Top 10 Delay Pedals | Differences Between Digital & Analog Delay – Pedal Poison

By Amy R. | Last Upload on February 10, 2023 | Home → Best Delay Pedals

When you’re looking to add some depth and texture to your sound, a delay pedal is a great way to do it.

Delay pedals create an echo-like effect that can make your music sound fuller and more interesting.

There are many different types of delay pedals available on the market, so it can be tough to figure out which one is right for you. In this blog post, we will look at the 10 best delay pedals for guitarists!

What is the best Delay pedal?

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The best delay pedal for you is ultimately going to be the one that suits your needs and preferences the most. However, here is a list of some of the best delay pedals on the market:

The TC Electronic Echobrain is a nice place to start if you’re looking for a no-nonsense, inexpensive analog delay. It’s simple, sounds fantastic, and blends well with other delays and reverbs should you want to add any FX later on. If your budget allows it, the Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy or Boss DM-2W are both worth considering.

The Boss DD-3T is our top pick for anyone looking for a basic digital delay. The DD-3 has been one of the most popular options for thirty years and adding a tap tempo just makes it better. The MXR Carbon Copy is also a great choice, and it’s analog so it has a warmer sound.
If you’re looking for something with more features, check out the Boss DD-500 or Eventide TimeFactor. Both are digital delays with a ton of features and presets. The Strymon Timeline is also a great option if you’re looking for a high-end delay pedal.

When it comes to choosing the best delay pedal for you, it’s important to consider what kind of sound you’re going for. If you want a warm, analog sound, then an analog delay pedal is the way to go. If you’re looking for more features and options, then a digital delay pedal is probably a better choice. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide which one sounds best!

You can achieve all sorts of different sounds with a delay pedal, but here is a list of the most commonly found types of delay pedals. Besides this list, there are many other types of delay pedals available, but these are the most common delay pedals!

What does a Delay pedal do?

A delay pedal is basically just used to add more texture to our sound and is really a matter of personal choice when it comes to what you think about your sound.

You can use a delay pedal to help make your sound more noticeable if you’re trying to stand out from the sound of the other instruments in your band or if you are only just looking to add a different layer to your sound.

By adding in additional layers to your sound can really help to transform your sound into something much more intricate, without having to learn anything new (or change instruments).

Delay pedals can be divided into two main categories: analog and digital.

Analog delay pedals use an electronic circuit to create the delay effect, while digital delay pedals use a computer chip. Both types of pedals have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Analog delay pedals tend to produce a warmer, more natural sound. They are also typically much cheaper than digital delay pedals. However, analog delay pedals can be more difficult to use, as they often don’t have as many features or controls.

Digital delay pedals usually provide a clearer, more precise sound.

They are often easier to use than analog pedals, as they often have more features and controls. However, digital delay pedals can be more expensive than analog ones.

Differences between Analog Delay and Digital Delay Pedals?

Analog delay pedals have a warmer, more natural sound while digital delay pedals usually provide a clearer, more precise sound. Analog delay pedals can be more difficult to use, as they often don’t have as many features or controls while digital delay pedals are often easier to use and have more features and controls. However, digital delay pedals can be more expensive than analog ones.
They are often cheaper than digital delay pedals, however, they can be more difficult to use because they have fewer features.

Digital delay pedals on the other hand usually provide a clearer and more precise sound. They tend to be more expensive than analog delay pedals but are often easier to use because of their additional features.

Which Delay is Best Digital or Analog?

It really depends on what you’re looking for in a delay pedal. If you want a warmer, more natural sound, then an analog delay pedal would be a good choice. If you’re looking for a clearer, more precise sound, then a digital delay pedal might be better suited for you. However, keep in mind that digital delay pedals can be more expensive than analog ones.

At the end of the day, it’s really up to you to decide which type of delay pedal is best for your needs.

The Best Cheap Delay Pedals

Across all music genres, you can often find the sound of a delay pedal in clean guitar parts and in guitar solos, if you really listen closely. A lot of musicians often pair reverb and delay together, as the combination of these two effects together makes it sound as if you’re playing in a big, empty room.

