Boss DD-200

The Boss DD-200 is a compact digital delay pedal from Boss, released in 2019, that packs the sounds and features of the flagship DD-500 into a smaller, more pedalboard-friendly enclosure¹². A rotary switch selects from 12 delay modes, from clean modern digital to classic analog emulations, and a built-in looper with up to 60 seconds of recording time is always ready to use³⁴.

Under the hood it is a fully digital design: 32-bit AD/DA conversion, 32-bit floating-point processing and a 96 kHz sampling frequency⁴. Guitar World's reviewer called it "the full meal deal" for guitarists seeking a delay pedal for all occasions, praising its comprehensive variety of effects and sophisticated looper⁴.

What it does: 12 delay modes and a looper

The rotary mode switch provides 12 delay effects: Standard, Analog, Tape, Drum, Shimmer, Tera Echo, Pad Echo, Pattern, Lo-Fi, Dual, Reverse and Ducking⁴. Several modes are modeled on classic hardware:

• Tape emulates the warm tape-based sound of the Roland RE-201 Space Echo, with selectable combinations of heads³⁸
• Drum models the Binson Echorec 2 drum echo³
• Analog emulates Boss DM series BBD delays³
• Tera Echo derives from the Boss TE-2 Tera Echo pedal³
• Standard is a clear digital delay, with the PARAM knob adjusting the delay attack³

On That Pedal Show, Mick Taylor noted the Drum mode's lineage: "one setting that says drum and that refers of course to the binson eor"⁸. In the Tape mode, the parameter knob shows the heads on the display as you turn it⁸.

The PARAM knob's function changes in each mode to parameters tailored for the selected type, which Boss describes as delivering extended control without menu diving³. There is also a looper that is always ready to use, boasting up to 60 seconds of recording time⁴.

For bass players, a Boss article by Lee Glynn suggests Standard mode with a Time of 300-400 ms for short, rhythmic echoes, and Feedback kept low at 1-2 repeats so the delay will not muddy the low end¹⁰.

The controls and footswitches

The panel carries six knobs for on-the-fly control, a 12-position mode rotary selector, and a three-character LED display that replaces the DD-500's graphic LCD to save space⁷¹¹⁴. A pair of mini switches select Tap Division settings: half-, quarter- and eighth-note, triplet and dotted⁴.

The two multi-function footswitches provide bypass, memory scrolling, tap tempo and looper control by default, and can be reassigned to hold, warp and other functions³. The On/Off footswitch consolidates the DD-500's A and B footswitch functions and controls record, overdub and play in Looper mode, while the Memory/Tap Tempo footswitch controls stop and clear functions⁴. The Tap Tempo footswitch has a press-and-hold function that makes presets fully footswitchable¹².

External control is also possible via additional footswitches or an expression pedal, connected at the rear panel alongside the stereo input and output jacks³⁴.

Power and connections

The DD-200 runs on a PSA-series AC adaptor or three AA-size batteries⁷, drawing 225 mA⁵. MusicRadar lists it as 9V DC or 3xAA batteries¹³.

MIDI I/O is provided on space-saving mini TRS jacks, with the BMIDI-5-35 adaptor cable available separately⁷. The 127 user memories can be recalled from the panel or via MIDI¹.

Key audio specifications from Guitar World's review⁴:

DD-200 versus DD-500

The DD-200 brings together sounds and features inherited from the flagship DD-500 in a smaller footprint⁵⁴. When Boss announced the 200 series in 2019, MusicRadar described the DD-200 as trimming down the triple-footswitched DD-500 into a smaller enclosure². The DD-500, released in 2015, also offers 12 delay modes, 32-bit/96 kHz processing, a looper with up to 120 seconds of recording time, and an A/B Simul mode for running two delays at once¹⁴¹⁵¹.

The main trade-offs going smaller: the DD-200 replaces the DD-500's graphic LCD with a three-character LED, consolidates the A and B footswitches into one On/Off footswitch, and its looper records 60 seconds rather than the DD-500's 120⁴¹⁵¹⁴. MusicRadar's review lists "there are compelling reasons to choose the DD-500 over this" among its reasons to avoid the DD-200¹³.

Firmware updates

Boss has issued several system program updates for the DD-200, downloadable from its support site¹¹:

• Ver. 1.10 (January 2020): increased storable memories from 5 to 128, and added a function that always indicates the memory number on the display¹¹
• Ver. 1.12 (December 2021): fixed an issue where MIDI control change messages immediately after a memory change to MEMORY 005-127 were ignored¹¹
• Ver. 1.13 (November 2023): fixed an issue where, when switching memory during MIDI Sync, the delay time did not change according to the tap division set in the memory¹¹
• Ver. 1.14 (July 2025): fixed a bug where, with tempo hold set to "on", the delay time did not change correctly¹¹

To check your firmware version, hold down the MEMORY button and insert a plug into the INPUT A jack; the version appears on the display. If it shows version 1.14 or later, no update is needed¹¹.

Updating requires the DD-200, a USB cable, and a Windows or Mac computer with a USB port compliant with USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 running an UpdSMF player. To enter update mode, hold down the TIME knob and insert a plug into the INPUT A jack; "UPd" appears on the display, and the update is then sent over MIDI¹¹.

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