( soon to try out the Morley Bad Horsie )
Boss PQ-4
Electro Harmonix Big Muff
Digitech Whammy Pedal
Line 6 DL4

As I said before, I love this thing. It's a wonderful unit and I have hours of fun using and expermenting with it. I call it my green machine. In fact, they should call it " The Green Machine ). hehe.

I don't hate anything about it except I wish it had 30 second loop sampler instead of 14 seconds. That is not enough and limits some of the use I can get from it.

I bought the BOSS DD-20 and took it back. The DD-20 is not as intuitive as the DL4. In fact, the Boss DD-20 is not user friendly at all and doesn't have the bonus of adding delay to your looping phrases like the DL4. Over all, The Line 6 DL4 sounds more natural and musical than the DD-20 to my ears.

It certainly inspires me to make some great guitar lines and songs. I love the reverse mode too. I can add reverse more to my recordings and it sounds just as the old tunes like Hendrix had when they would run the tape backwards to get the same effect. Alot less hassle. Really cool!

Finding effects that tailor to your sound is like food. It's all about personal tase. It suits me great! I just wish it had more looping sampler time.

The tweak and tweez thing can get very difficult w/o a chart, but then I decided to stick the a small reference chart on the chassis of the pedal (the chart came in the box). Though the chart doesn't have a "real" place on the chassis, it seems to work fine.

All of the models have pretty nice levels, as long as you master the TWEAK AND TWEEZ. Some models (tape and tube echo) can be a little weak in the sound category, but effects like ping-pong, loop, etc. make up for it.

I have played many, many shows w/o single problem. I have also dropped it many, many, many, many times. Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.

never had to deal w/ the company. see above.

You can't beat 16 different delays in one machine. This pedal is best for any kind of progressive rock, but it's nice to have the wide variety at your toes. For the money, the thing is worth it. It quickly became my favorite pedal, surpassing the Morley Bad Horsie Wah-Wah and the Boss Super Phaser. The nly real difficulty that isn't well explained is the damn tweak and tweez. Other than that the pedal is a must for sound junkies like myself.

It's not very hard to use...the tweak and tweeze thing can get a little weird.

I've been trying to like these things....I'm a delay freak....I put echo on my alarm clock in the morning....however I have owned three of these units and I must tell you I think they sound absolutely awful.
I keep one on my pedalboard ONLY because the loop sampler is killer....WAY better sound quality on playback than a Boomerang. In my opinion that is all it has to offer.
I use Roland RE-501 Space Echo units religiously....to me they are simply the best sounding echo devices money can buy....hands down. They are dead quiet,totally organic,and they have TONS of personality....I have three of them.That being said,I must say that these Line 6 products pretty much symbolize all that is wrong with society today. People trying to skimp on everything thinking that this sounds "good enough"....or "close enough to the real thing".....I have news for you....it's not. Just like the folks who try to talk themselves into believing their Pro Tools rigs can sound as good,or even close to a good analog 24 track 2" tape machine...it's not as good. Think your Pod sounds as good as a real 1964 Fender Deluxe Reverb that's tuned up right and mic'ed properly? It doesn't. Now I understand that all these devices have a very important place in the music world today....they compromise sound but they give back in reliability,editing capabilities and low cost. I swear I'm not a gear snob...I try every piece of new gear with a totally open mind. If I could find a modern delay pedal that sounded even 80% as satisfying to me as a Space Echo I'd be using it and leaving my Space Echoes at home so they will last a few more years.....unfortunately that doesn't exist....the Memory Man is too noisy and it has a weird low midrange coloration that you can't get rid of.

If you think your DL-4 sounds good,do yourself a favor and try a real Space Echo,just so you can gain a little perspective on things.
I realize the DL-4 is 200 bucks,whereas a good 501 Space Echo is 500 bucks....I also realize that a 501 doesn't have tap tempo,
it also requires an ocassional tape replacement and maintenance. It doesn't matter,if you can afford it,buy the Space Echo. The Line 6 box is a TONE KILLER! The overall sound is thin and spiky in the mids,making your guitar sound like it's echoing in a toilet.....and if you try to use this device on a live gig you'll quickly notice that you mysteriously lose gain every time you engage the delay....which is exactly the opposite of what you need in a live performance. If this unit had a volume control for the effect only sound like the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man it would be a whole lot cooler....but it doesn't.
Everytime I walk in a club or hear someone playing live I can always tell they're using a DL-4....it leaves me limp.

I haven't had any problems with my DL-4's breaking....although I thought about breaking them myself a few times.

I'm sure the Line 6 folks are nice and very supportive....people are buying the hell out of their products....they should be very HAPPY!

Here's another thing I hate about the sound of the DL-4....if you try to set a moderately long echo with multiple repeats to get a lush trippy delay sound you'll notice that the very first repeat only is twice as loud as all the following repeats....thus making it impossible to get a smooth trail off that doesn't completely kill my buzz. I know I'm being tough on this thing,but I do sincerely think that if you're a beginner to moderate level guitarist you can enjoy this box....if you start trying to seriously record,or if you've ever experienced the joy of real tape delay.....you will find it very unsatisfying....it does do a lot for the money,I must admit that.

Here at last a short review.
After changing my POD2 (it didn't work in combination with my tube-amp Marshall 4140 combo - it sucked the tone totally - review POD2 04 04 2003) for a DL4 and MM4, and I must say it's one of the best moves I musically made. They sound both great! But now to the DL4.
A good sound? The factory-settings are great already, but if you've got time to alter the knobs, so many good sounds occur to many to mention. I really don't make time to make to turn the knobs quite often, but when I got a spare moment - for example in rehearsal - most of my great sounds are made. Saving it, pushing on one knob for three seconds, and writing the knobposition down for remembering everything for later.
The manual is very easely written, right for to experiment.
But you have to invest to get maximum results.

American Standard Fender Stratocaster, Vox Wah 847, two Ibanez TS9's, Rat2, MM4, DL4, Marshall 4140.
the DL4 (and all the others) go straight in the amp, and the original signal behaves great! With true bypass no loss whatsoever, with the DL4 on it does what it should do, it modulates just as that! It gives that extra's you're lookin' for, but your tone stays fully intact.
I enjoy it very much and every day it's possible that I 'invent' new great sounds, and that makes me play and play. It gives me more musical wings.
Noisy? Not for a bit!
All of the effects are great on their own, but it's up to your own needs which one you prefer. I like the Memoryman (analog delay with modulation) very much, also the analog delay, the swell-setting and the multiheaddelay. But there are still that many settings I still did not have discovered. In long term, I defenitly will come closer to all!

Still no problem whatsoever! I play once in a week and I have confidence in it, it never let me down.
Only the paint isn't that great! But it makes your DL4 recognaisable, is also a certain beauty!

I once contacted them by e-mail for the factory-settings of the DL4 and MM4. They responded me immediately by mail with all the asked settings. By the way, they have a great site, where you can find many answers.

I play melodic rock with influences of fusion, jazz and blues for 37 years now. If stolen, I buy another one immediately. I'm very happy with it. It has become a part of my sound! Especially the Memory Man De Luxe path, which is better than the original that I had (it only lacs the feedbackoverdrive-future, but I can live with that easely!), NO noise and five times more delay-time! What could you want for more?
So many possibilities in a small box. Okay, just three memoryslots - for me it's enough - and if you want, you can change by hand - not a big a problem!
The more I play it, the more I love the thing. Thanx to Line6!

It's been pretty easy for me to get whatever effect it is that I'm looking for from this pedal. The manual is sweeeeeet...lots of tips and tricks to do some crazy stuff with the loop sampler.
However, sometimes it's really hard to get the loop sampler to be in the groove of everything else...requires very precise footwork.

