Line6 DL4 modifications

[Haible Juergen]

Hi,

I got my DL4 Delay Modeller last weekend. This
thing needs some modifications.

Does anybody on the list have the dedicated
expression pedal ? I need the pinout of the connection
(pot wiper on ring or on tip of the plug ?), and the resistance
value of the potentiometer.
What to do with that ? First, use one the pedals I already have,
second, use a CV from the Modular to morph between the
DL4's parameters.

Next thing might be a dedicated switch for backwards mode.
Something that produces the required double click from
an extra switch and a little oscillator.

What I wanted to do most of all, sadly might not be possible.
I wanted to add a negative feedback loop around the whole device
to get an adjustable fade out of the loop contents in Overdoub
mode. But apparently there is also some considerable delay
of the external (analogue, negative) loop compared to the internal,
digital loop, so you get a weird flanging instead of partial cancellation.
Would have been too nice (;->).

How do I like it, btw ?
I got a mixed impression. I do not regret I have bought it: I wanted a
loooong loop sampler, and I got one for DM 650,-. That's what
I was ready to spend for this function, so the other modes are 
just an extra bonus for me. I was curious about the quality of 
the "vintage" FX emulations, of course. Some I did like better, some
I didn't like at all.

My favorites are the "low res digital delay" and the "digital delay with
modulation". The decrease of quality with every reflection sounds
very similar to many digital delays I've heard. It's nicely emulated
(but then I think it should be easy to emulate, shouldn't it ?). The
modulated delay sounds like a slow vibrato in the feedback loop.
I haven't heard the original Electro Harmonix box, so I cannot really
compare, but I like the sound. It's as good as on the other digital delays
with LFO that I own.

The "tape echoes" are some funny programs. I own a real Roland 
RE-201 (the reverb-less model RE-101 is emulated as "multi head
echo"), but none of the other two emulated tape devices 
(called "tube echo" and "tape echo"), so my opinion is restricted to this
background.
"Tube echo": Wow and flutter of tape emulation: Not bad. Better than
I had expected. Tube drive & Tape saturation emulation: What, only
one knob for both parameters ? I did not like the sound of this distortion
at all. (see below)
"Tape echo": Treble and Bass, but no more tweakable tape saturation?
Hmm ...
"Multi Head Echo". Ok, this is where I can really compare with the original.
There is some tape distortion and wow & flutter, but it's not adjustable.
And it's way too much "dirt". I do not doubt that there are worn and run 
down Space Echoes out there that sound like this, but I'd rather have
a simulation of a *good* one. I mean, my RE-201 has that nice chorussing
tape speed fluctuations, but it doesn't sound bad or "low fi". It *can*
be overdriven, and sound quite nasty, but it also can sound very clean
even after multiple echo repetitions. The DL4 sounds nothing like that.
It probably shows how "dirty" a RE-201 *can* sound, which is a tiny
fraction of the original's possiblities. The adjustable parameters
of the "tube echo" model are much better, but the distortion is still
not as nice as on my (non tube!) RE-201.
"Analogue echo": This is funny. They have implemented some artefacts 
that that occur when a BBD delay's delay time is tweaked in real time.
The artefacts are impressive, but they are somewhat different from what
I've expected. I have played with the delay knob of many BBD delays
and got a similar effect on all of them, but quite different to the effect
the DL4 produces. I cannot tell about the particulat Boss delay they
emulated, because I don't have the original. So I may be wrong here.

Bottom line: As I said, I bought this box because of the Loop Sampler.
I like it very much. it's my first "real" Loop device, and it's so intuitive
that I recorded a song with it on the first day. I wished it had a knob
for "feedback" that works in the overdoub mode. Sometimes you don't
want to build and build and build up, but you want to gradually erease
your previous stuff and build up a new loop in real time. I'd rather
have this than the extra delay function that is built into the Loop Sampler.

The other models are nice. A nice addition, and some of them really 
pleasant. Just don't expect they can replace an original tape echo.

I guess this mini-review part was a little off topic. But don't forget to
give me feedback on the expression pedal.
Ist there a special mailing list for these boxes ?

JH.