Memory Man Reborn! Electro Harmonix (EHX) has resurrected the delay effect and repackaged the mojo into the EHX Memory Man 1100-TT Delay Pedal.
If there is one thing we have learned as gear nerds, it is that two types of pedals continually are reinvented: overdrive and delay. Tuners are pretty much set, well, to be tuners. Chorus doesn’t really deviate much from pitch shifting and modulation. Overdrives strive to become the amp distortion we have grown to appreciate in recordings. Delays, however, are trying to provide the right decay, age, frequency, and timing. This brings about either a wash, slapback, or running character to our guitar.
I have been on the prowl for a delay pedal which would end my search for an incredible Tape Delay type tone. My problem in achieving my goal has been locating a delay with a tap tempo switch which wasn’t the Strymon Timeline or some digital knock off. Of course the Timeline sounds incredible, yet I am looking for the feel of analog.
I had looked everywhere but to the EHX Memory Man 1100-TT. Honestly, I had heard a few years back that EHX was coming out with the Memory Man Tap Tempo for around $700. I wasn’t going to jump at that. Then I head about this glorious pedal. Reverb had an anomaly posted for a ridiculously low price for this pedal, so I gave it a home, and I’m so glad I did.
There are plenty of knobs to turn to tweak dimensions of the delay including the elusive gain. Clicking on the switches Bypasses the pedal or sets the tempo. You guessed it, the tap switch overrides the knob for setting the delay time. Almost all of the parameters are able to be controlled via an external Expression pedal, which may come in handy for the live and experimental players.
XVive MN3005 reissue chips
The heart and soul of the EHX Memory Man 1100tt is the Xvive MN3005 reissue chip. This chip is the reissue of the legendary chip used to process delay in the old EHX Memory Man delay pedals that came in the silver folded metal boxed with the heavy 3-prong power cord. These reissue chips cost $20 a piece while the NOS chips cost $50+ depending on one’s source.
The inside layout of the pedal is quite well planned with thick mil-spec pcb board and clean lines. There are plenty of trim knobs on the board that allow for a tech to voice the delay prior to shipment.
Lush and organic, this pedal drips smoothness and delayed TONE. Please understand that there is a slight shift in the girth of each note. This is not distracting, but adds to the sweetness of the delay. Honestly, I have been way too uptight about trying to find pedals that don’t color one’s tone. Come on, people. Of course, as the name implies, the delay time can go up to 1100ms. This is plenty of time in order to create your own odd and memorable sonic scapes.
No matter what pedal we place between a guitar and an amp, there will be an alteration. There is no such thing as a TRANSPARENT DRIVE. This pedal adds chorus to your tone if you want, gain to your signal if you want. Youcan nail pretty much any tape delay tone. Ever play an MXR Carbon Copy? This is everything you might want the MXR CC to be. Yet, now you won’t have to bow to MXR’s insane ways of marketing the bright and deluxe versions of the Carbon Copy.
I know that we try to use words to explain the sound of pedals, but they don’t do this justice. Please understand that no matter what demos you hear about this pedal, you must experience the delay yourself. I haven’t found many of these in brick and mortar stores. Boutique shops should have a few of these on hand, but call ahead to be sure. Humbuckers and Single Coil guitars both sound great through this pedal, which is quite reassuring.
Pair this pedal with a Lovepedal Eternity Burst Overdrive or an Ibanez Tubescreamer for an incredible array of versatility to your sound. I really like videos that compare two pedals to one another in a verses (vs.) way of pitting pedals against one another. This way of demoing pedals allows for the survival of the fittest. Please, watch the comparison of this to the Strymon Timeline and hold that thought.
I’m sure that you have a beloved pedal that you rely on in each and every situation. For one of my friends, it’s the Boss DD-20, which sounds great and is extremely user friendly in recalling settings per tempo including previous programs. The Strymon is the king of these kind of pedals which have banks and banks of stored settings.
That said, the EHX Memory Man 1100-tt is easy to setup and change up on the fly without sacrificing neither tone nor dependability. My tip is to setup an expression pedal to affect the feedback and delay volume, together. Along with the tap tempo switch, you would have perfect control over this pedal, in order to work in most any song situation.
Get your EHX Memory Man 1100-tt Delay Pedal today!
Looking for a more budget friendly version of a Tape Delay? Read my post about the Lovepedal Hermida EPH3 Tape Delay Pedal. For some delay tricks, read this post! Add in a little Reverb to your action with the Lovepedal HSR-3 Reverb.
EHX Memory Man 1100-TT Delay Pedal Memory Man Reborn! Electro Harmonix (EHX) has resurrected the delay effect and repackaged the mojo into the EHX Memory Man 1100-TT Delay Pedal.
