Ugly Truth About The New Boss DD-500 Delay Pedal

Let me just say that when I saw the new delay play from Boss. I was excited. It has been years since I've seen something from Boss that I actually got excited about. In the last couple of years we've seen some special edition Blues Drives and Distortions. We even got a remake of the old analog delay. Somewhat recently Boss unveiled their Tera Echo. My local music store clerk was pretty excited about that one, but I didn't exactly go to pieces over it. I wan't to like these pedals, but they just came off as overpriced and over-hyped. But The DD-500 is something that I can honestly say that I'm excited to get my hands on.

I've used the DD-20 delay for years and loved it. The features are great and the operation is simple. The twin pedal design has had limit success. Boss has offered many effect in the twin format. Most are forgettable. The OD-20 is a completely lack luster overdrive pedal, Space Echo and Slicer are not far behind. The Loop Station and Giga-Delay are the most recognizable and prolific of the twin series. But even those have started to look a little dated. It's been a considerable time since Boss pedal were held as trendy pedals. The design and look of their pedals have remained the same since the conception with little exception. That is until now.

The DD-500 is a direct departure from Boss' standard line of effects. Completely redesigning their pedal from the enclosure up. The addition of metal switches seems strange on a boss pedal, but good kind of strange. It is the the kind of strange when you realize that you like the way a Ford Torus looks. The market has changed for delays recently. I went to buy a good delay about 5 years ago. My choices were pretty limited. There was the Line6 DL-4 and Boss DD-20. Now we have a head spinning decision when shopping for delay. TC Electronic, Visual Sound, Strymon, and Empress making top notch delays.  The new Boss Pedal is trying to compete with these pedals. They have packed this pedal with features and options. It looks great, it sounds great and it's not outrageously expensive. It fits in Boss' current line of delays. The DD-20 is sitting at $200 and the DD-500 is set to debut at $300. While they compete with the top of the line Delay pedals, they sit near the bottom price wise.

The feature stack up and leave the previous models in the dust. It borrows from nearly every outstanding delay in the boss catalog. Vintage and Tape modes are pretty standard, but the Tera Echo also makes a contribution. The addition of the Tap/Control switch is a welcome addition. This switch is actually programmable. For a full list of features check out Boss' page. I have to say that I really want test drive one of these pedals and see just how this pedal stacks up against everything else out there is the market. Boss has made a departure from their norm, which is shocking.

Will there be more?

What pedal would you like to see get this treatment from Boss?

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