The Suhr Discovery is an analog delay pedal from Suhr, built on four reissued MN3005 bucket brigade chips and wrapped in a digital control layer. Suhr describes it as "classic analog delay warmth with the control to make it your own"1. Where a traditional analog delay gives you a few knobs and that is it, the Discovery adds 127 presets, tap tempo with subdivisions, full MIDI, an expression pedal input and a 7-segment display, an approach RockBoard's PedalPedia likens to the "Analog Heart with a Digital Control Layer" style of Chase Bliss Audio21.
Suhr positions it as a first: the manual calls the Discovery Analog Delay "the first of its kind, for Suhr and the world"3. It was announced in July 2021 at $549 and reported shipping later that month456. A Dark Discovery edition shares the same circuit in a black Cerakote finish, a thin-film ceramic coating1.
An analog BBD delay with digital control
The signal path is analog: four reissued MN3005 bucket brigade devices (BBDs), the same chip model Guitar.com notes was used in the original Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man and the Boss DM-26. Around that analog core sits the control layer. Delay times run 40ms to 1100ms, expandable to 17ms to 2000ms and beyond with the up/down and division buttons1. The division button cycles five subdivisions: quarter note, dotted eighth, eighth, triplet and sixteenth, and holding it toggles the display between milliseconds and BPM3.
The 7-segment display shows BPM, milliseconds or the preset number1. Tap tempo is what Guitar.com's reviewer called an "intelligent" implementation that "averages out your last four stomps to nail the tempo"6.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Division button | Selects one of 5 subdivisions; hold to toggle the display between ms and BPM3 |
| Up/Down | Extends delay time; steps in 1ms or 1 BPM increments; also navigates presets14 |
| Modulation speed and depth | Sets the warble and flutter of the repeats19 |
| Waveform button | Chooses triangle, sine or square modulation waveforms6 |
| High-cut and low-cut | Shape the tonality of the repeats67 |
| Refine Up/Down | Extend delay time through smart filtering without noisy artifacts2 |
The modulation section is a highlight. Suhr says the modulation control "allows you to capture the warble and flutter of a vintage analog delay, as well as going" as far as Leslie-style speed shifts9, with three waveforms (triangle, sine and square) paired with speed and depth controls10.
Power and connections
The Discovery runs on 18V DC, center negative, through a 2.1mm x 5.5mm connector, and it ships with an 18V DC power supply38. It has reverse polarity protection3.
The 18V, center-negative requirement means the Discovery will not run on a battery. Plan for a dedicated 18V output or the included supply.
Connections are generous for an analog delay: mono input and output, an external tap switch jack, a stereo TRS expression pedal jack for control of all parameters, a 1/8" external switch jack, and MIDI In plus MIDI Out/Thru on 5-pin DIN36. Over MIDI, presets change with Program Changes, every knob responds to Control Changes, the pedal syncs to MIDI clock, and memory can be dumped and loaded with Sysex3. There is also a kill dry mode for running a parallel effects loop10.
History and design
The Discovery is a new design by Kevin Suhr, son of company founder and luthier John Suhr611. It arrived in July 2021, and Delicious Audio reported it shipping on July 16, 20215.
The pedal is assembled in the USA16 and measures 129 x 104 x 60mm6. The Dark Discovery edition is the same circuit as the original in a black Cerakote finish, which Suhr describes as "a revolutionary thin-film ceramic coating"1.
What reviewers said
Guitar.com's Ed Oleszko reviewed it in June 2022 and rated it 9 out of 10. He praised a "brilliantly intuitive user interface, with a clear numeric display for precise visual control over BPM, milliseconds or" preset number, saying you could have hours of fun before even glancing at the manual61. On sound, he found it "excels at everything from warm 50s slapback repeats to cascading triplet echoes" that sit well in a band mix6. His verdict:
"It's madly expensive, yes, but it's just as madly effective."
He closed: "If you've been looking for the final word in analogue delay, you've just Discovered your new favourite pedal."6 The UK price at review time was £5496; MusicRadar cites the US price as $5497.
At launch, MusicRadar's Jonathan Horsley framed the cost in terms of Suhr's reputation: "as we've come to expect from Suhr's immaculate lineup of boutique-built electric guitars, what you are paying for is qua" lity of design and sound8. On That Pedal Show, the hosts compared the Discovery against the Boss DM-101, MXR Carbon Copy, Boss DD-200 and Strymon Timeline in an episode on analog delay, and shared their thoughts on the Discovery during the show12.
Videos
Pete Thorn
Suhr Custom
Suhr Custom
Questions
What chips does the Suhr Discovery use?
It is built on four reissued versions of the MN3005 bucket brigade analog delay chip. That is the same chip model found in revered vintage delays such as the original Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man and the Boss DM-2, which is a big part of why its repeats have that classic analog character.
How long can the Suhr Discovery delay go?
The base delay range is 40ms to 1100ms. Using the up/down and division buttons, the range extends to 17ms to 2000ms and beyond, with five subdivisions available: quarter note, dotted eighth, eighth, triplet and sixteenth.
Does the Suhr Discovery have MIDI?
Yes. It has MIDI In and MIDI Out/Thru on 5-pin DIN connectors. Presets can be changed with Program Changes, every knob is controllable with Control Changes, it syncs to MIDI clock, and memory can be dumped and loaded via Sysex.
Is the Suhr Discovery true bypass?
It is switchable between true bypass and buffered bypass, selected in the global settings. The factory default is true bypass, which physically disconnects all circuitry from the signal path when the pedal is off.
How many presets does the Suhr Discovery hold?
It holds 127 savable presets, which you can scroll through using the footswitches. The 7-segment display shows the preset number, or it can show BPM or milliseconds instead.
Can the Suhr Discovery run kill dry in an effects loop?
Yes. It has a kill dry mode intended for running a parallel effects loop, where the pedal's dry signal is removed so only the repeats are mixed in at the loop.
Sources (12)
- Discovery, Suhr (www.suhr.com)
- Discovery by Suhr, RockBoard PedalPedia, 2026
- Discovery-Delay-User-Guide-Rev.1.5.pdf, Suhr (media.suhr.com), 2021-08-03
- Suhr Discovery Analog Delay: The ultimate boutique delay?, gearnews.com, 2021-07-01
- Now Shipping: Suhr Discovery Analog Delay, Delicious Audio, 2021-07-16
- Suhr Discovery review: Analogue delay tones with digital control and presets galore, Guitar.com, 2022-06-03
- Boss DM-101 Delay Machine pedal review, MusicRadar, 2023-07-10
- Suhr seeks out new frontiers of boutique pedal design with the Discovery Analog Delay, MusicRadar, 2021-07-02
- Discovery, Suhr.com
- The Suhr Discovery is a powerful analogue delay with broad controls, modulation and user presets, Guitar.com, 2021-07-02
- Dark Discovery Analog Delay by Suhr, RockBoard (www.rockboard.de), 2026
- Best Ever Analogue Delay? Boss DM-101, Carbon Copy, Suhr Discovery plus DD-200 & TimeLine, That Pedal Show, 2023-06-30
