JAM Pedals "Why?" Delay Llama mk.3

The JAM Pedals "Why?" Delay Llama mk.3 is a custom artwork version of the Delay Llama mk.3, the Greek builder's all-analog bucket-brigade (BBD) delay pedal. BBD chips modeled after the Panasonic MN3205 pass your signal along a chain of capacitors to create the repeats, which JAM Pedals says "produce warm repeats that blend naturally with the dry signal"¹. The circuit, controls and features are identical to the standard mk.3; the only difference is the finish, since every custom artwork pedal is a one-of-a-kind hand-painted piece¹.

For a player, that means the Why? gives you the same analog delay voice as the standard pedal in a hand-painted enclosure no other player will have. JAM Pedals describes the mk.3 as a delay that "adds warm, organic repeats without obscuring the sound and touch of your instrument," with a tape-like character, a simple three-knob layout and a 600 ms maximum delay time suited to subtle depth, classic slapback and spacious rhythmic echoes². It works with guitar and bass alike².

An all-analog BBD delay in hand-painted artwork

Bucket-brigade delay is the classic analog approach: instead of converting your signal to digital samples, the audio is handed off step by step along a chain of internal charge buckets, and the time it takes to travel down that chain is the delay. The Why? uses BBD chips modeled after the Panasonic MN3205, the same chip family JAM Pedals built the wider Delay Llama line around¹.

The artwork is where the Why? differs from the standard pedal. JAM Pedals paints each custom artwork version by hand, so no two are alike, and the company notes that "the pedal you receive will differ in detail from the photos shown"¹. The Why? sits in a range of artwork versions of the same circuit, covered below.

The controls

The front panel keeps the mk.3's three-knob layout, with a toggle for subdivisions and two footswitches⁹².

Inside the pedal, one trimmer sets the maximum number of repeats, letting you cap how far the feedback can build before it runs away¹.

Tap tempo, hold and bypass modes

Tap the right footswitch at least twice to set the delay time to your tempo, and use the subdivision toggle to choose eighth notes, quarter notes or dotted eighth notes against that tempo¹. Keeping the TAP switch pressed engages HOLD/self-oscillation for as long as you hold it, a way to build runaway feedback swells on demand¹.

The bypass is selectable between true bypass and buffered trails:

1. The pedal ships in true-bypass mode¹.
2. To select buffered trails bypass, disconnect power, hold TAP, reconnect power and release after three LED blinks¹.
3. Repeat the process to return to true bypass; two blinks confirm the change¹.

Buffered trails let the repeats fade out naturally when you switch the effect off, instead of cutting them dead. Delicious Audio's write-up of the mk.3 confirms the choice: "You can also set the bypass mode to trails (buffered) or true bypass"⁴.

History and the custom artwork versions

The Why? is one of six custom artwork versions of the mk.3, all with the same sound and different artwork¹:

• "Lechuk's Chest" Delay Llama mk.3¹⁰
• "Monterey" Delay Llama mk.3⁵
• "Achenbach" Delay Llama mk.3⁷
• "Craboid" Delay Llama mk.3⁶
• "Relic" Delay Llama mk.3¹¹⁸
• "Why?" Delay Llama mk.3¹

Because they are painted individually, each custom artwork version is a one-of-a-kind hand-painted piece, and the pedal received will differ in detail from the photos shown⁶. The standard Delay Llama mk.3 and a B-Stock listing offer the same circuit without the hand-painted finish.

What reviewers said

Premier Guitar gave the Delay Llama Mk3 a Gear Award in 2023, crediting it with bringing "much of the essential bonus functionality of 2020's Delay Llama Xtreme to a more compact pedal," including the tap-tempo footswitch, subdivisions switch and hold function, and noting that "the unit draws 120 mA"⁹. Delicious Audio added the mk.3 to its article about the best analog delay pedals, calling it an analog delay with 600 ms of maximum delay time that "can also be used with bass guitars"⁴. MusicRadar's launch coverage called the original line a "cult classic analogue delay pedal" and confirmed the 9V DC power supply and 120 mA draw³.

Questions