There is a Kill-Dry/100% wet hidden function. Just check page 13 in the manual. It says: You can change how the output works by switching between output modes. You can turn the output of the direct sound off when you want to output only the effect’s sound, such as when you’re connecting this unit to the send/return of a mixer. 1. Press and hold down the [TAP] switch, and turn on the power. 2. Turn the Mode knob to the “MODERN” setting. 3. Use the [MEMORY] button to select the output mode. Various Settings MEMORY indicators. Output mode Function MANUAL NORMAL When a plug is inserted into the OUTPUT A/B jacks: The effect sound (L ch) + direct sound is output from the OUTPUT A jack, and the effect sound (R ch) + direct sound is output from the OUTPUT B jack. When a plug is inserted into the OUTPUT A jack only: The effect sound and direct sound are output. 1 DIRECT/EFFECT When a plug is inserted into the OUTPUT A/B jacks: The effect sound (L ch + R ch) is output from the OUTPUT A jack, and the direct sound is output from the OUTPUT B jack. When a plug is inserted into the OUTPUT A jack only: The effect sound (L ch + R ch) is output from the OUTPUT A jack. 2. DIRECT MUTE Turns the direct sound output off. When a plug is inserted into the OUTPUT A/B jacks: The effect sound (L ch) is output from the OUTPUT A jack, and the effect sound (R ch) is output from the OUTPUT B jack. When a plug is inserted into the OUTPUT A jack only: The effect sound (L ch + R ch) is output from the OUTPUT A jack. 4. Press the [TAP] switch to exit the function settings.
Thanks for this info. Lack of all-wet would've been the only dealbreaker for me. All the other negative stuff is to be expected of an analog delay unit.
I'm sorry, but you are really missing the mark completely. "I feel I was not given the full picture". Most of your criticsms apply to all BBDs. They are inherent limitations of that technology. Even when you mention that the "programs" as you called them, sound similar... well, there is no digital manipulation of the sound whatsoever in this pedal. The "programs" are just re-arranging the chips sequence to achieve a particular effect. But they are still using the BB chips to produce the sound... and there is still electrical charge moving through those chips. I mean... yeah... ultimately, its always going to sound as a BB based delay (albeit, this is monster BBD). I watched a lot of the reviews, and I never got the impression they were "hiding" anything. I think you simply didn't understood what this pedal is (or the limitations that come with bucket brigade chips). Based on your asks, it seems you;ll be happier with a good digital pedal, capable of emulating BB sounds, but also providing nice digital algorythms to boot!
I agree with you agustinS1756 and i think you are right as can be ,I did hear the pedal in real and the sound from the DM-101 is so much warmer and alive then from a digital delay which is much more cold and very static sounding...and if the reviewer doesnt noticed that there is something wrong there.
Excellent, helpful. Realising some of the limitations did paint a different picture to at least consider before going all in on this. Thanks for the vid.
You missed some things: 1) there IS a kill dry function. 2) Variation knob widens many of the stereo programmes you think are too narrow. It is, as you say, pretty expensive, even with the artist discount, so I’d imagine many of the choices they made (mono input, for example) are financial. That is, I think their cost is pretty high. I use this pedal for live vocal chain fx when I tour. It works amazingly for a slapjack (using Pattern, variation all the way up, low intensity). When I’m back from touring, I’m looking forward to using it on some mono synths.
@@carnmarth334I wouldn't bother after this, you're right. Why he would suspend his supposed knowledge on the matter for one of the most important analog releases is beyond me.
Thanks for your honest and thorough review! I really needed to get the cons reviewed as there is a ton of hype around this pedal. I have a re-housed DD-20 with the same 3 button switch layout as this one. I will stick with that as it is a classic. Great review!
Some history & explanation of the circuit architecture may be helpful: Delay starts in the 1950s with audio tape; put a loop of tape in a box with the record head(s) on one end & the playback head(s) on the other, and you get delay(s). But the box is bulky, the tape decays quickly, and the mechanism needs constant service, so it's not a very reliable option outside of the studio. This led to performing guitarists welcoming oil can delays in the 1960s. Put oil that holds a magnetic charge briefly in a can with a rotating disc, with the record head(s) on one side & again the playback head(s) on the other; the oil carries the signal through the rotation before it falls off the drum & loses its charge, then cycles through again. You still have the bulky box, but the medium doesn't degrade overnight, and although it's not easy to service on the road, it doesn't need anywhere near as much as tape. That oil drum essentially behaves as a self-refreshing capacitor; capacitors hold charge like a battery, but only briefly, so in the 1970s, we figured out we can use long serial chains of microchip capacitors as delays, finally yielding a product that's small & completely roadworthy. But your tap/repeat options are limited by whatever simple circuit architecture is in a given box, & any controls are fussy enough to not be very practical for matching popular recordings during live performances. Plus, all three of these technologies have problems with signal degradation through the repeats, each for their own reason, mostly expressed in treble roll-off, resulting in that characteristic progressively dark tonality. So when digital delays developed in the 1980s, most were happy to make the switch to that crisp transparent sound with significantly easier controls & recall. But on the other side of all three of these sea changes are performing musicians who still want/need the old technologies that do The Actual Thing to cover or evoke the styles of those eras. What Boss is doing with their 500 series (I'm including the DM-101 & the SE-202 in there) is providing those performers with The Actual Thing, as tweakable as possible, with a digital controller layered on top to handle all the memory recall on the fly. At the bottom of the DM-101 is an actual bucket brigade doing all The Actual Things, with the fancy controller keeping track of the tweaks, timings, & brigade architectures as needed. Because the primary target market is the people that need The Actual Thing, that led to some difficult but necessary decisions: If you add a tone control, it can now sound different from The Actual Thing and scare away the target market. If you waste half the brigade on passing stereo, the primary target market can struggle justifying the price on a feature The Actual Thing did not do. Likewise, wasting half the brigade on a duplicate circuit so it doesn't have to flush out the process in progress when changing architectures can leave them balking. This is also why the different modes have different maximum times: They each use different numbers of brigade chips to set up the effect, with whatever's left over used to extend the time. Making the times match means wasting chips by not employing them at all in the simpler architectures. Most users will prefer getting as much of The Actual Thing as any given architecture will allow. So, yes, if you're not looking for The Actual Thing, & you don't need a 500 series controller, or you dislike Boss's standard buffered bypass, it's probably not for you, but then, nobody's making the feature set described in this video & it's unlikely anyone ever will. (With apologies for the length of this essay.)
Best comment so far. I got a DM 101 in August to replace the Minifooger BBD I've been using for the last decade because I wanted the ability to clock or tap the tempo. I love it. It's the most sophisticated BBD on the market. The 'patterns' algorithm is a revelation.
Finally a critical review, I'm so tired of pedal reviews where the person is nothing else but positive about the pedal and only mentioning maybe one issue at most, meanwhile I'm hearing and seeing 10+ issues. It's probably necessary because else the pedal companies won't send them free pedal anymore, but it's insulting for the viewer. We are watching a glorified commercial not a review. Again thank you for not taking that route, you have a new subscriber and the bell was rung.
I have to agree with you. Ridiculous hype with a lot of these pedals. The worst is with simple fuzz and distortion pedals which cost peanuts to make. I built a Super Hard On boost which is a great circuit and costs next to nothing to make. Then I studied fuzz circuits and was able to design one myself which switches between various tones i.e. Fuzzface and Tone Bender 1.5. It's the best Fuzz I have used yet Analogman etc are ludicrous cost without any quality benefit. I also have a two NM3005 chip Maxon AD900. You can still get these for not too much money and they are great. Mine has a few issues but I'll get it recalibrated because the sound is sublime. It has none of all these bells and whistles adding ridiculous cost. Another point is that a lot of this gear is unreliable. All my old vintage gear is still working but numerous new units broke down.
