Delay Block Update

Not even close. The SDD-3000 has an indescribably chewiness because of the preamp (and I assume a bunch of other circuitry). It's just divine :)

The Vintage Digital is definitely my second favorite, though.
I should have mentioned I owned one for 20 years but sold it when I got the fx3. I don’t know what chewy means but I agree there is some magic in that box.
 
I should have mentioned I owned one for 20 years but sold it when I got the fx3. I don’t know what chewy means but I agree there is some magic in that box.
Haha yeah, you're right. Chewy is how I think of it; it's got an almost imperceptible overdrive going on. I just have the pedal version, but I always wanted to get a rack version. No way I'd drop the money on one these days, but if one fell into my lap, I wouldn't hate it :)
 
Would LT's delay designer with heavy compression in front of vintage digital get closer to the sdd3000?
 
Haha yeah, you're right. Chewy is how I think of it; it's got an almost imperceptible overdrive going on. I just have the pedal version, but I always wanted to get a rack version. No way I'd drop the money on one these days, but if one fell into my lap, I wouldn't hate it :)
Comparing sdd rack and add pedal is like apple vs orange.. the only thing they share in common is the name, they didn’t even get the color right!! 😄
 
Comparing sdd rack and add pedal is like apple vs orange.. the only thing they share in common is the name, they didn’t even get the color right!! 😄
Yeah, I watched a Schnobel YouTube video where he compared the two. I only ever had the pedal to go by before that, but ever since, I've lusted after the rack version. I even bought the dts SDD-3KP preamp-only pedal (now discontinued) hoping it would scratch that SDD-3000 preamp or help me get close to the SDD-3000 delay by putting it in front of other delays. While it's good as a preamp, it doesn't stack satisfyingly with other delays.

On another note, the pedal has an annoying quirk of being just a little bit quieter when you engage it and there's no way to compensate for this. You more or less have to just roll with it or leave it on all the time or just use MIDI to boost the mix or whatever.

Still... Still it's my favorite delay and I hope it comes to the Axe.
 
I do know if I ever invested in a better piece of music equipment than the Axe Fx III. I really appreciate what you and your team are doing.
 
Haha yeah, you're right. Chewy is how I think of it; it's got an almost imperceptible overdrive going on. I just have the pedal version, but I always wanted to get a rack version. No way I'd drop the money on one these days, but if one fell into my lap, I wouldn't hate it :)

I recall how that pedal version was not very well received when it was released. Lots of folks with
experience of the rack version were really disappointed with the execution off it. Seem to remember
seeing them blown out for $100 new at one point in time. I bought one in the $149 range. Don't have
it anymore.

Now I see they are surging in price again. People are fickle. ;)
 
This is one of my favourite things on Youtube. He's been a long-time user of the
SDD racks in front of Tweed and Vox amps. He's such a musical genius----understated and
beautiful.

Maybe someone else will dig this half as much as me. :)



15:20 for the SDD breakdown.
 
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I recall how that pedal version was not very well received when it was released. Lots of folks with
experience of the rack version were really disappointed with the execution off it. Seem to remember
seeing them blown out for $100 new at one point in time. I bought one in the $149 range. Don't have
it anymore.

Now I see they are surging in price again. People are fickle. ;)
I think there are just enough people like me who've never played the REAL thing, heard about it, and snagged them. Some fell in love (me) and others not so much. Then the issue with the volume drop in SDD-3000 mode became widely known, so they fell out of favor. Now, they're as close as you can get to the real thing for less than $2k, so they're back to being popular. Close enough, eh? ;)
 
I love dark, gritty delays, so I'm psyched about this update! I've been playing a LOT of looped, dark, ambient stuff lately, so this will be right up my alley. Thanks Cliff!
Fractal stuff is such an unbelievable value over time because of the constant innovation and updates. It's literally the only thing I own that gets better and better as it ages.
 
I absolutely love the delays as is, but I'm always up for improvement and Cliff has never steered me wrong in that department.
I'd love an SDD 3000 rack delay and a few more specific tape delay types Ep3, Binson and so on.
Can't wait to see what magic Cliff whips up for us.
I love my Binson (and now Dawner Prince Boonar) so much, it has its own “permanent” OUT/IN block and is mounted in the back of the road case!
 
I think there are just enough people like me who've never played the REAL thing, heard about it, and snagged them. Some fell in love (me) and others not so much. Then the issue with the volume drop in SDD-3000 mode became widely known, so they fell out of favor. Now, they're as close as you can get to the real thing for less than $2k, so they're back to being popular. Close enough, eh? ;)

Oh man, that volume drop. Ouch! You had to literally leave the pedal on all the time.
Kind of made it a no brainer for live use, didn't it?

Had no idea they were selling for $600 to $800 now. WOW!!
 
  • Wow
Reactions: jon
Sorry to bump an old thread, but this change may be the thing that brings me back into Fractal land. I was never happy with the delays, particularly the way they oscillated. I even did a video comparing all of my delays at the time to the FX8 I had. The FX8 didn't sound as good as the Timeline, Nemesis, Boss DD500, or Helix.

I'm talking for that crunchy chewwy thing you get from a distorting tape machine like an echorec, or the way a DM2 goes super squeally at high intensity settings. I love that stuff.

I love post-rock and post-metal. All those bands are using analog delays into Fender heads and are really using a lot of the crunch and oscillation and messed up sounds you get from the Memory Man and DM2 and what not... really piqued my interest with this announcement.... that I only just saw!


Has anyone got any clips of this stuff in action? Particularly on the FM3.
 
I replaced a dd500 with a timeline, and a timeline with the fx8. At no point did I feel I was losing out on oscillation (I set up my exp pedal with the fx8 to replicate what the DL4 can do). Ymmv.
 
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