The Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay is a Mad Professor delay pedal, currently around $181.50. Close alternatives include the MXR Analog Delay and the Catalinbread MontaVillian. It pairs well with the Blackstar Studio 10 KT88 Limited Edition and the Mesa Boogie Subway D-350.
Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay
Mad Professor · pedal
The Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay is a boutique delay designed to capture the warm, natural sound of classic 1960s tape echo units while using a hybrid digital delay line with a fully analog, unfiltered dry path. Its bandwidth roughly matches vintage tape echoes, and the repeats are carefully tuned around the first critical reflection and how each echo decays, giving an organic, vintage-oriented character that blends beautifully with an amp. Crucially, it is engineered to work well with distorted tones, an application where many delays fail, keeping the dry signal uncolored and clear. Compact with a simple control set, it suits players wanting musical, tape-flavored repeats for slapback, rhythmic delay, and ambient trails without tone loss, equally at home with clean and overdriven rigs.
- delay
- tape echo
- analog
- simple
- dry
- natural
- decay
- vintage
Good for
- Live
- Studio
Price updated Aug 27, 2026
Genres the Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay is commonly used in
- Blues Rock
- Rock
- Blues
- Indie
- Ambient
- Lo Fi
cited
Inferred from shared tonal signals, not a stated genre tag.
Amps that pair well with the Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay
Blackstar Studio 10 KT88 Limited Edition
Blackstar
22% matchInto a transparent tone, Blackstar Studio 10 KT88 Limited Edition brings the mid-forward it's missing
Mesa Boogie Subway D-350
Mesa Boogie
10% matchRun the Deep Blue Delay in the D-350's loop so its natural tape-echo repeats trail the bass amp's own clean preamp.
Blackstar Unity Bass U60
Blackstar
7% matchMad Professor Deep Blue Delay's analog warmth voice goes in Blackstar Unity Bass U60's effects loop — it's not there to compete with Blackstar Unity Bass U60's own mid-forward character
Acus One Forstrings 4 Ferdi
Acus
6% matchKeep the Deep Blue in the Ferdi's loop for simple, dry tape-echo character beyond the amp's own natural acoustic voice.
SWR California Blonde
Swr
6% matchKeep SWR California Blonde's transparent voice out front: Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay goes in SWR California Blonde's effects loop so its analog warmth voice doesn't muddy it
Gallien-Krueger MB 112 II Combo
Gallien Krueger
6% matchRun Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay in Gallien-Krueger MB 112 II Combo's effects loop, clear of Gallien-Krueger MB 112 II Combo's own gain stage
Blackstar S1-50
Blackstar
6% matchMad Professor Deep Blue Delay's analog warmth voice goes in Blackstar S1-50's effects loop — it's not there to compete with Blackstar S1-50's own transparent character
EBS HD360
Ebs
6% matchPut Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay in EBS HD360's effects loop, clear of EBS HD360's own gain stage
See all 15 amps that pair with the Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay →
Pedals that stack with the Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay
Dr. Scientist Frazz Dazzler
Dr Scientist
24% matchThe transparent tone has headroom to spare — Dr. Scientist Frazz Dazzler gives it low gain to fill it with
JHS Smiley
JHS Pedals
23% matchJHS Smiley's fuzzy fills in what this transparent tone doesn't make on its own
Dunlop JD-4S Rotovibe
pedal
18% matchPut Dunlop JD-4S Rotovibe after Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay in the signal chain, clear of Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay's own gain stage
EarthQuaker Devices Grand Orbiter
EarthQuaker Devices
18% matchRun EarthQuaker Devices Grand Orbiter after Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay in the signal chain, clear of Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay's own gain stage
Acoustic NUX Optima Air NAI-5
Acoustic
10% matchKeep the Deep Blue after the Optima Air — the DI'd acoustic tone stays clean and the simple, dry tape echo trails behind it.
JHS Pedals JHS 3 Series Rotary Chorus
JHS Pedals
10% matchPut Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay after JHS Pedals JHS 3 Series Rotary Chorus in the signal chain, clear of JHS Pedals JHS 3 Series Rotary Chorus's own gain stage
AZOR AP-305 Compressor
Azor
9% matchKeep Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay after AZOR AP-305 Compressor in the signal chain, clear of AZOR AP-305 Compressor's own gain stage
Walrus Audio Emissary
Walrus Audio
8% matchRun Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay after Walrus Audio Emissary in the signal chain, clear of Walrus Audio Emissary's own gain stage
See all 13 pedals that pair with the Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay →
Cheaper alternatives
Dunlop MXR M299 Carbon Copy Mini
Dunlop
76% similarityShared character: repeats, dry_signal, digital
JHS 3 Series Oil Can Delay
JHS Pedals
76% similarityShared character: repeats, digital, delay
JHS 3 Series Delay
JHS Pedals
75% similarityShared character: repeats, digital, delay
J. Rockett Immortal Echo
J Rockett
75% similarityShared character: dry_signal, delay, ambient
Keeley Magnetic Echo
Keeley
75% similarityShared character: dry_signal, delay, ambient
Wampler Faux Tape Echo
Wampler
75% similarityShared character: repeats, digital, delay
Boutique & premium upgrades
JHS Lucky Cat Delay limited edition
JHS Pedals
74% similarityShared character: repeats, digital, delay
Keeley New-Halo-Core
Keeley
96% similaritysimilar tone character
Boss RE-202 Space Echo
Boss
96% similaritysimilar tone character
Eventide Rose Modulated Digital Delay
Eventide
96% similaritysimilar tone character
Alexander Pedals Oblivion Vintage Delay
Alexander Pedals
96% similaritysimilar tone character
Similar charactersee all similar tone character →
MXR Analog Delay
MXR
76% similarityShared character: repeats, dry_signal, digital
Catalinbread MontaVillian
Catalinbread
75% similarityShared character: repeats, dry_signal, delay
Alexander Pedals NEO Series History Lesson V3 Delay
Alexander Pedals
74% similarityShared character: digital, delay, ambient
Keeley Caverns V2
Keeley
74% similarityShared character: delay, dry_signal, ambient
Strymon EC-1
Strymon
73% similarityShared character: delay, digital, ambient
Keeley Halo
Keeley
97% similaritysimilar tone character
See all alternatives to the Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay (cheaper + boutique) →
Questions people ask
What are good alternatives to the Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay?+
The closest matches in character are the MXR Analog Delay, the Catalinbread MontaVillian, the Alexander Pedals NEO Series History Lesson V3 Delay. Budget picks: Dunlop MXR M299 Carbon Copy Mini, JHS 3 Series Oil Can Delay, JHS 3 Series Delay. Boutique upgrades: JHS Lucky Cat Delay limited edition, Keeley New-Halo-Core, Boss RE-202 Space Echo.
What pairs well with the Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay?+
Strong matches from rig and tone-complementarity evidence: Blackstar Studio 10 KT88 Limited Edition, Mesa Boogie Subway D-350, Blackstar Unity Bass U60 — Into a transparent tone, Blackstar Studio 10 KT88 Limited Edition brings the mid-forward it's missing.
How much does the Mad Professor Deep Blue Delay cost?+
Around $181.50 (live listing price, updated Aug 27, 2026).