I 've just bought this pedal and waiting to receive it. I think it's important to get ''real'' analog repeats and I hope I'll be happy with this pedal. What I like in your review is that your main point and most important one is about how it sounds. About the arguments...don't worry. It's good to share and it should be respected. It's too easy to criticize...
Thank you for this great review! I haven’t found a digital pedal that can emulate the sound of an analog delay, but that’s not enough to justify the price for the DM 101 as there are some really good analog delays out there already. Considering the comments of your viewers here, I think people are not used to real independent criticism anymore and get offended too easily. I’m a big BOSS fanboy but they make some pedals that just don’t work for me…
I wanted to buy the DM-101 when I first saw it… but quickly saw the fatal flaw: I simply NEED stereo ins for my setup. Thus, I’m sticking with my two Maxon AD9Pros
I did hear the pedal in real and the sound from the DM-101 is so much warmer and alive then from a digital delay which is much more cold and very static sounding...and if the reviewer doesnt noticed that there is something wrong there.
a warm sound is kinda the minimum requirement for an analog delay - esp when comparing it to a digital one - we don't need to spend £500 to get that... They are basically competing with the chase bliss Thermae at that price point, and they ain't winning...
I own it. Great video and I thank you for the in depth walk through on this unit. I bought it to use on my home pedal board so I can have various delays and store them in the memory bank. I Have a drum machine and looper and it’s cool not bending down and adjusting the delay settings. It sounds nice and works for me.
From what I understand BBD circuit design is challenging. Longer delay times introduce artifacts like aliasing, noise, and clock bleed which require increased filtering, companding, and other tricks. This is why each algorithm on the DM-101 has a tailored delay time range. Typically, shorter delay times will be brighter and longer delay times will be darker.
It wouldn't even have to be true stereo. They could just sum up the inputs to mono to feed the delay and then mix the stereo delay output back to stereo inputs. Wouldn't need to change anything about the delay line at all to make it way more usable in a stereo configuration.
Oops! Watching it now after I ordered one. 😂 Got too excited with the sale price (got it for $295 / AU$475). I guess at least it meets your remark in point 1: easier to take the plunge if around $250-300. 😂 Thanks for this video mate! I think it’s good to have a different perspective out there for consumers to know what exactly they are buying.
did you keep the dm101? I just bought mine, second hand for a nice price. Was relieved to say you're negatives are nothing I really care about/don't expect from analog. I just need a really lush delay with tap tempo and longer delay time
Although I don't share some of your opinions, I thank you for not producing one of those compliant "This-changes-everything" reviews. After all, it's a matter of taste. The DM-101 works excellent with my synthesizer.
Well, I'm not sure I'd be agreeing with most of your issues with the pedal. I guess you're not really experienced using analog delays that's why you're surprised with such so-called problems: 1. It's expensive because there are 8x BBD chips inside with lots of very complex coding in the digital section. This is a masterpiece of analog technology. Have you seen the prices of other pedals that offer not even half of the DM-101' features? ... IMO, the price is justified in compare to other pedals that want to compete in the same high end range. 2. Maybe you're not aware of it, but Boss traditionally almost never make any true bypass pedals. The only true bypass pedal they make is one of their tuners, that's all. Needless to say that Boss' buffers are incredibly transparent and the quality is second to none. Also, true bypass switching inevitably makes a 'pop' noise to some degree whenever you turn the pedal on. Moreover, because it's a delay pedal, it's usually being placed at the end of your signal chain which makes sense to have buffer anyway. And finally, if you absolutely need it to be true bypass, you can put it in a simple true bypass looper! Easy! 3. Can you please find me another genuine fully analog delay pedal with actual stereo inputs? (I'm not talking pseudo stereo, but true stereo). Do you know that to have actual stereo input, it means to have the exact same circuit but twice? It simply means putting two of the same pedal in a bigger box! Simply buy two units if you MUST have stereo inputs and you're done. Stereo on analog units simply means two units in one box, period. 4. Well, they do not sound all similar. Maybe you're setting them similarly. To me they can sound vastly different from one another. Also, have you ever played digital multi delay, or multi reverb units from Strymon, Source Audio and the rest of them? Even though there are some unique sounds in those pedals, but most of those modes on those fully digital units are just slightly varied versions of one another! And they're digital pedals! What do you expect to see on a fully analog delay pedals with 12 modes? 5. That is a valid point. I wish Boss could have done something about it. I guess because it's not a fully digital pedal, and the digital circuitry is controlling the analog section, it might the slight delay or gap might be unavoidable sadly. It's not a super big deal though in my opinion. It sounds so good and the modes are so creative that such minor issues can easily be ignored. 6. It's by design! There are reasons why each mode has a certain amount of delay time available to it. It's because it doesn't make sense to have very long delay time in certain modes, and vice versa. We actually need to thank Boss for such implementation. We'd have been here complaining about such inconveniences and unnecessary delay times in certain modes if they didn't do it! 7. Not to my experience really. Maybe it's easier for some modes to be heard easier in stereo, but with more Mix, and at some delay time settings they're pretty obvious to my ears. 8. Seriouly? Have you ever used ANY OTHER analog delays out there? Literally any other analog delay pedal out there has way more white noise than this unit. You mentioned DMM, yeah it's pretty noisy for sure, but wait till' you try the Chase Bliss stuff! ... DM-101 is really the least noisy analog delay pedal out there! 9. Yeah, I also agree that it'd have been great if it had the kill dry feature on it. Let's hope for a future firmware update for that. It should not be a big challenge for Boss to implement such a basic feature. 10. It's subjective, but IMO DM-101 doesn't need it. There are some analog delays out there with the Tone knob or HPF and LPF. But I think they need it as the repeats aren't as musical as on this one. But yeah, some people may still prefer to have something on the DM-101 as well, fair enough.
Ok. You didn't actually watch this video, right? You just skipped to where you could see all 10 of my complaints written on the right side and posted, right? I know you did that because in my video I LITERALLY SAY 90% OF WHAT YOU SAY in your post! (And goddamned, I debated not to write my complaints on the side, because I KNEW people like you would just skip ahead and not watch it! :-( Ok, to your points: 1.) Imagine Strymon (or whoever really) comes out with a digital pedal that sounds JUST AS GOOD as the DM-101, BUT has stereo inputs, TB, drykill and all that jazz. AND is cheaper. You know what will happen? The second-hand market will be flooded with used DM-101s!!! Because we are MUSICANS, and not engineers! It's "a masterpiece of analog technology"? Seriously, who cares? Are you serious? 2.) I literally say Boss has no history with true bypass pedals! And I offer a compromise in form of small switch (like on the Wampler Tumnus Deluxe or Metaverse Delay). Watch the video next time before posting! 3.) I literally say that I suspect they would have to double the bucket brigade chips in my video! Watch the video the next time before posting! 4.) Its always the same base sound with slight variations. And about digital pedals: I say the exact same thing as you. Maybe try watching the video first before posting? 5.) Thank god we agree on at least ONE thing! 6.) If that's a design decision, it's a very bad one. People would complain that they are able to have longer delay times? No they wouldn't! It could actually have been a USP ("classic sounds now with more delay time"). And we have to THANK Boss for artificially limiting certain delay times, are you for real?? 7.) As I mentioned multiple times in the video, I am playing this pedal at max. level most of time. 4 out of 6 "stereo" modes sound flat in comparison to the Pan and Pattern settings. If you don't hear that I don't know what to tell you. 8.) And that's why I started with "IF you are a fan of noiseless operation, this pedal might not be for you" and I continue with "but to be honest, the noise sounds very pleasant"... Maybe trying watching the video first next time? 9.) It should not be a big challenge for Boss. And yet, Boss Looper owners are still waiting for firmware updates for their malfunctioning pedals 2-3 years after release. 10.) So you don't think the DM-101 is a pretty dark sounding pedal? You don't wish sometimes that the repeats were a little bit more brighter? Have you ever tried to record guitars with it for a song and noticed that the delay gets pretty lost when Bass and Bassdrum are introduced? Because I have. Please, for the love of god, do us all a favour and watch the video first before commenting on it. You make me lose faith in humanity!