I play an American Standard Strat, a 50's re-issue Telecaster, and a 50's re-issue Stratocaster with Silver Fender Lace Sensor Pickups, and I have a Crate Vintage Club Series Amp. All the guitars sound great through this thing.
Sound quality is superb with clean tones, but tends to break up a just a little with heavy distortion (a little less so with the telecaster). Not really a problem for me though, just figured it out while messing around at home.
The loop feature sounds great as well...

Contrary to EVERY other review I've read for this thing, mine has held up great. I haven't experienced ANY problems from it. I don't take it on the road or play tons of gigs with it, however I use it quite a bit jammin' with friends and at home, and when I do play gigs. It's seen it's share of drops and bangs over it's 2 years and it's still going strong for me. And yes I would, and have, used this on a gig without a backup.

No need to deal with 'em...

I do a lot of jam/funk/reggae type songs...and this pedal is ideal for this type of music. If it were stolen or lost, I'd buy another, most definitely. I LIKE THIS PEDAL!!!!!!!!!!

fairly straight forward. Good, clear, dumb-ass proof manual...pretty typical of Line 6.

I use a Ibanez RG 570 through this with multiple amps ans effects and it is pretty consistent. The delay sounds are always good. ONLY real complaint is that when you loop stuff the underlying parts tend to break up and crackle if you play to aggressively over 'em. I use this mainly as a noise maker by setting it on "sweep echo" and twistiong all the knobs. It's good for that.

yes. No probs always dependable.

nadda

This is a great pedal. Does better with clean tones..but aww well.

This thing is fairly simple to use,although the "tweak/Tweeze" knobs are reconfigured based on which delay model is being used.The manual is great and easy to read,giving you pretty detailed info on the loop sampler.Pretty straight forward if you are used to using processors or rack effects(like me).

I use this thing second to last in my pedal setup,becuase I have a reverb pedal last,so my effects go in this order:Boss flanger and pitchshifter(set to detune)/Ernie Ball volume pedal(modulation pedals go first so I can kill the noise of them when my volume is down)/Line 6/Digitech reverb.This all runs into a BBE Sonic Maximizer,then into the effects loop of a Peavey Rockmaster preamp,into a Mesa/Boogie 50/50 poweramp.My guitars are a Ibanez RG570 and a trashy Epiphone V.I really like most of the unit's sounds,especially the regular digital delay! Very,very clean delay indeed...cuts through even with massive distortion.I like that I can add a third modulation effect by using the onboard one(I use a preset w/the "memory man" model)and when using the loop sampler you can add delay and modulation to it as well! Very cool.I use the sampler as well as the presets,so it kinda sucks that you can't save it as a preset.This would really make it easier live than turning the mode knob! But you can save the delay and mod' settings in the mode,which is good! One gripe:you cannot set the tempo of your delay when the unit is off! This is a pain in live settings where I want it to be in time BEFORE I turn it on! The Boss DD5 lets you do this,but this does not.I suppose I could buy the expression pedal and set the wet/dry level with it,leaving it on the whole time,but that adds another pedal(plus$$$spent)to my board.Other than this,no complaints at all...I have never owned a "real" old tube Echoplex or anything so I cannot say if the models sound similiar,but they work well enough for me.

I used it on tour and at practice and have never had 1 problem with it(knock on wood haha)...though the guitar player in the other band we were on tour with had a problem at a show where his stopped working! I do not have enough dough to cough up for a backup...so hopefully it will keep working!

No opinion here...the company is VERY close to where I live,so if I had a problem,it would be easy enough to go talk to them.

I play metal/hardcore(in the style of old Cave In,Dillinger Escape Plan,Converge etc. and death metal similiar to old european style(Morgoth,Carcass,At The Gates)and have been playing for about 7 years.What I listed is all I really own(besides my stock Marshall JCM 900 straight cab)and,if this were stolen I would HAVE to go track down the f@#$er and get it back,for I am very poor haha!!! I like everything about it except for the tap tempo problem...from what I've read it seems to be finicky,but I have not seen problems so far...keepin' my fingers crossed here!!!! This is a great unit to have in my arsenal for the loop sampler alone,so I don't have to record a riff on my 4track and play it over and over to figure out harmonies and parts...that alone makes it worth the $$ for me.You really can't go wrong buying one of these for all the features,and your own 3 presets....very hip! I wanted to get a Boss DD5,but this one ruled out for the features(mainly the sexy loop sampler)and sounds.Worth every penny!

couldnt be simpler, you turn some knobs and there you go. When I first got it I was a little dissapointed that you couldnt alter the presets on the delay selector...until I realised how ridiculously easy it is to call up a great sound. Even mid song you can bend down, fiddle some knobs and there you go. It still would be nice though, so for that reason it gets an 8

I use alot of delay, loads of it. Very big floaty stuff covered in lemons flying around on little fluffy clouds in a deep blue sky before descending into an ocean of deep blue stuff type delay. I have to say that the DL4 is the best delay unit I've ever used. The sound quality is fantastic. Ok, so the multihead function doesnt really sound like a roland space echo, but for me it creates a sound of its own. The digital delays sound clear and crisp yet still sound natural, the tape delays are lovely and warm, the analogue are fantastic and if you fiddle about with the time, repeat and mix nobs you can get your guitar to sound like the chemical brothers. Then you have reverse which is a genuis addition and of course the echo volume swell which is perfect for whale impersonations. You can even create modulation effects on this, in fact I got rid of chorus pedal because this recreates what I trying to do with it anyway

I use every single aspect of this device in conjunction with a second delay pedal (digitech digidelay) a cry baby wah, boss sd1 and there is nothing I dont like about it.

Its built like a tank, mines been through hell and back and it still works. But mine is only 4 months old. No problems so far

N/a

Its expensive...but its quite simply the best delay unit money can buy. it wont colour your sound, it does things nothings else will, it has a sampler on it (great for using live). you can reate a whole range of very unique sounds on this things and its made to withstand a nuclear blast...very solid casing

I love it and wouldnt live without it!

not very easy, but he has got 16 different delay effect.
the manual is complete and really help you to use correctly the pedal.

i like so much this sound, i use only 3 effect analog digital and rithm delay.
I like the raw sound of analog delay, i use it for enigmatic song final or space bubble sounds.
the digital is very good and the sound response is perfect for me.
Good is the rithm, i set a very short delay, with deep deph to have an alternative chorus effect. (I hate chorus i dont have it in my pedalboard)

the other effect was very good, you can find from beatles reverse delay to U2 stereo delay. intresting is dinamic delay..

i think is made for oad use, it appears solid and heavy.
i think it can be used for a lot of gig

I play rock, this effect make my sound good, i think the best thing is the incredible variety of sound you can obtain.
If you play from rock to jazz, from death to new age.

This pedal made for you

It took me no time figure out how to work this thing. But like others who have described it, the Tweak and Tweeze knobs will confuse you at first if you don't have the manual or go into it not knowing that they change up on different delays. The knobs can be picky sometimes... but it's not a big deal. I wish more delays could be saved on it though. That and you technically lose your settings when you hit another switch or change delays. But if you move the knobs slightly and put them back in their original position... you get it back.

Gibson SG Standard Limited Edition > Roland GR30 > Line 6 FM4 > Boss Dimension C > Line 6 DL4. It's not a noisy pedal at all. I like all the delays on this thing... especially the Lo-Fi and Analog w/ Mod delays. You can recreate many classic delays in just one box. The Loop Sampler is great too. Now I don't have to worry about recording riffs on my computer to figure out other parts for songs.

When I got this pedal (via Ebay), the far left footswitch didn't work. So that meant no Loop Sampler or 3rd saved effect. I took the unit completely apart and put it back together. From there it worked. So I'm kind of shaky on it's reliability. It hasn't let me down yet.

