Line 6 DL4 alternative?

[Grundenburg]

Hello. New to the forum this is my first post. I am currently looking for a nice delay pedal. I am a big Muse fan and Matt Bellamys use of a Line 6 DL4 during their Origin of Symmetry period is well documented (to this day he still has a line 6 Echo pro in his rack). This has peaked my curiosity towards that pedal specifically, but my research shows I could do better. The pedal is known for it's poor build quality, and is as far away from true bypass as you could possibly get. I like the pedal, it sounds great, is versitle, and easy to use, but I'd like to see if I can find an alternative. The other contender that I've seen is the Flashback x5, which seems to do everything the DL4 does and more. The only problem with the X4 is that when you turn the knobs the delay goes away. Id like to be able to make freaky creative sounds with the unit and the X4 just doesn't do that. Other contenders are the Strymon timeline, and the Eventide Time factor, but both of these unit are prohibitively expensive and seem difficult to use. Is there anything I'm missing? Any obscure box that might give the delay fix that I so crave? Should I just get the DL4 and wait for it to break, then replace all the switches (I'm not against the idea) thoughts and suggestions appreciated!

 

[bubbastain]

Vox Delaylab.

 

[glassjaw7]

I sold my DL4 years ago with the intention of "upgrading" to the X4 but after trying one I realized it's not really better, just different. It's cleaner sounding for sure but there's something special about the DL4. Also, the footswitches are no better on the TC stuff, in fact they might even be worse. Lots of issues there..

I currently use a Carbon Copy and Strymon DIG but if I was going to go for a DL4 replacement these days it would either be the Timeline (not difficult to use at all) or an upgraded DL4. There are several guys that do mods on the DL4s such as switch upgrades and additional switches for tap, extra presets, etc.

http://www.jhv3.com/dl4-mods/

 

[Grundenburg]

I sold my DL4 years ago with the intention of "upgrading" to the X4 but after trying one I realized it's not really better, just different. It's cleaner sounding for sure but there's something special about the DL4. Also, the footswitches are no better on the TC stuff, in fact they might even be worse. Lots of issues there..

I currently use a Carbon Copy and Strymon DIG but if I was going to go for a DL4 replacement these days it would either be the Timeline (not difficult to use at all) or an upgraded DL4. There are several guys that do mods on the DL4s such as switch upgrades and additional switches for tap, extra presets, etc.

http://www.jhv3.com/dl4-mods/

Good to know about the TC switches. I had a dito looper for a minute, but it never worked out for me. I'll probably just take my chances with an actual DL4 and mod it in the future if need be.