Experience the warmth of analog. Nothing can compare to the organic sound of analog delay, and no one does analog like the Memory Man! Up to 550ms of. Jan 07, 2017 How To Build a Guitar Pedal Board - Duration: 17:12. Rick Beato 167,330 views. Deluxe Memory Man XO vs Deluxe Memory Man. Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man XO vs Deluxe Memory Man.
There are so many versions of EHX's Memory Man/Deluxe Memory Man that it can be a bit bewildering for the newcomer to get their head around. It's been around in some form or other since the mid to late 1970s.
Mine's a reissue from about 2006 and it's one of the last 'original chassis' jobs made by EHX before they moved into the current XO series of Memory Men. In other words, it's got a big footprint, it takes a weird power supply (24 V). I don't know what sort of chips it's got in it, but I know they're different to the ones used in the XO series, although they may also not be the most desirable and sought-after ones. I'm still researching that, and the internet is full of heresay!
It's only when you use a real analogue delay - especially one that's fairy faithful to earlier models - that you gain a new-found respect for the original users of these pedals. It's a bit like when you get a real analogue synth with no presets and realise how much work there is to do. The Memory Man doesn't spoon feed you with tap tempos or tailor-made settings banks. You get simple controls for delay time, regeneration, input to the gain stage, blend between echo and dry, and so on. A single switch changes modulation between chorus and vibrato modulation, and depth can be controlled too.
The pedal is capable of subtle, but the range offered by the knobs is immense and it's possible for things to go into science fiction territory very quickly! The regeneration control begins to self-oscillate just past the halfway mark and gets very loud, very fast! Combine this with delay time tweaking, and wild, often unpredictable laser beam siren effects come out. If you're not fast with turning down the feedback it sounds like you might blow up your pedal, or amp, or both!
The delays themselves are very rich, warm, musical, and they seem to blend with your guitar rather than sitting on top of them glassily. They actually sort of 'become' the guitar sound, if you see what I mean. It's totally, totally different to any digital delay, even ones that attempt to model analogue or tape echoes. It's hard to tame, and it feels like you're on the edge of something a bit chaotic all the time. The upside of this is that you really feel like the effect is another instrument in your hands. It's organic and it responds in an interactive way to what you put into it. It's constantly changing in subtle ways that the ear finds very pleasing. The vibrato is my favourite of the two modulations, as the chorus, when pushed, can become quite 'ill' sounding, as its rate doesn't seem to go fast enough to match the depth. Being analogue, the delay times go no further than about 500 ms, but you won't miss the longer delays here; in a sense, the pedal isn't 'for' that...it's also noisy!
If I have a criticism (and this really is me being a spoiled brat now, I'm very lucky to own such a gorgeous pedal), it's that...well, the sound is SO SIMILAR to a certain world-famous guitarist, one who made his name by playing the Memory Man as if it was a new instrument in the late 70s and early 80s (and no, I'm not talking about Andy Summers/John Martyn!) that it can be difficult, initially, to find your 'own' sound with it. It has such a strong personality that inevitably, it does lend itself to sounding a bit like that world-famous guitarist...no matter what you play...
Is the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man worth the investment?
We’re about the find out.
We need to look at sound quality, features and overall cost, to know whether or not the Deluxe Memory Man is a good fit for your pedalboard and you musical situation as a whole.
Let’s start by taking a look at some of the professionals who have used this analog delay pedal.
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Who uses the EHX Deluxe Memory Man?
The EHX Deluxe Memory Man delay pedal in all its analog splendor. | View Larger Image
Thanks largely to the big name guitar players who have used it, the EHX Deluxe Memory Man enjoys a glistening reputation dating back to the early 1980s.
A brief list of the most notable Memory Man club members:
The Edge (David Evans) of U2
Chris Cornell of Soundgarden
David Gilmour
James Shaffer (Munky) of Korn
Jack White of the White Stripes
Billy Corgan
And the list goes on.
