Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

[Gearjoneser]

I've been dialing in the latest version of my pedalboard, getting it exactly where I want it. Pulling the modeling pedals (what I refer to as de-lousing it by ditching teh L6's) and making sure everything is real.

I've been looking around at delay pedals, not being biased by my association with Duncan, but I'm seriously considering the Duncan DejaVu delay, simply based on it's features and sound.

I'll be honest, and admit my hesitation in buying any Duncan tube pedal. I've already got what I consider to be far superior OD/Fuzz type pedals, so I'm not going for a tube pedal that could be potentially problematic.

But, when it comes to solid state analog/digital, I have more faith in a long lasting, durable pedal.
Just today, I bought the Duncan Shape Shifter tremolo pedal, and love it. When it comes to delays, I'm finding that anything in Duncan's feature level is twice the price, or it's cheaper with far less to offer.

What do you think? Anyone else planning on buying the DejaVu?

My pedalboard is as follows...and I'm really happy with it.

Dunlop handwired Jimi Hendrix Fuzzface
T Rex Mudhoney OD/Fuzz
Fulltone Clyde Deluxe Wah
Klon Centaur Professional Overdrive
Seymour Duncan Shape Shifter Tremolo
Fulltone Choralflange
ADA Flanger. 1978
Boss TU-12 tuner
Voodoo Lab Pedal Power 2

 

[dani]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

just bought the deja vu once it was available and ditched the nova delay due to 9v powering issues. will be giving it a run out at rehearsal tonight.

my experience with the deja vu is limited to low volume playing. so take my opinions with a grain of salt.

firstly, i prefer the feel of the unlatched tap tempo switch on the nova delay. it somehow feels more solid and intuitive compared to those on the deja vu imo.

the tone on the nova delay is definitely more hi-fi even with the analog simulation. the deja vu on the other hand totally sounded like my old maxon ad-9 when engaging the bbd chip at 3 o'clock.

not sure if this is a fault, but i find the d/a blend knob a tad inconsistent in regards to the rate of feedback. on fully digital or analog, you get maximum delay feedback in respect to the feedback control you set. as you turn the d/a knob towards centre, the delay feedback drops in rate as if you are turning the feedback control down. for example, if the d/a knob is fully digital or analog, i get 6 sets of repeats. slowly moving it towards middle will reduce the sets of repeats. by the time i hit 12 o'clock, its probably 3 sets of repeats instead of 6.

again, i have not messed with the deja vu enough to unlock its full potential. but compared to the nova delay, the deja vu is definitely more tweakable tonewise and on the fly. however, the nova delay is more predictable in terms of tone and usability. imo, the nova is like a studio grade digital delay where hi-fi, pristine and clean comes to mind. the deja vu on the other hand, is what a analog stompbox delay should be. analog tone with long delay times and tap tempo.

 

[super rad stuff]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

eh, already got a carbon copy. to be honest i didn't really care for the demos i'd heard online, though i'm sure it sounds better in person. and it costs more than i could afford right now anyways:dunno:

 

[J Moose]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

firstly, i prefer the feel of the unlatched tap tempo switch on the nova delay. it somehow feels more solid and intuitive compared to those on the deja vu imo.

the tone on the nova delay is definitely more hi-fi even with the analog simulation. the deja vu on the other hand totally sounded like my old maxon ad-9 when engaging the bbd chip at 3 o'clock.

I acquired a Vu just a few days ago and really haven't spent a whole lot of time with it yet... and what time I've had has been anything but "critical" listening or A/B testing.

So far though, I'll say that the 'BBD' side of the Vu sounds nothing like a Keeley AD9. Its not as thick/gooey... which might be good for some folks. I actually prefer it, finding the Keely too heavy most of the time. Maybe a bit richer... the Keely... but I'm going off memory vs. my 25 y/o ibanez DDL.

More to come when I find more time to mess around with it...

 

[dani]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

hey moose, never tried the keeley ad9 so i can't comment. i can get really close to my old maxon ad9 with the deja vu. again, this is done at bedroom levels.

 

[XSSIVE]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

i had a modded DL4 that served me well for years but i found i wasn't using all the features and that i was sticking with the digital delay just to fatten up my tone and add a bit of fill i guess you could say. so i decided to let go of the DL4 to make more room on my board for another pedal (a reverb) since i couldn't fit it with that giant DL4. anyway, i was looking at loads of delay pedals from the deja vu, the eventide, the nova delay, the t-rex replica and a few others. i then decided i wanted more of a rack style delay in pedal form or studio type sound and not an analog style since i play high gain stuff mostly and analog delays can sometimes make things a bit mushy depending on the pedal and i rather have the clarity of a digital delay. so at that point i tossed and turned between the nova and the eventide and truth be told a nova came up stupid cheap used in clean condition thus making my mind up for me and it now lives on my board and i'm real happy with it since it does just what i want and more in a smaller size than the DL4.

anyway, long story short i guess you need to pin down the type of delay sounds you're looking for and go from there to help narrow down which pedals do what you need. that deja vu does look cool and i may try one down the road since i go through pedals like mad anyway haha. even though for now i was leaning towards a more hi-fi digital tone that digital/analog blend knob on the deja vu seems like it could come in handy.

dani...what powering problems did you have with the nova? i'm powering mine with my voodoo PP2+ with no issues at all.

