# Most Versatile Non-FV1 Delay Board



## BuddytheReow (Feb 3, 2022)

Anybody got any good recommendations for a non-FV1 chip delay pedal? Obviously there's no one size fits all, but I'm looking for decent delay times, the ability to oscillate, and can sound cavernous if needed. I guess I am looking for a one size fits pedal, haha

It's looking like a fight between Cataclysm, Dark Rift, Magnetron, Seabed, and Spirit Box


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## dgrainger (Feb 3, 2022)

I think of the spirit box as more reverb than delay.   Haven't played the others.


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## benny_profane (Feb 3, 2022)

If you're willing to give an analogue BBD circuit a try, I'd recommend the DC Echo by Lectric FX (EHX Echo 600). Think the big box Deluxe Memory Man and add another MN3005. You've got control over the input level, wet/dry mix, delay time, rate/depth of modulation, feedback, and output level. It's a great project and one of the best sounding analogue delays I've made.


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## Dan M (Feb 3, 2022)

I had a similar question.  I plan to breadboard a few before committing to a pcb and enclosure.  Starting with the magnetron.

Do you have a PT2399 on hand, that you could mess around with?


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## Dan M (Feb 3, 2022)

Benny beat me by 2 minutes, and I like his idea better!


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## BuddytheReow (Feb 3, 2022)

I really need to do a deep dive into the pt2399 chip and start breadboarding it before committing to a pcb. Not against smd chips like the fv1, but they can get on the pricey side comparatively.


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## JamieJ (Feb 3, 2022)

@benny_profane that looks a beast of a delay.


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## benny_profane (Feb 3, 2022)

JamieJ said:


> @benny_profane that looks a beast of a delay.


It is! I’m waiting for some knob restocks before I post a report. The calibration procedure really isn’t too terrible with this one (neither is the MBP Total Recall DMM project though).


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## benny_profane (Feb 3, 2022)

BuddytheReow said:


> I really need to do a deep dive into the pt2399 chip and start breadboarding it before committing to a pcb. Not against smd chips like the fv1, but they can get on the pricey side comparatively.


BBD chips probably aren’t the way to go if you’re trying to cut costs. Unfortunately, MBP doesn’t have their Dirtbaby project available anymore. That was a pt2399-based Deluxe Memory Man circuit.


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## BuddytheReow (Feb 3, 2022)

benny_profane said:


> BBD chips probably aren’t the way to go if you’re trying to cut costs. Unfortunately, MBP doesn’t have their Dirtbaby project available anymore. That was a pt2399-based Deluxe Memory Man circuit.


Would you recommend the Dirtbaby? I know there are some stripboard layouts of it out there and may give this a go.


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2022)

I’ve been thinking about the Cosmos delay for a bit. It’s PT2399 based and has a bunch of cool features.


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2022)

I just realized the Cosmos is out of stock. And so is the Sagan.


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## benny_profane (Feb 3, 2022)

BuddytheReow said:


> Would you recommend the Dirtbaby? I know there are some stripboard layouts of it out there and may give this a go.


I haven't built it myself although I'd like to. I think I've only heard good things about it. Plus, the components are relatively inexpensive, typically available, and you don't have to worry about clocks.


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## chongmagic (Feb 3, 2022)

This one is a good one from here: https://www.pedalpcb.com/product/magnetrondelay/

I have built this one: https://carchariaseffects.com/product-page/dc6fx-sagan-delay-v2-1-pcb/

However, it is currently out of stock.


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## zgrav (Feb 3, 2022)

benny_profane said:


> If you're willing to give an analogue BBD circuit a try, I'd recommend the DC Echo by Lectric FX (EHX Echo 600). Think the big box Deluxe Memory Man and add another MN3005. You've got control over the input level, wet/dry mix, delay time, rate/depth of modulation, feedback, and output level. It's a great project and one of the best sounding analogue delays I've made.


Sounded cool enough to prompt me to put in an order for one of the boards!


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## mdc (Feb 3, 2022)

I just built up the pitch witch, and it's a nice sounding, easy build.


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2022)

While we are on BBD topic, where do you get MN3005 chips?


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## thesmokingman (Feb 3, 2022)

cabintech


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## benny_profane (Feb 3, 2022)

SynthCube also carries them. They run sales pretty often.


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## giovanni (Feb 3, 2022)

Damn, at $15 a pop that's already $45 for the DC Echo! DAMN!


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## Bio77 (Feb 3, 2022)

The VFE Blueprint is a nice PT2399 delay. It doesn't have the oscillation switch, but I think you could squeeze it in, if you build it in a 125B.


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## Funnel (Feb 4, 2022)

+1 on the vfe blueprint. 
Also the vfe Möbius strip.


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## Matmosphere (Feb 4, 2022)

Yeah, it depends what you want out of a delay. The dirt baby is awesome for copping the vibe of a deluxe memory man without investing in BBD chips. The cavedweller dub edition (it's on Vero somewhere) is lo-fi and as cavernous as they get but it's not a clean delay at all, very cool sounds there though.

Somebody was selling an old Zero Point Special Deluxe board on the madbean forum the other day, I don't know of a PT2399 project with more bells and whistles than that one. It's probably still available.