@@MadebyMiike Dude, chill out! If I knew you'd this much hurt I wouldn't ever say anything. Just relax and enjoy whatever pedal you want. Don't worry to much, be happy. But on a serious note, you're still wrong in many parts, but I'm not going to respond to you anymore as I think you're one of those overly sensitive souls, and I don't wanna break your heart or whatever. Have a good day/night!
@@konnektlive Try walking in my shoes. Imagine spending 4-5 days reading the manual, reading forums, writing the script, shooting, editing and rendering this video. Imagine you get only a couple of cents in ad revenue for it, but your electricity bill will be far greater than that (not even talking about the manhours you spent doing all that). Imagine doing this video just as a "The more you know"-type of video for the community, not as a hit-piece. And then imagine someone doesnt even watch the damned thing, but writes a butthurt post that clearly comes from a fanboy's perspective. How would you react?
Dude. Why so angry. Looks like you must have splashed the $500 and now your offended by a third party mentioning a few things they didn’t like. Your reacting like someone called your girlfriend ugly. Chill out.
hi there I just bought one and I have a question. When you have a LONG delay time, there is an annoying hiss/comb modulation type sound, is that normal?
I got mine on pre-order and no regrets, I noticed the things mentioned in the video but to be honest, when I use to play live a lot, I rarely changed delay settings during a tune and would change between tunes. the thing about this unit is the sound!!! I love the Boss Dm-2 and the DM-101 is like a DM-1/2 on steroids!! I have been playing it next to a digital delay and to be brutal, I am drawn to the analog sound! big/warm/lovely delay tucked in nicely behind the guitars original tone! its the sound I like best! as for not having stereo in, I forgive it! analog pedals I have used in the past never gave me that option anyway :)
If they made the DM-101 with stereo inputs the delays times would be half as long or the price would be close to double! Yes it’s an expensive unit but a modern Analog delay pedal with as much computerized control and sheer Bucket Brigade horsepower as this one will soon be added to my palette..Once I get a long enough break from gigs to go listen to one in person:-) Thanks for the review. Al
600ms would be fantastic in a ping pong type program. 300ms and 900ms would also be incredibly useful. Just adding one more chip would mean you could have 900 and 600 or 1200 and 300. These delay times are more than enough, if configured intelligently and with a true stereo mindset, to create a truly amazing and properly stereo analog delay. Not a mono delay into a chorus which to me is pointless as I already have a few of each of those...
To your point about all presets sounding the same, I'd prefer a tone knob, or better still a low pass and a high pass filter (2 knobs). That will give a lot of variation to the wet tone. Failing that, a send/return insert that you can use with whatever pedal you want... Expanding on this point further, I can't believe this missed opportunity to include a program for ping pong delay, clocked to tap tempo subdivisions. A chorus applied to the signal does not make it a stereo delay. It makes it a mono delay going into a stereo chorus. Hands up those who don't own a stereo chorus... Whoever creates a true stereo analog delay will clean up... Surely with 4 BBD chips we can have 600ms left and 600ms right - more than enough time for some nice intervals at most BPMs. Another program could be for 300ms vs 900ms in the ping pong. Eventually pedal makers will realise that not only guitar players use pedals, and most producers tend to do things in stereo, because we are not thinking that we're going into an amp - we're thinking about two speakers or two headphones. Because we have 2 ears...
That was my first and initial reaction. But after more research, I learned why 1) it's not possible to get this amount of bucket brigades into an analog delay with stereo inputs (only outs. Well, it is possible, but they already managed to get an insane amount in that enclosure. They'd have to double the amount. So, the pedal would be double the size, and at least double the price, to get you stereo-in), but (and way) *more importantly*, nearly every use case where you're using stereo delay, you should be running your wet effects in parallel, not series (meaning, it doesn't matter if it has stereo inputs, since each pedal is unaffected by the others, you can set orders, and still have your stereo chorus or whatever else, along with your Boss DM-101 sending out stereo signals together, in parallel instead of series. As it should be). It stinks that it complicates things, but all this did was inspire me to finally get a switcher, so that I could properly run the DM-101 in my w/d/w rig, and it's insane how much better everything sounds. Not just the delay, but all my wet effects. Getting them out of the signal path, and into a parallel loop rather than series, made all the difference in tone. I still use digital delays in my board, too (keeley halo and/or eventide ultratap), so it can really do everything now
@@n.s.3812 could you not use 2 BBDs per channel and still achieve 600ms on each? Same number of chips, different routing/configuration and controls. Would make a proper stereo delay. Could add a ping pong "program". These would make it true stereo rather than a predominantly mono delay with a stereo chorus (and I have a few of the latter already).
Gruoes about price are off base imo. It's got 8 BBD chips in there. You then gripe about lack of stereo in, which would require much more cost. Gripes about not having the modes of a big box digital delay? Its an analogue delay. It feels like you've largely missed the point of this pedal.
I thinnk it is a great pedal but a mk2 should solve a few problems: 1. no line input level 2. no stereo in 3. the presets as you said not ordered 4. no attack or tone control
Listening to the repeats while playing chords, or arpeggios, to my ears it seems just to make a dark repeat of the same sound, with the pitch of the note played.. but always the same sound.. a dark muted brush of swoosh. It's not a criticism in the sense of it.. that's the nature of the beast. But this makes me realize that's not what I'm looking for. So thanks for this review. The most important thing for me is the sound. Would it have been my thing, the cons in this video would not have bothered me. I actually love the layout and look of the thing.. With the presets and all. But I feel this is best as a tweak sound module more than a pedal for straight foward guitar playing.
Well, interesting review…seems you're more a digital delay guy over analog… As a delay addict I have tons (and all those "greatest" known todays) but this one is realy huge and lovely sounding (so far from digital one!). And I like and use all those differents modes...
Couple of solid criticisms (mono input being one of them) because yeah for that price it should be almost no compromise. But as someone who prefers digital delay it really sounds most of the criticisms seems like he just wants a digital delay. He thinks if you mention every time its analogue BBD it's okay to complain about it being analogue. 🤨 I wish he would've taken different angle for the whole video. Maybe comparing analogue or digital Or if he still wants the clickbait complain it being over complex analogue delay.
You mentioned it’s too expensive at $500 and Strymon is cheaper. That being said the timeline is $450, so not sure why you can’t cough up the extra $50, sot hats kind of a bad example.
Boss DM-101 and Strymon DIG the two most amazing sounding but still overpriced delay pedals. I really love analog delays and I have DM-2W for it. But also I love analog delays for its simplicity. Boss DM-101 is like a car with 5 wheels. If need something complex I will better buy digital one like DD-500.
