“If you’re looking for a no-fuss delay pedal for everyday repeats, this is the one to beat”: Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay review

Guitar World Verdict

The Deep Blue Delay is typical of Mad Professor’s lineup. It’s compact, high-quality, with an easy-to-use control setup that makes it a no-brainer for your ‘board.

Pros
+Compact size.

+Great sounds.

+Ergonomic knobs.

+Simple control surface.

Cons
-Side-mounted outputs.

-Some players might want tap tempo.

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There’s a refreshing simplicity about an old-school delay pedal with just three knobs. It might be anathema to anyone who relies on a tap tempo footswitch to set their delay times, but it can sit on your ’board and do a variety of bread-and-butter delay tasks with a minimum of fuss.

That’s exactly where the Deep Blue Delay is pitched. There aren’t the huge long delays you’d get from some pedals, but most (or maybe all) you’d need a delay pedal to do can be found in its range from 25ms to 450ms.

At the lower end of the scale, there’s some cool doubling if you turn up the Level to sit the repeat with the dry sound, which incidentally remains analogue on its passage through the pedal. Add a bit of the Repeat (feedback knob) and you can conjure up some lo-fi reverb.

(Image credit: Future / Neil Godwin)Beyond all that, there are some great slapback sounds and practical longer delays. Mad Professor has used filtering to voice the repeats to sound like a tape echo, and the progressive change in the tonal content of the repeats makes them blend superbly with guitar sound.

Specs

(Image credit: Future / Neil Godwin)PRICE: £199ORIGIN: FinlandTYPE: Digital delay pedalFEATURES: True bypass, 25ms to 450ms delay timeCONTROLS: Level, Delay, Repeat, Bypass footswitchCONNECTIONS: Standard input, standard outputPOWER: 9V battery or 9V DC adaptor 25 – 32mA DIMENSIONS: 63 (w) x 111 (d) x 50mm (h)CONTACT: Mad Professor Amplification

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Trevor Curwen has played guitar for several decades – he’s also mimed it on the UK’s Top of the Pops. Much of his working life, though, has been spent behind the mixing desk, during which time he has built up a solid collection of the guitars, amps and pedals needed to cover just about any studio session. He writes pedal reviews for Guitarist and has contributed to Total Guitar, MusicRadar and Future Music among others.