[Harp-L] Comparison Lone Wolf / Danecho / Boss DM2 delay pedals (kinda long post)

["David Brown" <nonidesign@xxxxxxxxx>]

I have a Lone Wolf and did an apples-to-apples of the unit against a Danecho
(modded by Ron Holmes with a true bypass) and a Boss DM2.

I set all three pedals with just a little delay, enough to fatten the tone
(If you're familiar with the intro to Big Walter's "Walter's Swing" off the
album "Fine Cuts" you'll know where I'm at). I know there was a recent
thread about extreme delay capability so I will add that the Lone Wolf (as
well as the other two pedals) have enough of a range of delay to keep me
happy (for whatever that's worth).

I took turns running all three pedals through the following amps: Sonny Jr
410, A Sonny Jr2, A Blackface '64 Fender Deluxe, A white tolex Gibson
Skylark, A white tolex Gibson Discoverer, and a Kalamazoo 2. I also ran them
through a ...gasp.... *solid state* Ventura VIntage 50 (Tim Northcut where
are you now?).

I used the following mics: A Shure CR41 with a black lable CR, A JT30 with a
151 crystal, a Shure 533, and a Shure SM57 (using an impedence transformer).


Overall results:
The Lone Wolf sounds almost identical to my modded Danecho. I consider both
the Lone Wolf and the Danecho to have a, "brighter", delay sound than the
DM2's "warmer" tone. By this I do not mean that the Lone Wolf and the
Danecho sound "sterile", "tinny", or "thin". I guess I would say that the
pedals "color" the delay sound differently. The Lone Wolf & Danecho have
slightly more of a "cut", while the Boss is slightly more "creamy". All
three are strong and, in my opinion, really great for harp. I noticed very
very little, if any, tone loss with any of the pedals and would say
that only obsessive gear heads (like me) would notice it at all.

I won't go into how each amp/mic combo performed (it would take too
long*) but if you are familiar with the general consensus on how each amp &
mic "typically" sounds I would say that all three of the pedals enhanced the
various mic/amp sound combinations successfully and with no negative
effect to the amp/mic performance. I like the Boss pedal for the Gibson amps
as they tend to be brighter sounding. The warmth of that pedal fills the
tone of those amps nicely, taking off some of the edge. I like the Danecho
and the Lone Wolf to give cut to the warmer sounding amps like the Fender
Deluxe and the Vintage 50. You can plug a crushed beer can into anything
Sonny ever built and it will sound like God's touching your amp (even if you
play as lousy as I do),
but blowing the black label CR mic through the SJ410 with any of the pedals
actually affected local weather.
**
**If anyone has questions about any of the set-ups specific to one of the
amps, let me know.*
**
Other comments on the Lone Wolf:
It is the lightest pedal of the three and appears to be solidly built. Too
new for a durability comment at this point, but the fit and finish seem
solid.
It arrived quickly and communication with Randy was quick and easy.

I am very happy with this pedal and plan to use it regularly. It won't
replace any of the other pedals I have, but it is now a part of
my arsenal. I think  it warrants comment that FINALLY someone has come out
with an alternative to the out-of-this-world prices on the Boss DM2, and
having to mod the Danecho (which I feel has to have the bypass mod to be
completely effective at preventing tone loss). The price of the Lone Wolf
ends up around the same as buying the Danecho, shipping it out for the mod
(if, like me, you don't want anything to do with a soldering iron), and
shipping.

So Randy, if you're reading this, how about coming out with a reverb, a
chorus, and an octave pedal (that can handle fast runs), all built for harp?

General Disclaimer: No one paid me shit to write any of this.