I share many of your complains… I’m a synth user and use many analog and digital pedals in the studio to create my final sounds… I have some BOSS pedals and I think they are nice but not perfect… I have the look for other brands to get the exact result I need. Roland have the power to promote and have presence in many stores and influencers but I recommend search in the underground brands to spend those 500 dollars in a delay. I have memory man, korg had a crazy analog nice machine with bbdelay and use in the studio a space echo ….original with tape and digital old boss version. In digital delay I recommend go to underground brands…. More functions for your money or special ideas.
You can’t compare this to the small Strymon pedals, that’s like comparing a snake and an elephant. If anything compare it to the Suhr Discovery, WA Meraki
Thank you very much for your insightful review! Well...Nowadays, pedals are a golden market niche and there is a tendency to boosting prices but this one seems to be clearly and largely overpriced. It is kind of strange from a brand that is known for solid pedals sold at a reasonable price and clever designs (this does not seem to have been thoroughly designed). For instance, I have a DD-8 which me ears find worth each dollar it costs. The "pedal fever" is becoming an issue at Boss.
I pre-ordered mine from Sweetwater because they have 48 month financing so even though its expensive i can pay it off over time. Im an analog delay junkie and have loads of them and this one seems to blow them all away. My only real complaints are that its not stereo and that it doesnt have switchable instrument/line input. I dont play guitar. I make electronic music. I will be using this as a send/return effect via my mixer.
I definitely don’t think this pedal is for everyone. But you are paying for nuance. You are paying for the subtle differences, and the convenience of organizing them as presets, in addition to the convenience of a no-compromise tap function. Anyone saying the programs aren’t different enough or aren’t worth the expense, would likely be content with something like the DM-2, Carbon Copy Deluxe, or DOD Rubberneck at a fraction of the price. Or maybe they just don’t actually care for analog delays! To each their own. But anyone buying this expensive of a pedal based solely on the recommendation of their favorite Internet personality was probably destined to be disappointed regardless.
I most certainly care for analog delays. I own 4 of them, including the RE-501, Thermae, Meet Maude and Delay Llama Xtreme. I'm also considering the Rubberneck. I like delays that I can clock to midi or external tap tempo (that can be controlled by midi->gate). Don't worry if this is technical - this is not my point. My point is that I expect a TONE or filter at the £500 price point. OR an insert that I can use to put a filter pedal between the dry and processed signal. Why? Because I am a producer and I like to filter the highs and lows in my wet signal to remove muddiness. Rather than EQ wet+dry. I couldn't care less about presets because I use my FX in the studio and I sculpt my sound meticulously. Even then, there are pedals with more variation in tone and settings that have presets. Analog ones.
Well hipster boy, welcome to the world of analog and Boss. Where things are severally limited and only really become fun for this sole reason. PS: maybe your guitar tone is too bright to get the delay rolling, BBDs love lows and are shy of highs. PPS: be GLAD they mute the delay when switching modes, else you’d be hearing artifacts from hell. PPPS: you can clock the pedal with MIDI to escape the timing problem when switching modes.
Haha, "boy"??? I haven't been called boy in around 20 years, thanks for that, you made my day! 😅😂 PS A midi clock doesn't change the fact that these programs are limited differently in their max. delay time. It will still change the tempo.
@@MadebyMiike but if you lock tap devisions, it will still keep the tempo in sync to the clock. Might change between quarter notes and eights or the likes then, but it's still handy. Also, you might want to embrace amps with worthwhile headroom and cabs with worthwhile low end, as a BBD delay really doesn't live in the higher register, which you seem to have squeezed your guitar tone into. When using my Memory Toy on a microphone and having slight self oscillation dialed in (which only happens with the right power supply, by the way, but I guess the DM-101 is stabilized in this regard due to the digital bits), I can literally stop the delay by shushing sharply into the microphone. Yes, despite self oscillation, unless it's at way overkill feedback levels. High pitched frequencies literally mute the delay of BBD chips, and a warm guitar tone is always pretty nice to have, isn't it? Hope this helps, didn't try the DM-101 myself yet. I intend to get one for mixing/recording purposes. So far your video describes everything one can expect from a digital controlled analog effect tho, simply works this way. Also, most stereo modes sound pretty wide in other demos on UA-cam, but of course the widest sound you can get is when phase shifting left and right against each other, to the point of not hearing the delay anymore when you record in stereo and then listen in mono. It's fun to mess with, but due to the lacking mono compatibility there are downsides to it.
Almost all the complaints are realistically to be expected of almost any analog delay, so unless you're a beginner, this is a pointless video with a clickbait title as well. You knew about the price, buffered bypass and mono input before you bought it.. Assuming you really don't know much about analog delays 1. Price seems pretty normal tbh (lots of chips = expensive) . 2. True stereo input and true stereo path are extremely rare on analog delays and would jack up the price significantly because of the extra BBD chips. 3. Breaks during program changes are unavoidable.
All the whining aside, the worst thing is you ordering it with the knowledge that you probably will return it. All this stupid shipping back and forth all over the globe is part of what's killing it.
lol... Is that a joke? Source Audio stuff sound the most artificial in both delay and reverb. Sure, if you want super ambient stuff they're fun I guess. But for actual quality studio stuff, or genuine analog sounding delay, SA stuff sound the most artificial.
![Best Ever Analogue Delay? [Boss DM-101, Carbon Copy, Suhr Discovery plus DD-200 & TimeLine]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/MxapIxkDmAs/mqdefault.jpg)
There is a Kill-Dry/100% wet hidden function. Just check page 13 in the manual.
It says:
You can change how the output works by switching between output modes.
You can turn the output of the direct sound off when you want to output only the effect’s sound, such as when you’re connecting this unit to the send/return of a mixer.
1. Press and hold down the [TAP] switch, and turn on the power.
2. Turn the Mode knob to the “MODERN” setting.
3. Use the [MEMORY] button to select the output mode.
Various Settings
MEMORY indicators. Output mode Function
MANUAL NORMAL When a plug is inserted into the OUTPUT A/B jacks:
The effect sound (L ch) + direct sound is output from the OUTPUT A jack, and the effect sound (R ch) + direct sound is output from the
OUTPUT B jack. When a plug is inserted into the OUTPUT A jack only: The effect sound and direct sound are output.
1 DIRECT/EFFECT When a plug is inserted into the OUTPUT A/B jacks:
The effect sound (L ch + R ch) is output from the OUTPUT A jack, and the direct sound is output from the OUTPUT B jack. When a plug is
inserted into the OUTPUT A jack only: The effect sound (L ch + R ch) is output from the OUTPUT A jack.
2. DIRECT MUTE Turns the direct sound output off.
When a plug is inserted into the OUTPUT A/B jacks:
The effect sound (L ch) is output from the OUTPUT A jack, and the effect sound (R ch) is output from the OUTPUT B jack.
When a plug is inserted into the OUTPUT A jack only: The effect sound (L ch + R ch) is output from the OUTPUT A jack.
4. Press the [TAP] switch to exit the function settings.
Thanks so much Ideagent! That is great news!
I tried this and it works. This was a feature I needed to use with my DAW. I’m happy to see this is in there.
Thanks for this info. Lack of all-wet would've been the only dealbreaker for me. All the other negative stuff is to be expected of an analog delay unit.
