Joyo D-SEED Guitar Delay Review

Today we’re reviewing Joyo D-SEED, a budget friendly delay pedal that sounds very nice and feels rather well built, despite its relatively affordable price. Currently priced at $85, it is among the cheapest digital delay pedals on the market.

The pedal is packed in a simple cardboard box which contains only a couple of items. First off, you’ll find printed user manual in English and Chinese. The manual is quite concise, with just about enough information to clearly explain all of the pedal’s features. And, of course, there’s the Joyo D-SEED pedal itself, safely tucked in a layer of styrofoam to prevent any damage during transport. Our first impression was that the pedal is well designed and that it feels quite rugged. There are no signs of cheap plastic or badly assembled parts, which is great news, considering the product’s low price.

The pedal feels built like a tank, with an all-metal body that weighs exactly 500 grams. The knobs are very smooth and precise and the two switches are quite responsive and surprisingly easy to press. They feel more like regular buttons than your standard footswitch controls, that are almost too stiff on some guitar pedals.

Taking a quick look at the connectivity options, D-SEED features a single mono audio input, a mono audio output, and an external switch input for toggling between the two available channels. The pedal is powered by a 9V DC unit which needs to be purchased separately. Unfortunately, D-SEED can’t be powered by a battery, and this is the only thing we didn’t like while this product.

The front panel is where you’ll find the standard Mix and Feedback controls, the Time knob with the maximum delay time of one second, and the four-way switch which is used to choose one of D-SEED’s four available delay modes:

1. Copy – A standard digital delay sound.
2. Analog – A much warmer, low-pass filtered sound.
3. Modulation – Modulated delay suitable for chorus style effects.
4. Reverse – A fun setting which plays the delayed signal forwards and backwards.

The pedal’s dual channel memory makes it possible to store two different delay settings which can be recalled at any time by pressing the Channel button. The settings are saved even after the unit is switched off and turned back on. To store a new preset, simply adjust the parameters to your liking and press the Channel button once again. Voila!

Tap tempo expands D-SEED’s maximum delay time from 1 second to exactly 5.98 seconds. To enter tap tempo mode, press the Channel and Bypass buttons simultaneously and then press them once again to enter the desired time value. Although this procedure might seem a bit cumbersome at first, it is actually quite easy to pull off. We didn’t have any trouble pressing the two buttons simultaneously neither by hand, nor by stomping the pedal.

The Verdict

In conclusion, Joyo D-SEED is quite an impressive delay pedal for the price. All four delay modes sound very nice, our favorite one being the Analog delay setting which has a very warm and organic character to it. The dual channel feature is also very useful, as well as the tap tempo mode which expands the pedal’s range to almost six seconds. So, if you’re looking for a good sounding and feature packed digital delay pedal that won’t break the bank, D-SEED is definitely worth considering.

More info: Joyo D-SEED (Product page @ Gearbest.com)

Last Updated on February 18, 2016 by Tomislav Zlatic.