Line 6 - DL4 Delay Modeller

[MrAnderson]

Subject: Line 6 Delay Modeller Stompbox
Price: £200
Lowdown: [url=http://www.line6.com/productDetail.html?model=31]Line 6 Website[/url]

Right so firstly the DL4 is not a bass specfic pedal, however it still works fine on bass, and as I am a bassist first guitarist second, I will be review the DL4 from the point of view of us 4 stringers.

Features:
The features this thing has a just fantastic. There are 15 different delay sounds from standard Digital Delay modelling to the awesome sweep echo and reverse delays. The flexibility of the pedal is really what sold it for me. There is also a really cool loop sampler which you can have up to 28 seconds of music looped to play over and over. Really cool if you want to play lead basslines over a regular rhythm bassline. Can add real depth to the tones. The DL4 also features a handy Tap Tempo switch which can be used to change the delay time. Very useful for a gig situation.
The most annoying thing about the DL4 is the way it eats power. Don't even bother with battery power, you'll need the specific Line 6 adaptor which is another expense, but in the end its worth it. This thing won't run on a 9V Power Bank unfortunately.
Another thing is you can only have 3 delays set to the switches. I'd like more but you lose the Tap Tempo.

Ease Of Use:
Not exactly difficult for anybody who has used other pedals before to grasp. There are are six knobs on the front of the pedal and four switches. The first knob lets you choose which type of delay effect you want to use. There is then Delay Time, Repeats and Mix, all fairly obvious to anyone who has used any other type of delay. The other two knobs however are the Tweak and Tweez settings. What these two knobs are used for varies depending on the delay setting you are using. This is one of the few downsides of the pedal. It is very difficult to remember what exactly they do for each delay model. A small sticker with the details is provided but it wouldn't really be very easy to read it on a dark stage.

Reliability:
I had heard bad things about the DL4 and the other Stompboxes that Line 6 produce before I bought it. There were a lot of people complaining of faults, LEDs not coming on, delay staying on permanently, line noise. I decided to find out for myself and I bought it anyway. For the first few days i was quite worried about it to be honest. The first switch was being particularly dodgy not always switching on as it should, but somehow it actually managed to fix itself without me taking it back to the store. I've had it nearly 6 months now and I've not had any problems at all since the first week.

Sound:
The most important section. What does it sound like? Well to put it simply it sounds fecking amazing. If I could I would have all the delays set in somewhere. I may be forced to buy another one so I can have 6 presets. The analog delays both the Boss and Electro Harmonix are absolutely gorgeous representations of them. The reverse delay is crazy and really cool for solos, and the sweep echo gives you a cool synth like depth to your sound. This not being a bass orientated pedal doesn't make a blind bit of difference, all the sounds you can get sound great at low frequencies.

Overall:
One great piece of kit. Anyone looking for delay should definitely check this out. It may be slightly more expensive than the likes of DD-6 but you pay for the massive flexibilty that you get from it. I'm having difficulty stopping myself putting delay on every song I write with this.

4.5/5