Guitarists have often split their perspectives on delay units into two distinct camps: analog and digital. Keywords attached to analog often include “warm, rich, organic,” while those given to digital, on the other hand, might lean toward “precise and clean”.

One of the early classics in the digital realm, however, set a standard for lush, musical delay tones that has reigned supreme for four decades, and established a sound that perfectly blends precision and character into a third realm that beautifully captures the best of both worlds. We could call this “Vintage Digital,” a third distinct realm capable of delivering the finest form of delay effect available by melding digital and analog in perfect harmony.

All in the Detail
From one part of the supporting circuitry, the clock that controls the sampling rate—generated by an analog oscillator—wasn’t 100% accurate, introducing small rate deviations that induced an appealing modulation in the delay sound. Elsewhere, the Delay Phase and Feedback Phase circuits, accessed via front-panel switches, mixed signal paths in a frequency-dependent manner that induced appealing modulation in delay and feedback sounds, again, further enhancing the richness and depth of the SDE-3000’s perceived “tone.”

• Faithful floor-based reproduction of the legendary Roland SDE-3000 rackmount digital delay from the 1980s
• Classic warm digital delay sound with extended features for modern rigs
• Distinctive retro display and panel controls based on the original SDE-3000
• Includes two full-featured delays, each with independent parameters, mono/stereo modulation, and panning
• Widely adjustable delay time with two range settings: 0–1500 ms and 0–3000 ms
• Characterful modulation inspired by the original circuit design
• Phase switches for the primary delay and delay feedback loop
• Adjustable low-cut and high-cut filters for shaping delay feedback sounds
• Two inputs and two outputs for dual mono, wet/dry, or stereo setups
• Selectable series or parallel operation for the two delays
• Save and recall sounds with 100 memories
• Assignable onboard footswitch control for tap tempo, hold, and more
• Jacks for extended operation with up to four footswitches, two expression pedals, or the GA-FC/GA-FC EX foot controller
• MIDI I/O on space-saving mini TRS jacks