NPD: Diamond Memory Lane 2023

jellodog

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24 hours after the release and it's in my hands! haha. In terms of "which version of Memory Lane tone?", my understanding is that this smaller rebooted version is essentially a Memory Lane Jr.

My initial verdict after only 15 minutes of honeymoon time with it in front of a Princeton Reverb: I love it 😍

It's pretty much all that I'd hoped it would be and I'm enjoying it for what it is. i.e. it's not a DMM, but it's a relative with its own thing going on.

Seems to be well built and my core tone is completely unchanged by it. I love the percussive nature of the repeats on it's cleanest (green) mode.. When you play chords and have a little modulation engaged it's like chiming bells. Wonderful.

This percussive punchy nature is a nice contrast to my digital tape delays e.g. El Cap, Halo. That's mostly why I wanted this style of pedal for that different delay character. The other contrast is that it's a good choice for use as a "Long Delay".

The slightly darker amber mode is also beautiful with a more rapid EQ fade on the repeats and a subtley different modulation - love that too.


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What I also love about this pedal is that it's pretty clean, classic and simple; but it has just enough features to not be boring and to be able to offer a little flexibility and variety to suit different moods and flavours of music.
 
What I also love about this pedal is that it's pretty clean, classic and simple; but it has just enough features to not be boring and to be able to offer a little flexibility and variety to suit different moods and flavours of music.
Just Add A Toggle SwitchTM
 
Nice! The one time it pays to be in Canada when it comes to gear. :beer

I preferred the older form factor----preferably in Seafoam Green. :love

Great pedal, though.
Oh, and I'll be looking forward to another Delay Pedal thread 1st week of June, k? :banana
 
The honeymoon continues.

I was playing again with the Memory Lane last night. The sound quality is wonderful. The warm clear voicing of the repeats is perfect and the modulation is :chef

I'm really thinking that this might be THE ONE.
 
The honeymoon continues.

I was playing again with the Memory Lane last night. The sound quality is wonderful. The warm clear voicing of the repeats is perfect and the modulation is :chef

I'm really thinking that this might be THE ONE.
How does it compare to the Halo for you?
 
How does it compare to the Halo for you?

Ach. Tough question!

They're both excellent in different ways. I've been playing a lot of "Green mode" quarter note stuff on the Memory Lane - it's a good long delay. So if I compare that to the Quarter preset on the Halo...

The Halo is more flexible and It's just a different vibe to the ML. The default Halo repeats are a slightly softer on the attack, more saturated and can blend into the background a little more; It's a warm hug. You can use the Halo tone controls to make the repeats darker or brighter, though.

With the Halo, you have more control over the sound with the saturation control. You can also make the Halo quite reverby; it's a dual delay, after all. The Halo excels at more elaborate delay effects for sure. The Halo modulation is like a slow phasy chorus.

Whereas the Memory Lane is a little more airy, punchy, bell-like and up front; it's a simpler pedal - there's not much to dial in and you can't change the tone of the repeats. The ML repeats are a subtly more rhythmic and have a little more attack on them. I love the EQ fade of the repeats. All delays are different in this regard, with different repat fade EQ, obviously. It's very "musical".

Different modulation too - the modulation on the ML seems to be some sort of medium pace vibrato / chorus. Both delays are useful for different reasons and both gorgeous in their own way. I wouldn't say you could get it to do reverb, but it does a really good slapback.

If you want easily accessible presets then of course the Halo; that would be more practical for gigging. There are no presets on the Memory Lane - it's an old skool pedal, and of course it can never do a dual delay effect. (you can double the repeat rate on the fly though, by holding down the tap button).

I love both! It's just that the Halo has been long term "borrowed" by @hemmelight, so I'm playing around with other pedals and sounds at the moment, otherwise I'd just use both for different reasons. It'll be interesting to see how this pans out - I might just buy a second Halo. :rofl

If you were playing with a full band, it's doubtful if people would be able to discern all these subtle differences, though.

Damnit. You just made me realise how practical the Halo is.
 
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