The Next DL4?

[gtrfinder]

Just some thoughts:

The Line 6 DL4 seems to arouse some very strong opinions on this forum, some positive, many others negative.
I'm not sure of its exact date of release or introduction, but would consider it one of the most important pedal innovations in the last 10 years. Line 6 has certainly ridden the tires pretty bald on this product, and it seems to still be going.
Almost everyone seems to use, or has used this thing at some point: amateur guitarists, pro guitarists, studios, and even many non guitar related musicians use it regularly. I think its preset capabilities give musicians who dont want to fiddle with rack gear an approximation of the same capabilities of the big time delay rack units as well as some of the cool features of classic stompboxes and echo units.
Love it or hate it, it is everywhere.

My question is this. What do you think will be the "Next DL4"? Something in a floor based format that will be equally user friendly and tweakable. Something that sounds good, and is relatively affordable (comparatively speaking of course)

What do you think?

[Andre357]

Originally Posted by gtrfinder

Just some thoughts:

The Line 6 DL4 seems to arouse some very strong opinions on this forum, some positive, many others negative.
I'm not sure of its exact date of release or introduction, but would consider it one of the most important pedal innovations in the last 10 years. Line 6 has certainly ridden the tires pretty bald on this product, and it seems to still be going.
Almost everyone seems to use, or has used this thing at some point: amateur guitarists, pro guitarists, studios, and even many non guitar related musicians use it regularly. I think its preset capabilities give musicians who dont want to fiddle with rack gear an approximation of the same capabilities of the big time delay rack units as well as some of the cool features of classic stompboxes and echo units.
Love it or hate it, it is everywhere.

My question is this. What do you think will be the "Next DL4"? Something in a floor based format that will be equally user friendly and tweakable. Something that sounds good, and is relatively affordable (comparatively speaking of course)

What do you think?

The answer is easy :

The TC Nova Delay or the Eventide Timfactor.

[straticus]

Part of the reason I can't get away from the DL4 is I like having quick access to the presets. I would not want to have to scroll throw presets in the middle of a song during a gig.

Neither the Nova or the TF have as many preset buttons .....right? BTW, I'd love to be wrong about this.

[Andre357]

Originally Posted by straticus

Part of the reason I can't get away from the DL4 is I like having quick access to the presets. I would not want to have to scroll throw presets in the middle of a song during a gig.

Neither the Nova or the TF have as many preset buttons .....right? BTW, I'd love to be wrong about this.

Try the nova - it's very easy, quick and intuitive to cycle through the up to NINE presets, even mid song and from part to part !

I was worried about that but ended up being pleasantly suprised how easy it was to adjust ( Like 30 seconds ! ) to accessing my stored sounds.

Haven't tried the eventide but I guess that uses banks and each bank has two stored sounds assigned to two switches. So you have to cycle through the banks and then the two sounds are right there... something tells me it a system that works quite well just like the Nova.

[missing_dave]

well not sure what the fuss is usually about? ive a/b it with an old echoplex and an analog delay pedal..in a studio........sounds pretty damn close to me???? besides as usual by the time "live" happens with an OD pedal etc. its been great for me for maybe 5-6 years now? no problems? i know there are better delays but for the $$ and friendliness..seems good to me. with that the moog is the best ive heard and havent seen any similar to the "multi preset" thing but the t-rex has the tap and also sounds really great? just my 2cents...

[musickbox]

There isn't the next DL-4. I have the Nova, and the price of the EVentide should be enough to know it's not the next DL-4. The DL-4 has some great settings, a good looper, and some great noise makers that make it unique. I am not talking about the quality of the delay sounds, because there are plenty of other delays that are better. What I talk about is the way so many different musicians use it and how it has become a standard. I really hoped that Line6 would update the design. I have a Nova delay and an Ibanez DE7. Both those delays give me a huge range of versatility. I think the DL-4 is still a good pedal and for some, it needs to be a part of their rig.

[Alex Law]

Originally Posted by straticus

Neither the Nova or the TF have as many preset buttons .....right? BTW, I'd love to be wrong about this.

The Eventide's presets are split into pairs, so you can easily switch between presets 1 & 2, 3 & 4 etc.

If you use more than two delay settings per song I supposed you'd have to click more, but otherwise, it's very easy.

[thisfire]

Originally Posted by alex_law

The Eventide's presets are split into pairs, so you can easily switch between presets 1 & 2, 3 & 4 etc.

If you use more than two delay settings per song I supposed you'd have to click more, but otherwise, it's very easy.

Bingo. I've had my TF for a couple of weeks, and I've found switching presets/preset banks to be a breeze. You can even use a triple momentary switch for record, stop, and play (for the loop/sample function) and use the three normal switches on the TF for presets and switching preset banks. Easy!

[fuzzinator]

As convenient as the DL-4 is, I can't use it anymore after investing in an Echoplex and a DMM.
The DL-4 simulation of analog delays are just that - simulations. Flat, digital and lifeless, IMO.
I simply don't use it anymore.

[brianf]

It's funny you say there is a love hate relationship with the DL4 here. You should see the wars on the Line 6 Forum.

Boss DD20 has 4 presets as well but only 10 or 11 models. I like the Boss much more than the DL4 I had.

Mind you when you see photos of rock star pedal boards there are lots of DL4's to be seen.

The one thing I really liked about the Boss is the Digital readout for delay times.

brianf

[Lolaviola]

The DL-4 was a wonderful breakthru in user-friendly pedal technology.

Line 6 has certainly ridden the tires pretty bald on this product, and it seems to still be going.

It does seem like the faults (and there are faults) were never addressed. I got burned by one and won't buy it again. If they had a "new improved" version I may think about it. It really is quite a useful tool, the layout is great and the variety of tone is cool.

Let's not kid ourselves, however, it is EXPENSIVE. It was the most expensive thing I ever bought and it spontaneously broke, even though I never took it out of the house, and powered it w/ a Line6 adapter.

[MrHuge]

Well… Since I was the product designer on the DL4 project…I doubt if you’ll see an update from Line 6… at least not one that is as simple and elegant as the DL4.
Oh, it was released September 1999…
-Mr. Huge

[Alex Law]

Gosh, I do hope there are some other pedal designers out there as good as you. *nudge* *grin*

[re-animator]

I'd love to have a triplet of delays for the studio: a good digital, a good tape and a good analog (dd-3, ep-3, and DMM, respectively).... then a good solid rack unit with floorboard for live stuff (like an echo pro, or a gt pro). But I like a lot of delay and its a big part of my sound... guess I'm taking a page out of eric johnson's book...

[MrHuge]

Originally Posted by alex_law

Gosh, I do hope there are some other pedal designers out there as good as you. *nudge* *grin*

There sure are! Even better ones...
-Mr. huge