Memory Boy s. Carbon Copy?

[zosozep7]

Hey all. I have the MB and like it alot but was wondering your inputs on the Carbon Copy? Better then the MB? Are they an even match? Lets here some responses!

 

[marvelboy_04]

id also checkout the malekko ekko 616 or the new deluxe memory boy

 

[zosozep7]

Is the DMB out yet? Im looking into the 616

 

[Pat of the Dead]

i love the carbon copy.

 

[LuckyBlackCat]

I have the MB and recently tried the CC in a shop just to see the difference. Seemed to me the repeats were clearer on the CC. The mix controls (blend on the MB) are different between the two. From my observations, on the CC the mix just controls the level of the delayed signal, with the dry kept constant. On the MB, the blend gives you all dry to the left and all wet to the right.

 

[JimmyR]

For similar kinda money you could get a Hardwire Delay which I think sounds better than either the EH or the CC. Plus it has a heap more features. It really sounds good and is a bargain. I'd never bought a Digitech pedal before this!

 

[Blues Wail]

For similar kinda money you could get a Hardwire Delay which I think sounds better than either the EH or the CC. Plus it has a heap more features. It really sounds good and is a bargain. I'd never bought a Digitech pedal before this!

DL-8=GREAT!

 

[jw112]

I like the boy better. But IMO ones not better then the other they are just different. The boy has that verby ehx delay thing going on

 

[jazzvi]

I really like the Carbon Copy. After a long search I finally found a delay that I like.

 

[jwny72]

I've owned both the Carbon Copy and the Memory Boy. I still have the Carbon Copy, but returned the Memory Boy. There were things the Memory Boy could do that I really liked, but it had one unforgivable flaw that I'll explain as I go on. Here's my comparison of the two pedals:

The repeats produced by the Carbon Copy sound wetter, brighter, and nicer to my ears. In contrast the Memory Boy repeats are pretty dark and kind of lofi. The Memory Boy repeats don't sound bad to my ears, but the Carbon Copy's are nicer/more pleasing IMO.

The modulation available with the Carbon Copy is pretty minimal/subtle, and to adjust depth/speed, you have to open up the pedal and fiddle with trim pots. The Memory Boy has external modulation controls, and much more modulation is available. Actually, too much modulation is available with the Memory Boy in my view--anything past 9:00 on the modulation depth control produced sea-sickness inducing pitch shifting that wasn't at all musical to my ears. I only used it with the modulation depth at about 7 or 7:30--just barely on. The whole rest of the knob's sweep was unusable IMO. I'll add that I only cared for the triangle waveform modulation, the square waveform was just ugly to my ears.

With the Memory Boy one has the option of controlling delay time or modulation speed with an expression pedal. Neato, especially (for me) when controlling the modulation speed--one can get really, really cool Leslie Speaker Cabinet type sounds. In this regard it has the Carbon Copy beat hands down. I loved this feature.

The dealbreaker that prompted me to return my Memory Boy was the functioning of the it's "blend" control. When set to 12:00, repeats are the same volume as the dry signal, and the dry signal is the same volume as when the pedal is bypassed. However, when the blend is set to say 9:00 so that repeats are about half the volume of the dry signal, the dry signal is boosted. This means that when the blend knob is set for quieter repeats, the dry signal will get louder when the pedal is engaged. This is totally stupid, a major design flaw. I use delay for added texture and ambiance, and almost never want my repeats as loud as my dry signal. This meant that I had a volume boost/drop going on whenever I'd turn on or off my delay--No good at all.

The Carbon Copy's control (called "mix" instead of "blend") just adjusts the volume of the repeats without affecting the dry signal whatsoever--the way it should be IMO. Yes it's true, with the MB one can have "all wet" (just delayed repeats) which isn't possible with the CC, but I don't care. Not having the option of quieter repeats without a dry signal boost made the MB unusable to me, despite it's pluses.

Summary:
sound quality of repeats: CC is winner
quality and flexibility of modulation: MB is winner
other features: MB is winner, CC lacks expression pedal options
blend/mix control: MB is a total loser, it boosts your dry signal unless the repeats are as loud or louder than your dry signal.

 

[zosozep7]

Wow! Jwny72. Nice post! I really appreciate your comments. Actually, everyones comments. I have the MB. I kight just replace it with the CC at my local GC!

