The DL4 by Line 6, introduced in 1999, is a digital

delay Delay (from Latin: dilatio) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Delay 1968'', a 1981 album by German experimental rock band Can * ''The Delay'', a 2012 Uruguayan film People * B. H. DeLay (1891–1923), American aviator and acto ...

pedal. It is one of the first digital modeling

effects unit An effects unit or effects pedal is an electronic device that alters the sound of a musical instrument or other audio source through audio signal processing. Common effects include distortion/overdrive, often used with electric guitar in el ...

s. The DL4 features models of 16 vintage delay effects, including the

Echoplex The Echoplex is a tape delay effect, first made in 1959. Designed by Mike Battle, the Echoplex set a standard for the effect in the 1960s—it is still regarded as "the standard by which everything else is measured." It was used by some of the ...

Roland Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on 18 April 1972. In 2005, its headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. It has fact ...

Space Echo The Roland RE-201 Space Echo is an audio effects unit that produces delay and reverb effects. It was produced by Roland Corporation from 1974 to 1990. Roland produced several smaller versions in later years. Background A tape echo device re ...

, and the

Electro-Harmonix Electro-Harmonix (also commonly referred to as EHX) is a New York City-based company that makes electronic audio processors and sells rebranded vacuum tubes. The company was founded by Mike Matthews in 1968. It is best known for a series of gu ...

Deluxe Memory Man. It is also used for looping. According to a May/June 2000 review in ''

Canadian Musician ''Canadian Musician'' is a Canadian magazine that is published bi-monthly by Norris-Whitney Communications Inc. History and profile ''Canadian Musician'' was launched by Jim Norris in Toronto in 1979. The premier issue was published in March/Apri ...

'', it "delivers a cavalcade of features for a reasonable price." The DL-4 was conceived by Greg Westall, Jeff Slingluff, and Patrick O’Connor. The original concept was a four preset design modeled in size and shape after the BOSS CE-1. Later Jeorge Trips, who was originally hired to procure source vintage pedals for study, made the suggestion that the fourth pedal be used for a built in Tap-Tempo button instead of using an external jack. The final look and feel are thanks to the work of Industrial designer Lucian Tu. The engineering team for the DL-4 consisted of Michel Doidic, Nigel Redmon, and Jeff Slingluff. All of the Sound Design was created by Jeff Slingluff including original and often imitated sounds like Sweep Echo. Towards the later stages of the DL-4 development Jeorge Trips was hired as Product Manager for the DL-4. In addition to the concept of the built in Tap Tempo button Jeorge played a key role in spearheading the looper functionality.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Effects units