Pretty impressive, right?
Those guys are all fairly (or at least modestly) wealthy and able to afford a $200 delay pedal. In fact, most of them probably didn’t have to pay anything for it, because they’re successful musicians who possess the ability to sell gear simply by owning it.
What about the rest of us who are on a strict guitar-gear budget? What do you do if you’re worried about making a bad purchase or ending up with a pedal that's a 'poor fit?'
You can dig in and know for sure whether or not you're making the right call for your specific situation. That's what our Deluxe Memory Man review is meant for.
First, we’ll examine the pedal's most obvious feature, analog delay.
Analog Delay: A Major Perk
We live in an age where digital delay is the dominant alternative to the old analog circuits and tape echos.
However, the Deluxe Memory Man uses a completely analog system to produce its effects, which is a major part of the reason it has so much appeal and staying power on the delay pedal market.
But what exactly does that mean?
What’s the difference between analog and digital delay pedals?
What is “digital” delay?
A digital delay pedal, like the Boss DD3, records the input signal of your guitar and plays it back using a digital signal processor.
This means that digital delays are identical replicas of the input signal for the allotted recording time.
It’ll sound more crisp, pure and sterile compared to its analog counterparts. Digital delays also tend to have a brighter tonal quality as opposed to the darker and thicker sounds produced by analog circuitry.
However, this doesn't mean digital delay is the more desirable option.
In fact, analog delay pedals are still some of the most sought-after guitar effects in existence.
What is “analog” delay?
To begin with a simple summation, analog delay is a lot “messier” than digital. Instead of being digitally recorded and played back, analog devices rely on something called a bucket-brigade circuit.
This circuit accepts the input signal from your guitar and runs it through a series of capacitors (C0 to Cn) moving one step at each clock cycle. This creates the echoing delay sound which becomes the recording or “output” of the pedal.
You can think of it as a group of people in a line, passing along a bucket of water to fight a fire.
Hence the name “bucket brigade.”
The Deluxe Memory Man's circuit can handle up to 550 ms (milliseconds) of delay, which is high by historical analog and tape delay standards.
Want to geek out on the math?
Here it is:
Where delay time is measured in Hz, N is the number of capacitors (typically 4096) and fcp is the clock cycle or the time measured in milliseconds.
Hence the math for the EHX Deluxe Memory Man delay pedal would look something like this:
Sound Quality of the EHX Deluxe Memory Man Delay
The Deluxe Memory Man can make a lot of different noises.
That’s good news for prospective buyers.
Sure, it’s primarily a delay box, but the included chorus and vibrato effects give this pedal some serious versatility and make it more than just an echo pedal.
The quality of each individual effect is solid and the resulting combination is unique to the EHX Memory Man's delay tone.
Let’s start with the delay by itself.
The EHX Delay Memory Man's Delay Tone
The Deluxe Memory Man provides three typical controls to adjust the sound of your delay.
Time
Feedback
Blend
When you adjust the time knob the speed of the delay is changed. This mechanism corresponds to the clock cycle we mentioned in the bucket-brigade circuit. When you’re changing the time of the delay you’re changing the clock cycle within the circuit.
The higher the time knob the more time is given to record the input signal.
The feedback knob (sometimes called “repeats” on other delay pedals) changes the number of repeating echoes you’ll hear trailing after the original input signal. This can also be referred to as the “decay” of your echo.
A blend knob will change the volume or gain of the repeating signal, which is helpful if you want the echo to be a bit louder or quieter than the original input.
As I’ve already mentioned, the sound quality of an analog delay is conventionally darker and more “thick” than a digital delay sound. However, I found the Deluxe Memory Man to be comparatively bright and chime-like.
While it’s certainly punchier than a typical digital delay, it’s not dark by analog standards.
No Tap Tempo
One disappointment for me was the lack of any tap tempo functionality. Although Electro-Harmonix did come up with a version that includes it.
