Ibanez DML20 Delay Modulation III

The Ibanez DML20 Delay Modulation III is a digital delay pedal from Ibanez's 10 series, produced from 1987 to 1991¹. What makes it more than a straight delay is its modulation section: it covers every kind of echo effect plus chorus and flanging, all from one box¹. Pedal of the Day's reviewer called it "basically a multi effect, although it's official title is the DML20 Modulation Delay"².

It is a discontinued vintage pedal, rare on the secondhand market, with average collectibility, and it has never been reissued¹.

Modes and delay times

The DML20's Mode selector offers several delay (echo) modes plus a chorus mode and a flanger mode². Each mode sets a window of delay times, and the overall range runs from 1ms to 1024ms, which covers a very wide spectrum of delay effects¹. Pedal of the Day's reviewer found the Time control "has a great range, from 1ms up to 1024ms"².

The short delay times are what turn the delay engine into a modulation pedal. Chorus and flanging are both built on brief delay times with modulation applied, so the same circuit that produces long echoes also produces those effects at the low end of the range.

On the chorus sound, the reviewer wrote:

Controls

The basic control knobs for the delay portion are Delay Time, Delay Level and Repeat². Delay Time sets the length of the delay within the range the Mode selector has chosen, Delay Level sets how loud the repeats are, and Repeat sets the feedback, with lower settings giving fewer repeats. For the longest available delay, turn the D-Time control fully clockwise¹.

How it differs from the DDL20

The DML20 sits alongside the Ibanez DDL20 Digital Delay III in the same 10 series. The DDL20 is a straightforward digital delay offering the basic features of the effect, with delay times from 8ms to 1024ms³¹. The DML20 operates on the same principles as the DDL20 but with the added feature of modulation¹.

The practical differences for a player:

• Effect range: the DML20 does echo, chorus and flanging¹; the DDL20 does delay only³
• Delay range: the DML20 reaches down to 1ms¹; the DDL20 starts at 8ms³
• Output: the DML20 has a stereo output for depth and spaciousness¹

The DDL20's Mode control also selects the delay time range for the desired effect type, and its Repeat control sets feedback level, down to 0 for just one repeat³, so the two pedals share a similar control layout even though the DML20's modulation section adds capability the DDL20 lacks.

Stereo output

The DML20 has a stereo output that gives your sound depth and spaciousness¹. For a 1980s delay pedal this is a useful feature, and it pairs naturally with the chorus and flanger modes, where a spread stereo image is a big part of the appeal.

Build and reputation

The DML20 belongs to Ibanez's 10 series from the 1980s, and Pedal of the Day's reviewer had praise for the series as a whole: "these things are all built like tanks, usually have a ton of options"². The same reviewer noted that the DML20's chorus exceeded expectations for an older digital design².

For players exploring other vintage Ibanez delays, the 10 series also included the Ibanez DML10 Digital Modulation Delay II and the Ibanez DDL10 Digital Delay II, and the broader delay pedals family runs from analog units like the Ibanez AD9 Analog Delay to modern designs like the Ibanez LD303 Layer Delayer.

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