Danelectro Back Talk Reverse Delay

The Danelectro Back Talk Reverse Delay is a reverse delay pedal: instead of echoing your note forward, it samples what you play and repeats a backwards version of it after a set delay, the kind of effect 1960s tape engineers created by flipping tape reels¹. Danelectro states it invented the pedal in 1999², and the modern version offers up to one full second of delay time³. It is a pure digital backward delay built into a sturdy die-cast enclosure and running on 9V⁴.

The pedal was reissued in 2020 as part of Danelectro's Vintage Pedals lineup³, using the same internal circuit and chip as the original³. Delicious Audio describes the reissue as "a reissue of an old classic (and now rare) effect" that "delivers tape-like reverse delay and echo effects full of character and warmth"⁵.

What the Back Talk does

A reverse delay records a snippet of your playing and plays it back with the envelope flipped, so each repeated note swells up instead of decaying away. Guitar World's reviewer, Trevor Curwen, describes the results as ranging "from otherworldly reverb'd tremolo-type effects through to longer backward echoes that can sound mesmerising"¹. Because the repeats build rather than fade, the effect suits swells, textures and lead lines that seem to arrive before they started.

GuitarPCB's circuit analysis calls it "a cost-effective pure digital backward delay, suitable for creative possibilities, going from subtle delay to psychedelic oscillating noisy sounds"⁴. With up to one full second of delay time³, the pedal covers everything from short reverse slapback to long backward soundscapes.

The controls: Speed, Repeats and Mix

The Back Talk keeps it simple with three knobs, labeled Mix, Speed and Repeats, just like the original⁸.

Guitar.com's Best Guitar Pedals of 2020 feature found that "the speed and repeat controls are self explanatory, with the mix knob playing a pivotal role in creating a multitude of textures from a gentle reverse slapback delay to towering reverse leads and soundscapes"⁶. Guitar World adds that the Repeats knob "governs the number of repeats from one to infinite"¹, so the pedal can be pushed into self-oscillation for noisy, psychedelic sounds.

The pedal also has a power-on LED that lights when the footswitch is pressed, showing whether the effect is active⁴.

Inside the circuit: two boards, a 4558 buffer and an Atmel microcontroller

GuitarPCB's teardown reveals a hybrid design implemented on two boards: an Analog PCB and a Digital PCB, linked by a 7-pin connector⁴.

The Analog PCB handles the input and output:

• A 4558 dual op-amp IC, one half used as the input buffer and the other half as the output buffer⁴
• The input buffer's pass-band filter is similar to the non-inverting amp in the Tube Screamer⁴
• A pull-down resistor (R9) at the input jack avoids popping sounds when the pedal is switched on⁴
• A Voltage Bias Block supplies the 4558's voltage levels and protects against reverse polarity supply⁴

The Digital PCB does the reverse delay:

• An 8-bit Atmel microcontroller, the AT1200S, manages the peripherals⁴
• An audio codec with both an ADC and a DAC running off the same clock at 11.286 MHz⁴
• A Texas Instruments TLC0834C ADC reads the three potentiometers and the footswitch, sending the results on a single serial line to the microcontroller⁴

The power supply stage uses an HT7550 three-terminal 5V, 100mA low dropout CMOS linear regulator supplying 5.0 volts⁴. The stereo input jack doubles as an on-off switch, switching the battery's negative terminal to ground when the guitar jack is connected⁴.

History and versions: the original and the Vintage Pedals reissue

Danelectro states it invented the Back Talk reverse delay in 1999⁶⁹, a date confirmed by Guitar.com, which notes it was "introduced in 1999 for what seemed like only a moment"⁶. GuitarPCB's analysis places the pedal in Danelectro's Miscellaneous Series Effects released in 2001⁴. Either way, the original had a short production run and is now a rare effect⁵¹⁰⁸.

That brevity is what made the original expensive. Guitar.com's earlier review of Danelectro's Billionaire pedals noted that "the long discontinued Back Talk reverse delay being a case in point) have become classics, commanding high prices on th[e second-hand market]"¹⁰. Pedal of the Day reported in August 2020 that "the original pedals released in 1999 fetch upwards of $500"³, and Gearnews made the same point when the reissue was announced⁸.

At NAMM 2020, Danelectro unveiled three boutique-styled pedals based on classic circuits, the 3699 Fuzz, the Roebuck distortion and the Back Talk Reverse Delay, each priced at $199⁷. The Back Talk reissue landed in the Vintage Pedals lineup³, and Guitar.com's review of the two reissues found that "Danelectro has made this loving reissue with all NOS parts"⁹. Pedal of the Day confirms the reissue "uses the same internal circuit and chip as the 90's version"³.

Players who want forward delay alongside reverse from Danelectro can also look at the Danelectro Wasabi Forward-Reverse Delay, released in 2000 with tap tempo and stereo outs, or the Danelectro DE-1 Dan-Echo and Danelectro Reel Echo Tape Delay for tape-style echoes.

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