Boss DD-3 Digital Delay review

Overall review:

Considering the available options in 2016 for a delay pedal, this Boss delay pedal is a very simple device. You can only adjust level (dry/wet signal ratio), feedback (amount of repeats) and the delay time (up to 800ms). Boss has been manufacturing these pedals non-stop since 1983 so it is safe to say that it is a time-tested classic (very interesting history of Boss Delay-pedals can be found here). It has been used by basically all legendary guitarists who ever dabbled in delay effects as it was one of the first digital delay pedals available back in the day. Ability to tap-adjust the delay repeat time would be great, that is only feature I miss from more modern pedals.

Sounds and features:

The sound of this pedal depends on how you use it. You can get sounds The Edge used on U2 songs like Pride (In The Name Of Love) if you set the level and feedback high and use clean sounding guitars or if you set the feedback low and delay time long you can get a big sound for epic lead playing. The age of the design of this pedal shows in the technology used as it is a 12-bit digital delay which is far from hi-fi level (CD quality requires 16 bits) but you can not tell that when you are playing. The sound is very good and it faithfully duplicates your input.

Quality and reliability:

No problems with quality, I have used it for years. If you need a simple durable delay pedal without bells and whistles, get this one.

My favorite DD-3 Digital Delay settings:

For lead and single-note melodies:

Level 10

Feedback 9

Time 10

Mode 800ms

Overall review:

I´ve had this pedal for 20 years, it has been standard component of my pedal board all this time. The pedal has 4 settings (level, feedback, time, mode) and it is simple to operate after you get familiar what each of them does. Maximum delay time is 800ms which is meager by todays standards, but for me it is more than enough. There is also option to infinite delay repeats with the “hold” option and pressing down the pedal, but I have never really used it because you can´t run normal delay at the same time. This is one of the minus things about DD-3, otherwise it is pretty much perfect for my needs.

Sounds and features:

It is digital delay, it does not colour the sound much, it just repeats the signal you put in faithfully. This can be a positive or negative thing, some people like the altered sound some analog delay-pedals give. Best way to run delay and all other time-based effects is to use the effects-loop on your amp, but I usually have this in front of my amp, because it is much more practical in live situations. Messing around with 4 different cables for just the effects is not what I want to do when performing, there is always some cable which shuts down. If you are fortunate enough to have people handling this stuff for you then it is a different thing of course. The pedal works nicely on front of amp too, but you have to be careful with the level settings or the effect gets too dominant.

Quality and reliability:

It is a Boss-pedal, it is made to last. Never had problems with it and I have played loads of gigs with it. This pedal has been road tested by guitar legends like Billy Duffy for decades.

My favorite DD-3 Digital Delay settings:

Level: 10 o´clock

Feedback: 10 o´clock

Delay time: 10 - 12 o´clock depending on song

Mode: 800 ms

This is my delay settings for lead guitar playing. I use delay-pedal front of amp.