N/A

I like this thing alot. Though I did complain about wanting more spaces to save delays.... if you think about it, any other pedal gives you only 1 and not 3. So I can eat my words on that one. Very clean (unless you choose to add noise/distortions on the delays that allow it) and gets great sounds. I love this pedal. Perfect for progressive/experimental. If it was stolen, I'd buy it again. I just wish that you could use the delays with the Loop Sampler.

Manual essentially accurate but chocked full of cutsie lingo we could all do without.

The vintage effects the DL4 draws its inspiration from sound nothing like the real thing, but I bought the unit for looping so this was not an issue for me.

Not presently working. Its a bit too old to be repaired under warranty. It died far too young.

One day the loop function just collapsed. The service people here want $300.00(!) to fix it or $40.00 in charges just to retun it broken.

I wish it worked! In 30 years nothing I've owned has been costlier to repair than to buy new! This is a cheaply made unit designed to break down even faster than a VCR. Those 4 big metal switches are attached to the motherboard (cost cutting measure) and probably caused mine to crack. Yours probably will too from what the tech told me.

Very easy to use. The manual explains everthing well.

Very acceptable sound. I like the multi-head feature but it does not sound like my Space Echo 201.

This is where it will let you down in a big way. One preset switch has failed. Also, mine has begun to lose its ability to save your settings. This is definately not good to find out when you are on stage warming up and you find out the unit has forgotten your settings and then won't remember your settings when you try to reprogram the thing 5 minutes before its time to perform.

It pissed me off so bad that I don't even want to talk to anyone from the company. Also, it's out of warranty as I have had it for just under two years.

Lost or stolen? I wish someone would. The delays are very acceptable repros for the money spent. The reliability factor is the reason I won't have another one.

This box is lots of fun. I play hardcore/guitar and bass driven tribal drum punk (for lack of better terms) and haven't found much realistic use for it there. For reggae/dub or experimental stuff this green machine is beautiful. Surprisingly versatile with bass guitar. Line 6's manual is complete and cohesive. "Firmware revision" sounds like some sort of men's sexual aide, no my unit hasn't been upgraded.

I use a cheap mexi p-bass into a dunlop m-80 bass pedal into this green brick, into (ironically enough) a Fender m-80 guitar head, everything comes out through a Randall 2x15 bass cab. Sampler feature is killer, you can be your own rhythym section if your guitarist is being a dick. Effects sound natural and not watered down, good stuff, you could start a Hawkwind cover band with this thing.

I am the third owner of mine, after two guys who are notorious for beating on their gear. I have had Zero problems with switches, excess noise etc. I did have to buy a new power supply for it though, as the one Line 6 offers, sucks. I wouldn't play a show with this unless the audience was under the influence.

All musical equipment customer service folk have one foot in the gutter, one thumb up their A#$! Surprisingly, when calling just to ask basic operational questions, the line 6 guys were great! Complete, helpful and good listeners.

I have been playing for well over a decade and have never played around with something this cool. I would encourage interested parties to find one used as retail price is a little far out. This is my first and only delay device, as until I opened my mind I thought delay on bass/guitar was for "fags". If it was stolen, I'd go to guitar center and steal a new one from those retail rape-hounds.

This is a follow-up to an earlier post:

If you don't have a solid power source (i.e. if the power in the club tends to flux) this unit will cease to work. If there isn't a solid 120 on the power conditioner, the unit will shut off (drop the selected patch) - cannot function without a clean/constant power feed.

Has been a terrible issue. Also affects my MM-4, but not as significantly - i.e. not as frequently.

I play professionally and have spent week long engagements on the road without the use of either the DL-4 or the MM-4 because of power conditioning issues. That's a problem!

I promise, I never had these issues with any of my Boss Delays or even rackmount processors like the a Digitech 2101/2120, TC Electronic G-Force or even an old Alesis QuadraVerb.

Bottom line, I don't think these are roadworthy. Maybe acceptable at home, a demo studio or an occassional gig, but not as a required piece of performance gear on the road.

Line6 never responded to my emails regarding this issue.

Toy...you get less than you pay for.

To get the most out of this unit, a little time with the manual is helpful. I learned things about it after I had it for about 8 months that I didn't understand from just messing with it.

I love this thing! It is an integral part of my sound. But, I am writing this review to warn about the reliability problems that I will set forth below.

Here's the rub. For such a great, versatile pedal, when it stops working, you're screwed. My first one lasted about 19 months. Then, during a gig, I got this ear-piercing shreik when engaging a present, and weird hum-scratch when the pedal was not engaged. Of course, this happened after the warranty period was up. The first unit hasn't wigged out in the loop mode, but that surely cuts out a lot of the features. "Resetting" the unit fixed the problem for a while, but it came back. Nasty experience when the amp starts squealing in the middle of a gig.
But, I love the versatility and sound, so I bought another. This new one I have had for 3 months. I notice that it shorts out if I use heavy distortion in one of the modes. I could live without doing this, but I do think it is ridiculous to pay $249 for a pedal that has about a 6 month life expectancy.

I contacted Line 6 about the problems mentioned. They suggested "rebooting" the unit. They were kind enough to tell me that I had no warranty left on the first one.

I love using this thing, but I am disappointed in the build quality. You should know the risk if you want one of these. When it works, it's heaven. When it doesn't work . . . well, it's pretty damn disappointing.

It hasn't worked long enough to find out.

The DL4 started off with screeching static which remained on every channel selected!!!! We reset the factory settings and it sounded OK for about 10-15 seconds when the screeching static started again. We put in new batteries and reset the factory settings with the same results.

Dead On Arrival!!!!
Based on all the reviews and our experience, I would say that Line 6 needs to improve the design and/or quality control of their products.

I guess I'm going to have to drive another 90 miles to the Guitar Center in Cherry Hill New Jersey this week to get my money back.

This product takes a little tweaking to get a good sound, but it is in there. Easy to use with little effort, most factory presets are pretty good and usable as is. Tweak and tweez? They dont do much, not much of a noticeable difference.

SET UP:Les Paul standard, Tom anderson, keeley comp, various voodoo lab products, Buddha Head,Marshall 1960 classic cab.
Pedal is not noisy at all.
Effects are usable as is, But I use effects sparingly, and like a suttle mix so its ok for my use.

Heres my problem. can I depend on it NO. I have had it for about 9 months. I play about 5-6 nights a week, in a couple of bands. It is strapped down in a pro cushioned pedalboard that has a lid, and this and all my pedals are taken care of. Several intermittent problems at about 7 mos., now it is in the shop.
Some of the problems were as follows:
1)not working at all,
2) preset sticking and not turning off,
3) signal drop when pedal is engaged
4)signal boost when engaged
etc, etc...
Now many of these problems did happen during gigs, many of them very important shows including a Label showcase so you can understand my frustration.
I would not buy this pedal again, and am currently contemplating selling. If you use it, and need delay get a back up.

I have dealt with several people at the company, some of them were very cool and helpful. But, however a couple of them were mis-informed and tried to throw fault at another pedal as the cause. For example they wont tell you that several of the tech guys in the back who do repairs etc.., are currently using Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2, in the shop. And that they are totally compatible with these stomboxes.

I play all types.
Playing for 10+ yrs.
If lost or stolen...see ya..I would buy something else.*********
*********BOTTOM LINE******
You get what u pay for. This is an attractive pedal because you get 3 settings plus a sampler(sampler option did not matter to me), at a very low price. If experience has shown me anything it is: buy a product that does 1 thing and does it great vs. a pedal that does many things fairly well. You pay more but get a better product, I still have stomp boxes I got 20 yrs ago they are 1 trick ponies but hey they still sound great and work.:)

Simple to select delay model, but the "Tweak" AND "Tweeze" knobs do different things depending on model. Comes with a little decal to stick to the unit to tell you what knob does what on which model, so its not as difficult as it sounds. All it all, easy to get a decent sound in a short amount of time.

