Pedals for Synths: the Best Delays

Updated Jul. 29, 2024 | by Paolo De Gregorio

[Full video by Liam Killen Here]

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Modern delay pedals can be a precious ally in creating original and inspiring sounds, whichever instrument you play, as long as it has an output jack!  The latest designs from the top stompbox manufacturers combine delay with other effects such as modulation, filter, pitch shifting, fuzz, and granular synthesis, to deliver devices that can sound nothing short of magic.

In this article, we gathered seven of what we thought were the most inspiring delay-based effects pedals to be used in conjunction with synthesizers.

THE BEST DELAY PEDALS FOR SYNTHS

1. Chase Bliss Thermae

Yes, it’s the only mono pedal in this list, and yes, it’s also one of the oldest. But the Chase Bliss Thermae worked its charm on our YouTube collaborator Liam and he declared it its favorite in the bunch, saying: “I absolutely love the sound quality of pretty much any Chase Bliss pedal, they do it right.”

Designed around 4 re-issued versions of the BBD chip, the Thermae is a digitally controlled analog circuit that allows the player to manipulate the pitch of the delay trails. This facilitates the creation of echo sounds with repeats playing at different tonal intervals, opening up innumerable harmonizing options. Intervals can be sequenced automatically, or triggered manually. It can also be used as a more standard analog modulated delay, while the Glide function creates some kind of portamento effect on the pitch-shifted notes, with quirky/creative results.

The 16 DIP switches hosted in the rear panel (pictured below) allow for extra features, for an insanely deep well of sonic possibilities.

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2. Strymon Deco

Strymon has plenty of amazing delay pedals that work well with synths, but this is by far the most fascinating, providing a unique approach. Many audio effects used in music, including delay, trace their origins back to the era of tape recording. The Strymon Deco is based on that very premise, being built as some pedal-format, non-recording, stereo tape machine capable of recreating all the effects the audio engineers from the ’60s discovered while producing records: not just echo (of the short kind) but also several types of modulation (phaser, chorus, vibrato). A foot-switchable left section of the pedal lets you apply tape-style saturation and EQ to your signal as well, and can be activated independently from the right section, which deals with delay and modulation.

The recent V2 adds a new Lo-Fi mode called Cassette, a new, sweet-sounding analog JFET input stage, and full Midi implementation.

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3. Meris LVX

The Meris LVX features a modern approach to delay that involves multiple algorithms in a modular engine. Rather than giving you a set number of pre-determined modes (like many Strymon and Source Audio delay workstations do), the LVX gives you several effect elements and lets you pair them with your delay however you see fit. This can be done through a beautiful and friendly user interface based on an animated color LCD screen.

Many of the algorithms are inherited from existing Meris pedals like the Hedra, Polymoon, Enzo, and Ottobit Jr., but there are also new ones like Granularize, Casette, and Poly Pitch. It can also act as a looper.

A unique feature of this pedal compared to the other ones in this list is that it has two FX Loops that can be triggered directly through dedicated footswitches, for the joy of guitarists who love complicated routing setups.  The other two footswitches control the Looper function, while alt functions allow to navigate presets, activate a tuner, and trigger tap tempo functionality.

Four knobs control the bread-and-butter delay parameters (Time, Feedback, Modulation, and Mix), while the two bottom ones can be custom-assigned.

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4. BOSS DM-101

The BOSS DM-101 is a potent digitally controlled, analog, stereo delay pedal that embraces new trends in the stompbox industry. By harnessing eight Bucket Brigade Devices, it offers plenty of features including stereo, presets, Tap Tempo, modulation, trails functionality, and a multi-mode approach normally reserved for digital devices. It provides 12 widely varied modes of analog delay with distinct flavors and functions (including Multi-Head, Ambience, Pattern, Pan and Reflect mode, to mention a few) and plenty of hands-on parameter control thanks to the six knobs and three footswitches. Three overall voicings (Classic, Modern, and Vintage, voiced after the legendary DM-2) deliver a variety of sonic characters to each algorithm.

5. Empress Echosystem

The Empress Echosystem is not the newest device on this list (it was released in 2017) but it’s such a forward-thinking pedal that today is still a great option for synth players with sound-design leanings. It’s a multi-algorithm stereo effect like a few others here (it offers 36 studio-quality delay types within 12 “delay environments”), but it’s unique in the fact that it has a dual engine, which means that it lets you stack two modes one after the other.  The two engines can also be routed in series, parallel, or with each engine going to an individual output. It also offers plenty of hand-on control through its seven knobs, including two mode-dependent ones, appropriately named “thing 1” and “thing 2.”

The algorithms include emulations of classics like digital, tape and analog delays, and also ambient, multi-tap and reverb modes. Tap tempo with subdivisions, Midi/CV connectivity and Cab simulator are welcome extras.

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6. Red Panda Particle

The Red Panda Particle is perhaps the most experimental pedal in this list, a feature-packed, stereo delay/pitch shifter with several modes specializing in granular synthesis, a technology that chops your signal into small grains (samples) that get rearranged, shifted, and mangled. It offers five delay modes (random, density, LFO, random pitch, and reverse) and three pitch modes (detune, density, LFO) with shifting capabilities of +/-1 octave.

V2 sports completely rewritten firmware, as well as high-performance 32-bit processing and conversion. It runs at a higher sampling rate, with more headroom and lower noise than the original. Interactive controls mean a small change can make a huge difference in tone. It offers features like presets, tap tempo, and freeze.

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7. Source Audio Nemesis

Released in 2018,, the Source Audio Nemesis, is a smaller than the average, stereo take on the do-it-all digital delay. It features 12 modes, including some original creations that will tickle your sound design impulses, like Helix and Diffuse, but also classics inspired by the Roland Space Echo, the  Binson Echorec, and other legendary analog devices. The smaller footprint still manages to cram 6 knobs for hands-on parameter control and two footswitches for Tap Tempo, momentary Freeze effects, and the navigation of the 4 presets, while deeper editing can be done via the free Neuro app. Synthheards will be happy to know that it’s fully Midi compatible and also features an Expression input that allows to control a parameter of choice.

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Other Great Multi-Mode Delay Pedals for Synths

Although the pedals in the following list didn’t make our top three, they are extremely powerful delay effects that can deliver a wide variety of sounds, due to their multi-algorithm approach. They are in most cases Midi compatible – but please research them individually for CV compatibility. For a wider selection, check out our article entirely dedicated to the best multi-algorithm delay pedals.

You can find all these pedals on Sweetwater.

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Other Great Digitally Controlled Analog Delay Pedals for Synths

Some people are in love with the sound of analog delays, specifically the Bucket Brigade Device chip that’s at the heart of them. The Chase Bliss Audio Thermae, topping this list, is not the only pedal that uses that technology. In this list, you will find other uber-creative stompboxes that do a fantastic job at delivering 100% analog signal while adopting digital means to control the delay’s parameters.

You can find the Walrus Audio pedals on Sweetwater, and the EAE one here.

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If you are interested in a longer list of creative echo effects, you may want to check out our article about the best creative/psychedelic delay pedals.

Check out the other Delicious Audio articles about the best stompboxes for synths:

• Best Reverb Pedals for Synths
• Best Modulation Pedals for Synths
• Best EQ/Filter Pedals for Synths
• Best Granular Pedals for Synths
• How to use Pedals with Synths

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