DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

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burntumber
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DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by burntumber » Mon Aug 22, 2016 4:25 pm

wanted one since they came out

of course I didn't want to drop $300+ on a new one
and when something was on CL I never had the cash.

finally today I got one for $150 CAD, with the power supply.

went home, plugged in it, tweak'd & tweez'd the shit out of it,
when I looked over at the clock 3 hours had passed by.

this thing really is a time machine.


I like cranking it to extreme settings, with the mix knob around 1o'clock so the weirdness sits back in the mix, underneath my clean sounds.

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Re: DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by Ursa Minor » Mon Aug 22, 2016 5:37 pm

Congrats! I used one as my main swiss army delay for a LONG time. The looper is cool too. I'm kinda missing that these days. That big DL4 always sounded great to me and was pretty reliable considering how much it got knocked around then. I've heard horror stories about reliability but mine was always great.
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Re: DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by pj » Wed Aug 24, 2016 12:49 am

kosmonautmayhem wrote:Congrats! I used one as my main swiss army delay for a LONG time. The looper is cool too. I'm kinda missing that these days. That big DL4 always sounded great to me and was pretty reliable considering how much it got knocked around then. I've heard horror stories about reliability but mine was always great.
I would never call these reliable. The switches are wonky and will end up not working. If they beefed up this aspect of the pedal it would be outstanding.

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Re: DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by niemand » Wed Aug 24, 2016 4:08 am

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Last edited by niemand on Thu Feb 02, 2017 12:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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burntumber
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Re: DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by burntumber » Wed Aug 24, 2016 7:25 am

wow, sounds like what I'd read about Berhinger pedals...

I've owned 2 FM4s (1 was stolen)

neither have had any issues.

when/if the power supply dies I can always replace it with a 1spot or Powerall.

I know the pot posts are plastic, I'm not rough with my gear, I just make noise in my bedroom.

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Re: DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by StevenO » Wed Aug 24, 2016 9:10 am

I enjoy mine. NOT a fan of the delay sounds, but the looper is superb!

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Re: DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by Shadoweclipse13 » Wed Aug 24, 2016 9:42 am

I've heard nightmare stories about the DL4 switches, but never had problems with them myself when I had mine. I think there are a couple companies (Analogman?) who offer upgrade kits for the footswitches too, incase you do ever have a problem with them.

I prefer single pedals with separate knobs (as opposed to memory banks and presets), but my DL4 was the most versatile delay I've ever had. When I took it in to trade it in, the guy was going through the settings to make sure everything worked and found some funky thing I'd done. He was like "holy shit, how did you do that?!?"
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Re: DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by DanyoSound » Wed Aug 24, 2016 2:09 pm

I still have my DL4 from the late 90s. I only stopped using it a few years ago when I decided I needed a better delay and a better looper. But in fact, the delays and the looper on the DL4 are fantastic. The looper functions are very useful: particularly the Play-Once-More-&-Stop switch. That function allows you to not worry about stomping on multiple pedals at the same time; it buys time to stomp on the ones you need.

I saw Don Caballero in the late 90s when the DL4 was brand new. The guitarist had two of them, and he really made use of them both. Great pedal.
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Re: DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by cpeck » Thu Aug 25, 2016 7:49 am

Loved the sounds and looper functionality. Did not enjoy the broken switches that happened every few months. Actually ended up sending mine back to Line 6 sans RMA number with a note saying "I'm tired of this breaking". They called me and said I shouldn't have done that, but they fixed it for free and sent it back to me. I sold it shortly thereafter. I do use the M9 now which has all of the same sounds (afaik).

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Re: DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by burntumber » Thu Aug 25, 2016 7:54 am

Don Cab are da shiiiiiiiit

Tera Melos really rely on using the DL4 as well

and not really a fan but the guitarist from Minus the bear uses 4 of them
http://67.media.tumblr.com/563a44126114 ... 1_1280.jpg

I'm surprized Line 6 never made a box that was just the looper with its play once, reverse, 1/2speed functions.

I remember reading on Guitargeek back in the day that someone there had to send his back 3 times for repairs.
So ya, maybe the early ones are hit or miss.

A while ago I got a Jamman Delay thinking it was a good alternative,
it is, though it's still quite different.
...now I need to figure out a way to use those together.

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Re: DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by DanyoSound » Thu Aug 25, 2016 1:18 pm

burntumber wrote:Don Cab are da shiiiiiiiit

I'm surprized Line 6 never made a box that was just the looper with its play once, reverse, 1/2speed functions.

I remember reading on Guitargeek back in the day that someone there had to send his back 3 times for repairs.
So ya, maybe the early ones are hit or miss.
I think a looper with the functions you mentioned would be awesome, too -- especially if it ran on 9v DC, instead of 9v AC. Such a pedal would save a little real estate space, too.

I use TC Electronic Ditto X2, and does everything the DL4 does minus the Play-Once function. It also runs on 9v DC at 100 mA, so it's much better on the board without a compromising power supply.

I've had my DL4 since the late 90s, and I've never broken a switch. I've used it continuously, and I don't baby my pedals too much (but I certainly take care of them). Either a bought a more robust version (and perhaps newer versions used cheaper components) or the people who have broken pedals treat their gear horribly. I know one of my friends broke a fancy synth pedal I had for years, and I realized that she was just terrible with gear.
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Re: DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by Mclean » Tue Aug 30, 2016 12:09 pm

DL4's are great fun. My advice is to get yourself an expression pedal - it opens up a world of possibilities.
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Re: DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by burntumber » Tue Aug 30, 2016 8:31 pm

Mclean wrote:DL4's are great fun. My advice is to get yourself an expression pedal - it opens up a world of possibilities.
not a bad idea!

a couple days ago I plugged a cable from one output to the mono input on the DL4
then plugged my guitar in the 2nd input,
so the delays ran into themselves

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Re: DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by pj » Mon Sep 19, 2016 2:40 am

burntumber wrote:wow, sounds like what I'd read about Berhinger pedals...

I've owned 2 FM4s (1 was stolen)

neither have had any issues.

when/if the power supply dies I can always replace it with a 1spot or Powerall.

I know the pot posts are plastic, I'm not rough with my gear, I just make noise in my bedroom.
I have a FM4. You tend to stomp on the switches a lot less than with a DL4. (At least I do.)

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Re: DL4 ...ffffffffinally!

Post by ifallalot » Mon Sep 19, 2016 5:08 am

This is next on the list. I have a Reverb.com feed set up to alert me on new listings but I just need to shit or get off the pot

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