That newer version is actually capable of 1100ms of delay time.
Otherwise, the delay itself sounds quite good. It’s responsive, punchy and exactly what you would expect from one of the most popular delay pedals ever made.
I’d like to hear it a little darker, but that’s something that can be dialed in with an amplifier or good EQ pedal.
Chorus & Vibrato Effects
When I first heard the chorus and vibrato, I thought to myself, “Man, that sounds a lot like the “Black Hole Sun” verse riff by Soundgarden.”
I assumed (falsely) that Chris Cornell used the Deluxe Memory Man and played that riff.
After all, the Deluxe Memory Man is plain as day on his pedalboard.
But Kim Thayil actually plays that part and doesn’t have a Deluxe Memory Man in his rig. Nevertheless, if you listen to “Black Hole Sun” that verse riff is pretty similar to the sound you can get from using the chorus and vibrato effects at a high speed.
The chorus and vibrato seem to be more of a compliment to the delay than an effect on their own, though I would assume that’s the intention.
Just don’t think of it as a multi-effects pedal.
The extra effects are nice tools to shape the sound of the delay, but they don’t they don't see as though they were intended to be standalone effects in the unit.
Overall Sound Quality of the EHX Deluxe Memory Man
Once you use the pedal for awhile, U2's sound and David Evans’ guitar playing really begin to make sense.
You start to hear a lot of their sound in your own fiddling. If you’re a huge U2 fan or you just really dig the guitar sound that Edge creates, this pedal could be a great fit for your board.
The sound quality doesn’t leave you wanting, as various functions of this pedal fit together to give you all the shaping and variety you could ask for in a delay effect. The analog tones are thick and sound completely organic, while the extra modulation helps to give it a slightly more watery and ambiguous bend.
Layering lead melody or laying down rhythmic eighth notes is a breeze.
Pricing
The somewhat higher cost of the Deluxe Memory Man can be primarily attributed to three price points.
First, the rarity of fully analog delay pedals, combined with the fact that many guitarists prefer them, will make it easier for manufacturers to charge more. If you’re used the digital price tags, analog delays will cause some sticker shock.
Second, you’re paying for features and the added chorus/vibrato functionality. Since most delay pedals don’t come with additional built-in effects, this is a unique feature that drives up the cost of the pedal.
If those extra sounds aren’t important to you or if you already have a chorus pedal, you might be paying for needless functionality.
Third, there’s a lot of novelty and history that has come to be a part of this pedal’s value.
Rarity of fully analog delay pedals
Features and the chorus/vibrato functionality
Novelty and history
The notoriety it has received among popular musicians and the fact that it has been in production for three decades gives it some appeal as a collector’s item, in addition to being a great-sounding delay.
All three of those things are converging to keep the price around the $200 mark.
Overall
There’s nothing not to like about the sounds this pedal is capable of producing.
The analog delay circuits along with chorus and vibrato effects combine for some of the most classically appealing echo tones that a guitar pedal can offer.
Based on sound quality alone, the Deluxe Memory Man is nearly perfect.
While the chorus and vibrato are wonderful to have, their importance should have taken a back seat to getting a tap tempo function onto this pedal at the retail price. Thus the Deluxe Memory Man deserves a decent score for features, but also loses points for the lack of an important one.
Pros: Fantastic sound quality, analog circuitry and plenty of clout from professionals are all things you’d like to see in an ideal delay pedal. From a sound quality perspective, it’s nearly flawless. Chorus and vibrato are unique and useful additions.
Cons: No tap tempo. Resides in the upper reaches of delay pedal pricing conventions.
Conclusion: The sound quality alone could be worth the investment, but it’ll be up to the discretion of the buyer to decide whether or not the features and novelty justify the high price tag. Overall, the Deluxe Memory Man is a fantastic delay pedal.
IDEAL FOR: Lead guitarists, studio recording, most styles and all skill levels