Retro-Sonic Analog Delay
There may be no analog delay more beloved
throughout gear history than Boss’s ultrasimple DM-2 Delay. The original featured up
to 330 milliseconds of delay and was only
sold for four years, starting in 1981. Since
then, the prices have only gone up. Old Boss
boards are precision sculpted; despite its
diminutive exterior, the DM-2’s circuit board
is deceptively complicated, as most analog
delays are. Creating a reproduction of this unit
has eluded pedalbuilders for years. It should
come, then, as no surprise that Canada’s
Retro-Sonic has taken onto itself the challenge
of engineering a delay that’s billed as its
closest approximation. Thankfully, Retro Sonic
has outfitted the Analog Delay with a Tone
knob, as well as a footswitch for toggling long
and short delay times. The sound is about as
close to a DM-2 as one will find, and the Tone
knob only enhances the experience. In fact, if
I may impart an anecdote, I used to work at
a guitar shop long ago, and we had in stock
three different DM-2s. Each sounded slightly
different but I never forgot the approximation.
Years later, after I heard the Retro-Sonic, I
actually thought it was the DM-2. The sound
is extremely accurate and the extended delay
time is a bonus.
Not too long ago, it was thought that the
analog delay’s days were numbered. Stocks
of the Reticon SAD1024 dwindled and gave
way to the MN3005, which in turn gave
way to the MN3008. After stocks of the
3008 dried up, analog delays were soon
becoming an endangered species. That said,
kudos to these brave analog warriors and
their relentless sourcing of substitute parts
for keeping the quest alive. May light shine
eternally upon the murky analog delay from
now until eternity!
ToneReport.com
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