I'm sorry, but you are really missing the mark completely. "I feel I was not given the full picture". Most of your criticsms apply to all BBDs. They are inherent limitations of that technology. Even when you mention that the "programs" as you called them, sound similar... well, there is no digital manipulation of the sound whatsoever in this pedal. The "programs" are just re-arranging the chips sequence to achieve a particular effect. But they are still using the BB chips to produce the sound... and there is still electrical charge moving through those chips. I mean... yeah... ultimately, its always going to sound as a BB based delay (albeit, this is monster BBD). I watched a lot of the reviews, and I never got the impression they were "hiding" anything. I think you simply didn't understood what this pedal is (or the limitations that come with bucket brigade chips).
Based on your asks, it seems you;ll be happier with a good digital pedal, capable of emulating BB sounds, but also providing nice digital algorythms to boot!
I agree with you agustinS1756 and i think you are right as can be ,I did hear the pedal in real and the sound from the DM-101 is so much warmer and alive then from a digital delay which is much more cold and very static sounding...and if the reviewer doesnt noticed that there is something wrong there.
Yeah, painfully obvious he does not understand analog BBD delays. I watched him naming his cons and was like "what do you expect, it is BBD?"
For bullet #5 that is expected as it’s an analog delay.
You’d need a dedicated BBD line to support “spillover” when changing programs.
Excellent, helpful. Realising some of the limitations did paint a different picture to at least consider before going all in on this. Thanks for the vid.
You missed some things: 1) there IS a kill dry function. 2) Variation knob widens many of the stereo programmes you think are too narrow.
It is, as you say, pretty expensive, even with the artist discount, so I’d imagine many of the choices they made (mono input, for example) are financial. That is, I think their cost is pretty high.
I use this pedal for live vocal chain fx when I tour. It works amazingly for a slapjack (using Pattern, variation all the way up, low intensity). When I’m back from touring, I’m looking forward to using it on some mono synths.
This review serves no other purpose than to display your lack of understanding of analog gear.
@@carnmarth334I wouldn't bother after this, you're right. Why he would suspend his supposed knowledge on the matter for one of the most important analog releases is beyond me.
Thanks for your honest and thorough review! I really needed to get the cons reviewed as there is a ton of hype around this pedal. I have a re-housed DD-20 with the same 3 button switch layout as this one. I will stick with that as it is a classic. Great review!
Thank you!
The DD-20 is a digital delay. Different beast altogether.
Some history & explanation of the circuit architecture may be helpful:
Delay starts in the 1950s with audio tape; put a loop of tape in a box with the record head(s) on one end & the playback head(s) on the other, and you get delay(s). But the box is bulky, the tape decays quickly, and the mechanism needs constant service, so it's not a very reliable option outside of the studio.
This led to performing guitarists welcoming oil can delays in the 1960s. Put oil that holds a magnetic charge briefly in a can with a rotating disc, with the record head(s) on one side & again the playback head(s) on the other; the oil carries the signal through the rotation before it falls off the drum & loses its charge, then cycles through again. You still have the bulky box, but the medium doesn't degrade overnight, and although it's not easy to service on the road, it doesn't need anywhere near as much as tape.
That oil drum essentially behaves as a self-refreshing capacitor; capacitors hold charge like a battery, but only briefly, so in the 1970s, we figured out we can use long serial chains of microchip capacitors as delays, finally yielding a product that's small & completely roadworthy. But your tap/repeat options are limited by whatever simple circuit architecture is in a given box, & any controls are fussy enough to not be very practical for matching popular recordings during live performances.
Plus, all three of these technologies have problems with signal degradation through the repeats, each for their own reason, mostly expressed in treble roll-off, resulting in that characteristic progressively dark tonality.
So when digital delays developed in the 1980s, most were happy to make the switch to that crisp transparent sound with significantly easier controls & recall.
But on the other side of all three of these sea changes are performing musicians who still want/need the old technologies that do The Actual Thing to cover or evoke the styles of those eras.
What Boss is doing with their 500 series (I'm including the DM-101 & the SE-202 in there) is providing those performers with The Actual Thing, as tweakable as possible, with a digital controller layered on top to handle all the memory recall on the fly. At the bottom of the DM-101 is an actual bucket brigade doing all The Actual Things, with the fancy controller keeping track of the tweaks, timings, & brigade architectures as needed. Because the primary target market is the people that need The Actual Thing, that led to some difficult but necessary decisions:
If you add a tone control, it can now sound different from The Actual Thing and scare away the target market. If you waste half the brigade on passing stereo, the primary target market can struggle justifying the price on a feature The Actual Thing did not do. Likewise, wasting half the brigade on a duplicate circuit so it doesn't have to flush out the process in progress when changing architectures can leave them balking. This is also why the different modes have different maximum times: They each use different numbers of brigade chips to set up the effect, with whatever's left over used to extend the time. Making the times match means wasting chips by not employing them at all in the simpler architectures. Most users will prefer getting as much of The Actual Thing as any given architecture will allow.
So, yes, if you're not looking for The Actual Thing, & you don't need a 500 series controller, or you dislike Boss's standard buffered bypass, it's probably not for you, but then, nobody's making the feature set described in this video & it's unlikely anyone ever will. (With apologies for the length of this essay.)
Best comment so far. I got a DM 101 in August to replace the Minifooger BBD I've been using for the last decade because I wanted the ability to clock or tap the tempo. I love it. It's the most sophisticated BBD on the market. The 'patterns' algorithm is a revelation.
Wow, great video! You just saved my relationship with the strymon timeline! ❤
Thank you for this video man!!!
I've seen some love for the "Doubling + Delay" setting. I hope you highlight that in your shootout. Thanks for your honest insight, very helpful!
Thanks for the tip! I will!
Finally a critical review, I'm so tired of pedal reviews where the person is nothing else but positive about the pedal and only mentioning maybe one issue at most, meanwhile I'm hearing and seeing 10+ issues. It's probably necessary because else the pedal companies won't send them free pedal anymore, but it's insulting for the viewer. We are watching a glorified commercial not a review. Again thank you for not taking that route, you have a new subscriber and the bell was rung.
I have to agree with you. Ridiculous hype with a lot of these pedals. The worst is with simple fuzz and distortion pedals which cost peanuts to make. I built a Super Hard On boost which is a great circuit and costs next to nothing to make. Then I studied fuzz circuits and was able to design one myself which switches between various tones i.e. Fuzzface and Tone Bender 1.5. It's the best Fuzz I have used yet Analogman etc are ludicrous cost without any quality benefit.
I also have a two NM3005 chip Maxon AD900. You can still get these for not too much money and they are great. Mine has a few issues but I'll get it recalibrated because the sound is sublime. It has none of all these bells and whistles adding ridiculous cost.
Another point is that a lot of this gear is unreliable. All my old vintage gear is still working but numerous new units broke down.
I 've just bought this pedal and waiting to receive it.
I think it's important to get ''real'' analog repeats and I hope I'll be happy with this pedal.
What I like in your review is that your main point and most important one is about how it sounds.
About the arguments...don't worry. It's good to share and it should be respected. It's too easy to criticize...
Thank you for your kind words! 🤗
Thank you for this great review! I haven’t found a digital pedal that can emulate the sound of an analog delay, but that’s not enough to justify the price for the DM 101 as there are some really good analog delays out there already. Considering the comments of your viewers here, I think people are not used to real independent criticism anymore and get offended too easily. I’m a big BOSS fanboy but they make some pedals that just don’t work for me…
I wanted to buy the DM-101 when I first saw it… but quickly saw the fatal flaw: I simply NEED stereo ins for my setup. Thus, I’m sticking with my two Maxon AD9Pros
I did hear the pedal in real and the sound from the DM-101 is so much warmer and alive then from a digital delay which is much more cold and very static sounding...and if the reviewer doesnt noticed that there is something wrong there.
a warm sound is kinda the minimum requirement for an analog delay - esp when comparing it to a digital one - we don't need to spend £500 to get that... They are basically competing with the chase bliss Thermae at that price point, and they ain't winning...
