DOD/Digitech's past delay units have been pretty hit and miss in my delay book. Their standouts include the amazing PDS lineup from the late '80s with its warm and fuzzy 12-bit sound and the warm analog goodness of the pale blue DOD FX-90 Delay. These earlier models were right on the money sound-wise as opposed to the mid-'90s sterility of the DFX-9 Digital Delay and DFX94 Delay/Sampler. These noisy pedals were pretty lifeless when compared to earlier efforts, even if the sampling features on the DFX94 had its merits. The appearance of the very cool FX96 Analog echo in the late '90s brought some character back to the lineup but was plagued by it's cheap plastic stomper and flaky switch. After a number of years of seemingly letting their pedal line languish, Digitech really surprised us with their new line of known as the X-Series. Out of all the recently unveiled X-Series pedals, we were most excited to plug in the companies feature-packed XDD Digidelay. Even with the GuitarGeek Compound littered with everything from vintage analog tape echoes to the latest and greatest digital delay rackmounts, we can still never have enough delays choices around!

Well, choices are what the new Digidelay is all about! Along with the traditional Level, Repeats and Time knobs there is a single multi-mode knob that allows up to seven different delay variations. The first three modes are the XDD's standard delay divided into 3 time ranges, 10-250ms, 250-1sec and 1-4sec respectively. The actual delay has a nice round sound with plenty of presence. Notes and strums ring clear with surprisingly warm repeats and just enough diffusion to avoid that metallic ping of most digital delays. I won't go so far as to say it sounds analog but it does have more of a liquid quality than what we normally expect within the cold world of 1s and 0s. It's a stunning delay that has all the makings of a winner. The 3 time selections are wisely spaced for the majority of tempos although the unit's tap-tempo can take over at any time by simply pressing and holding the pedal for three seconds, then tapping in time with the beat. The unit bases the tempo on your last two taps. You can re-adjust your tempos while in the tap mode which can make for some terrific spacial change-ups. Another three-second hold releases you from the mode, leaving your last tempo choice intact.

The remainder of delay types offer a wide range of character and possibilities. The tape delay in mode four takes a wonderful stab at emulating a vintage echo, and just like the FX-96 or FX-90, it succeeds on all levels. It is thick while still retaining some elasticity and notes gently degrade with each repeat just like any tape-based unit. A 100ms to one second range allows you to dial in quick and convincing '50s-esque slapbacks or long cascading lines. We've been so used to the traditional 350ms restraints of analog echoes that the extra 650ms had us noodling in trippy places that Syd Barret only hallucinated about. One psychedelic standard sadly missing though, is the wild oscillation freakouts of analog units. The XDD flirts closely with this kind of feedback but stops short of rolling over on itself. Part of this has to do with the dual function of the repeat knob. Pegging the dial to the far right, in any of the delay modes, actually places the unit into a hold mode. There is a fine line between getting maximum repeats or getting infinite hold. It's kind of annoying but on a single pedal I guess you've got to squeeze in functions where you can. It's worth mentioning that this the ONLY mode that pulls off, albeit simulated, the spacey pitched sounds you get from twiddling an analog delay's time knob while playing. All the other digital delay modes will only spit out metallic rings and glitches as you turn the time knob. I'm not the knocking the digitalized noises it can make but after a while I began to miss the smooth sweeps of older units.

The tame atmospherics continue on in the Mod-Delay mode. This effect adds a bit of chorus to the repeats for a smooth shimmering sound that hearkens back to the early nineties and the hazy guitar blurs of many shoegazer bands. The sound is ultra-smooth on longer settings and the wobbly rate of the chorus is synched to match the delay time. Maybe I listened to way too many Cocteau Twins records a decade ago, but the overall sound of this mode comes off a bit dated unless combined with other fuzzy effects. This mode isn't completely calm as short delay and repeat settings can conjure up crazy chorused clangs or fun flanger-isms. These little modulations are almost like having another mode within a mode!