Very clean delays! I'm using it in the following setup:

Epi Les Paul '56 Goldtop or Fender Highway 1 Strat --> DOD FX10 Bi-Fet --> MXR DynaComp --> Boss SD-1 --> Boss OD-2 --> Big Muff USA Reissue --> DL4 --> Behringer VAmp2

Using good quality cable, this setup has given me minimal noise. I was using the on-board delays of the VAmp2, and this thing blows them away. Very clean where you would expect it, gets dirtier on the analog and tape models.

I have used about half of the modeled delays, and the Line 6 emulations stand up very well. Not exact, but quite nice. Certainly nothing you will hear in a mix. Not digital sounding at all.

Cant judge this yet. I've had it for a week!

Again, only had it a short time.

A very nice unit. Highly recommended. I compared it to a couple of older rack delays, and this was just simpler, and let me get down to making music much faster. I might trade it up to the Echo Pro at some point in the future, just to be a little more studio friendly (i.e. sync to MIDI clock, more patch storage)

Pretty easy to use. "Tweak" and "Tweeze" are stupid terms, but if you just start spinning the knobs, you'll get the point.

None of the other categories really matter if the pedal doesn't work. Had the DL4 just over a year (took excellent care of it)and it developed bad static on all switches. The repair estimate was $175. I'll keep my $175 and buy something that works. As stated by others, the knobs and switches are cheap. One year warranty is not very impressive for cheap components.

Didn't deal with Line 6. Dealt with shop authorized to repair Line 6 products.

Delays are pretty good, but the pedal is unreliable. If you gig with this pedal, expect some delay-less shows. The DL4 was the first line 6 product I have owned. The DL4 will be the last Line 6 product I own.

Not easy, but spend some time with it and read what "Tweek and Tweeze" do and you'll figure it out.

I rate it a "9", but I'm giving it a "10" to make up for the "1's" that "ANONOMOUS" gave this is pedal back in '01 (read his highly intellectually stimulating and informative review below). That guy probably still thinks ADA MP-1's and bullet belts are "aaawesome".

Seems well built. Tough casing. These have stood the test of time so far, and, not surprisingly, the Delay Modeler is the most popular of the "modeler" pedal series (like I knew they would). The modulation modeler is decent as well, but the delay modeler is the best of the bunch.

I've heard good things, but never had to call or contact Line 6...

Actually a "9" overall....but I'll make it a "10" to make up for bonehead "ANONOMOUS" review below filled with "1's". (Check it out for a good laugh). What a clueless wonder. Anyone who's owned tape, analog, and the various digital delay effects/pedals/rack processors generally knows what they are talking about, and can weigh the pros and cons of having tons of "vintage" rack gear, or pedals, vs. having one medium size footpedal roughly taking up the space of three compact pedals.This green box is quite an accomplishment for what it is, and does. My other favorite "delay models" are found on the FENDER CYBER-TWIN (two thumbs up for their tape echo models and analog delays!). If FENDER puts out the "CYBER TWIN MODELER", I'm there and might sell you my LINE 6 DELAY MODELER.

Pretty easy to understand the basics, but what tweak and tweeze do for each different model is quite hard to remember.
The loop sampler is easy to get to grips with and REALLY useful live.You can set up a short loop and play over the top of it and then just bring it in with the footswitch when you need it.
The tap tempo is probably the thing I use most and it's really handy for setting your delay times on the fly (C'mon you know how your songs are always faster live than when you're rehearsing them)The manual is great and very detailed.

Nice and warm. From memory, most of the models are pretty accurate, I've used most of the original units this thing models (not for a good few years though some of them: )
At the moment, I have my 3 settings programmed to:
1- Slapback 75 ms with 1 repeat

2-Ducking delay which dips the volume of the echo while you're playing and raises it when you stop (great for overdriven solos)

3- Tube echo with some wow and flutter (gives a great subtle flanging on the delay only)

In conjunction with the tap tempo switch, these settings give me all I need for most gigs.

I play numerous styles with various Teles, Strats and a 335.
My signal path goes : Boss CS2 Compressor - Dunlop Crybaby- Line 6 Distortion Modeler - Line 6 Modulation Modeler - Line 6 Delay Modeler - Electro Harmonix Holy Grail into either a Hiwatt Custom 100 stack or a Fender Hotrod Deville 2x12.
I don't use the amps send and return and I have no noise or clarity problems using it this way.

The silver cap flew off the tap tempo switch once but after nearly 2 years of at least 3 gigs a week, everything still works perfectly.Considering how many times I step on the tap tempo switch in the course of a gig, I think it's amazing it hasn't left the building a long time ago.

Haven't needed to contact them

I'm really happy with this unit, it does everything I need and I'm proud to own it.

The only thing I know about this after playing with it a week is that it is a loop sampler with a delay. I bought it b/c of the sampler, that's all. The delays are cool, but can't be used with the sampler?? oh well

Sounds great. The sampler that is. Exact... no flatness. It comes out exactly like it goes in unlike some other samplers I have heard.

I can and will depend on it. JB Osborne uses the same pedal and has done some great gigs with it

Havn't had to yet. Hope I never have to.

I play it all... Howie day, john mayer... stuff like that.
Again, I bought this pedal for the sampler. The boss loop station would have done but, it was a little more expensive and I have used the DL4 before and was comfortable with it. If you do a solo thing, then at least try playing with a sampler, you'll be suprised at what comes out!

The pedal's cool at first and it get's way better when you get to know it.

BUT--- The expression pedal option does have a HUGE bug in it. Like another reviewer said, you can't change the tempo while using the ex. pedal without hearing the worst garbled distortion ever known when you use the pedal again.

There are two small and only slightly cool fixes that I have found.
(neither of which will work in a live setting but they do help out in prepping for one or for studio work)

I'm only offering this info here because Line 6 won't acknowledge this problem and they won't give you this info!?

While using (any of the three) presets you can either:
A: set the exact same tempo to both the bottom and top pedal settings
this can be a really annoying thing to attempt (and close your ears while swithching between settings) but if you're successful you'll keep all your different parameter (tweek tweez, repeat, mix) settings

or

(this next fix is fast but it only saves the down position settings, you'll have to reset the up position settings)
B:When you find a new tempo (by tap or whatever) first unplug the expression pedal. Then save the new setting (Three seconds on the switch) and plug the xpression pedal back in. Now you'll have all of the bottom pedal settings and the new delay across the whole pedal.
No more B.S. sounds.

Of course every time you change the delay time again you'll have to go through one of these steps. If you try to do this live you're crazy!

If all that is too annoying for you - just turn this thing to loop sampler and have a blast.

Hope this helps somebody and saves them time...

I'm using this exclusively with acoustic guitars. A Baggs Para Acoustic DI boosts the signal from either an under the saddle transducer or a sticker type trancducer pickup.

This thing has great sounds for current acoustic pickups.

yes, but be ready before the gig.

I've never been as angry at a music business rep as when I got my B.S. e-mail response from them on the subject of the expression pedal bug.

They need to change this and adress user concerns.
Especially with the ridiculous $50 price for the expression option.

Fairly easy to get 'o.k.' sounds. Near impossible to achieve the same effect twice unless you use one of the three user presets (kinda skimpy on this one), or one of the pretty terrible factory presets. The manual is somewhat informative with plenty of juicy pictures of over-priced unattainable effects that do not sound similar to this unit. The overall sound palette is not very diverse but it has it's musical moments , more on this later.... a confusing number of buttons and knobs, huge size/weight, crappy power supply, and lack in musical sound diversity = expensive as hell?

