Mr Black LTD Digi-Delay

The Mr Black LTD Digi-Delay is a digital delay pedal from Mr Black, the Portland, Oregon builder known for time-based effects. It offers up to 900ms of delay time, which Mr Black describes as "crisp and articulate repeats with just a hint of subtle modulation that only shows itself when desired"¹. It was a Jack Deville original design produced in a limited run, announced in July 2016 and marked sold out on 28 July 2016¹².

What it does and how it sounds

The pedal delivers up to 900ms of digital delay¹. Mr Black's own description of the repeats is "crisp and articulate," with a subtle modulation character that stays out of the way until you push for it¹. Gearnews noted the maker's claim that all 900ms are "crisp and articulate"².

MusicRadar reported that the pedal promises a highly tuned frequency response with a slight top-end roll off and low-end cut³. That voiced repeat path is a common approach in digital delays, shaping the echoes so they sit behind the dry signal rather than stacking up harshly.

Mr Black also highlights self-oscillation on demand, and says the pedal is excellent on bass and baritone guitars¹. Self-oscillation means the feedback loop can be driven into runaway repeats, the way vintage tape and analog echo units do when pushed.

Controls and power

Gearnews described the control set plainly: "The unit has Level, Time and Regen controls, which are all self-explanatory"².

The pedal is true bypass and runs from a 9V DC power supply or a battery². No current draw figure was published.

Where it came from

Mr Black pedals are based in Portland, Oregon, and Jack Deville designs the company's delay, reverb and other time-based effects². The LTD Digi-Delay came out of what Mr Black calls a simple concept that "morphed into the perfect digital delay"¹. MusicRadar framed the launch with the question of whether Mr Black had created the perfect digital delay pedal, noting the builder's track record with ambience effects³.

The pedal was announced in early July 2016 and priced at $179.95 USD plus shipping and taxes². MusicRadar's launch coverage gave the price as $179³; the maker's regular price was $179.95¹. The run sold out on 28 July 2016¹.

What reviewers said

Gearnews' reviewer was positive about the sound from the available demos, while noting the limits of judging from clips alone²:

The same reviewer, who owns Mr Black pedals, called them "bloody good"². Gearnews also regretted the limited production: "The LTD Digi-Delay is produced in limited run which is a pity, really"².

Where it sits among Mr Black delays

The LTD Digi-Delay was one of several delay designs from the builder. Mr Black had earlier announced the Ambience Echoverb, a multi-tap delay and reverb pedal, in October 2015, and the TrancePortal shimmer echo in May 2016. Later limited runs included the JDD-3000+, a recreation of the KORG SDD-3000, and the DoubleTracker Stereo in 2024.

A separate note on the name: TONEHOME documents a Lemon Studiosound Digi Delay, a different product whose delay times reach almost 4 seconds⁴. That unit is not the Mr Black pedal, despite the similar name.

Questions