[Harp-L] Line 6 DL-4 (delay) review

[Mike Fugazzi <mfugazzi67@xxxxxxxxx>]

I picked up a used Line 6 DL-4 and have had a chance to tinker with it.  It is a delay modeler and looper that lets you save up to three presets.  Besides level, repeat, and time knobs, each delay has its own pair of special knobs.  For most of the delays, they are a bass and treble eq…for others they control speed and depth, etc.

http://line6.com/dl4/

After spending a couple hours with it, I want to report that it works great for harp.  I set up my now-blackface Vibro Champ with a SM57 and volume control from Greg Heumann.  It was on the verge of feedback, so if the pedal were to add any gain, the amp would start howling.

I had no issued with added gain/feedback when using the pedal.  I found a very nice patch in the analog mode.  I had nothing to compare it to directly, but the sound quality was good enough for me.  One thing I didn’t like about my Boss DM2 (traded it for the VC) was that the delay was hard to hear in the mix live.  I think there is enough of a digital presence to make the DL4 cut better in analog mode.  I can also add more treble as needed to help with that too.

Another great patch was the digital delay.  I set it exactly like Adam Gussow does (found the info via an old YouTube clip).  Very cool!  I took a bit of the treble out to soften it up a bit.  Loved it!

The third preset I am on now is the stereo delay.  I ran it in mono and still liked it.  I will try it in stereo yet this week.  Long term, I want to find cheap pitch shifter to raise the stereo delay up an octave.  John Popper does something like this and I love the sound for a spacey rock solo.

I also tried the reverse delay.  I liked it, but my wife hated it.  Cool trick, IMO.  There are some other “trick” online.  You can get an envelope and chorus out of the unit.  I tried the envelope settings and felt it was too slow in tracking what I was playing.  I don’t plan on ever using it for that.

I messed with most the other delay types too, however, I knew I wanted those three to start with.  I am a huge fan of Carlos del Junco’s tone on Blues Mongrel and thought maybe the tape or tube echo could give me a similar echo to what he uses.  I had promising results, but decided it was time to play with my son rather than open a whole new can of worms.

My band is recording this weekend.  I should have some sound samples.  I really want to make a You Tube vid for this pedal and my Kinder AFB+.  If I find the time this week, I’ll see what I can do.  Maybe I can hammer one out tonight.

If I wanted just analog, this isn’t the way I would have gone, but it was cheaper and less work than getting two or three other delays.


 Mike Fugazzi
Vocals/Harmonica
"The Mike Fugazzi Band"
http://www.myspace.com/mikefugazzi
http://www.youtube.com/user/mikefugazzi


"Music should be healing; music should uplift the soul; music should inspire. There is no better way of getting closer to God, of rising higher towards the spirit, of attaining spiritual perfection than music, if only it is rightly understood."
-Hazrat Inayat Khan