I have been putting this unit to use for approximately three years now with a 73' Gibson 335 dot, 72' Telecaster ustom re-issue and a 62' Telecaster custom re-issue, hum-bucking and single coils. The unit goes into the front end of a Mesa mkI (teak & wickercane), and an Ampeg Superjet. The unit is extremely quiet no-matter how i use it in this scenario. I love the 'lo res' delay and the 'reverse' which sounds pretty good but I have found the delay time on this option quite useless in playing live reverse guitar. The 'Loop sampler' , in my opinion, wins hands down as far as usefulness deespite it's pathetic sample length. Tip : sample time can be doubled using the 'half time' octave down button at far right when recording a loop. One more thing, Using a delay BEFORE a good tube amps inherent warmth and saturation/distortion really sucks desireable tone out of the setup and I would suggest playing at more moderate levels due to the fact that you'll sound a little better clean with this monster. If you want a time-based-feedback-washout effect similar to what Radiohead is using a lot of these days, well, I've seen them use this thing. If you want warm, analog-sounding delay (think deluxe memory man) with musicaly versatile tone-shaping abilities, good luck. Tape 'flutter' emulation and 'sweep' functions are cheesy at best when not used with extreme caution and taste.

So far, it's held up to three years, give or take a few months, to non-abusive use. I would not carry a back-up unit as I do not want two of the DL4.

I stripped the horrid green finish of this bastard with alchahol and doubt if this action qualifies it for warranty service. I'm not concerned with 'looks' or 'vibe' so much as the color reminded me of furniture likely to be found in an apartment full of cats and lonliness. I'm sure they follow through on warranty procedure.

Let's face it, time-based effects sound much better the further they are down the chain. In a sense, I have found delay to be much more useable after the guitar speaker ie, before tape or harddrive or what have you. This unit is hours of fun using "loop-sampler" and "lo-res" functions and all in all quite diverse using these two functions. Besides these two settings, I have to admit that I've found the other fourteen funtions and three factory presets to be the same boring crappy sounding digital delay effect found first on the dial. The sweep, tape 'wow-and-flutter', and tube echo make me want to sell this unit, or at least be fully refunded and allowed to keep it for the sake of being so thoroughly insulted as per my intelligence dedspite being a poor speller.

manual or not this sultry lady takes some time to really get into. The loop is pristine but takes some element of coordination to get right. The knobs all have different designations, and though the manual might give a literary description, to really know how they work you will need to dail up a delay and play with the knobs and learn each sound nuance. Storing presets is easy enough (just push and hold) and once you sit down and get into it, you can get lost for hours in layers of lasting wetness.

this divine digital delay drops dripping dashes of deep delay. With a wide array of tonal choices the stereo outs makes this sexy sadie a must have among pedal afficianatos. Clean, wet, often striking a spokky resemblence to true analog delays. The Loop is quiet and clear, with no degradation of the tone whatsoever. I am not kidding this delay will bend your mind.

Built out of solid metal the entire pedal is some form of alloy, no plastic except for the knob covers. The on/off switches are metal, the casing is this sleek shiny forest green reminiscent of the green goblin. Never had a problem, and I use her in my line up live, in the studio, and for miscelanious jam sessions.

Wouldn't know haven't had any problems so I have never tried to contact Line 6

Some peolpe say (I did too initially) "this is wat too expensive for freakin" dealy pedal. stero or not!" yeah man, but it'll be the last delay you ever buy. People who know what it is, know what it is. I play all sorts of music from experimental indie/avant gaurd jazz to pop-rock and this pedal is usefull accross the board. This pedal will last you the rest of your natural life. Think about not buying it, ot selling it. maybe you should see a doctor.

Delay really isn't that hard a concept. Plenty of good sounds in this thing, although "tweak" and "tweez" are a bit obnoxious.

Generally runs into the front end of a '65 twin reverb or through the effects loop of a mesa dc-3. Good results either way.

Sounds digital if you want it to, and can get pretty close to analog sounds. "Wow," "flutter," and other deterioration effects sound a bit cheesy.

Extremely flexible, and true bypass is nice.

Still can't quite match the warmth of a deluxe memory man.

Very well built. It's taken a few beatings and come back every time.

Probably won't replace a deluxe memory man or a dm-2, but a very flexible and well-built all-purpose delay.

Okay, the basics are covered thoroughly in others reviews, but I found a MAJOR PROBLEM within the first 15 minutes of use. Here's the deal:

The DL4 has tap-tempo which lets you adjust the tempo of a preset's delay by tapping in a new tempo. (one of the main reasons I chose the DL4).

The DL4 also alows you to use an expression pedal to vary any parameter in real-time. (the other main reason I chose the DL4)

Both features work great independantly, and will help my live sound and creativity immensely -BUT- THEY WILL NOT WORK AT THE SAME TIME!!!

You program the expression pedal by setting it in heel-down, adjusting a knob, setting it in toe-down, adjusting another knob. Now the expression pedal sweeps between those two settings. Fine. But now try adjusting the tempo with the tap-tempo. Now the expression pedal has "learned" your new tempo, and in addition to sweeping bewtween your original settings, it sweeps the delay time. Anyone who has tried knows that changing the delay time results in pitch shifting. Which leaves you with echos of warbles and dive-bombing pitch that totally overwhelm your sound. Don't get me wrong, it's quite an interesting sound, but you wouldn't want it ALL THE TIME!

I've called and emailed customer service, and while they were very friendly and helpful, their answer was that this is just the way it is (barring a software update, which is not likely).
This is not a problem specific to my DL4 or to me *this is just the way it is designed*. I really think that someone should have discovered this problem in R&D. A real deal breaker.

Also, on a related note, the tap-tempo is not global. Meaning that you have to readjust the delay time (by tap dancing on your pedalboard) every time you turn the delay off and on. You cannot tap the tempo in at the begining of the song then have it ready to go halfway through... :(

For what it is, it sounds great. The presets are different and each one is usable, no filler. The only "real thing" I can compare to the models is the Space Echo, and I have to say it's pretty good. I'd use the DL4 over the real thing live any day, but I'd have to stick with a real Space Echo for recording. (The model is great, but it doesn't have that real old-tape grimy-ness to it, the DL4 is just a shade more restrained...).

We'll see...

Their email response was super prompt. They responded quickly to my presale questions and to my -frown- post sale frustrations. They even offered to (and did) call me back after waiting too long on hold. Now lets see if they'll relay my frustrations back to the main company.

Well, sometimes the sounds aren't everything. For the sounds, a nine. For the interface...well, still a three. I'll use it to record, but I think the interface is severely crippled (as a live tool) by the problem I described above. It would be fine if I never wanted to adjust the tap-tempo or tweak parameters with the expression pedal, but that is why I was willing to pay over $250 dollars. If I wanted a delay without those features there are plenty to choose from for less than half the price. In this case, I would choose a pedal with a well-designed interface, over a pedal with tons of analog models but a poorly thought out interface.

Maybe if enough owners and prospective buyers raise a stink Line 6 will release a fix! If this problem was fixed I would have no problem giving this pedal straight 10's.

Easy to use. Will need the manual, but it's simple and to the point.

Patch editing is easy...simple to tweak and save.

Found this pedal to alter the tone a bit. Not transparent when engaged - seemed to compress the tone...took the presence edge off the signal. Not bad for the price. For most applications, the listener will never know (PA/ambient noise live...post production tweaks in the studio).

Like the flexibilty provided by adding the Continuous Controller. Do wish the patch morphing from heel-to-toe was a bit smoother - is too abrupt.

Has intermitten problem with selected patches turning themselves off when playing in a club.