The VFE stuff sounds great, the Möbius Strip does some very cool stuff. The Sagan is very cool, but it's hard to find boards for. 

My personal favs are the Grind Customs De Profundis (there are Vero and Perf layouts) and the 1776 Effects Multiplex Echo Machine, which has been out of stock forever.


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## Harry Klippton (Feb 4, 2022)

I started a multiplex around xmas and set it aside to work on something else, but I'm looking forward to getting back to it. I'm sitting on a bunch of delay builds that I'm excited about


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## Coda (Feb 4, 2022)

Harry Klippton said:


> I started a multiplex around xmas and set it aside to work on something else, but I'm looking forward to getting back to it. I'm sitting on a bunch of delay builds that I'm excited about



I finished mine late last year. It’s pretty good. I find that I prefer the Space Echo setting, head 1 and minimum and head 2 at 50%. Gives you a quick reverb and a longer delay at the same time…


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## Harry Klippton (Feb 4, 2022)

Coda said:


> I finished mine late last year. It’s pretty good. I find that I prefer the Space Echo setting, head 1 and minimum and head 2 at 50%. Gives you a quick reverb and a longer delay at the same time…


That's good cuz I'm building it for the space echo setting but I'm putting a Belton brick reverb in it too


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## Coda (Feb 4, 2022)

Harry Klippton said:


> That's good cuz I'm building it for the space echo setting but I'm putting a Belton brick reverb in it too



I built mine with the mod board. I haven’t gotten it to work yet, though. Same with the second footswitch. It’s in my troubleshoot pile. I made the mistake of trying to cram it all in a 1590bb…and also rushing to get it done. What does work works great, though…


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## zgrav (Feb 4, 2022)

srf86 said:


> +1 on the vfe blueprint.
> Also the vfe Möbius strip.


I have built both of those and they are good implementations of the PT2399 chip.


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## zgrav (Feb 4, 2022)

giovanni said:


> While we are on BBD topic, where do you get MN3005 chips?


anything else difficult or expensive to source for the  DC-Echo?


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## Bio77 (Feb 4, 2022)

zgrav said:


> anything else difficult or expensive to source for the  DC-Echo?


Not too difficult or expensive, but don't forget the NE571.


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## zgrav (Feb 4, 2022)

Bio77 said:


> Not too difficult or expensive, but don't forget the NE571.


Thanks for pointing that out.  I haven't used a compander chip  in a board since building one of Craig Anderton's octave-divider pedals a long time ago, but I will check my parts before ordering more of them.


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## Diynot (Feb 4, 2022)

giovanni said:


> I just realized the Cosmos is out of stock. And so is the Sagan.


I have a Cosmos board if you want it. I got a bogo, but to be honest, I have yet to get the damn thing to work right. I get nothing but oscillation. I would be interested to see if you could get it to work.


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## giovanni (Feb 4, 2022)

Diynot said:


> I have a Cosmos board if you want it. I got a bogo, but to be honest, I have yet to get the damn thing to work right. I get nothing but oscillation. I would be interested to see if you could get it to work.


That would be great. I’ll DM you.


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## Matmosphere (Feb 4, 2022)

Diynot said:


> I have a Cosmos board if you want it. I got a bogo, but to be honest, I have yet to get the damn thing to work right. I get nothing but oscillation. I would be interested to see if you could get it to work.


From what I have heard I believe that guy made some errors on the board. And by some, I mean lots.


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## giovanni (Feb 4, 2022)

Matmosphere said:


> From what I have heard I believe that guy made some errors on the board. And by some, I mean lots.


No successful builds? That’s a bummer.


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## Diynot (Feb 4, 2022)

Some people have claimed success, but not many.


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## Diynot (Feb 4, 2022)

Back to Buddy’s original question though, I have built a Sagan, dark rift, magnetron w/oscillation mod, and a mobius. 
   The Sagan is great with just a ton of options and a challenging build. Mine is a little noisy so with the buffered bypass it def raises the noise floor. 
   The Dark rift was nice, but was ultimately put on the chopping block for reason I don’t remember right now.
   By far my favorites have been the Mobius and the Magnetron, very different sounds though. The magnetron has very nice modulation available and the addition of an oscillation switch seals the deal. The Mobius gives you the option of asynchronous repeats which is awesome. 
   The Mobius being a VFE build is another challenging build, but worth it.


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## Feral Feline (Feb 5, 2022)

Dead Astronaut has some interesting-looking offerings…


Electric Druid has a digital-delay project…


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## Fishbonetabby (Feb 6, 2022)

BuddytheReow said:


> Anybody got any good recommendations for a non-FV1 chip delay pedal? Obviously there's no one size fits all, but I'm looking for decent delay times, the ability to oscillate, and can sound cavernous if needed. I guess I am looking for a one size fits pedal, haha
> 
> It's looking like a fight between Cataclysm, Dark Rift, Magnetron, Seabed, and Spirit Box


I built both the dark rift delay and the spirit box. They are incredible together in tandem but as it's been mentioned the spirit box is def more of a reverb.  I love the dark rift delay. It replaced my carbon copy analog delay on my main board for now. It's a typical earthquaker pedal that goes from subtle to far out & gnarly. 10/10 would recommend.


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