DM-3 Analog Delay

I matched one of the youtube demos which starts at max delay v. the programmable delay on a bass podxt, it's 310ms + or - 5ms.

I mostly use the DM-3 for rehearsing at home with a '07 Fender Special Run Palo Esrito Telecaster (MIM) and a '79 Fender Princeton Reverb with boost switch, with a little touch of reverb. Sometimes I connect an extra '65 Fender Deluxe Reverb to the direct output to create a bigger sound with the 2-output system that makes the DM-3 superior to the DM-2. The DM-3 analog delay is very warm & clear sounding, not noisy at all and very pleasant to your ears, I think that's the main reason why this pedal has become so popular.

Boss compact pedals are build like a tank, I will use it at a gig without backup (only some extra rechargeable Ni-Mh 9V batteries and a battery charger).

It has only 3 knobs : Repeat Rate, Echo & Intensity. Simplicity is always the best to my opinion. Very easy to dial-in conventional delayed sounds, or single short-delay.

Boss user manuals, schematics & additional information can be found on the net, so no problem for that. I could even track the serial number 674400 of this DM-3 on www.bossarea.com, turns out that it was made in Japan in june 1986. I bought this DM-3 on 03/17/08 and it didn't work at all, but I've been looking around for this pedal since the late eigthies when I started to play electric guitar, even then it was already difficult to find one, so I took the risk and bought it, took it home, removed the bottom plate and quickly noticed that 1 of the 2 wires connected to the pedal switch had a bad solder joint. Resoldered it, et voila, this baby works fine again. I've never needed any customer support, I repair all my gear (amps, cables, guitars and effects) myself, if it would break I'll fix it again.

I play mostly blues & jazz, I like to cross the narrow line between these 2 music styles, my idols are Ronnie Earl, Anson Funderburgh, Duke Robillard, Jimmy & Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hollywood Fats, Junior Watson, Freddie King, Albert King, BB King, Albert Collins, Magic Sam, Earl Hooker, Robert Jr. Lockwood, Gatemouth Brown, Johnny Guitar Watson, T-Bone Walker, Lonnie Johnson, Jimmy Nolan, Wayne Bennett, Billy Butler, Tiny Grimes, Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, Wes Montgomery etc... Basically for blues music you only need a Fender or Gibson electric guitar equipped with good pickups and with heavy strings for serious tone, a small Fender tube amp that you can crank with onboard Reverb & Tremolo (Fender Princeton Reverb or Fender Deluxe Reverb) & this DM-3 analog delay to add some warm delay sounds when needed, its the perfect match. Started to play acoustic guitar along with blues records around 1986, after 1 year acoustic I made the switch to electric guitar and kept on playing the blues, later on jazzy blues or bluesy jazz. Over the years I've collected a large collection of Silverface, Blackface & Tweed Fender amps, Fender Strats & Tele's, 1960 Gibson ES-330-TD (the same guitar Grant Green used in his early period, yeahhh) For effects I only use the onboard Reverb & Tremolo on the Fender amps, Fender Vibratone, Fender Tube Reverb & finally a (Fender) Mender made by Hicks Electronics Corporation to add some real tube overdrive to my dual channel Fender tube amps. If the DM-3 were stolen or lost I would get me another one asap. 

Brilliant. Or maybe, NOT brilliant, which is the whole point. Warm sounding lo fi delay. Its analog, and that was exactly what I was looking for. Its great for thickening tone especially on distorted solos, but it sounds great in giving dimension to clean tones. It adds that creamy thickness to your sound. Its not the most versatile pedal, but you can make tons of crazy spaced out sounds by playing with the time knob when your guitar starts to feedback. Mine isn't noisy at all. Personally, I still can't believe that it took me this long to realize what my tone was missing, but then again these things aren't the easiest pedals to find anymore.

Mine looks like its been through a war. And it STILL works great. BOSS has a reputation for the sturdy make of their products and this one is a living testament being one of the pretty old models from the 80's when BOSS still made their pedals in Japan. Besides, I don't know where to find back up for this if ever it should break.

Has only three knobs but it will take some listening to get the sound just right. Its not hard, just that its also very easy ruin your tone with this.

These things haven't been manufactured since the last ice age, so you'll be lucky if they even recognize the model.

Looking around HC one can notice the influx of appreciation for these "vintage" analog pedals. Although I will never slag new technology ("Old is good, but old is old") there really is something special about these old geezers. I play hard rock, mostly compositions and have always wanted that extra thickness and dimension to my tone. That is exactly what the DM 3 gives me. It has a nice character that suits the older styles and it has the raw analog warmth that is so... I dunno, Rock N' Roll. Its not the most versatile pedal, but if you knew what you were looking for with an analog delay pedal then that shouldn't be surprising. Soundwise its a great product, that is assuming you know what sound you want to get. If you're looking for long delays look elsewhere because this isn't it. These things are getting so ridiculously expensive in the used gear market. Supply and demand I guess. If you can find one cheap grab one. Happy hunting!