NA

I play all kinds of music...and this pedal is a good fit. Tap feature is handy as is the morphing/realtime control flexibility of the Continuous Controller. Also, rather than 3 patches you can (if you'd like) actually have 6 (one setting for heel, one for toe for each of the 3 buttons).

Was sold on this unit after I learned the number of top session cats in Nashville using the L6 gear (MM4 and DL4). If it works for them it'll work for me. Makes it easier to pick up artist gigs or cover material in a club when your road gear is similar to the stuff the guy cutting the album tracks used.

The footswitches mounted right on the circuit board scares me...might do a point-to-point rewire soon for better reliability. Otherwise, solid little unit.

You push buttons and twist knobs... nothing difficult here folks. When you change a preset and then want to change a setting, you have to turn the knob once before changing the setting to your liking. Since i've played a lot of line 6 products, i'm used to it. I like how you save a preset by holding down the desired bank button. As far as interface goes, the only down sides are that there are only 3 availible presets, and the loop function cannot be stored as one of them. The manual is ok, and the little reference stickers you get with the DL4 are handy.

Here's my rig: Boss Tuner -> Wah -> 5150II head & cab. In the FX Loop I run the DL4, Boss CH2 chorus, and an old ibanez delay. As far as i'm concerned, The DL4 is an awesome pedal. Some of the whacked-out models like the sweep delay and the lo-res delay make for great atmospheric effects. I wasn't around in the 60's or early 70's, so I really don't give a f--- if the DL4 accurately models a vintage echoplex. The DL4 has really helped me develop a more signature sound.

It's big and metal... Built like a german war tank. However, if you are going to be playing with this live, buy the ac adapter... that's a no brainer.

dunno yet...

The DL4 is definately worth every penny (especially since I paid $170 for it using a friend's music store discount). It's easy to use, sounds the balls, and you can stomp the hell out of it. I play in a hard rock band looking to go pro, and the DL4 has helped us shape our sound.

Tricky to figure out, but once you get it down it's pretty easy. I'm talking about the looper of course - 15 delays are far more than what I need. Editing patches is easy, but when you decide to use a delay and you want a different delay time, it comes up as the preset and you have to stomp on the tap tempo switch...bleh. Anyway, I downloaded the manual and that explained everything that wasn't immediately obvious.

I use this with a Marshall JCM 800 2203, 2 Mesa/Boogie 2x12 Rectofier cabinets, a Danelectro Dan-echo, an Electro-Harmonix Clone Theory, an Ibanez FL-9 flanger, and a Digitech Digiverb. The looper sometimes sounds weird compared to my normal tone, but it blends in very well once I tweak the mix knob. Sometimes I fuck up, but for the most part it's very cool. The half speed and reverse play options on the sampler make for some very cool options when making ambient/experimental music. In fact, I would almost reccomend this pedal to people making that type of music instead of guitarists - there are too many delays here. I'm more than happy with my Dan Echo, but that's just me.

I've never really had any problems with it, but it would be nice to have something to back it up. I tried a Boss Loop Station and since I don't have an effects loop, I have to run my effects in front of my amp. The Loop Station took away a lot of gain from my amp and this pedal didn't.

It's good but it's certainly not worth $250 unless you're a delay purist and you really need all of these delays, or feel like you do. Actually, it's pretty handy if you want a good analog delay, a good tube echo, and a good digital delay and you don't want to shell out money for all three. However, I don't think I would depend on this for my primary delay since all I need is a good washed out sound and a somewhat slapback-ish sound. I dunno. Like I said, I'm happy with my little Danelectro unit, but the sampler on this thing is really nice.

Just like any million-in-one pedal, keep in mind that all of these are the same basic effect - there's not a whole lot going on other than the subtle variations in each one. I would rather have a Memory Man.

Check it out and see if it's your thing before you spend the money.

Not the easiest box in the world to learn, but once you get the hang of it you're golden. Three presets and a tap tempo which is on the money. Manual is EXCELLENT, and covers the other Line 6 stomp boxes as well. Don't loose it though. It really does help you to dial into what you want, and you need to know what Tweak and Tweez does for each effect. If you loose the manual your screwed, so take advantage of the presets.

Sound quality is excellect based on the fact that every effect is customizable. I don't think it's a good idea to use the presets on any pedal. Every amp is different, and you might want to take some time to set it up to match your amp. I do notice the level drop off on some of the delays, so I stay away from the two or three where it's noticable. One of the best things about this pedal is the loop sampler. I think it's the best way to write guitar solos. Loop a riff for a new song you wrote, and jam on top of it for hours. This feature alone has improved my soloing substatially, and you always have someone to jam out with when your not practicing with the band...YOURSELF! I will never go without a loop sampler again.

Solid as a rock. I would (like with all pedals) slap it on a pedal board. All your gear will last longer if you lock it down. Durable switches, no worries.

Never need it.

I play straight up, original, hard rock and roll that uses a healthy dose of distortion. I ususally kick this thing in on solos and quiet lulls. Adds a great ambiance to your playing without making it muddy, and with out making it sound like you rely on effects. I play a Fender American Deluxe Fat Strat-->Boss TU-2 Tuner-->Line 6 DM4 Distortion Modeler-->Boss CH-1 Super Chorus-->Line 6 DL4 Delay Modeler-->Boss GE-7 EQ-->Fender Hotrod Deville 4x10. HUGE differece in the sound of Line 6 gear through a tube amp vs. solid state. Solid state will make their effects sound really digital, but a nice tube amp will warm this thing up like you wouldn't believe. Highly recommend the distortion modeler as well. Line 6 is as close as you will get to the real thing, but you do pay for it. If someone stole it I'd kill the bastard. Looper has given me so many ideas for new songs it's ridiculous. Just a great tool to have in your back pocket.

Lots of buttons, but not that hard to figure out. The looping function is real easy to figure out, as well. The manual is clear and gives detailed instructions.

I used this with a strat and Les Paul, through various overdrives, wahs, envelope filters, etc. into a few different Fender amps.

It sounds pretty good. Not exactly like the originals, but what did you expect? Tinker with it some, and you can get some very interesting delays going. It doesn't muddy up your tone. It does add a weird, digital-sounding bit of high end prescence. It's not that noticeable sometimes, and other times, very noticeable. Overall, it's very usefull and sounds better than many delays I've tried.

OK, here we go. I got this unit, played it for about 2 hours, and it died. Stone cold dead. It was an ex-delay unit. So took it back to the store, and they gave me another one. I should have just gotten my money back, but no, I got another one. It worked flawlessly for over a year of heavy gigging then it died, too - just like the first one did - no lights, no sound, nothing. It worked perfectly, I unplugged it, plugged it back in, and it was dead. I took it into the repair shop - an authorized Line6 repair shop mind you, and the guy there said that basically these units are not made very well, and that he's seen this same thing over and over again. He also said that if something other than a switch or jack breaks on these things, it will need a whole new circuit board. A new circuit board runs $150. So for the price of buying a DL-4, which I mainly wanted for the looping feature, and the repair, I could have gotten a Boomerang.

Unfortunately, since the warranty was up on my DL-4, I'm just out of luck, and didn't even bother contacting the company.

I'll give it a 5, since it does what it claims to do well, but poor design and weak construction make it a big risk. I certainly wouldn't pay $250 another one, since I've now had 2 of them die on me. It seems like a good value, but I guess the whole "you get what you pay for" adage seems to be accurate on this one.

