Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Boy review

Vintage-sounding delay worth repeating

  • £125
  • $248
Feature-packed, vintage-voiced delay stompbox

MusicRadar Verdict

Boy, is this good. Huge scope for experimentation and a great core sound.

Pros

  • +

    Great sounds. Flexible.

Cons

  • -

    Has fierce competition.

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Electro-Harmonix has unleashed a trio of Memory Man derivatives recently, and the Deluxe Memory Boy offers some flexible updated features. It has the largest spec of the series, followed by the Memory Boy and Memory Toy pedals.

If you find complex specs rather daunting, you'll be glad to hear that EHX has done a great job of making the Memory Boy's more powerful features easy to use. The sub divisions let you dial in Edge-style delays quickly, and the modulation circuit applies chorusing to your delay sound. You can select triangle-wave for a more retro sound or square for a more immediate modern sound.

Want more? Hook up an expression pedal for hands-free control - this is particularly useful for creating huge feedback swells that remain controlled.

By using the effects loop, you can chain in some other pedals to just 'effect' the repeated sounds. We put a wah pedal in the chain for some filtered delay effects, but experimenting with different pedals here can yield some truly original results.

The Deluxe Memory Boy has all the features you could need from an analogue delay pedal, and then some. If you just want a straight echo effect with no added frills, you could save yourself some cash and go for the Memory Toy instead. However, the amount of experimentation and control that's on offer from the Deluxe Memory Boy means that you can really get stuck in. We love it.

Stuart Williams
Drums

I'm a freelance member of the MusicRadar team, specialising in drum news, interviews and reviews. I formerly edited Rhythm and Total Guitar here in the UK and have been playing drums for more than 25 years (my arms are very tired). When I'm not working on the site, I can be found on my electronic kit at home, or gigging and depping in function bands and the odd original project.