Echoes nobody hears…
The two delay pedals I'm looking at here, the Guyatone PS-014 and Pearl AD-08, are both ‘vintage’ 1980s, Japanese-made, analogue delays of a high quality. Both are built to last; similar in build quality to Boss pedals and, in my opinion at least, they should be held in the same regard as the more sought after (and wildly over-priced) Boss DM-2 and DM-3.
Guyatone PS-014 Dual Time Delay
The Guyatone PS-014 (which was also sold under the Nady brand name in some countries) is similar in sound to a Boss DM-3; it has the same kind of quality to the repeats, but is - dare I say it, more ‘organic’ sounding to my ears - and is cleaner sounding than a DM-2. However, it lacks the direct output of a DM-3 and has less delay time - mine has 220ms (although it is possible to get a bit more at the expense of audio fidelity by adjusting an internal trimpot).
It does have a unique extra feature though… there are two delay time controls. Only one (‘Main’) is functional as standard, the other (‘Sub’) becomes active when you plug a footswitch* into the ‘Foot Sw’ socket. You can then use the external footswitch to switch between two different delay times set by the ‘Main’ and ‘Sub’ controls.
* Most 'tap tempo' or generic channel changing footswitches should do the job.
Pearl AD-08 Analog Delay
The Pearl AD-08 is closer to the softer sound of a Boss DM-2, but is much cleaner - especially so on longer settings where the DM-2 turns to mush. The AD-08 has some other features that make it worth seeking out: it has more delay time available than most similarly-aged analogue delays - I measured mine to have 370ms, whereas most of its rivals have 200-300ms; it has two outputs and has independent level controls for both the effect and direct signals - very useful!
We’re faithful, we all believe…
I prefer both the PS-014 and AD-08 to the two Boss compact analogue delays: the Guyatone has a sweeter tone than the DM-3 and the bonus Dual Time feature; the Pearl has a wider range of uses over the DM-2 due to the longer delay time and higher fidelity.
It goes, it goes, it goes like this…
Putting either of these on your pedal board won’t give you the same cred as having a Boss DM-2/3, but I bet you’ll still get as many (or more!) people commenting on the great sounds you’re making.
The two delay pedals I'm looking at here, the Guyatone PS-014 and Pearl AD-08, are both ‘vintage’ 1980s, Japanese-made, analogue delays of a high quality. Both are built to last; similar in build quality to Boss pedals and, in my opinion at least, they should be held in the same regard as the more sought after (and wildly over-priced) Boss DM-2 and DM-3.
Guyatone PS-014 Dual Time Delay
- Effect Box Series
- Made in Japan
- (Discofreq’s Effects Database page.)
The Guyatone PS-014 (which was also sold under the Nady brand name in some countries) is similar in sound to a Boss DM-3; it has the same kind of quality to the repeats, but is - dare I say it, more ‘organic’ sounding to my ears - and is cleaner sounding than a DM-2. However, it lacks the direct output of a DM-3 and has less delay time - mine has 220ms (although it is possible to get a bit more at the expense of audio fidelity by adjusting an internal trimpot).It does have a unique extra feature though… there are two delay time controls. Only one (‘Main’) is functional as standard, the other (‘Sub’) becomes active when you plug a footswitch* into the ‘Foot Sw’ socket. You can then use the external footswitch to switch between two different delay times set by the ‘Main’ and ‘Sub’ controls.
* Most 'tap tempo' or generic channel changing footswitches should do the job.
Pearl AD-08 Analog Delay
- Sound Spice series
- Made in Japan
- (Discofreq’s Effects Database page.)
The Pearl AD-08 is closer to the softer sound of a Boss DM-2, but is much cleaner - especially so on longer settings where the DM-2 turns to mush. The AD-08 has some other features that make it worth seeking out: it has more delay time available than most similarly-aged analogue delays - I measured mine to have 370ms, whereas most of its rivals have 200-300ms; it has two outputs and has independent level controls for both the effect and direct signals - very useful!We’re faithful, we all believe…
I prefer both the PS-014 and AD-08 to the two Boss compact analogue delays: the Guyatone has a sweeter tone than the DM-3 and the bonus Dual Time feature; the Pearl has a wider range of uses over the DM-2 due to the longer delay time and higher fidelity.
It goes, it goes, it goes like this…
Putting either of these on your pedal board won’t give you the same cred as having a Boss DM-2/3, but I bet you’ll still get as many (or more!) people commenting on the great sounds you’re making.