I own it. Great video and I thank you for the in depth walk through on this unit. I bought it to use on my home pedal board so I can have various delays and store them in the memory bank. I Have a drum machine and looper and it’s cool not bending down and adjusting the delay settings. It sounds nice and works for me.
I don’t think you understand the analog nature and what they were able to deliver in this pedal. Stick with digital pedals.
@@nakedfreak1digital effects suck, eh? 2003 is over, dude. your complaint is stuck in the past. most digital effects now sound fantastic.
@@nakedfreak1this is simply not true these days.
From what I understand BBD circuit design is challenging. Longer delay times introduce artifacts like aliasing, noise, and clock bleed which require increased filtering, companding, and other tricks. This is why each algorithm on the DM-101 has a tailored delay time range. Typically, shorter delay times will be brighter and longer delay times will be darker.
Thanks for your take on this unit!
It is one of the most brilliant analog delays ever,together with the deluxe memoryman pedals or stereo memoryman pedals from the past(big box,MN3005).
love this pedal sounds amazing on my synths
Interesting review….sounds to me you would prefer a digital delay over analog…
Hmm, but I love the sound of this thing!
@@MadebyMiike it does sound great
it's now 285€ on Thomann.
No stereo in ruin my desire to buy this pedal. Is the Boss DM2w wc sound almost identically...??? Two of them and you have stereo analog delay.
If they made the DM-101 with stereo inputs, it would be the worlds First true stereo analog delay pedal
I think we have the Meraki delay. It seems to be a bit noisy tho
It would also cost 900 bucks and have 16 bucket brigade chips.
@@mruk_exe yup I made this comment before the Meraki. Bummer to hear that's it's noisy
It wouldn't even have to be true stereo. They could just sum up the inputs to mono to feed the delay and then mix the stereo delay output back to stereo inputs. Wouldn't need to change anything about the delay line at all to make it way more usable in a stereo configuration.
Oops! Watching it now after I ordered one. 😂 Got too excited with the sale price (got it for $295 / AU$475). I guess at least it meets your remark in point 1: easier to take the plunge if around $250-300. 😂
Thanks for this video mate! I think it’s good to have a different perspective out there for consumers to know what exactly they are buying.
did you keep the dm101? I just bought mine, second hand for a nice price. Was relieved to say you're negatives are nothing I really care about/don't expect from analog. I just need a really lush delay with tap tempo and longer delay time
Yes I kept it!
Although I don't share some of your opinions, I thank you for not producing one of those compliant "This-changes-everything" reviews. After all, it's a matter of taste. The DM-101 works excellent with my synthesizer.
Well, I'm not sure I'd be agreeing with most of your issues with the pedal. I guess you're not really experienced using analog delays that's why you're surprised with such so-called problems:
1. It's expensive because there are 8x BBD chips inside with lots of very complex coding in the digital section. This is a masterpiece of analog technology. Have you seen the prices of other pedals that offer not even half of the DM-101' features? ... IMO, the price is justified in compare to other pedals that want to compete in the same high end range.
2. Maybe you're not aware of it, but Boss traditionally almost never make any true bypass pedals. The only true bypass pedal they make is one of their tuners, that's all. Needless to say that Boss' buffers are incredibly transparent and the quality is second to none. Also, true bypass switching inevitably makes a 'pop' noise to some degree whenever you turn the pedal on. Moreover, because it's a delay pedal, it's usually being placed at the end of your signal chain which makes sense to have buffer anyway. And finally, if you absolutely need it to be true bypass, you can put it in a simple true bypass looper! Easy!
3. Can you please find me another genuine fully analog delay pedal with actual stereo inputs? (I'm not talking pseudo stereo, but true stereo). Do you know that to have actual stereo input, it means to have the exact same circuit but twice? It simply means putting two of the same pedal in a bigger box! Simply buy two units if you MUST have stereo inputs and you're done. Stereo on analog units simply means two units in one box, period.
4. Well, they do not sound all similar. Maybe you're setting them similarly. To me they can sound vastly different from one another. Also, have you ever played digital multi delay, or multi reverb units from Strymon, Source Audio and the rest of them? Even though there are some unique sounds in those pedals, but most of those modes on those fully digital units are just slightly varied versions of one another! And they're digital pedals! What do you expect to see on a fully analog delay pedals with 12 modes?
5. That is a valid point. I wish Boss could have done something about it. I guess because it's not a fully digital pedal, and the digital circuitry is controlling the analog section, it might the slight delay or gap might be unavoidable sadly. It's not a super big deal though in my opinion. It sounds so good and the modes are so creative that such minor issues can easily be ignored.
6. It's by design! There are reasons why each mode has a certain amount of delay time available to it. It's because it doesn't make sense to have very long delay time in certain modes, and vice versa. We actually need to thank Boss for such implementation. We'd have been here complaining about such inconveniences and unnecessary delay times in certain modes if they didn't do it!
7. Not to my experience really. Maybe it's easier for some modes to be heard easier in stereo, but with more Mix, and at some delay time settings they're pretty obvious to my ears.
8. Seriouly? Have you ever used ANY OTHER analog delays out there? Literally any other analog delay pedal out there has way more white noise than this unit. You mentioned DMM, yeah it's pretty noisy for sure, but wait till' you try the Chase Bliss stuff! ... DM-101 is really the least noisy analog delay pedal out there!
9. Yeah, I also agree that it'd have been great if it had the kill dry feature on it. Let's hope for a future firmware update for that. It should not be a big challenge for Boss to implement such a basic feature.
10. It's subjective, but IMO DM-101 doesn't need it. There are some analog delays out there with the Tone knob or HPF and LPF. But I think they need it as the repeats aren't as musical as on this one. But yeah, some people may still prefer to have something on the DM-101 as well, fair enough.
Ok. You didn't actually watch this video, right? You just skipped to where you could see all 10 of my complaints written on the right side and posted, right? I know you did that because in my video I LITERALLY SAY 90% OF WHAT YOU SAY in your post! (And goddamned, I debated not to write my complaints on the side, because I KNEW people like you would just skip ahead and not watch it! :-(
Ok, to your points:
1.) Imagine Strymon (or whoever really) comes out with a digital pedal that sounds JUST AS GOOD as the DM-101, BUT has stereo inputs, TB, drykill and all that jazz. AND is cheaper. You know what will happen? The second-hand market will be flooded with used DM-101s!!! Because we are MUSICANS, and not engineers! It's "a masterpiece of analog technology"? Seriously, who cares? Are you serious?
2.) I literally say Boss has no history with true bypass pedals! And I offer a compromise in form of small switch (like on the Wampler Tumnus Deluxe or Metaverse Delay). Watch the video next time before posting!
3.) I literally say that I suspect they would have to double the bucket brigade chips in my video! Watch the video the next time before posting!
4.) Its always the same base sound with slight variations. And about digital pedals: I say the exact same thing as you. Maybe try watching the video first before posting?
5.) Thank god we agree on at least ONE thing!
6.) If that's a design decision, it's a very bad one. People would complain that they are able to have longer delay times? No they wouldn't! It could actually have been a USP ("classic sounds now with more delay time"). And we have to THANK Boss for artificially limiting certain delay times, are you for real??
7.) As I mentioned multiple times in the video, I am playing this pedal at max. level most of time. 4 out of 6 "stereo" modes sound flat in comparison to the Pan and Pattern settings. If you don't hear that I don't know what to tell you.
