Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man
My late-70s vintage Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man
I’ve always had a fondness for Electro-Harmonix. They’ve always offered surprisingly good sounding pedals and effects, their products are made in the USA (at least all the ones I’ve bought have been), and they’re affordable. The Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man (DMM) is an Echo/Chorus/Vibrato unit, and I purchased mine in 1979 from Rhythm City in Atlanta, Georgia. Supposedly, the late 70s version of the DMM used different chips than modern day versions, resulting in a more sought-after sound. I’ve never used any of the newer versions, though, so I really can’t confirm they sound different. All I know is that my old DMM has a dirty warmth that sounds especially great with guitar, but also works nicely with keyboards and vocals. Separate Echo and Direct Outputs provide flexibility for running it in stereo or sending signals to other effects. Also, by playing with the Feedback, Delay, and Chorus-Vibrato knobs, you can come up with some very interesting effects. As an example, I used the DMM on my song “I like Wood”, which I recorded in the early 1980s, to give a kind of pitch-shifting effect to the vocals.
I’ve bought many Delay/Chorus units from other manufacturers over the years, and they’re all pretty good, but the DMM is still one of my favorites. As far as how DMM technical specs compare to other products, I’ve never bothered to look. I’m sure modern-day units have much better specs - lower distortion, lower noise - things like that. But here’s the thing — the Deluxe Memory Man sounds so good it doesn’t matter!
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