John Snyder's Electronic Audio Experiments massively extends its Sending Analog BBD Delay with a significantly more potent V2 Edition

I think it’s somewhat inevitable when discussing high-end Analog BBD Delays that we look at the context of who is active in that segment. You have Chase Bliss and Suhr who both have 4 x BBD Chip Delays - the Thermae and Discovery respectively, and then Boss’s recent monster stereo DM-101 is using twice that number at 8, where the Sending V2 makes use of a pair of them.

The Sending V2 has a maximum delay time of 1000ms, the DM-101 is 1200ms, the Discovery is 2000ms+, and the Thermae can go as high as 32000ms. Price-wise - the Sending is dearest at $649, then comes the Discovery at $549, while the DM-101 and Thermae are both $499. All of these have onboard presets, and many more courtesy of MIDI connectivity. They are all quite individual and distinctive though. Where the DM-101 certainly offers the most expansive feature set - while Boss has a significant company size advantage over boutique builders when it comes to price point - so it’s not all about the cost of each unit.

The V2 sending is a massive advance over the V1 - which only had 5 controls (Time, Feedback, Mix, Post, Pre) to go with its dual footswitches (including Tap Tempo), where the new model has 7 mostly different controls with added Chaos (Randomisation) and Swell functions, as well as expansive Tap Divisions.

V2 Controls with [Shift Secondaries] - Filter (, Feedback [Swell Time], Mix : Dry > Wet [Mode : Pan > Norm], Delay Time [Divisions : Triplets / Eighths / Three Quarters / Dotted Eighth / Quarter / Half], Rate [Chaos = LFO Randomisation], Depth [Wave Shape : Sine / Square / Triangle], Color (Preamp Gain) [Trim], Tap Tempo Footswitch / Hold for Swell, Shift / Secondary Params Button, Preset Select I-III, Engage Footswitch / Hold for Bypass Mode : Trails / Standard.

My above visual covers most of the key features of the pedal - notably we have 3 onboard Presets here and 32 via MIDI. Extensive Tap Division and LFO Wave Shape Options, also added and distinct Functions including the Pan Mode, and Swell and Chaos functions features.

So there are distinctly unique things about this delay too - which differentiates itself from the other heavyweights - the Discovery, DM-101 and Thermae. The last mentioned is pretty unique in having a pitch-shifting component to it, the Discovery is very much about time-bending and fine-tuning - with those dual smart filters, and of course the DM-101 throws the kitchen sink into the mix - that one definitely had the most bang for you buck - but it still may not be the most suitable one for you.

The V2 Sending still has plenty to recommend it while many will balk at its price. Of course when Chase Bliss finally release their inevitable Automatone format Delay - people will undoubtedly balk at that even higher price point!

I’ve often said on this blog that I need my spatial effects to be stereo to be properly immersive and dimensional. And so stereo capability will always be something that I seek out as a high priority. Fortunately for EAE most people don’t employ complex stereo rigs like I do and the mono Sending V2 would likely be a very good fit for their requirements. John Snyder is an exceptional engineer - and we know he will have laboured hard on getting the V2 Sending to sound exactly like what he had in mind - and his ears are some of the best in the industry.

In any other year where the DM-101 did not exist the Sending V2 would be a particularly impressive addition to that high level Analog Delay Segment. As to how you rate it against the Discovery and Thermae - that is largely down to you preferences - each of those has its advantages - display / filters / form factor etc.

In the world of Chase Bliss Automatones $649 may not seem to unreasonable - while it’s certainly a high ticket price - yet needed to pay off all that extensive R&D. Boss’s greater capacity and resources allows it to pay off its R&D costs across many more units than the V2 Sending - which is why there is such a discrepancy in price between the Big 3 (Boss, Dunlop EHX) and everyone else!

For me Stereo output is critical - meaning I’m not the demographic for this pedal anyway - I am impressed with how good it sounds. Seems like several of you are too, as the first batch seems to be sold out already. The pedal is listed as ’Temporarily Unavailable’ on the EAE Webstore, I’m sure there will be more in stock soon enough!