8.) And that's why I started with "IF you are a fan of noiseless operation, this pedal might not be for you" and I continue with "but to be honest, the noise sounds very pleasant"... Maybe trying watching the video first next time?
9.) It should not be a big challenge for Boss. And yet, Boss Looper owners are still waiting for firmware updates for their malfunctioning pedals 2-3 years after release.
10.) So you don't think the DM-101 is a pretty dark sounding pedal? You don't wish sometimes that the repeats were a little bit more brighter? Have you ever tried to record guitars with it for a song and noticed that the delay gets pretty lost when Bass and Bassdrum are introduced? Because I have.
Please, for the love of god, do us all a favour and watch the video first before commenting on it. You make me lose faith in humanity!
@@MadebyMiike Dude, chill out! If I knew you'd this much hurt I wouldn't ever say anything. Just relax and enjoy whatever pedal you want. Don't worry to much, be happy. But on a serious note, you're still wrong in many parts, but I'm not going to respond to you anymore as I think you're one of those overly sensitive souls, and I don't wanna break your heart or whatever. Have a good day/night!
@@konnektlive Try walking in my shoes. Imagine spending 4-5 days reading the manual, reading forums, writing the script, shooting, editing and rendering this video. Imagine you get only a couple of cents in ad revenue for it, but your electricity bill will be far greater than that (not even talking about the manhours you spent doing all that). Imagine doing this video just as a "The more you know"-type of video for the community, not as a hit-piece. And then imagine someone doesnt even watch the damned thing, but writes a butthurt post that clearly comes from a fanboy's perspective. How would you react?
Mike is right. Vongon is stereo.
Dude. Why so angry. Looks like you must have splashed the $500 and now your offended by a third party mentioning a few things they didn’t like. Your reacting like someone called your girlfriend ugly. Chill out.
hi there I just bought one and I have a question. When you have a LONG delay time, there is an annoying hiss/comb modulation type sound, is that normal?
Hiss is definitely normal. I don't know what you mean with comb modulation tough, could you record a short video how it sounds?
Good review, I bought one second hand without the power supply, so I think my price/quality is om par !
I got mine on pre-order and no regrets, I noticed the things mentioned in the video but to be honest, when I use to play live a lot, I rarely changed delay settings during a tune and would change between tunes. the thing about this unit is the sound!!! I love the Boss Dm-2 and the DM-101 is like a DM-1/2 on steroids!! I have been playing it next to a digital delay and to be brutal, I am drawn to the analog sound! big/warm/lovely delay tucked in nicely behind the guitars original tone! its the sound I like best! as for not having stereo in, I forgive it! analog pedals I have used in the past never gave me that option anyway :)
That's totally fair! It is a great sounding delay pedal!!
If they made the DM-101 with stereo inputs the delays times would be half as long or the price would be close to double! Yes it’s an expensive unit but a modern Analog delay pedal with as much computerized control and sheer Bucket Brigade horsepower as this one will soon be added to my palette..Once I get a long enough break from gigs to go listen to one in person:-)
Thanks for the review.
Al
600ms would be fantastic in a ping pong type program. 300ms and 900ms would also be incredibly useful. Just adding one more chip would mean you could have 900 and 600 or 1200 and 300. These delay times are more than enough, if configured intelligently and with a true stereo mindset, to create a truly amazing and properly stereo analog delay. Not a mono delay into a chorus which to me is pointless as I already have a few of each of those...
To your point about all presets sounding the same, I'd prefer a tone knob, or better still a low pass and a high pass filter (2 knobs). That will give a lot of variation to the wet tone. Failing that, a send/return insert that you can use with whatever pedal you want...
Expanding on this point further, I can't believe this missed opportunity to include a program for ping pong delay, clocked to tap tempo subdivisions. A chorus applied to the signal does not make it a stereo delay. It makes it a mono delay going into a stereo chorus. Hands up those who don't own a stereo chorus...
Whoever creates a true stereo analog delay will clean up... Surely with 4 BBD chips we can have 600ms left and 600ms right - more than enough time for some nice intervals at most BPMs. Another program could be for 300ms vs 900ms in the ping pong.
Eventually pedal makers will realise that not only guitar players use pedals, and most producers tend to do things in stereo, because we are not thinking that we're going into an amp - we're thinking about two speakers or two headphones. Because we have 2 ears...
Good video. the mono input is a dealbreaker and not true bypass? not for that money. i only want it for the stereo analog delay...
Thanks. A video with 6 pedals that do stereo analog delay will be up next week!
@@MadebyMiike YES. Just what i need right now
That was my first and initial reaction. But after more research, I learned why 1) it's not possible to get this amount of bucket brigades into an analog delay with stereo inputs (only outs. Well, it is possible, but they already managed to get an insane amount in that enclosure. They'd have to double the amount. So, the pedal would be double the size, and at least double the price, to get you stereo-in), but (and way) *more importantly*, nearly every use case where you're using stereo delay, you should be running your wet effects in parallel, not series (meaning, it doesn't matter if it has stereo inputs, since each pedal is unaffected by the others, you can set orders, and still have your stereo chorus or whatever else, along with your Boss DM-101 sending out stereo signals together, in parallel instead of series. As it should be). It stinks that it complicates things, but all this did was inspire me to finally get a switcher, so that I could properly run the DM-101 in my w/d/w rig, and it's insane how much better everything sounds. Not just the delay, but all my wet effects. Getting them out of the signal path, and into a parallel loop rather than series, made all the difference in tone. I still use digital delays in my board, too (keeley halo and/or eventide ultratap), so it can really do everything now
@@n.s.3812 could you not use 2 BBDs per channel and still achieve 600ms on each? Same number of chips, different routing/configuration and controls. Would make a proper stereo delay. Could add a ping pong "program". These would make it true stereo rather than a predominantly mono delay with a stereo chorus (and I have a few of the latter already).
Looking forward to the shootout!
Very detailed, honest review, thanks!
Greets from Aargau.
Mike
Gruoes about price are off base imo. It's got 8 BBD chips in there. You then gripe about lack of stereo in, which would require much more cost. Gripes about not having the modes of a big box digital delay? Its an analogue delay. It feels like you've largely missed the point of this pedal.
I thinnk it is a great pedal but a mk2 should solve a few problems: 1. no line input level 2. no stereo in 3. the presets as you said not ordered 4. no attack or tone control
Listening to the repeats while playing chords, or arpeggios, to my ears it seems just to make a dark repeat of the same sound, with the pitch of the note played.. but always the same sound.. a dark muted brush of swoosh.
It's not a criticism in the sense of it.. that's the nature of the beast. But this makes me realize that's not what I'm looking for. So thanks for this review.
The most important thing for me is the sound. Would it have been my thing, the cons in this video would not have bothered me. I actually love the layout and look of the thing.. With the presets and all. But I feel this is best as a tweak sound module more than a pedal for straight foward guitar playing.
Thank you for your honest thoughts! Looking forward to your delay pedal shootout
The main reason stopping me from buying the DM-101 is that it doesn't have stereo inputs.
Why don’t they have a bpm
Well, interesting review…seems you're more a digital delay guy over analog… As a delay addict I have tons (and all those "greatest" known todays) but this one is realy huge and lovely sounding (so far from digital one!). And I like and use all those differents modes...