How to Experiment w/ Your Delay Pedal

Delay pedals create a repeating echo effect, while reverb pedals simulate the sound of different spaces (like playing in a big room or small club). Both effects can be used together or separately to enhance your guitar tone.

Top 5 Delay Pedals Under $100

1. Behringer VD400

The Behringer VD400 is an analog delay pedal that offers extraordinary sound quality for a ridiculous price.
Designed to mimic the classic delay types of the 60’s, this pedal has conquered the pedalboard of countless guitarists across the world.

Perfect choice for beginners or musicians on a tight budget
Analog delay and vintage slap-back echo
Up to 300 ms of delay
Customize the delay effect with the Intensity, Echo and Repeat Rate dedicated controls
Separate dirty-out to independently manage the unaffected signal

As for the negative points, there is a common feature shared between almost the entire Behringer effects pedals: the plastic case. The overall construction quality is pretty cheap.

This can be a turning point if you are looking for a durable and gig-ready pedal. In that case, a pedal with metal/aluminum is a must.

2. Donner Yellow Fall

The Donner Yellow Fall is, in my opinion, the best analog delay pedal you can find at the moment for tight budgets (under $50).
This pedal has propelled itself to the top-selling lists on Amazon by its own merits, for the great combination of sound and build quality and an unbeatable price.

More than 500 reviews on Amazon, with 4.4 stars
It does NOT color the sound!
Aluminum case
Up to 620ms of delay
Customize the delay effect with the Echo (mix), Time and Feedback (repetitions) dedicated controls

Although the build quality is lower compared to the Mooer pedals (so is the price), the Donner Yellow Fall produces a really good sound and works pretty well under any circumstance.

3. Mooer Reecho

The Mooer Reecho is an excellent delay pedal, simple to use and get awesome delay effects.

It comes enclosed in a full metal micro case and offers three different but all usable delay types, which with the help of the Time, Mix and Feedback knobs provides you a wide range of experimentation.
The Time knob ranges from 5ms to 780ms.

Although it’s listed as a Digital delay pedal, the Mooer Reecho can simulate an analog delay sound. Here are the details of the different delay types you can get:

Analog: simulates a warm and smooth echo sound created by classic analog delay equipment
Real Echo: simulates a natural echo sound in real environment
Tape Echo: simulates the sweet and spacy echo sound from a vintage tape echo machine

If you want a pedal for any use case (home and gigs), durable, easy to use with lots of customization options and you don’t want to pay for a “professional” delay pedal, then this is clearly your best bet.

What’s the difference between a delay pedal and a reverb pedal?

Mooer also has the Mooer Ana Echo: an analog delay pedal with a single delay type (analog).
I don’t include it in this list because it doesn’t add any value to the Mooer Reecho, as this pedal already includes an analog delay mode + 2 extra modes… for virtually the same price.

4. Joyo D-Seed

The Joyo D-Seed is one of the most expensive pedals of the Joyo catalog (if not the most)… and for a good reason: this pedal outperforms all the quality standards of its pedals family!

You can use this pedal for a wide range of music styles due to its customization capabilities.
With the Mode control, you can switch between 4 different delay modes: Copy, Analog, Modulation and Reverse. If you combine them with the three additional knobs to control the Mix, Time and Feedback, you have plenty to play with. Also, for 15 extra dollars, you can get the Xvive Memory, which is better in every aspect.

5. Xvive Memory

The Xvive Memory Analog Delay was designed by Howard Davis, the guitar effects guru behind the wildly successful Electro-Harmonix Memory Man Deluxe, known as one of the best analog delay pedal of all times.
The idea behind the Xvive Memory is simple: to replace the Memory Man and improve it in all ways. And these guys nailed it…

Up to 600 msec of delay time
Buffered bypass with a 900K input impedance
Controls for: delay, depth, speed, blend, feedback, drive gain (creamy overdrive!)
Provides a clean high-frequency response, even at long delay settings
Separate stereo output

The flexibility that this pedal provides makes it a must-have on any pedalboard. One of the things I really love about this pedal is the Blend control, which lets you choose from a 100% dry signal to completely wet.
Its small size and affordable price make it even more difficult to resist from buying it.