Line 6 Revamps and Extends the DL4 Multi-Delay + Looper with New Updated and Enhanced MKII Model

I’m a touch late with this as I had other priority releases scheduled already for last week, while this new MKII DL4 deserves some serious consideration. It’s obvious that Line 6 are targeting the existing DL4 User Base - as the new Model is mostly just an expanded version of that - in very similar format.

They’ve shaved a little off the height and weight - by removing the battery compartment - and have cut into the former rectangular box with a lower-curve cutaway. Otherwise Control Topology and thematic styling is remarkably similar. Not also that they’ve sorted out the power supply issue - now taking regular 9V DC input, while current draw is still hight at 500mA.

What all this conceals is far more varieties of effects - as you have 2 banks of Delays here now - all the legacy ones plus the same number of new flavours borrowed from the HX Stomp. Moreover you get 15 Secret Reverbs too - while ease of use is somewhat complicated by all those different new options - tweaks, and tweezes!

There’s been a fair amount of the music press comparing this to the recent Boss RE-202 - but they’re quite different things really - the DL4 is very much a Multi-FX Unit (Multi Delay + Multi Reverb + Looper), while the Boss is very specifically a singular type Space Echo Tape-style delay unit - with Reverb. So some superficial similarities but really not the same category at all. The RE-202 is already large at 192mm wide, while the DL4 is positively huge with 235mm of girth! Supposedly the same as the relatively similar TC Electronic X4 units - while to me that large format approach is somewhat old hat now!

In many ways this is very much an old-fashioned device with all its alternative knob settings and concealed options. There’s no doubt that the DL4 is very capable, but it’s entirely clunky in operation too - as can be seen also in how its 6 Presets work - A | B | C and D | E | F across 2 banks. And while 4 Presets for the Boss is about right for that type of pedal, 6 onboard Presets for the DL4 is nowhere near enough. I have a pet peeve for devices that rely on an additional MIDI Controller to work effectively - which kind of seems to be the case here.

I like that the DL4 MKII has all those different options - but I would much prefer to have had a slightly more modern enclosure with a screen. And while I know the DL4 users of old like having those 4 footswitches - with modern digital control layers you can do just as many clever functions by combining 3 footswitches for multiple and simultaneous presses - so there’s no real need for the device to be quite so large any more.

This is really a 3-in-1 unit - so you could justify the extended real estate in terms of this being your Multi-Delay, Multi-Reverb, and Looper Pedal all in the one box - versus 3 separate workstation units. While there’s no particularly easy way to flip between and engage the 3 Core modes during regular / live playback. I feel that Pedal interface design in general is still lagging about 10 years behind what we see on our current models of smartphones. And pedals like GFI’s Synesthesia and the new AmpliTube X-Space have shown how you can be much cleverer with more compact enclosures than the DL4.

The DL4 MKII is very obviously fan service to the DL4 crowd - while I feel it could have been a lot more pertinent to the mass market with a little more modern innovation. The DL4 kind of shows its hand by its retro modernist styling. 

It will of course be the perfect pedal of its kind for many a user - while I feel that on balance it has almost as many disadvantages as benefits in terms of its usability and practicalities. While few can compete with its Potent Mix of 30 Delays, 15 Reverbs, and Full-Featured Looper!