Couple of solid criticisms (mono input being one of them) because yeah for that price it should be almost no compromise. But as someone who prefers digital delay it really sounds most of the criticisms seems like he just wants a digital delay. He thinks if you mention every time its analogue BBD it's okay to complain about it being analogue. 🤨 I wish he would've taken different angle for the whole video. Maybe comparing analogue or digital Or if he still wants the clickbait complain it being over complex analogue delay.
So which stereo analog delay do you suggest? Suhr 'Discovery' ?
This was exactly what i have been also thinking. subscribed :)
Thanks mate!
No stereo in is a huge gripe for me, a deal breaker even. I haven't made up my mind yet. That Meraki is ####### expensive!
You mentioned it’s too expensive at $500 and Strymon is cheaper. That being said the timeline is $450, so not sure why you can’t cough up the extra $50, sot hats kind of a bad example.
TBH I was thinking more about the small, "specialist" Strymon pedals (Dig, Brigadier, El Cap) and not the multi-monster timeline.
@@MadebyMiike but now you’re comparing apples to oranges. Not the same type of unit.
Boss DM-101 and Strymon DIG the two most amazing sounding but still overpriced delay pedals.
I really love analog delays and I have DM-2W for it. But also I love analog delays for its simplicity. Boss DM-101 is like a car with 5 wheels. If need something complex I will better buy digital one like DD-500.
I share many of your complains… I’m a synth user and use many analog and digital pedals in the studio to create my final sounds… I have some BOSS pedals and I think they are nice but not perfect… I have the look for other brands to get the exact result I need. Roland have the power to promote and have presence in many stores and influencers but I recommend search in the underground brands to spend those 500 dollars in a delay. I have memory man, korg had a crazy analog nice machine with bbdelay and use in the studio a space echo ….original with tape and digital old boss version.
In digital delay I recommend go to underground brands…. More functions for your money or special ideas.
You can’t compare this to the small Strymon pedals, that’s like comparing a snake and an elephant. If anything compare it to the Suhr Discovery, WA Meraki
Thank you very much for your insightful review! Well...Nowadays, pedals are a golden market niche and there is a tendency to boosting prices but this one seems to be clearly and largely overpriced. It is kind of strange from a brand that is known for solid pedals sold at a reasonable price and clever designs (this does not seem to have been thoroughly designed). For instance, I have a DD-8 which me ears find worth each dollar it costs. The "pedal fever" is becoming an issue at Boss.
Right?
I pre-ordered mine from Sweetwater because they have 48 month financing so even though its expensive i can pay it off over time. Im an analog delay junkie and have loads of them and this one seems to blow them all away. My only real complaints are that its not stereo and that it doesnt have switchable instrument/line input. I dont play guitar. I make electronic music. I will be using this as a send/return effect via my mixer.
I definitely don’t think this pedal is for everyone. But you are paying for nuance. You are paying for the subtle differences, and the convenience of organizing them as presets, in addition to the convenience of a no-compromise tap function. Anyone saying the programs aren’t different enough or aren’t worth the expense, would likely be content with something like the DM-2, Carbon Copy Deluxe, or DOD Rubberneck at a fraction of the price. Or maybe they just don’t actually care for analog delays! To each their own. But anyone buying this expensive of a pedal based solely on the recommendation of their favorite Internet personality was probably destined to be disappointed regardless.
I most certainly care for analog delays. I own 4 of them, including the RE-501, Thermae, Meet Maude and Delay Llama Xtreme. I'm also considering the Rubberneck. I like delays that I can clock to midi or external tap tempo (that can be controlled by midi->gate). Don't worry if this is technical - this is not my point. My point is that I expect a TONE or filter at the £500 price point. OR an insert that I can use to put a filter pedal between the dry and processed signal. Why? Because I am a producer and I like to filter the highs and lows in my wet signal to remove muddiness. Rather than EQ wet+dry. I couldn't care less about presets because I use my FX in the studio and I sculpt my sound meticulously. Even then, there are pedals with more variation in tone and settings that have presets. Analog ones.
I don’t this pedal will be for everyone. That’s why I want one.
Get your hands on a Morley Delay and be surprised. :)
Well hipster boy, welcome to the world of analog and Boss. Where things are severally limited and only really become fun for this sole reason. PS: maybe your guitar tone is too bright to get the delay rolling, BBDs love lows and are shy of highs. PPS: be GLAD they mute the delay when switching modes, else you’d be hearing artifacts from hell. PPPS: you can clock the pedal with MIDI to escape the timing problem when switching modes.
Haha, "boy"??? I haven't been called boy in around 20 years, thanks for that, you made my day! 😅😂
PS A midi clock doesn't change the fact that these programs are limited differently in their max. delay time. It will still change the tempo.
@@MadebyMiike but if you lock tap devisions, it will still keep the tempo in sync to the clock. Might change between quarter notes and eights or the likes then, but it's still handy.
Also, you might want to embrace amps with worthwhile headroom and cabs with worthwhile low end, as a BBD delay really doesn't live in the higher register, which you seem to have squeezed your guitar tone into.
When using my Memory Toy on a microphone and having slight self oscillation dialed in (which only happens with the right power supply, by the way, but I guess the DM-101 is stabilized in this regard due to the digital bits), I can literally stop the delay by shushing sharply into the microphone. Yes, despite self oscillation, unless it's at way overkill feedback levels. High pitched frequencies literally mute the delay of BBD chips, and a warm guitar tone is always pretty nice to have, isn't it?
Hope this helps, didn't try the DM-101 myself yet. I intend to get one for mixing/recording purposes. So far your video describes everything one can expect from a digital controlled analog effect tho, simply works this way.
Also, most stereo modes sound pretty wide in other demos on UA-cam, but of course the widest sound you can get is when phase shifting left and right against each other, to the point of not hearing the delay anymore when you record in stereo and then listen in mono. It's fun to mess with, but due to the lacking mono compatibility there are downsides to it.
nice to hear it does not have a full wet. Saves my 500 €
Apparently it does! Check the pinned comment!
No Tone control is ridiculous … 🤦🏻♂️😏🤷🏻♂️
@@nakedfreak1 for Tone
You're not an analog person and that's okay.
Ill never own the DM101 because its $1100 in my country and that is simply absurd for a delay pedal.
Strymon Timeline and Volante are €10~20 cheaper, not €100-200 cheaper
I was thinking about their "specialist" pedals (with one sound just like the Boss) like their Dig, Brig, Brigadier, El Cap.
Almost all the complaints are realistically to be expected of almost any analog delay, so unless you're a beginner, this is a pointless video with a clickbait title as well. You knew about the price, buffered bypass and mono input before you bought it.. Assuming you really don't know much about analog delays 1. Price seems pretty normal tbh (lots of chips = expensive) . 2. True stereo input and true stereo path are extremely rare on analog delays and would jack up the price significantly because of the extra BBD chips. 3. Breaks during program changes are unavoidable.
Read the manual please. You'd be surprised.
first gripe invalid. lol . a timeline is 50$ cheaper, not 200$ cheaper
A Timeline is a multi-delay that gives you all the delay options in the world. This ain't that.
All the whining aside, the worst thing is you ordering it with the knowledge that you probably will return it. All this stupid shipping back and forth all over the globe is part of what's killing it.
Yeah but... I kept it?
the demographic market for this pedal is for those with more money than talent
Alternative: source audio collider
lol... Is that a joke? Source Audio stuff sound the most artificial in both delay and reverb. Sure, if you want super ambient stuff they're fun I guess. But for actual quality studio stuff, or genuine analog sounding delay, SA stuff sound the most artificial.
the fact it sounds like crap should be enough reason not to buy it😊
IT SOUNDS LIKE A$$