Joined the forum just to rant about my new boy wonder. My Memory Boy came yesterday!!!
New $88 w/free shipping (Made a best offer on ebay)
First off, I play keyboards , not guitar. But many of my keyboards are pick-up based (Clavinet, Hohner Pianet T) and all of them are analog. Ive also tried on my line level keyboards and it works equally well with those. Most of my delay use is for an old 1973 Korg/Univox mono-synth
Ive been useing a DOD FX96 analog delay for years and loved it but its falling apart.
I play sorta space-rock, so i prefer longer delays and have always enjoyed the low-fi feedback of analog delays and the ability to make noise via knob twisting(which can now be done w/exp pedal on Memory Boy!).

If your anything like me you’ll absolutely LOVE this pedal! And even if your not into the noises you can get nice clean delays. One thing that takes a sec to get used to:
DEPTH knob its strictly for modulation. If you dont want trippy modulation this knob must be down to 0.
(^In answer to an earlier post complaining about the modulation always being on, it can be turn off)

In addition you get a great chorus effect and a decent vibrato. Both can be used alone or in combo with the delay.
I got an expression pedal and controlling the modulation rate with it is a blast. You can create a rhythmic modulation and play melody over it.
You can always switch and control delay time with exp pedal and do the space-ship thing hands-free!
Exp pedal extends delay time quite a bit as well.
Only one night of tinkering so far but I’ll update if I find anything negative.

Honestly , this is an amazing deal. Im guessing theses $90-$100 deals will dissipate as the pedal becomes more well known, then youll have to pay $139 at guitar center,  get one now !!!

As much as I’ve seen and heard about this pedal, I’m really liking it. I’ve owned the Memory Man and regret ever getting rid of it only because of in dire need of cash at the time. I think this is an excellent supplement into getting that feel back again for the price. So far I’ve heard a few folks playing these and they sound excellent. I just ordered the Memory Toy because the price on that can’t be beat as well. I’ll be along to pick up one of these shortly. EH can bring a game.

Best,
Nep

I’ve owned a Memory Boy for about three weeks. Don’t get me wrong. I dig it. Especially the weird square wave effects. But I tried a Memory Man (XO) at Guitar Center the other day and, well, the repeats seemed much more distinct. And the whole presentation was cleaner. And it has that gain control that adds a little tape-like overdrive to the sound when you’re really ripping Edge style. It was very appealing to me. Of course you lose the square wave with the Memory Man. And the Man is three times more expensive. Anyway I’m thinking of trading in the Boy for a full fledged DMM.

One other thing. Has anyone compared the old school sheet metal Memory Man with the new die-cast version (XO)? Is there a consensus?

modalmood - 26 September 2009 10:02 PM

One other thing. Has anyone compared the old school sheet metal Memory Man with the new die-cast version (XO)? Is there a consensus?

I think you’ll find that the consensus on this board is that the new XO DMMs are give or take pretty much identical soundwise to the old-style DMMs that were produced before the change.  No major difference in sound.

I don’t have the budget or the space for the Memory Man, so this was the next best choice. Here is what I love: the warmth and decay on the repeats, the expression pedal (optional of course), the fact that it is small, that it is in die cast aluminum, and that it is cheaper and variable than the digital delays I had.

This was the pedal that won me over.

Question:

When my MB is plugged in and off, and feedback is past 2 or 3 o’clock, I can hear it oscillating.-Faint but noticeable.
I was under the impression that true bypass meant no noise when disengaged?

Here is my chain: guitar-English Muff’n-Memory Boy-Amp.

Thanks

I got a memory boy since 2 weeks, and basically I love it, but I’m very disappointed. In the manual it says if you turn up the feedback to the maximum it would run away and self-oscillate. and that was the reason why I wanted an analog delay. but the feedback dies away pretty fast even when the knob is turned up to the max. ARRRH.
I’m using the power adapter it got shipped with. has my problem anything to do with power issues??? should I use an adapter that gives more than 9V??? or a battery??? I’m really a guitar player not to deep into electronics, so I’m kinda helpless and very disappointed. I want to crank up the feedback so I can get this pitch shifting tape delay effect when I change the delay time with a foot pedal, but my memory boy won’t self-oscillate.

Can anybody help me? Thanks!

Could be a couple things:

1) Are you feeding it a poor signal?  If I run my MB in the effects loop of my amp it doesn’t self-oscillate (there is no “send” level in my amp).  If I run the MB in-line with other pedals before the amp, it will self-oscillate.

2) It may need recallibration.  My MB arrived wildly miscallibrated and would self-oscillate on any setting.  Since I got a good deal on it I sent it in for warranty repair and got it back in less than a week.

HEY GUYS…i make my first post here so wish me luck!!!:)))...i have checked some posts here,where it was mentioned that delay time of Memory Boy can be increased through the use of an expression pedal…Has anyone else accomplished that??? I mean the extra time u get is a still “clean” delay or gets a bit “fuzzy”??? And if there is any possibility to do that which is the suitable exp pedal for that??? Roland EV-5 or Moog EP-2 or something else???

Hello:

I purchased an EH Memory Boy last year to fit into one of my pedal boards.

The previous rig was: (guitar) -> Boss TU-2 -> MXR Distortion + -> MXR Micro Amp -> EH XO Stereo Pulsar -> Maxon AD-999 -> Toadworks Redux.

Redux Delay was OK (despite it has some volume issues at certain settings) but I decided to replace it with the EH Memory Boy. As a result, the delay section was 100% analog.