I had a carl martin delayla. I got 2 defects in a row, said screw it and traded it for the line 6. First of all, you can't beat the price. Vintage stomp boxes can be a downright rip! Most guys that bitch about this unit probably couldn't spot it with a blindfold. It may not look as cool as the dinosaurs but I am sick of paying thousands of dollars because something is old and funky looking. If your label is buying your effects, go vintage. If you aren't rich this is just for you. I paid 250 bucks. Remember, it's the indian not the arrow! Aside from that, it sounds damn good! I was a little intimidated at first cause I hate alot of knobs. Within an hour or so I figured it out. If you like the boss pedals, you'll love this. It's better as a live tool. I could hear a little pulse on the loops when recording. Overall I say thumbs up and I've been called a music snob. I run this through an old deluxe reverb and play a les paul. If you have thousands of dollars and know someone to work on your old pedals, you won't be better off but you'll feel cool!

I am running this stereo through a 70's deluxe and a matchless 2-12. It doesn't sound like all the original pedals but it's unrealistic to expect that. It's cool for what it is. It's also very damn versatile. Screw their amp, screw their sad excuse for a leslie, but this is cool.

Too soon to tell but it looks really solid. I paid 300 bucks for the carl martin delayla tape echo simulator and it wouldn't do 1/10th what this will. Like I said, I went through 2 carl martins in 2 months. They kept breaking and have delicate switches. I think this comparison is important to mention. If these damn overpriced stomp boxes were half of what the vintage nerds claimed, there'd be no market for the line 6!

too soon.

I play drugged out, spacey rock. I've been playing 25 years. I would get another if this was stolen. My favorite is the 14 second loop. What other delay does this? Live it's awesome and seems real road worthy. Boss fans will be satisfied beyond belief. Vintage junkies will bitch no matter what. It helps me live because it does everything! This is fact: if we concentrated on perfecting our craft as guitarists as much as we search for the right pedals, we wouldn't need the damn things!

This is pretty simple to use and set up. Plug in where it says in and out where it says out. The manual is pretty good and it may take some people a while to get the presets to where you like them but hey everyone is different.

This unit is not noisy at all, it has true bypass. The delays are excellent, the analog delays are almost analog and the digital delays are just that. It has been said many times with Line 6 stuff that it is an imitation of the real thing they are not the real thing. So if you expect to set it up for a Maestro Echoplex and expect to have sound EXACTLY like a Maestro Echoplex then you might as well go buy the real thing.

Never had a problem!

Never dealt with them but I heard they are excellent

This thing gets an overall ten. It is a great little delay unit that covers all the basis. For people like me who need more than one delay and who are too lazy to bend down between songs to switch settings this thing is a God-send. Great sounds!

The DL-4 is easy to use, but since the knobs serve different funtions for each delay/echo type, there is a certain amount of practice required to memorize the "sweep range" of every setting. The unit comes with two stickers which show you what those settings are, but there is nowhere on the unit to put them... I imagine they were intended to be stuck to a guitar...

As with most virtual instrumnets, the sound quality is excellent. The only time this box sounds dirty is when it's supposed to.

The line 6 units are sturdily built, but the paint leaves a lot to be desired. My FM-4 Filter Modeler and DL-4 are both intact, but as I was trying to purchase the last remaining MM-4 Modulation Modeler from the "local shoppe that never has anything in stock", I noticed some nasty chipped corners; when I inquired as to what happened to the unit, the simply said, "That's from people trying it out in the store". Line 6 should ditch the free batteries and apply an extra coat of laquer or something to that effect. Minor gripes aside, this pedal will no doubt last a really long time.

I have yet to deal with Line 6 for technical assistance.

I got the FM-4 a while back, and I'd heard good things about the DL-4 Delay Modeler too, but circumstances made it so I had to wait to get one... Now that I have one, I can't believe I lived without it for so long.

As a long time delay fanatic and user of vintage boxes, I was skeptical that this unit could deliver as promised, but deliver it does, and in spades. I've owned several of the units it emulates, and I'm very impressed with the results. One unit I haven't owned which is modeled on the DL-4, the tube "Echoplex", is so convincingly tube-like, that I feel like I've just unearthed a mint, vintage unit from a long forgotten corner of a warehouse. Of course, the main advantage here being that you don't have to fuss about getting replacement tapes and hardened pinch-rollers, and that there is no hum accompanying the "Memoryman" echoes.

Line 6 have also shown extra intelligence by adding a nice 800ms echo to your looper, so you don't lose your echo effect when doing sound on sound stuff... I do wish the Adapter was included. I use this pedal a whole lot, as a STUDIO effect, and the first time I attempted to buy it, the clerk at the "local shoppe that never has anything in stock", they didn't have them, and i cancelled my purchase, pending the arrival of the power supplies, which took another 6 months. I'm sure they were already available from Line 6, it's just that most stores never have the adapters, cables, racks, cases, stands, etc. that you need when you need them. All in all though, a properly powered Line 6 DL-4 is just about the best delay unit I have ever had the pleasure to use.

this pedal is very simple to use once you understand line6's control dials. once you touch them you can't find the original settings again.
once you tweak a setting to your likeing save it and it will bw there
but remember what position the dials were at in case you need to make adjustments. small switches sometimes make changing patches on the fly difficult.the manual is helpfull in understanding "where they are coming from" when creating effects.

i'm using this mainly with Les Pauls or PRS's through a Dual-rectifier
halfstack.it's noise free(like all line 6 stuff so far)sometimes i do loose volume especially with the loop sampler.some effects seem to do the same thing. the sweep is very cool and the tap tempo button at your feet makes it easy to change delay times quickly.

all line six stuff seems to be reliable i've had this for about 2 months and it's been great.don't use it with batteries playing live get the AC adapter.(which they should include)

their customer service is very good they have helped me before with some amp questions.i haven't needed them for this unit.

i've had several different delays, i bought this because it did it all and i've had great experiences with their amps.i play in a hard rock cover band and it gives me the ability to play different styles of music without always bending down and tweaking my pedals.i've worked in some major music stores and i've screwed with every pedal out there and this does the job better then anything i,ve played.unless you want 16 different pedals on stage.they make great stuff and it models what its suppoded to very well.besides how many people can REALLY tell the difference?????

Basically it is easy to operate.But you have to go back to the manual once in a while.

I use this unit in my "top 40" set up. EB-Vol.--Cry babie--Jekyll&hyde
--Carl Martin compressor--DL 4-- clean tube amp (Fender).
The effect quality is very good. Not noisy.
I never used a real tape echo. I don't care.

Footswitch had to be repaired. No big thing.
Do not depend on batteries. Better use AC.

I have been playing for 20 years. I own lots of stuff. I do blues,
funk, rock, jazz.
3 presets are enough for me and 16 models almost too much...
I love the loop , i know there are more sophisticated ones.But once the unit is turned off, the loop has gone.Pity.
To my mind they should have put 2 or 3 reverb models in this thing and leave out some of the delays. Then the DL 4 would be real mature.And it would have been clever because there is no serious reverb stomp box on the market..

Dead easy to use, once you've read the manual. The only areas that aren't immediatly obvious are the use of the 'tweak' and 'tweez' controls and the inner workings of the loop sampler. However, 15 minutes play with the manual by your side and you should be OK. There are only 3 program patches (effectivley doubled to 6 if you use the expression pedal), which is slightly limiting but only because there are so many useable sounds on board. Look at it positively; its still offers 2 more programs than a BOSS pedal!

The pure sound quality of this unit to my ears is excellent. All the models are very quiet and realistic. It s great fun hearing the wow and flutter of the tape delay emulations. The analogue versions run away into a satisfying grungy 'thump' if you set the repeats high enough. The digital delays are crisp and clean and the loop sampler is intuitive and great fun. You could certainly use the looper for a solo piece, but i'm not sure that I'd be happy trying to get it to stay in time for a middle 8 break though!

However and its a BIG however; This pedal is next to useless to me!

