Line6... DL4 or Echo Park?

[John E]

Hi Guys, lurker here who finally signed up. I also post on Weber, TDPRI, and AGF. Anyways... My next pedal purchase is another delay... I bagged my Boss DD3 as it just really didn't knock me out. I know the Line6 Echo Park seems to be a controversial pedal here... but I LOVE it, at least from the few hours I've been able to mess with it at a local shop. No comparison with the Boss stuff or anything else I've tried. The problem is... I also love the DL4... I think the echo park actually sounds better and I like the size and price, but I love the loop feature and expression pedal feature on the DL4... I change my mind every 5 minutes on which one it will be... anybody have any swaying opinions on one over the other? This will be gigged in a pop/rock electric thing as well as an Acoustic fusion trio...

Thanks in advance...

[co-intelpro]

My DL4 has konked out on me on occasion. I am not sure about the echo park, but the DL4 was a huge pain for me reliability-wise. I opted for a Boss DM-2, Ibanez AD-80, and an Akai Headrush E2 to cover the looping. I still have the Line6 DL4, but I can't rely on it...

[John E]

I keep hearing about reliability issues with Line6... it's starting to concern me...

[Garygtr]

My Dl-4 had volume loss issues on some of the settings, the Echoplex ones in particular (which were my faves, unfortunately). I've heard the Echo park actually has a little volume boost, but I have yet to play one.

[GuitarGuy510]

I've owned TONS of line 6 products in the past and some have been great some have been not so good. I owned a Spider II 212 and it literally died on me after a little over a month of use! That one sucked because they told me I had to take it to a repair shop via line 6's warranty, and the only one in PA was 2 1/2 hours away! Also I know over a dozen people that told me horror stories of their DL-4's either randomly losing volume or just straight up dying on them mid-song. I had a Line 6 POD XT Live for a while that I only recently sold to pay for a cabinet, but I loved the delay models on it. I've heard good things about the Echo Park and it seems pretty sturdy with the metal case. I just bought a Digitech DigiDelay used on eBay and I'm very satisfied with it! If you are looking for a similar product to the tonecore delay, stick with the Digitech. No reliability issues and it sounds terrific! Just my 2 cents! Good luck with your search man, and welcome!

[Moe45673]

Sell the DL-4, keep the echo-park, buy a boss rc-20 or rc-20xl;

EP + RC-20 = same footprint as dl-4.

Problem solved.

[LSchefman]

Do not waste your money on a delay!
Just play the same part over and over real fast.

[ButchR]

Originally Posted by LSchefman

Do not waste your money on a delay!
Just play the same part over and over real fast.

Now that's funny! Good idea!

[Scott Peterson]

Flat honest - I prefer the Echo Park for tone.

But, and here I am being dead honest, I can't find an Echo Park that isn't noisy as hell. I have been through 3 of them now. And I know you have to keep trying, but I am done with it. Just sick of the chase, time and effort.

And the DL-4 was a great pedal for a long time for me, until it died on stage one night. And the replacement I bought at GC died the next night on stage.

I am done with their stompboxes, though the POD XT Live serves me well. Sigh.

[Meriphew]

I've had my DL4 for a few years now, and I've never had any problems with it (crosses fingers now). It's actually a pretty flexible delay unit and sounds great.

[Melodic Dreamer]

I got my DL4 a little over 2 years ago and haven't had any problems with it.

[WahmBoomAh]

after three died on me ...never again

[John E]

I guess Line 6 has some quality issues? I know about the noise thing with the Echo Park, it supposedly had been with only certain setups, and supposedly has been corrected with a firmware revision on newer pedals... there is a way to check by holding the stomp switch down on which revision the pedal is that I found. The service issues are scaring me... but I have to say I really dig the way that echo park sounds...

[straticus]

I've been using a DL4 for about three years now with no problems ...... except one of the LED's only works when it's in the mood. Hey, I know the feelin'

Other than that, works fine, sounds good. I want to try the Echo Park though.

[John E]

Originally Posted by Moe45673

Sell the DL-4, keep the echo-park, buy a boss rc-20 or rc-20xl;

EP + RC-20 = same footprint as dl-4.

Problem solved.

Well... this was EXACTLY what I did! I haven't bought the Boss RC-20xl yet, but I have a credit at a local shop and I'll be picking that up after X-Mas. I love, Love, LOVE the Echo Park... honestly I tried EVERYTHING and nothing compares tonally... It absolutely KILLS the Boss stuff and the Digidelay tonally IMHO... I can sit and muck with this pedal for hours on end, and I am not getting ANY noise thru my rig, powering it with a one spot and 5 other various pedals. I have not gigged it yet though, so that will be a test... gigging it for the first time on Wednesday. I checked the Version per Muzique.com: http://www.muzique.com/line6.htm

I seem to have the very latest revision which I believe to be 2.0 as I get TWO Red LED flashes per the instructions for checking (I am in the midst of verifying this though).

Thanks for all the responses!