Description
These MXR Digital Time Delays are quirky devices with all the charm – and unpredictability – of vintage digital gear. This is a rare 220 Volt example in tidy vintage condition. It has all the original knobs & switches plus a few case scratches & rack rash from 35 years in a studio rack. Photos show a unit sold previously
As well as stomp boxes, MXR once made a range of rackmount gear. From the late 70s through the 80s, MXR effects graced the outboard racks of major studios & touring racks of artists including Jaco Pastorius, Queen, Frank Zappa and Dimebag Darrell
Jim Dunlop restarted production of MXR stomp boxes but the rack gear is only available in vintage form. The range of rack equipment included equalisers, delay lines, pitch shifters and chorus units – all rare but now acquiring deserved vintage status
The Digital Time Delay was a 1U rackmount delay line built in a number of versions. This model has 1000 mS (1 second) of delay and is one of the rarer ones. With lots of delay time and built-in modulation it can create chorus, flanging & phasing effects as well as straight delays
The Digital Time Delay has definite “early digital delay” vibe like an early Lexicon and, as with the PrimeTime, delay time can be varied via a multiplier control. In the MXR, delay is continuously variable from 1 x to 0.25 x. Delay time is modulated by the oscillator giving the up & down pitch shifting typical of early delays. Variable feedback and phase invert mean you can create killer chorus & flange effects
Delay times are settable using pushbutton switches and can be varied using the delay time control
• Flange: 2.6 mS
• Chorus: 5.2 or 16 mS
• Double: 63 or 250 mS
• Delay: 250 or 1000 mS
“Delay, modulation type flange, phase rotation… Rotary change the values of delay hyper intuitive! “
“A marvel of creativity!”
“MXR also released single-space processors, including the Digital Time Delay. The only thing that tone freaks need to know about this unit is that Eric Johnson, arguably the biggest tone chaser of all time, keeps one on his pedalboard (yes, his pedalboard) to this day.”
It’s easy to lose a couple of hours experimenting with a Digital Time Delay. It challenges you to time your inputs, to maintain a rhythm and create even weirder effects. These early devices are more tangible than later digital fx and are far more creative. They’re huge fun to work with