I auditioned the pedal in my local music shop, plugging straight into the guitar input of a small combo and as you'll gather from my comments so far, I was very impressed. My amp set up is a Marshall JMP1 pre-amp feeding a 9100 valve power amp, which I run in stereo, with all effects fed by the loop. Unfortunately, although the DL4 sounds excellent through the loop and in stereo, there is an obvious and very noticeable drop in volume when a patch is selected. The JMP1 has a number of send and return level options, but the DL4 would not behave whatever combination I tried. Absolutely every other effect(either pedal or rackmount) works fine within the loop. Incidentally, I've also got a small Peavy Bandit combo with a loop and through that the DL4 works perfectly! I've spoken to Line 6 in the UK (more below) and it appears that the unit will just not match up with my Marshall.

The point here is that you MUST audition this unit with your own amp if you want to use it via an effects loop.

For pure sound quality I'd give the DL4 a 9, but obviously the volume drop problem means I'll have to mark it down.

The chassis is built like a tank, the knobs feel slightly flimsy, but should be pretty well protected in normal use. The volume drop problem isn't a fault so I see no reason to doubt it for reliability, but I've not had it long enough to give a meaningful opinion.

I e-mailed Line 6 in the UK regarding the volume drop issue mentioned above and received a response within 2 hours. We exchanged a further 4 or 5 e-mails until they admitted defeat in coming up with a solution. In terms of speed and quality of service they've been excellent.

I play a weird mix of stuff influenced by film soundtracks and late 70's/ early 80's 'alternative rock'. I've used delays of every type over the past 25 years or so and it is a very importnat element of my sound. I'm sick of multi-effects and wanted a standalone decent quality delay unit, and the DL4 does everything and more that I wanted. In terms of the quality of delays and (limited) programability, this Line 6 pedal is perfect. Unfortunately the volume drop problem renders it useless in a live situation and consequently its gone back to the store and I'm still looking for 'that' delay pedal. One can only hope that Line 6 will rectify this presumably simple problem in the near future, in which case I'll be first in the queue to buy one.

As above, without the volume problem I'd give it an 8 or 9, but for me it'll have to be a 4

It's very easy, it does have a few quirks but the manual is very helpfull in that respect.

24 bit Sound. It 's great. I'm hard to satisfy and this does the job right. I play a Parker Nitefly through a Peavy ultra 112 and run this throught the effects loop. I can do so many different sounds with this it's insane. I will sit and tweak it all day if I can. It's a lot of fun. The loop feature is so Great I can't even express how usefull it is. (Although there are better loop units out there) My tip is to record long loops in slow mode you get twice the time.

I've never had any problems

Never had a need to use them but their web page is really great. They haven't responded to a question I had about guitar port yet though.

Sounds Great! If you like you delay with Variety this is the pedal for you.

This is a follow up to a previous review where I slagged the unit badly. It appears I had a defective one.

It's easy enough to use, but I still wish there were more options to using that tap tempo.

Now that I have one that WORKS, it sounds pretty jammin. The volumes seem to be consistent now. There's only 3 presets that you can make. Kinda a shame since there are a LOT of cool delay types.

Hmm tough to say, my first was kooky. This one seems prety solid. Advice: Check the actual unit you buy before taking home.

I'll give credit here still, callbacks were quick and courteous, and usually quite helpful.

It's expensive for a non-boutique pedal (mass-produced), but it does its job well. Lots of cool sounds, with a few small exceptions good for improv. I don't use the looper much. I'm kinda old school that way I guess. Currently it is also working quite well as a chorus/doubler pedal in addition to a delay.

Here is my story.....

You will notice my posts all over this page.

After 5 months, line 6 had LOST my first delay modeler.....So the store replaced it.

It has no been to a gig.

I has been in a smoke free house.

It has not been dropped or abused.

It has barely been used.

And my new on is DEAD. 20 different Duracell Batteries, a adaptor, nothing.

No light, no sound, nothing.

So, the first on broke 3 times in under a year, and the brand new replacement is now broken.

There repair team is slower then the second coming. And they LOSE GEAR. How do you lose a piece of gear sent in on repair? Do they hire nothing but Deadheads having endless flashbacks?

Buy a Akai. At least they last. Hell, buy anything BUT this POS.

Easy enough. Find what you want before improvising a song, though.
Timing is everything. Turn some knobs, perfect the tone, and play.

I play a Fernandes Tele (EMG's) and an 80's Fender Jap Strat (emg's) into a Boss Compression, the DL4, Boss Chrous, Trem and Acoustic Simulator, Nobles Phaser, Marhsall JackHammer and Gov'ner, Peavey DirtyDog, Crybaby and Volume and into my 1x12 Fender Deluxe. Now, through all of my pedals, I figured that the DL4 would sound muddy when travelling through all those chrods. But since it is digital, I was surprised at the result. It still came out pretty clear! The only trouble is changing the tempo onstage after a song. You look like you're dancing trying to hit the banmk, tempo, save, etc etc
I can get everythinh from crappy Pearl Jam live dealy, or sweet, smooth Edge "U2" dealy. I like the reverse delay for crazy songs

The knobs look cheesey, and I don't think it's as strong as all my Boss pedals, but sturdy non-the-less.

Didn't have to use it.

I like it, except for the fact that there are not enough user preset (saving banks) to use it for different songs without changin tempos)

Once reading the manual, it is VERY easy to use. I have to give it a 10, considering mine didn't have a manual, but i managed to work it fully within a day

I think line 6 probably made a mistake by claiming to exactly recreate the tones of all this old gear. I think this pedal sounds wonderful, and i do not give two flying fucks if it doesn't sound exactly like the echoplex that you have to change tape regularly and breaks down mid song. A nine just because I don't like all the sounds

I had a problem with the second from right switch that if you engaged it there was a volume drop, but other than that totally 100% reliable

Never had any help, but that coz I live i the uk, and you don't get a warrant for ANY gear over hear

This has been an integral part of my band since i got it, and would definatly replace it if it were stolen/lost/broken. My favourite sound is lo res delay, which is supposed to simulate shite early digital dealys, and it does just that-it sounds shite

Not the easiest thing to just pick up and rock out with, but if you read the manual, it is actually quite simple. It even comes with stickers for you to put on the faceplate for reference. if you are stumped, RTFM

I am using this thing on a '64 Fender Jazz Bass and on an '81 SG Firebrand. The Bass Runs through the pedalboard to a Hartke kickback then to PA. The SG runs out from the same pedalboard split to a SuNN Stagemaster (eww.) Of course the guitar sounds better, but the DL4 handles Bass Frequencys remarkably well. Other reviewers are right, in saying that you want to run your distortion in your pedal chain before you get to the DL4 but that is also in the manual, (see above.) If you think it is cool to whip around and poke a button on your amp instead of casually hit a pedal for your distortion, you may not be cool enough to own the DL4.

My only gripe is that when activating a preprogrammed type, there is a slight pop. Not usually noticible live, but I wouldn't record with it unless I were doing Delay last. Tap tempo is silent... this is better than most adjustable pedals.

I met a violinist in Redmond Wa, who just uses this thing. When I first heard him, he was using the loop sampler, and I couldn't tell he wasn't a quartet. Amazing.

I would easily gig with this thing. It is as sturdy as an sm58. It even ended up down a flight of stairs once...

some people have mentioned that the loop effect occasionally wigs out... this is true if you have recorded a loop, and haven't succsessfully stopped recording, or have budged a knob while recording. You have to be careful with that.

I haven't dealt with their customer service directly, but I am giving them an 8 because they have the manual available for download on their website in a .pdf file. How cool is that?

I love the shoegazer stuff, alt rock and play experimental. This is the first pedal I would replace in my lineup if my rig gets ripped off (save the Boss Tu-2, most valuable pedal on earth.)

There is a BOSS delay and reverb combo unit that I reccommend if you are toying with the concept of delay, or if you are new to the game.

The DL4 is for the hardcore.