I recently demoed a Line 6 DL4 at my local guitar shop after seeing John use one on Mulholland Drive and liked it a lot. The only thing I didn't like
was the short loop time, but the sheer amount of delay options was staggering which is awesome. I was almost set on buying it until I came accross some threads
on here about the BOSS RC-2. It sounds pretty decent but there's no delay modes and it's not true bypass from what I understand, but it is also a lot
more affordable. The DL4 would really be pushing it pricewise, especially since a power source is an additional $25. Unfortunately they didn't have an RC-2
for me to demo. What do you guys think?
0 Kudo
Dl4 or RC-2?
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 mcgee1516 |
Dl4 or RC-2? |
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Posts: 24 (04/26/2009 12:41 PM) |
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erich |
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Posts: 1161 (04/26/2009 12:49 PM) Bust down the double doors... |
do you already have a delay? they are really 2 different things at the core.
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 ddrucki |
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Posts: 164 (04/26/2009 1:39 PM) |
A neat trick with the DL4 is if you tap the Half Speed button before you record a loop, you can double the rec. time to 28 sec. That's been more than
enough for anything I need to loop.. though I know it's not practical for everybody. I can't really help too much in your decision making as I've
not used the RC-2, but I do LOVE my DL-4.
Erich is right though.. if you already have a good delay, it might make your decision a little easier... 
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AS87 |
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Posts: 61 (04/26/2009 1:57 PM) |
Also, (not sure if your guna want this) If you record something for either 14, or 28 seconds, you can double tap the half speed button and it will play in
reverse. Great for experimenting and getting some col sounds!
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mcgee1516 |
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Posts: 24 (04/26/2009 3:38 PM) |
Thanks for all of the input guys, as of now I do not have a delay pedal (my BOSS delay was stolen at a gig) so that is why I initially looked into the dl4 and I've also heard about the half speed looping which is cool. The one thing that intrigued me about the rc-2 is the fact that it has drum features etc...but like I mentioned before I don't believe its true bypass which I would assume would kill my tone. |
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erich |
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Posts: 1161 (04/26/2009 3:39 PM) Bust down the double doors... |
the dl 4 is also not true bypass, and don't count the drums as a plus...
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Tone Driver |
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Posts: 2417 (04/26/2009 4:18 PM) I am on my best behavior... |
Pretty sure the DL-4 is true bypass.
But mcgee, dont let true bypass be the deciding factor on a pedal. If you have a long pedal arrangement, you'll need a non true bypass pedal or two with a good buffer inside to keep your signal strength up. It would be best if you could demo the RC-2 with your own rig and see if you get any tone loss from it. Different buffers in the non TB pedals are better than others. |
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ddrucki |
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Posts: 164 (04/26/2009 5:22 PM) |
Actually, on the DL4, you can choose to either use True Bypass or not.. the manual explains how to turn that on and off.
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richD2011 |
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Posts: 256 (04/26/2009 5:36 PM) |
I'm definitely not the authority on this, but I was posed with a similar dilemma a few weeks back and consulted the threads about this very topic.
I chose to get the Boss DD-7 because it's a good delay (it's no DL4, but still good) and like 40 secs of loop AND it's the same price as the RC-2. Also, even though it isn't true bypass, tone-suck was negligible to my ears. I have a video on my youtube using it, but it totally doesn't do the pedal justice - link in my sig. |
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jjdepaep |
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Posts: 329 (04/26/2009 6:49 PM) |
I have an RC-2 and find there to be little if any tonal loss. I have been very happy with the RC-2, though I rarely use the drums. As far as drum settings are
concerned, there are some pretty good ones though. I have also never pushed the recording time on the RC-2. It is durable, which I like. Eats up batteries
though, so I recommend getting a DC adapter. That is all.
Respectfully, JJ
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sleepingonthesidewalk |
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Posts: 2 (04/26/2009 7:59 PM) |
What richd said...http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Boss-DD7-Digital-Delay-Guitar-Effects-Pedal?sku=482465
If you're using it to play live (a lot), it's a totally different story..but for $169, you can't go wrong. Also great to run the voice through.
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mcgee1516 |
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Posts: 24 (04/26/2009 9:06 PM) |
richD2011 wrote: |
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erich |
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Posts: 1161 (04/26/2009 9:19 PM) Bust down the double doors... |
My bad about true bypass, i thought that was what the keeley mod was for. Also buffered bypass does not always equal tone suck. there is a pretty good article
about it here: http://www.petecornish.co.uk/case_against_true_bypass.html.
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bagelwithin |
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Posts: 150 (04/26/2009 9:42 PM) |
i find that the rc 2 does suck tone. you will also suffer a slight volume drop. GREAT for practicing..gigging not so much, depending on how much of a
difference in sound you hear. you will experience a similar volume drop with the DL4. it doesn't bother everyone. keeley does a good mod, and there are a
few other worthwhile mods out there. the dl4 is a fantastic pedal.
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mcgee1516 |
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Posts: 24 (04/27/2009 12:51 AM) |
Does anyone know if John only uses his dl4 for his delay? Or does he have something else in his rig? Just curious....... |
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erich |
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Posts: 1161 (04/27/2009 12:57 AM) Bust down the double doors... |
haha, yeah he has a fulltone tape echo, an aqua puss, t-rex. these are things that the dl4 tries to emulate. I don't think he uses the dl4 in his main rig.
at least he didn't when the japanese magazine was shot.
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ddrucki |
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Posts: 164 (04/27/2009 1:02 AM) |
Yeah, I've only seen him with it on the Mulholland Drive doc for Where the Light Is.. Never noticed him with one elsewhere.
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erich |
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Posts: 1161 (04/27/2009 1:12 AM) Bust down the double doors... |
he used it twice more that i know of looping come back to bed.
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EdmundGTP |
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Posts: 265 (04/27/2009 12:43 PM) I'm never speaking up again... |
I'm really not sure why you're even bothering to compare the DL4 and the RC2, as the base purpose of each one is totally different from the other. You
say you don't have a delay pedal, so I, like others, will suggest that you get a decent delay pedal that maybe has some looping capabilities (i.e. the DL4,
the Boss DD6, DD7, or even DD-20; DD-20 being my personal choice) That being said, I also run a Boss RC-2 for looping. When the RC-2 is just plugged in, in
line with the rest of my pedals I don't hear any noticeable tone loss. Though when you actually use the pedal and create a phrase to be looped with it, I
can hear a very slight degradation in the tone of just the loop phrase as it gets played back. The tone of my signal when I'm playing over the looped
phrase doesn't appear to have any tone loss though. YMMV
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richD2011 |
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Posts: 256 (04/27/2009 3:29 PM) |
EdmundGTP wrote:My brother has a RC-20XL and that's exactly what I noticed too. The only tone loss is the quality of the actual playback. |
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hipplar |
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Posts: 37 (04/27/2009 5:09 PM) |
I have both (I couldn't decide which one to get either and ended up buying both) and I think if you want to loop get the RC-2 if you want delay and play with looping get the DL4. The RC-2 is great because you can save loops and loop for a long time. You can also remove the loop layers if you don't like a layer. It takes a little time to get used to compared to the DL4 but once you get the hang of it its a lot of fun. I have found some tone loss and second the power supply note. The DL4 is simple, and for me has to many delay settings to ever use. Looping is very easy but you can't change the loop once recorded. I also really like the play once feature.
That kid dancing in Jesters signature is now haunting me in my dreams....
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