There’s no shortage of delay pedals out there, but Boss make some of the very best. Pioneering the stompbox delay format, the Japanese sound shapers have been at the forefront of rich, echo-laden tones for decades.

From the warm, saturated repeats of the DM-2 analog classic, to the groundbreaking DD-2, and then on to the sprawling, atmospheric textures of the Space Echo, Boss’ back catalogue is stacked with icons.

Whatever flavour of delay you’re chasing, Boss can deliver it. In this Boss delay pedals guide, we’ll cut through the noise and help you find the pedal that’ll serve you – and your sound – best.

DM-2W – Vintage analog warmth, reimagined

First released in 1981, the DM-2 was Boss’ first compact analog delay, using bucket brigade circuitry for warm, dark repeats that thickened tone without overpowering it. That original pink pedal became a cult favourite and a prized vintage find.

The DM-2W revives that sound in the Waza Craft series, hand-built in Japan with both the original 300ms Standard mode and an 800ms Custom mode offering slightly cleaner repeats.

The Direct Out supports wet/dry rigs, and an expression pedal can control delay time for pitch sweeps or self-oscillation.

Tougher than ever, it works great after overdrive or fuzz, adding body and warmth without clutter. it’s ideal for blues, rock, indie, or shoegaze players chasing organic delay that blends seamlessly into their tone.

DM-101 – Analog delay, supercharged

The DM-101 takes Boss’s bucket-brigade legacy and pushes it into modern territory.

With 12 modes, up to 1200ms of delay, and stereo operation, it delivers everything from warm slapback to lush ping-pong repeats and rhythmic patterns.

Multiple BBD lines can be stacked and modulated in ways no vintage unit ever managed, giving tones that feel rich, unpredictable, and inspiring.

It’s fully equipped for modern rigs too, with MIDI, tap tempo, and expression control, yet it keeps the classic Boss chassis for that OG aesthetic.

For guitarists who love the organic warmth of analogue delay but don’t want to sacrifice flexibility, the DM-101 is a dream box – vintage soul with next-gen muscle.

DD-8 – Maximum delay power in a compact box

If the DD-3T is Boss’ no-fuss workhorse, the DD-8 is the feature-packed sibling that fits huge capability into a compact enclosure. It offers 10 seconds of delay, stereo I/O, and 10 modes covering digital, analog, shimmer, modulated, reverse, and even a looper.

It’s built for players who want one pedal to cover almost any delay sound without stepping up to the 200 or 500 series.

Live, it excels with tap tempo, carryover trails, and support for an external footswitch or expression pedal. Place it after drives or in your amp’s loop for clarity, or run stereo for lush ambience.

Equally at home in covers, experimental projects, or as your only delay, the DD-8 is versatility in a stompbox.

RE-2 – Space Echo magic in a compact stomp

The Roland RE-201 Space Echo is one of the most revered delays ever, and the RE-2 captures its tape-driven magic in a compact Boss enclosure.

It nails the warmth, flutter, and organic character of the original, while adding modern reliability and pedalboard-friendly features.

With 11 modes for single, dual, and multi-head combinations, plus lush spring reverb emulation, it’s hugely versatile.

Wow & Flutter lets you add gentle sway or pronounced warble, while tone control shapes repeats from warm to bright. Balance delay and reverb for anything from subtle depth to cavernous ambience.

Great in front of an amp or in the loop, it delivers authentic tape tone without the upkeep of a ’70s machine or the size of the RE-202.

RE-202 – The full-fat Space Echo experience

If the RE-2 is a neat nod to the Space Echo, the RE-202 is the full banquet. It’s an RE-201 tribute that goes into obsessive detail, capturing everything from magnetic tape and motor properties to the vibrant spring reverb and colourful preamp circuit.

Boss took that revered 201 blueprint and went to town, packing in every nuance of the original tape unit along with modern flexibility that tape could only dream of.

It serves up three virtual tape heads in every possible combination, plus authentic spring reverb emulation and even the preamp colouration that players loved from the 201.

