stereo delays for 80s vibes

[BlixaFan]

hey guys!
so i thought i'd get some input..
i've been sort of chasing that 80s studio tone (you know, the one with a lot of compression, and chorus, and delay, usually a W/D/W setup with 3 mesa heads and a fridge of rack effects... ) and i've started to go down the stereo delay rabbit hole. I want to run a stereo delay into my two heads

I am considering any of these 3, and i've listed some of my personal pros and cons for them
would love to hear feedback from anyone that owns any of these, and if you would recommend the pedal for what I am looking for and/or if you'd buy it again if you had the chance today

1. TC ELECTRONIC 2290 P Pedal
Pros: sounds pretty on point for the TC 2290 rack sound. Affordable. Looks the part, I like the displays, and it has that 80s aesthetic of the original, in pedal form
Cons: basically a Behringer product, which I don't necessarily love, no proper manual, app dependent.. oh and some people have said it's a little buggy, or feels like it needed a few more months of development before they actually released it.


2. Boss EVH SDE3000 -
Pros: Boss, they've never let me down. EVH, as he's one of my favorites and I love his wide guitar sound. I'd go for the EVH model due to the extra options on the back for expression pedals etc.
Cons: it's expensive!! very expensive even. looks like there's menus, and it also has an app I believe..


3. Free The Tone FF1Y -
Pros: Made in Japan! I do like my Japanese made products, and again, none of the Japanese made guitars or tools I own have ever let me down. Controls seem to be laid out in an intuitive and easily accessible way. no menus or apps, just what you see. Relatively affordable, on part with the TC on the used market. even new I can get it for under $600 CAD
Cons: I don't know?


Also here's a photo of a 1980s superstrat to make things interesting

[cestlamort]

I haven’t played any of the above but a couple (budget) alternatives:

Eventide Micropitch does an amazing detuned stereo delay thing (or H9 or H90). I use the H9 version on nearly everything.

Boss DD500 has an SDE mode. It sounded cool when I I gave one a weeks-long spin. Not the same UI joy of course.

[øøøøøøø]

Since you’re already using a rack, why not go period correct and do a rackmount device like an H3000 (or on the budget end, a Yamaha SPX90) with a midi foot controller?

Or if it must be a pedal, the Eventide H90 is crazy capable. Not as immediate as a single function pedal (you really have to learn to use it to get the best of it) but it’s just fantastic sounding and ridiculously capable

[BlixaFan]

I haven’t played any of the above but a couple (budget) alternatives:

Eventide Micropitch does an amazing detuned stereo delay thing (or H9 or H90). I use the H9 version on nearly everything.

Boss DD500 has an SDE mode. It sounded cool when I I gave one a weeks-long spin. Not the same UI joy of course.

i'll look into these two! I didn't realize the DD500 had an SDE mode

Since you’re already using a rack, why not go period correct and do a rackmount device like an H3000 (or on the budget end, a Yamaha SPX90) with a midi foot controller?

Or if it must be a pedal, the Eventide H90 is crazy capable. Not as immediate as a single function pedal (you really have to learn to use it to get the best of it) but it’s just fantastic sounding and ridiculously capable

I am not currently running a rack. an H3000 would be cool but after buying an SPX90 last year and having it blow all caps (and being unable to find anyone willing to work on it), i think i'll pass on the vintage rack gear at this point...
i've considered the H90, or even an older H9...

[fuzzjunkie]

If you go with a rack mount device some of the old Roland and Yamaha units go for reasonable prices. I have a Roland DEP-5, which replaced the SDE-3000, but has that sound, plus modulation and reverb. You can have the whole ‘80s chain in one box. Chorus, delay and reverb. If you want stereo in-and-out, the Yamaha SPX-1000 has that, plus chorus, delay and reverb. It also has the Symphonic patch if you ever want a Slowdive/shoegaze sound.

Otherwise I would recommend the Eventide pedals already mentioned. If you have chorus and reverb covered, you could just go with the Timefactor. The ducking delay patch emulation is basically a 2290, and the edit: as Cestlamort points out below, it’s the Vintage Delay, not the digital digital delay can be tuned to sound like the SDE-3000, so you’ll have both in one box. A slightly smaller box at that. All the Eventide pedals have expression control, so you’re not required to upgrade to a deluxe version.

[cestlamort]

Or if it must be a pedal, the Eventide H90 is crazy capable. Not as immediate as a single function pedal (you really have to learn to use it to get the best of it) but it’s just fantastic sounding and ridiculously capable

Yes, the H90 sounds fantastic and can do some amazing things. I'm still in the "treat as two discrete algorithms" phase, and it is totally a level up from the H9 in all regards. Just phenomenal what it can do. There's a learning curve, but so worth it. Explore the different effects ("presets"/"algorithms") and it's like getting a new pedal every day for two months.

It also means that the second hand prices for H9s (get the Max) are plummeting and you can pick one up for $325 or so (and a core/standard for 250-ish if you want to supplement the max.) Timefactors are popping up for less than $175, Pitchfactors tend to be way more for some reason. H90s are getting cheaper too (maybe 650-750 used).

Worth mentioning, too, that the Tricerachorus pedal (and program) also has a detune.

I'll have to play with the ducking delay and digital delay more. I never spent the time on those (partially because I like the Vintage Delay so much, and then got enamored with the micropitch algorithm).

More delays:
I didn't gel with the Strymon Dig or Meris Polymoon. Both sounded great and deep but I was deterred by the UI and the prospect of learning another philosophy. (Or: too many secondary functions without an easy way to see what they are or save presets. The Polymoon has an editor I guess. It felt like user generated freeware, which it is. Or, to be honest, I've already invested time and more in the Eventide ecosystem, so I decided to focus on making that do all it can before trying other stuff. I didn't hold onto the Boss DD500 for that reason as well, but I liked being able to deep edit that one. And there's a Mac editor, which seemed clear and robust). People also seem to enjoy the Eventide Rose (analog voiced digital) but I haven't played it.

I've felt that the 00s/10s were a golden age of analog delays, and we're in one for digital delays, too.

[fuzzjunkie]

I haven’t programmed my Timefactor in years, so I made a mistake. I did mean the Vintage Delay, not the Digital Delay, for recreating SDE-3000 type sounds. They’re 2 different algorithms and the regular digital delay is much more pristine. I like the 12-bit settings on the Vintage for Roland ‘80s digital delay sounds.

I'll have to play with the ducking delay and digital delay more. I never spent the time on those (partially because I like the Vintage Delay so much, and then got enamored with the micropitch algorithm).

[cestlamort]

I haven’t programmed my Timefactor in years, so I made a mistake. I did mean the Vintage Delay, not the Digital Delay, for recreating SDE-3000 type sounds. They’re 2 different algorithms and the regular digital delay is much more pristine. I like the 12-bit settings on the Vintage for Roland ‘80s digital delay sounds.

I'll have to play with the ducking delay and digital delay more. I never spent the time on those (partially because I like the Vintage Delay so much, and then got enamored with the micropitch algorithm).

ha. No worries. The vintage delay actually knocked the (huge) SDD3000 off my board. Not exactly the same (missing some magic) but really close (after much tweaking / using the expression pedal to sweep through individual parameters and the filter until it sounded right). I was wondering how you got vintage digital sounds out of the Digital Delay (which does all sorts of stuff I don't quite grasp, the cross over, for example, supposedly is for changing the delay time but it totally effects the repeats in other ways. As an armchair/amateur user and guitar hack, sometimes the Eventide stuff has glorious results and makes me feel like an audio engineer, sometimes it makes me feel like I'm definitely not an audio engineer )