DL4 delay - HOW IT SWITCHES ON...

[Legion <legion@voicenet.com>]

Fresh from Tech Support at Line 6 here is the full scoop on how the DL4
pedal works regarding presets and switching on:

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"You can't turn on the pedal without calling up a preset.  When you call
up a preset, all controls, including the model selector, are bypassed
until you adjust them.

If you save (to preset A, for example) a particular delay (like reverse)
with all knobs at 9:00, and swith the selector to Tube Echo, you will
hear the Tube Echo model - with all the knobs at 9:00.  If you then go
to another preset, or bypass, and return to A, you'll get the reverse
delay you originally saved.  Unless, of course, you saved the Tube Echo
model before you switched to something else.

So live - unless you like bending down and twiddling knobs - you are
limited to the three presets, though these are more flexible if you have
the expression pedal."
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So the bottom line is this does not act like a "normal" pedal but
instead a preset system with a total of three settings. You can fully
alter the presets or overwrite them but you cannot get anything else
"live" by turning it on or off. If you want to go from one setting to
another you'll need to  either pre-arrange your prests to cover your
choices or do a lot of knob twiddling each time you turn the pedal on. 

Regarding this and other "changes" people have been mentioning. (warning
OPINION follows :))

The pedal is less than a month on the market.

Only the indivdual user can decide if things like this are a minor
inconvenience or a terminal issue. I assume Line6 decided the current
design was the best way to maximize the flexiblity of the pedal so I
highly doubt  particular features can or will be changed. For each
person who hates something (ie: the on/off preset only feature)  I can
easily see another who likes it this way.

I for one bought the pedal and was puzzled about it's preset issues. The
system it uses is not that useful to me live and I'd gladly give up one
of the preset to have a turn on/off feature. I don't expect to be paying
for an upgrade or buying another pedal to resolve this. I'll just decide
if this is a serious enough reason to warrent me dumping this one and
leave it at that. 

There is a lot to reccomend this box. The delays sound great and the
work around for the on/off issue isn't that horrible although it does
alter what I thought the pedal could actually do and in my case cripples
it for live use as I envisioned it. As a studio box where I can fiddle
all I want or as a simple looper it's still great. Anyone interested in
buying this or any of the other boxes should simply know this (and the
other mentioned) issues upfront and then decide for themselves if it's
worth their money one way or another. While it's nice to have an ear to
bounce things off of (Line6 Support has been pretty quick responding to
email IMO) I wouldn't look to them for any changes in this box unless
they volunteer them first.

Just my $200.00...

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