The Wow & Flutter and Saturation controls let you dial in just the right amount of warble and grit, and you can store up to 127 presets for instant recall on stage.

There’s even a choice between new, aged, or really battered tape characteristics, letting you pick exactly how pristine or gnarly you want things to sound.

With stereo ins/outs, MIDI control, and an expression pedal option, this is as much a creative studio tool as it is a live pedal. Stick it at the end of your chain for lush, enveloping soundscapes, or in a loop for precision echoes. If you want the ultimate Space Echo in a pedalboard-friendly format, the RE-202 is it.

SDE-3000D – Rack royalty in a pedal

In 1983, the original SDE-3000 was a colossal, studio-grade rack delay – the sort of thing that lived in a flight case, took two people to move, and powered the pristine echoes of countless ’80s arena tours.

The SDE-3000D takes that same high-headroom, ultra-clear digital tone and squeezes it into a pedalboard-friendly format without losing the magic.

You get two fully independent delays, each with its own controls, memories, and routing options, so you can run lush stereo ping-pongs, stacked rhythmic patterns, or layered ambient washes with zero fuss.

Throw in MIDI, modulation, filtering, and 100 memories, and you’ve got a pedal that can do everything the old rack could… minus the spinal surgery bills.

SDE-3000EVH – Eddie’s echo, in a box

Eddie Van Halen made the original SDE-3000 part of his core rig, using two units in tandem for his wide, three-dimensional delay sound.

The SDE-3000EVH recreates his exact settings, routing, and modulation tweaks, giving you instant access to that massive stereo spread.

It’s still a full-featured SDE at heart, but the EVH version streamlines the experience for players chasing Eddie’s tone.

The pedal can go from cascading arena delays to those subtle, always-on ambience settings that made his leads soar.

SDE-3 – Rack delay DNA in a compact box

The SDE-3 fuses the vintage digital character of the iconic Roland SDE-3000 with the flexibility of a modern BOSS compact. That ’80s rackmount was a studio and stadium staple, used by some of the most influential guitarists of all time, and the SDE-3 nails that sound while adding a tonne of creative range.

Its dual-concentric controls pack serious tweakability into a small footprint, with independent modulation depth and rate, a Hi Cut for tailoring brightness, and the Offset knob for lush dual-delay textures.

You can run up to 1.6 seconds of pristine repeats, set up wide stereo or wet/dry rigs, and tap in your tempos.

Whether you’re after polished, arena-filling tones or exploring more experimental stereo landscapes, the SDE-3 delivers rack-level delay in a pedal that fits in your gig bag.

TE-2 – The wild card

If a straight-ahead delay isn’t doing it for you, the TE-2 is where things get weird in the best way. Part of Boss’ Multi-Dimensional Processing (MDP) series, it’s not just a delay, and it’s not just a reverb – it’s somewhere in the middle, wrapped in a constantly evolving wash of harmonics and ambience.

Rather than repeating your signal in a predictable, time-based fashion, the TE-2 reacts to your playing dynamics and note choices, creating a swirling, interactive effect that almost feels alive under your fingers.

It can go from subtle, shimmering enhancement to full-blown soundscape machine, making it a secret weapon for ambient guitarists, post-rock players, or anyone who wants their rig to sound like it’s floating in another dimension.

The TE-2 won’t replace a standard delay on your board, but that’s not the point – it exists to turn a normal part into something unexpected, giving your tone a haunting, ethereal tail that follows you around the fretboard.

DD-500 – The big gun

The DD-200 might be the sweet spot, but the DD-500 takes things up a notch. This is Boss’ flagship delay workstation, loaded with 32-bit/96kHz processing and 12 fully tweakable delay types that can be sculpted down to the tiniest detail.

Every mode – digital, tape, analog, shimmer, Tera Echo, SFX – can be tailored with deep parameters, onboard EQ, and routing options, so you can build anything from subtle ambience to massive, evolving soundscapes.

You get 297 presets, MIDI control, assignable footswitches, USB for patch management, and the ability to run two independent delays in series, parallel, or split outputs.

For the guitarist who wants ultimate control over every facet of their delay, this is the endgame pedal.