The Seymour Duncan Andromeda Dynamic Digital Delay is a programmable digital delay pedal released in 2017, built around the idea that a delay should respond to how hard you pick. Its Dynamic Expression technology lets you control certain effect parameters with your picking strength, and it offers digital and analog-simulated versions of four delay types, with stereo inputs and outputs12.
Dynamic Expression: a delay that follows your pick
The Andromeda's defining feature is Dynamic Expression. Seymour Duncan employed the same technology found in its Catalina Dynamic Chorus to let you control certain effect parameters with your picking strength2. In practice, the pedal listens to how hard you play and uses that to shape the effect, which is why Seymour Duncan refers to it as a dynamic delay with an emphasis on being a performance tool3.
The Dynamic Expression control has settings for Hard, Soft, Off, Mix, Mod and Saturation3, so you can decide whether picking strength shifts the character of the repeats, the modulation, the saturation, or the balance of the effect, or leave it switched off entirely.
Delay types and stereo operation
The Andromeda lets you choose between digital and analog-simulated versions of normal, ping pong, reverse and reverse pong delay types2. Seymour Duncan described the intent behind the design this way:
"So we provided both analog and digital delay palettes with a lot of tone-shaping functionality that can easily tweaked and shaped to taste."
| Delay type | Digital version | Analog-simulated version |
|---|---|---|
| Normal | Yes | Yes |
| Ping pong | Yes | Yes |
| Reverse | Yes | Yes |
| Reverse pong | Yes | Yes |
The stereo inputs and outputs2 are what make the ping pong and reverse pong modes meaningful: the repeats can move between two channels instead of sitting in mono.
What reviewers said
Writing about the pedal around its NAMM 2017 unveiling, gearnews.com's Jef saw it as a studio-oriented tool3:
"Yet I think I would really enjoy using it in the studio, especially with all those options for rhythmic repeats!"
Where it sits in Seymour Duncan's delay line
Delicious Audio's interview with Christopher Scapelliti and Kevin Harvey framed the Andromeda as bringing "a new dimension to delay in 2017"4. For players weighing it against the maker's other delays, the Vapor Trail and Vapor Trail Deluxe are analog Bucket Brigade designs, while the Andromeda is the digital, programmable option in the range. See more in our guide to delay pedals.
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Questions
Is the Seymour Duncan Andromeda analog or digital?
The Andromeda is a digital delay pedal. Within its digital engine, Seymour Duncan provided both analog and digital delay palettes, meaning it can simulate the character of an analog delay or run a straightforward digital delay, with tone-shaping controls to adjust the result to taste.
What is Dynamic Expression on the Andromeda?
Dynamic Expression is Seymour Duncan's technology, also used in the Catalina Dynamic Chorus, that lets you control certain effect parameters with your picking strength. On the Andromeda, the Dynamic Expression control has settings for Hard, Soft, Off, Mix, Mod and Saturation, so how hard you play changes how the delay responds.
Does the Andromeda have stereo inputs and outputs?
Yes. According to Seymour Duncan's announcement, the Andromeda has stereo inputs and outputs, which is what makes its ping pong and reverse pong delay types possible in stereo rigs.
What delay types does the Andromeda offer?
The Andromeda lets you choose between digital and analog-simulated versions of normal, ping pong, reverse and reverse pong delay types, giving eight combinations of delay character in one pedal.
Sources (4)
- Seymour Duncan Andromeda Dynamic Digital Delay, Pedal of the Day, 2017-12-31
- Seymour Duncan Releases the Andromeda Dynamic Delay, Premier Guitar, 2017-05-10
- NAMM 2017: Seymour Duncan Andromeda delay, gearnews.com, 2017-01-20
- Inside Seymour Duncan’s "Dynamic Expression" Pedals; The Silver Lake Reverb, Delicious Audio, 2018-04-09