 

[morgan918]

Agree with all of the Jwny. The modulation spectrum is almost too much for me, it's pretty wild. And your description about the mix knob is spot on. My v1 echoczar operates similarly (although with no volume drop) and sometimes it drives me nuts. I prefer just adding wet to a set-level dry signal. My old maxon ad900 worked this way and it just killed, you could create this self-oscillation that just rumbled in the background. Beautiful stuff...

I do have a CC for my small board (and the czar for main one), it's a great little box although may be supplanted for my newly (as of tonight) acquired older DMM.

 

[critter74]

I've owned both the Carbon Copy and the Memory Boy. I still have the Carbon Copy, but returned the Memory Boy. There were things the Memory Boy could do that I really liked, but it had one unforgivable flaw that I'll explain as I go on. Here's my comparison of the two pedals:

The repeats produced by the Carbon Copy sound wetter, brighter, and nicer to my ears. In contrast the Memory Boy repeats are pretty dark and kind of lofi. The Memory Boy repeats don't sound bad to my ears, but the Carbon Copy's are nicer/more pleasing IMO.

The modulation available with the Carbon Copy is pretty minimal/subtle, and to adjust depth/speed, you have to open up the pedal and fiddle with trim pots. The Memory Boy has external modulation controls, and much more modulation is available. Actually, too much modulation is available with the Memory Boy in my view--anything past 9:00 on the modulation depth control produced sea-sickness inducing pitch shifting that wasn't at all musical to my ears. I only used it with the modulation depth at about 7 or 7:30--just barely on. The whole rest of the knob's sweep was unusable IMO. I'll add that I only cared for the triangle waveform modulation, the square waveform was just ugly to my ears.

With the Memory Boy one has the option of controlling delay time or modulation speed with an expression pedal. Neato, especially (for me) when controlling the modulation speed--one can get really, really cool Leslie Speaker Cabinet type sounds. In this regard it has the Carbon Copy beat hands down. I loved this feature.

The dealbreaker that prompted me to return my Memory Boy was the functioning of the it's "blend" control. When set to 12:00, repeats are the same volume as the dry signal, and the dry signal is the same volume as when the pedal is bypassed. However, when the blend is set to say 9:00 so that repeats are about half the volume of the dry signal, the dry signal is boosted. This means that when the blend knob is set for quieter repeats, the dry signal will get louder when the pedal is engaged. This is totally stupid, a major design flaw. I use delay for added texture and ambiance, and almost never want my repeats as loud as my dry signal. This meant that I had a volume boost/drop going on whenever I'd turn on or off my delay--No good at all.

The Carbon Copy's control (called "mix" instead of "blend") just adjusts the volume of the repeats without affecting the dry signal whatsoever--the way it should be IMO. Yes it's true, with the MB one can have "all wet" (just delayed repeats) which isn't possible with the CC, but I don't care. Not having the option of quieter repeats without a dry signal boost made the MB unusable to me, despite it's pluses.

Summary:
sound quality of repeats: CC is winner
quality and flexibility of modulation: MB is winner
other features: MB is winner, CC lacks expression pedal options
blend/mix control: MB is a total loser, it boosts your dry signal unless the repeats are as loud or louder than your dry signal.

I have both pedals currently and this is about a dead on analysis of both. I only disagree about some of the square wave modulation on the MB being un-musical, I have found some neat stuff with it, but that is purely preference on each of our parts. I can definitely see why many would feel that way.

All the other observations are dead on. I like the MB and will keep it but its for more "experimental" uses. The CC is a nice good straight ahead analog delay.

And the boost issue on the MB can be annoying and a little problematic for live performance depending on how you set-up your signal chain...

In short, the MB delay would not be my one and only analog delay if I could only get one and needed a nice straight ahead analog delay.

 

[Jess 1971]

I currently own both, and I like them both too, each for different reasons. I think the Carbon Copy is a bit more refined, while the Memory Boy is a bit more raunchy or trashy sounding (in a good way). The Memory Boy is also one of the brightest analog delays I've ever tried. They're each good delays for the money, but I think each is really good at different things. Just different flavors of sounds really.

 

[critter74]

One other thing about the MB, is that the Feedback ste anywhere past 1:00 starts oscillating wildly (calling all marr & moz fans). That can be fun AND annoying...

 

[patrickisbusy]

I really love my CC, but the new DMB seems to solve the whole volume boost problem by a seperate Gain knob, which I assume controls the input level like the level knob on the DMM. That being said, feature wise, I'd say both the DMB and the MB are ahead of the CC, but the CC's sound quality is far superior, in my opinion.