Analog Man/ ARDX-20 Dual Analog Delay

ARDX20 receives the GUITAR PLAYER magazine EDITOR'S PICK AWARD in the April 2010 issue

For Asian customers, especially Japan, please order from Analog Man Asia

The ARDX20 takes the great sound of our previous analog delay, but adds more features.

This pedal was released slowly, with no hype or advance promotion, so that we would not get into a back-order situation or have to fix problems in early versions. They are still sort of "under the radar", but with hundreds of ARDX20 pedals out there now, this pedal is ready to take off!

It was designed by Ohbayashi San of Analog Man Asia in Japan, with design and specification help from Analogmike. We built a custom circuit board and specially designed ergonomic enclosure for this pedal. They are hand soldered (no machine soldering) and assembled to our specs in China. Then the pedals go to Japan where the Analogman logos on the pedals are engraved and the pedals are calibrated and tuned at the Analog Man Asia shop by Ohbayashi san and his team. Here is a picture of the shop in Japan:

This delay was designed for ease of use and the best sound possible, with standard features everyone can use, but optional external features for things everyone may not want to pay for up front. The external options like tap tempo, etc, will be an additional pedal with a computer in it to control this delay.

FEATURES

1. True bypass switching, the right side foot switch is effect ON/OFF.
2. Two sets of controls, not only delay time but also delay level and feedback
YELLOW channel (upper 3 knobs) or RED channel (lower 3 knobs) are selected with the left foot switch.
3. Battery or normal 9V boss type power. Power jack in the center top.
4. Battery compartment on the bottom for quick and easy battery changes
5. Low power consumption, 15mA, so an alkaline battery should last about 30 hours of use.
6. Jacks are on the top of the pedal for efficient layout on pedalboards
7. Input jack on the right, unplug to disconnect battery
8. Output jack on the left
9. EFFECTS LOOP is next to the input jack. Use a Y-cable (insert cable like HOSA STP-201) to run an effect only when the delay is ON and only on the delayed sound. The dry sound will stay in the pedal, it won't pass through the effects loop. Modulation pedals are cool here. Or use a VOLUME pedal with a Y-Cable or an expression pedal to control the level of the delays, pulling back all the way will kill the delay sound. You can also control the FEEDBACK this way, as lowering the volume will reduce the feedback so you can easily control infinite delays.

10. DELAY TIME EXPRESSION jack is next to the output jack. Use a normal
Boss EV5 type expression pedal to control the delay time of the RED
channel. This jack will also be used for external options we will introduce
including tap tempo, multiple delay time preset boxes, etc.

The Boss FV500L is a stronger, bigger expression pedal which we also carry. We also carry the Ernie Ball 6181 volume pedal which makes a GREAT small, heavy duty expression pedal (requires insert Y-cable).

11. 600mS (.6 seconds) analog delay time, with clear, not dull, delay sounds. Most of them are actually 650mS if you measure them. The delays are easily controlled for infinite feedback without runaway volume problems which can damage your speakers. Minimum delay time is 36mS.

12. You can plug into the EFFECTS LOOP to get a WET ONLY sound, when the pedal is ON. The dry sound will come out of the normal output. You will need a special cable to get the wet output, with the ring on the pedal side connected to the tip of the output cable and the tip on the pedal side grounded to kill noise.

13. Two LED lights blink in time to the delay setting.

Unlike most of the new sunface-size analog delays now available, the ARDX20 uses normal size electronic components that are hand-soldered to the circuit board. We also use normal size potentiometers and switches that are hand wired. This means that the ARDX20 won't wind up in a landfill if something goes wrong- it can be repaired by anyone, while the little robot-built surface-mount analog delays must usually be replaced if something fails or is damaged by an electrical or mechanical accident. We also feel that the normal size components will usually give you a better sound. The resistors may not make any difference, but some of the capacitors we use are not available in tiny surface-mount versions.

Someone asked me for a comparison to the MXR Carbon Copy. Those are about the best small analog delays, and we sell a lot of them. The ARDX20 has quite a bit longer delay time, about 2:00 on ours gives you the 600mS that the MXR has. The MXR has more white noise in the background, as it's tuned for more high end. The repeats on the MXR are a little harder and harsher due to the extra high end, our repeats are a little softer and smoother, a bit more like the old Japanese analog delays.

TAP TEMPO INFORMATION

The Tap Tempo box will be an external computerized controller box. It will plug right into the delay time jack. No other box or switch will work with the ARDX20 for tap tempo. We hope to have some cool features in this external box but I can't say what they are until it's done so nobody has false expectations. We are working on the box but not sure when it will be done yet, hopefully this spring. We don't have pricing info on the controller yet. This controller will work on ANY ARDX20 pedal. Not sure if it will work on any other analog delays yet but we'll see!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us. Thanks for looking and ROCK ON!