-Mike

 

[\m/(00)\m/]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

i don't plan on buying the DejaVu Delay pedal

 

[dani]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

dani...what powering problems did you have with the nova? i'm powering mine with my voodoo PP2+ with no issues at all.

mike, i use a bbe supacharger on my board. 9v and 12v selectable with 100ma on output 1 to 8 except 5 and 6. output 5 and 6 is switchable between 9v and 16v with 200ma.

the nova delay did not power up with 9v or 12v 100ma. it did power up but can't work at all on 9v and 16v 200ma. apparently, the nova needs 12v with 300ma on paper.

will not bump it off my board if there's no power issues. absolutely the best delay pedal i've used so far imo.

 

[J Moose]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

hey moose, never tried the keeley ad9 so i can't comment. i can get really close to my old maxon ad9 with the deja vu. again, this is done at bedroom levels.

The Keely AD9 my friend has is a new ibanez with whatever the standard mods are... I'd think its fairly similar to the Maxon, which I haven't tried. The delay pedal that's been living on my board forever is an 80s ibanez "DDL" which is probably 8 or 12-bit... like a DD3. That was one of the first pedals I ever bought... used too.

At this point I've only managed to put in a couple three hours with the Vu... a bit of which has been pitted against the old 'DDL' going into the tiny terror. So far I haven't been able to exactly duplicate the tone of my old ibanez box, but tweaking the D/A blend it can get close, and do a whole lot of other things that old ibanez won't do. For one, the pure digital side of the Vu is much more hi-fi.

One thing that jumped out at me, with the D/A blend and the modulation... is that while the modulation is only applied to the analog side it seems to be most prominent when the blend is around noon. Typically 10-2 o'clock... haven't noticed that thing with the number of repeats yet.

FWIW - I checked out the Nova delay & really dug it... super clean "studio" thing as you'd expect from TC. What killed it for me was the 12-volt power... my supply is 9 & 18 volts. Don't really have the room, nor the willpower to deal with a special supply for a pedal, no matter how good it is.

 

[tone4days]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

i preordered and got mine from john at wymore as soon as they hit the street ... i'm really happy with it .. havent gotten the looper sussed out yet and havent gotten my head and fingers and toes synchronized to get dotted eights happenin' ... but other than those two things, it is dead simple to use and dial in everything i need ... takes the gain pedals in front of it very well too ... no diginoise artifacts

highly recommmend

t4d

 

[J Moose]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

.. havent gotten the looper sussed out yet and havent gotten my head and fingers and toes synchronized to get dotted eights happenin' ...

Did you RTFM?


The looper only works with the switch above 'tap tempo' in delay time mode... and the delay time knob has to be full clockwise. The red LED will go solid when its "armed" for looping.

Then hit & hold the tap tempo switch to start the loop... release it at the end & it'll repeat until you hit the tap switch again. Might be worth noting that if trailing repeats are on the loop will continue to go even if bypassed!

To get dotted eighths, flip that switch to ratio mode and turn the knob to the second set of red blocks. You'll get dotted eighths from whatever tempo you tap in... Each of the red blocks is a different subdivision of the beat.

 

[tone4days]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

oh yeah, i have read it and understood it just fine - the manual is very clearly written

for me, it is a user error in that i

- cant seem to get anything musically interesting happening with the looper - it works great, i just suck

- cant get the 'groove' going of dotted eigths ... my head and ears and hands just kinda default back to making the music come out like regular eighths ... i am trying to get that U2 chimey gallop going like the beginning of 'where the streets have no name'

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

haven't played a note through one yet. I set up to play one at my friend's showroom last week but got distracted before I could test it. However I did notice what sounded like a digital clock noise (a ticking thud) even in bypass, and this was with it being the only pedal in chain, powered by a voodoo pedal power. I'm not one of those picky types when it comes to noise but this was pretty noticeable

I'll hopefully give it a good go this coming week.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

He said not picky....falls of chair...thud!

 

[Lazarus1140]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

I haven't ruled out purchasing one because I'm a delay freak. Usually, though, I prefer simpler operation and fewer controls. Good tone is preferable to bells and whistles.

 

[J Moose]

Re: Who's planning on buying the Duncan DejaVu Delay?

I'd say it sounds fairly good... it certainly doesn't suck! The digital/analog blend is nice & its also pretty sweet to have more then 300-400ms 'analog' delay. I was using it yesterday for some slide w/ an LP special & pro jr... full analog, a hair of modulation & repeats around 1 or 2 o'clock. Sounded thick & gooey... inspiring actually.

On the surface there isn't much to the box... I haven't even begun to mess around with the insert & all that stuff. It's easier to grok then the boss dual pedal...

Only noise I've noticed is when the blend control is over towards analog its got more noise while idling then the pure digital side... no digital 'ticks' or anything of the sort, either off battery or the gator power supply which isn't isolated like the pedal power.

One of the main gripes I have at this point is the green bypass LED... at more then about 5 feet (2 meters) away its near impossible to tell if the box is on or off. The red LED for tempo is clearly visible... sort of a minor thing, but I have to be almost on top of my board to see if its on or off.