BOSS DM-101 Delay Machine

The BOSS DM-101 Delay Machine is an analog delay pedal from Boss, released in 2023¹. Where most modern delay pedals are digital, the DM-101 runs its audio through bucket-brigade device (BBD) chips, the classic analog delay technology, with eight BBDs under digital CPU control². Boss describes the result as a "warm, saturated, and highly musical tone"².

What makes it unusual is the combination: a fully analog BBD audio signal path shaped by precision digital CPU control, 12 delay modes, stereo outputs, tap tempo, memories and MIDI². On That Pedal Show, Dan and Mick described it as "using eight BBD chips to create a true stereo, programmable, MIDI-enabled ANALOGUE delay"³.

An analog delay with eight BBDs and 12 modes

The core of the DM-101 is its bucket-brigade circuitry. Boss chose eight 2048-stage BBDs instead of the more common 4096-stage BBD, which is how the pedal reaches up to 1200 milliseconds of delay time in the Classic mode²⁸⁹. Overall delay times run from roughly 10ms to 1200ms, varying by mode⁸. For comparison, the original 1978 Boss DM-1 Delay Machine offered up to 500 milliseconds¹.

The pedal offers 12 modes, split between mono and stereo⁸:

Several modes do things a plain delay does not. Multi-Head emulates a multi-head tape delay with an analog BBD character, with the Variation knob cycling through 10 different head combinations²⁹. Non-Linear produces consecutive short delays (35 to 190 ms) that gradually increase in volume². Wide offsets the left and right delay times for an expansive stereo sound, and Dual Mod runs different modulation phase settings on each output, with the phase fully inverted at the maximum setting². Pattern offers stereo delay with different rhythmic patterns, with 10 pattern types on the Variation knob².

Vintage mode is a retro analog delay sound inspired by the Boss DM-2 Delay pedal introduced in 1981; in this mode the Variation control changes the waveform²⁹.

Controls

The front panel carries six knobs plus mode and tap division selection⁵:

Three footswitches handle On/Off, Memory and Tap tempo functions⁷. Modulation rate and depth get their own dedicated knobs, so the warble that analog delays are known for is always on hand². Boss's own article on using delay with other instruments suggests sample settings for a modular setup: Time at 200 to 300 ms for shorter delays, or 400 to 600 ms to accentuate chord changes, with Feedback set high to let textures evolve and enjoy the oscillation¹⁰.

Stereo outputs, MIDI and external control

The DM-101 runs in stereo with flexible signal routing options². Six of the 12 modes are stereo⁹. The audio outputs ship set for blended operation but can be reconfigured for wet/dry rigs and wet-only parallel setups².

Control expands well beyond the footswitches:

• External footswitches²
• An expression pedal²
• MIDI I/O on mini TRS connectors²

The pedal stores four onboard memories plus the current panel settings, and 127 user memories are accessible via MIDI program change². Gearnews noted that this MIDI control "allows the DM-101 to have 127 user presets"¹¹. Tap tempo and a tap division switch support rhythmic delays².

From the DM-1 and DM-2 to the DM-101

The DM-101's look is deliberate. MusicRadar's reviewer noted that it "nods back to the DM-1 design with a VHS- (sorry, I'm an '80s child) size dimensions and silver panel on black" chassis⁵. Guitar.com's reviewer went further, calling it "a homage to those hallowed black and silver dream machines of the seventies; Boss's very first pedal, the CE-1 Chorus Ensemble of 1976 and the DM-1, Boss's first delay"⁹.

The original DM-1 Delay Machine was a 1978 rack-style unit in the same heavy-duty metal chassis as the CE-1 Chorus Ensemble, with an AC power configuration, offering up to 500 milliseconds of delay¹. Its circuit used a charge-coupled device (CCD), a component that went on to be widely used in digital gear¹. The DM-1 was discontinued after 1978 to 1980¹². The compact analog DM-2 followed in 1981, and its sound is the inspiration for the DM-101's Vintage mode².

The DM-101 arrived in 2023, priced at $499 when it hit stores in July⁴, and was available for preorder at Andertons, PMT and Sweetwater¹³.

What reviewers said

Reviews were strongly positive. MusicRadar's overall verdict called it "The best analogue delay pedal currently available anywhere and a future classic from Boss"⁵. Gearnews, reporting on Jan Rotring's review, wrote that "it sounds like a deeply expressive and unique pedal with its own signature sound. It's a rare thing to see wholly unique" pedal designs, especially among complex analog units¹⁴.

On That Pedal Show's comparison of analog and digital delays, when the question came up of which Boss delay to buy for the sound of analog, the answer was the DM-101, with Dan noting "the dm101 is actually analog," unlike the other digital delays in the comparison¹⁵.

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