Hello!
I am looking for my 1st delay pedal (already have a BigSky), perhaps you can give me hints?
I own Elektron boxes, Microfreak, Minilogue, Volcas and some Roland Boutique. I am DAWless, want to keep away from Valhalla even.
Genre is in the title.
Rn considering:
It seems that TimeLine is the most general? However Volante is very special, while 202 space echo seems the best fit for dub.
Budget is maximum 400ish.
Why no Zen delay?
Eventide TimeFactor has an excellent tape delay model and often can be found used for low prices.
Little above budget and itâs very special indeed, but does it do the âclassic regular stuffâ? It may do things I do not necessarily need much.
Not sure, donât have one. Have you looked into the DOD Rubberneck? Can be had for cheap and a few are avail. here for sale.
Canât go wrong with Boss roland emulation.
Strymon volante can be midi synced and most parameters can be controlled or sequenced via midi. Mono to stereo or full stereo and line/instrument level switch. Sounds very nice and clean or dirty.
Cheap nux tape delay doesnât sound bad for the money and adds some nice grid but isnât hifi ish as strymon does.
I wonder if strymon el capistan isnât a bit slightly better than volante when used for dub but havenât owned that unfortunately.
Here is a list that makes it not easier to choose:
Get one used 
I managed to get mine for ÂŁ300.
Seriously though itâs the bees knes. The filter and overdrive make it an instrument as much as an effect. Only downside is it isnât multi-tap - which works well for deep dub techno stuff. If you have a delay on whatever youâre using to make your chords that can solve that problem well.
Here are a couple of my favourite dubby jams Iâve done with it, but itâs not part of my regular setup:
i had a Volante, and sold it and bought a Zen Delay because the Volante was a bit too clean and polite.
It felt like much more of a guitar pedal than a dub delay to me. ymmv, but just to share the experience as I did loads of research and the Volante seemed like exactly what I wanted⌠and it wasnât.
on the budget end of things, I never used one, but this was another (untrendy) option I was considering at the timeâŚ
TC Electronic Flashback 2 X4 Delay at Gear4musicoy3oy_gaMjEwNzM3MjMyNS4xNjc2MDM4ODM0_up*MQâŚ
âŚbut itâs unobtanium, you miswell mention the Unicorn âScratchâ Delay.
I still canât tell if thereâs a demo or not, but if considering getting a used Zen Delay, maybe the newly released plug-in could help you decide/eliminate it?
I have and love Zen Delay but I honestly donât know dubby techno so I wouldnât have advice here other than hope you can narrow it down.
When I installed the plugin, iLok told me thereâs 7 days of demo time left. Not sure what happens after then.
Check out the Benidub line, especially the delay and phaser.
If you want to play with your pedal live, I second the Benidub.
If youâre more set it and leave it, I would suggest the Empress Echosystem. Itâs stereo, multiple delays, even a reverb you can combine with a delayâŚ
I have an Erica Zen and love it but would also highly consider the Empress Echosystem. If I were to buy another delay specific pedal, that would be it. The Zen isnât âperfectâ (nothing is), so do your due diligence on it. It has some noise that some users donât like (doesnât bother me how I use it). Itâs amazingly playable as thatâs really the point of it.
Itâs really begging for an assignable LFO to modulate things. That would have put it over the top. If they ever come out with an updated version that has that I would purchase it again in a second.
Timeline was the most expensive I had but liked least. I think El Capistan or Volante will both be great.
Never tried them - but they say dub 
El Capistan Sounds awesome! I canât comment on the specific genre but the pedal quickly became my favorite. I got the V2 with the dedicated spring reverb knob. If you can swing it, itâs well worth it.
Not for too long hopefully.
I made the mistake of selling mine, so I hope itâs not discontinued.
Maybe I should raise budget and Empress Effects Echosystem?
What did they retail for?