Another added bonus is Digitech's clever cabinet modeling feature. When activated it enables the output to run through the companies CIT modeling technology making it perfect for home recording duties. We had convincing recorded results when using this with their new overdrive and distortions pedals but with the single delay in line we simply viewed it as another cool tonal option. The CIT hacked a little of our high end off and imparted a warm layer to our overall tone and delay. It's a very cool option for the studio, but I wouldn't recommend it for the stage unless you are running different outputs directly to the PA.

The reverse mode is a fun novelty for short swelling excursions but suffers from the same feature fatality as the shortsighted Boss DD-5 Delay. Like the DD-5, the XDD mixes the dry signal in with the reverse delay. It isn't really a true reverse delay since you can't eliminate, or mix out, the original signal. This mode is capable of giving you a mind-expanding 8 seconds of delay reversal but ends up sounding a little retarded with your original notes blaring through. Aftermarket modifications can correct this useless mode on the Boss DD-5, but I'm not so sure this is case on the Digitech, since taking the thing apart will void your warranty. This mode could be so much cooler if the level knob was assigned to perform mix functions.

The last function is the loop mode and it happens to be the biggest reason we took such an interest in reviewing the Digidelay. The procedure for looping is simple, you step on the pedal to start the loop and release it to capture the loop. This lets your phrase repeat into infinity. Sound on sound recording is accomplished by holding the pedal down again, playing and then releasing when your phrase is through. To end the loop you tap the pedal very quickly and the loop is cleared. It's a cool and intuitive way to get things rolling even though many of us are used to tapping down all the time to activate the effect. In the XDD's case, you'll need to get accustom to releasing the pedal to get the loop looping. It's an awkward adjustment, but we had things sorted out in just a few minutes. The four seconds of loop time is great for short blips and quick riffs but falls a little short for most chord progressions or atmospheric washes.

Having spent years with the earlier Digitech PDS loopers, we had high hopes for this new pedal. We were really hoping they would retain all the cool features that made the old PDS line so revolutionary more than a decade ago. We steer clear of pedal shootout-type reviews here at GuitarGeek but we couldn't help but make a few comparative comments, especially when one pedal practically spawned the next. That said, the Digidelay leaps far ahead in a few very monumental ways. Namely, the Digidelay's overall fidelity renders far cleaner loops. Even with heavily repeated sound on sound additions, the unit stayed ultra-crisp and noise-free compared to the slow attenuation and gentle hiss of the PDS pedals. Constructing seamless loops with the Digidelay is a breeze with its simple start and stop system, while the PDS required a bit of guesswork based on your delay settings. The PDS, on the other hand has a few tricks up its' ten-old sleeve. The PDS would store loops and bring them back with a touch of the bypass button, while the Digidelay doesn't. The ability to pitch loops up or down was the most incredible thing about the PDS but is sadly lacking in the Digidelay. In fact, the Digidelay's time knob is completely deactivated in the loop mode which, when compared to the PDS, severely limits your ability to add deep layers of madness to your loops.

The lack of older features on the Digidelay drove us nuts because this is really a great delay with tons of personality and potential. Within the first few minutes of plugging in we were all rooting for it! The new housing, the new switching system, tap-tempo, the CIT cabinet modeling, the various modes, and the new looper can excite even the most jaded fx junkies. What really annoys us is that adding these older features wouldn't have required tons of time at the drawing board! I mean Digitech already have these cool ideas in place over a decade ago! I'll be the first to claim ignorance when it comes to the fine details of digital pedal making but small things like not being able to pitch sounds with the delay knob is shortsighted. I'm sure some of these features are determined by economics but I, for one, would pay $40.00 more for a pedal that pitched delay in all modes, stored a loop until switch on, killed the original signal in reverse mode, and had close to 8 seconds of looping time. Pretty simple requests that would take an already great pedal and make it legendary. Despite what the Digidelay is lacking, I must say that it didn't stop any of us adding it to our pedalboards for a few gigs. We fell in love with the stunning sound of the delays, played with the tape emulation mode for two weeks straight, and literally looped until our toes were tired. - GuitarGeek