i think the tc flashback x4 is very interesting, because it´s one of the cheapest delay
pedals with midi in/thru as far as i know (at least here in europe)
that tone print stuff sounds really convincing. i´ve only tested the small version
with guitar once and i liked it. can´t say how well the x4 version works, but
for me personally it is essential to have midi sync when using a delay unit with
sequenced sounds.
you mentioned that you want to go really crazy and experimantal and i just have
to recommend the eventide space. they call it “reverb and beyond” and i totally
love that “beyond” stuff. i think you can get more sounds out of it than with big sky.
big sky is a bit more classic but it´s in the same league (some say even better)
all the rack-units mentioned before can deliver very good sounds for few money,
but i love the fact that there are more and more good quality fx in pedal format.
no menu diving, no midi programming, …
for the very cheap stuff:
zoom yes - they have a long history of making
fx units (for guitar) and they actually made pretty good ones (even the ugly looking
plastic monsters) that multistomp thing is kind of unbelievable for that price.
behringer plastic pedals no - not that they sound bad, but too many of them
end up in a trash can. (their digital mixing desks on the other side seem to be very
good and reliable)
As far as racks, I will rave about my Roland RSP-550 forever. Absolutely gorgeous effects, especially the reverbs, as well as some wild delays and excellent recreations of the Dimension D chorus. It’s basically all of the reverb/delay/mod effects from the sought after Boss SE-50/SE-70 FX units, minus the analog distortion. It’s a real sleeper unit that sells for stupidly cheap, and worth nabbing up if you find one.
I’ve got the Zoom MS-100BT as well, and it really is one of the best effect pedals you can get on a budget. There’s a number of free effects you can download from the app (a number of them being Strymon and Eventide emulations) and the effects for purchase are only $2 and you get unlimited 15 minute trial periods to try before you buy. My only complaints are the lack of midi (but it’s a guitar pedal, so I can’t expect much) and that a handful of the parameters can be steppy, like the “Moog” filter cutoff. Minor issues for what you get tho.
Also…the $25 Behringer VD400 is really great for an inexpensive analog delay. I’ve got a Memory Boy as well, but am finding the Berry to be way more useful. I’d say it’s worth grabbing one to add some flavor for cheap.
Symetrix 606. Wicked delay. 6 delay lines, LFOs, filter, midi clock. Oh my.
Delta lab effectron II. The dub machine.
Agree with the strymon and eventide comments. Both Great pedals! I have a space, but will add the strymon for more traditional reverb duties.
I really like the Eventide H9.
Whether one H9 by itself is a great value can be debated - on the one hand, you buy algorithms as needed (unless you got the Max version), OTOH an H9 Max costs less than the 4 'Factor boxes combined while having all their algos. Then there’s the hardware UI issue of one big knob + a few buttons vs. 10 knobs and 3 footswitches per Factor box.
However, an H9 Max paired with H9 Core is a much better value than either H9 by itself, because the algo-linking feature lets the H9 Max share all its algos with the Core. The more Cores you add to the H9 Max, the better the value gets. This might be a consideration for some who have multiple synths and other gear that they want to process through individual effects units.
Favorite delays would be EHX Deluxe Memory Man (had it for about ten years from my guitar days, i run everything through it) and Oto Biscuit’s delay. Runner up would be El Capistan, which is nice but I want to sell it for the Oto Bim, which I’m fairly certain would be my favorite delay. Oh, the Monomachine’s delay is very nice too.
Reverbs I’m not particularly fond of. I guess I like real spring tanks ala Fender, or the emulation in the OP-1. I have a Blue Sky but its too pristine for my taste, and I’ve barely used it since Elektron introduced the dark reverb in the OT since it does the infinite reverb thing but with a less hi-fi sound.