EHX Memory Boy... Initial impressions

[Kestrel]

Okay, so I bought an Electro-Harmonix Memory Boy yesterday and I've been playing around with it to get a feel for it's sound and features. Among the first things I'm sure people will ask is: How does it compare with the Deluxe Memory Man or the MXR Carbon Copy? Truth be told a fair comparison would be that of the EHX Memory Toy vs the MXR Carbon Copy, but I'm just going by my observations of the Memory Boy instead. Also, I've never used a Deluxe Memory Man which the Memory Boy is based on.

For the most part my impressions of the Memory Boy are positive. You can get some great sounding delays out of it, in fact it completely nails some of the sounds I used to get with my RE-20 Space Echo. To my ears it doesn't sound as dark as the Carbon Copy, but the delays are warm and lush. The unit is obviously larger than the MXR CC, the same size as the Little Big Muff and has 4 control knobs to control delay time, depth, blend and feedback.



DELAY controls the delay time from 30ms to 550 ms. DEPTH controls the amount of modulation. BLEND controls the wet/dry mix and FEEDBACK controls the amount of repeats. The 2 toggle switches control the shape of the modulation waveform: Triangle or Square, while the VIBRATO/EXP. PEDAL/CHORUS switch acts 2 ways. Without an expression pedal the toggle switch simply sets the modulation rate: CHORUS = slow, EXP. PEDAL = medium, and VIBRATO = fast. With an expression pedal (which I do not use) the toggle switch allows control over the delay time and modulation rate.

Couldn't be more perfect, right? Well.... Not so fast. The modulation on the Memory Boy can get quite warbly fairly quick. Some may find the modulation to be a little over the top. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but as soon as you turn the DEPTH knob past the 8 o'clock position you'll start hearing warbly pitch bends. Great if you like to experiment with trippy sounds, but it may take a bit of tweeking to find a setting you like and and then again some people just may not like it. That said, you could always leave the DEPTH knob turned all the way down to the left and leave it at that. I use separate pedals for modulation anyway, so it doesn't matter to me either way.

So, do I like the Memory Boy? Hell yeah. I'm liking it a lot and I plan to put it to good use. Gets along well with the SMMH too, plus at just under $100 USD the Memory Boy is a steal.

[PMan]

Thanks for this. Trying to decide between this, the Memory Toy, or a Boss delay. Good to get some real world opinions.

[DMace]

Thanks for the info.
I'm looking for a bare bones analog delay pedal myself, one that'll go from Scotty Moore to Gilmore space echo, and I've been considering the Memory Boy, Toy and Carbon Copy. For $79, the Memory Toy may be my best bet, as I'm not interested in anything beyond slapback and delay.