I usually place the longest-time delay at last position for having more control over delay times.

The final rig is: (guitar) -> Boss TU-2 -> MXR Distortion + -> MXR Micro Amp -> EH XO Stereo Pulsar -> Maxon AD-999 -> EH Memory Boy -> (amp).

but in this case the MB is the last one. Why?...

... Well, AD-999 has more delay time (up to 900 ms) and it’s very warm sounding (also, it reacts very well to self oscillation), so I use it for rhytmic patterns. But the MB at last position allows me to:

a) Tweaking the other delay performance with modulation - subtle, extreme and everything in between.
b) Leaving it engaged all-time with “reverb like settings” (short time, low blend and deep feedback, modulated or not). As a result, it brings a nice color to the sound.
c) As MB boosts the signal when engaged, it’s cool for guitar solos.
d) Constructing complex patterns using both delays at the same time.

... and more.

The only feature I don’t use is the expression pedal (not enough room at the board) but as I’ve watched at demos is really outstanding.

About the “EH MB vs. MXR CC” discussion: I own both pedals (at different boards, each). They sound good but are quite different. The MB has more capabilities and wider ranges for modulation. CC is an classic style analog delay with a mellow modulation (adjustable via two internal trimpots) added.

Maybe some people consider them “rivals” but not for me, despite they compete in a similar price and feature range. I think the key is not in terms of “better/worse”, it’s just a kind of sound preferences (at least to me). You may prefer one, the other… or both :thumb:.

Regards.

S.W.

I just received my MB yesterday. I placed it after Big Muff but before digital delay. Its not like any delay I’ve ever heard, its far out. I’m inclined to suggest calling it something else, maybe “Psychedelic Repeating Madness with Drones”. Not a very marketable title though.
  It is a difficult pedal to operate sometimes. Careful operation is required to prevent runaway oscillations. I’m wondering how much my experience will enhanced by adding a expression pedal.
  In the box was a warning about using the power supply provided and no other. The funny thing is that the power supply is marked “for BOSS and Ibanez”. Has anyone used a DC Brick or similar device without turning the MB into a paperweight? I need to clean up my power supply cable mess, but I don’t want to fry any of my pedals in the process.

just got a brand new trippy MB - I think I have a problem withe the feedback knob - all the demos I see on utube and ehx players are setting the feedback knobby to 12:00 and better without runaway - I can’t get mine past 10:00 b4 it starts trippin out - any suggestions or do I have a defective pedal - still a very cool delay - I was always accustomed to digital till I bought a couple of EH pedals - I now own a G4BM,LBM,POG,&MB;- replacing all boss stuff fom the 80’s- The POG is one of the coolest things I have ever owned!!! - P.S On the MB another trick I learned is if u plug in a dummy plug to the EXP input the delay tmes get a good bit longer - don’t know why but it does

rxparker - 21 August 2010 08:20 AM

just got a brand new trippy MB - I think I have a problem withe the feedback knob - all the demos I see on utube and ehx players are setting the feedback knobby to 12:00 and better without runaway - I can’t get mine past 10:00 b4 it starts trippin out - any suggestions or do I have a defective pedal - still a very cool delay - I was always accustomed to digital till I bought a couple of EH pedals - I now own a G4BM,LBM,POG,&MB;- replacing all boss stuff fom the 80’s- The POG is one of the coolest things I have ever owned!!! - P.S On the MB another trick I learned is if u plug in a dummy plug to the EXP input the delay tmes get a good bit longer - don’t know why but it does

I don’t know what can cause your MB to act like that, but I have to say that not everything of Boss is digital, and the POG is digital

I can only get to about 2:00 with the feedback knob until it self-oscillates. What about after it warms up for 20 minutes? It might have to be calibrated by EHX.

I recently visited my local music store and demoed a variety of Analogue Delay pedals.The three models i tried out were he MXR Carbon Copy, Ibanez AD9 and the Electro Harmonix Memory boy.The Carbon Copy was ok but i wasn’t convinced that the delay was being generated from a Bucket Brigade IC the repeats didn’t really degrade even on the longest delay times and one felt that it was too clean.The AD9 was a similar affair i really didn’t like it again it was too clean and wouldn’t even self oscillate both of these products are considerably more expensive than the Memory Boy.
So now for the Memory Boy….. and what a pedal it is, the Memory Boy behaves just like you would expect a Bucket Brigade Delay to behave.
The Memory Boy exhibited warm repeats that got declined in sonic integrity on longer delay time which is a distinct trait inherent in Bucket Brigade IC’s.
The Vibrato effect on the Memory Boy is staggering on it’s own and spine tingling when twinned with the delay and one can achieve many great sounds with careful use of the settings.
The Memory Boy also demonstrates ( as with all EHX effects ) That the Guitar/Keyboard ect is central to the effect, this is what i love about EHX the effect seems to compliment the guitar rather than strangle the life out of it.
So well done all of you at the EHX team you have yet again exceeded my expectations of a Guitar Effects pedal all of your products are simply the best.
Here is a list of my EHX collection, I will also review these products also…...

Big Muff, Graphic Fuzz, Small Clone, Electric Mistress, Stereo Memory Man and the Memory Boy.

So i would like to thank everyone at the EHX team for all their hard work and commitment in providing us creative individuals with Effects of an exceptionally high order for an exceptionally reasonable price.

Kind Regards

Slakstylez

Examples of my use of EHX products can be heard on my web page @ http://www.myspace.com/slakstylez