Line 6 DL4 Mark II - Great sounds, option paralysis?

Hello neighbours and welcome back to That Guitar Lover. Recently Line 6 released the second version of their proven and popular delay offering, this one is called the DL4 Mark II.

The DL4 Mark II Intro

They call it the Little Green Time Machine and refer to it as a delay modeler. Both are very accurate descriptors. In the delay space there is not much that it doesn’t do in the context of a one pedal to rule them all type of role. The original DL4 sold well for an incredible time period, continuing while new pedals entered the fray and some went away. Testament to the popularity of the DL4 with customers. You got a lot for your money, and you still do. In fact the Mark II gives you all the delay effects of the original plus a ton that are new, drawn from the HX Effects family.

Line 6 is one of those companies that likes to offer everything in a single package. Whether that is a complete amp and pedalboard replacement like the Helix, to a consolidated FX pedal like the HX Effects or tools like the DL4 Mk II that brings all manner of delays into a single package.

Using the DL4 Mk II

Unlike a lot of multi-effect boxes, Line 6 has done a great job on user interface design. I cannot overstate the criticality of UI design in any pedal which is on average five feet or so away from your eyes while you use it. Clear markings, readable typefaces and plenty of contrast are important. The more knobs and functions provided, the more important that this all gets. I own a few very nice multifunction pedals that sound really good, that are pretty much unusable in a live environment because the fonts are too small, or they are not contrasty enough with the background, or the knobs are too tightly spaced or too small. Musicians don’t like having to crouch on dark stages to ensure that the settings are correct. This I have observed many times, as well as multiple pedals doing the same general things with the knobs taped down with big arrows drawn on hi viz tape so the effect gets used for one thing only. MIDI can solve this of course, but MIDI adoption by most players is limited. Players want to write and play music, not program pedals.

While the Mk II is smaller than the original, the controls are well spaced and robust. The four foot switches are raised and the six knobs are recessed to prevent foot related inadvertent modifications.

The first knob delivers 30 different delays. 15 are new, 14 come from the original and the final comes from the rack mount Echo Pro. The image here shows the variety of options available to you. Note the ALT button that you press to select any of the alternate delays. Sadly the legacy delays are printed green on black so you need a light and to get close to see them. One of the touted functions in making this a swiss army knife of delays is the built in looper that can use a microSD card. I confess that the new names are not clear to me. I don’t know what Euclidean means without trying it. I understand it can be tough to describe a delay in a word, but it means that you the player are going to need to invest some time learning what all these mcmarketing terms mean in the real world.

While the knobs time, repeats and mix are pretty clear to me in terms of what they deliver, Tweak and Tweet mean nothing to me, and what they do changes depending on the delay model that you are using. This kind of stuff makes me nuts, and is the reason I did not purchase a different makers delay some years back because labeling knobs Thing 1 and Thing 2 made my teeth hurt.

There’s plenty of connectivity on the back of the unit as well. You have the option of mono or stereo ins and outs, full MIDI control, as well as a jack for an expression pedal. By using a Y cable you can have both an expression pedal and a remote foot switch or two foot switches into the single port. Power is DC only 9V 500mA and the power supply is included. There is also a microphone input (no phantom power) that can be used for vocals or miking an acoustic instruments. There is also a USB C port to use for firmware updates and MIDI programming with user supplied MIDI software.

Final Thoughts

It’s very powerful, has a decent UI and the sounds are already proven in other devices. If you are looking for a single does it all delay pedal, you are hard pressed to find this level of functionality at this price point. You could consider the Strymon Timeline or Eventide Time Factor as alternatives.

Despite all its good stuff and there is plenty of it, I’m not the buyer for the device. For me, I would spend too much time faffing about with the options and not enough time playing. Moreover the number of options while appealing to some, makes the unit less usable in practical terms for a guy like me. Your mileage may vary, so let your own use cases be your guide.

Thanks for reading and until next time, peace.