Whenever anyone mentions ambient guitar, a lot of reverb, tons of delay, and haunting volume swells come to mind. Out of the three, swells are particular, as they’re both a technique and an effect, and there are multiple ways to get a swell out of an electric guitar, one of which is using a delay pedal with a swell setting.
Delay pedals with a swell setting are among the best additions to your rig for getting ambient sounds without the hassle of using a pedal and with precise settings to mix in with the band life or in the studio. You can pick a multi-purpose delay pedal with a swell setting or go for a separate small pedal.
I am a massive fan of the guitar as a ‘texture’ instrument. In fact, I still get hired in many sessions just cause of the pad-like tones I help add to the song using the guitar. Keyboard players don’t like it when I do that, but I’m sure you’ll want to go through my list of best delay pedals with a swell setting, even if you play some occasional keys.
Our Top Picks
- Empress Echosystem – The Empress Echosystem is a fine addition to every player’s board for the stage or studio. It’s a proper delay ‘system’ with 32 presets and dual delay settings.
- Earthquaker Avalanche Run – This relatively small and compact pedal might not look like it, but it’s almost as feature packed as the massive Empress.
- Boss DD-500 Digital Delay Pedal – The BOSS DD 500 is an all-in-one delay workstation that offers pretty much all you need for the stage. There are multiple delay presets, a very handy BPM display, and like all BOSS pedals, it almost never breaks down.
- Mattoverse Electronics Swell Delay – This is a special pedal, as it’s only focused on getting the best swell tones. There are the standard delay settings and a dedicated swell knob and switch that makes it the most versatile and easier to use out of all pedals on the list.
- Strymon TimeLine Multidimensional Delay Pedal – When in doubt, go for the Strymon! The pedal feels like a pedalboard of its own, and it gets slightly tricky to use at first, yet it does a lot to justify the price.
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Why Choose a Delay Pedal with a Swell Setting?
Swells are a great addition to your playing arsenal and a lifesaver when a ‘guitar-like’ sound doesn’t suit the song.
- Swells using a volume pedal/knob are great, yet the disadvantages are that you don’t get a 100% clean tone due to the gain changing with the knob rolling down and, at times, the same with a volume pedal.
- Old volume pots and pedals usually tend to have an electrical popping noise if not taken care of. We all had a strat that popped if you went below 5 with the volume or a pedal that buzzed.
- It requires precisions to swell with a pedal, and sometimes you can’t afford that if you’re occupied playing for the song or, even worse, looping!
Delay pedals with a swell setting don’t have the ‘flaws’ and fail points of manual swelling with a volume knob/pedal, offer most options in customizing the tone, and don’t require much attention on stage if you have the timing set up right.
Delay Pedals with a Swell Setting
Here is my list of the best delay pedals with a swell setting. I made sure to pick pedals not only based on the swell setting, as there’s no point in owning a delay that doesn’t sound good.
1. Empress Echosystem
The Empress Echosystem is a fine addition to every player’s board for the stage or studio. It’s a proper delay ‘system’ with 32 presets and dual delay settings.
You can get an insane amount of ambient sounds with this pedal alone, from the most refined to the up-front ‘The Edge’ kind of sounds. What I like best is that it has a built-in delay-reverb setting and a cab simulator for when bringing two amps for dual delays is too much.
It’s expensive, though, and I’d not recommend it for a just starter in the swells world.
2. Earthquaker Avalanche Run
This relatively small and compact pedal might not look like it, but it’s almost as feature packed as the massive Empress.
It gets points cause it takes less space on the board; it losses a few points as you need to tap the same two buttons to get to the swell effect, and if you’re not careful, you can easily activate something else.
Tone-wise, it’s exceptional, and design-wise, even more! It’s not cheap, but just at the point where pedals start to become too expensive.
3. Boss DD-500 Digital Delay Pedal
The BOSS DD 500 is an all-in-one delay workstation that offers pretty much all you need for the stage. There are multiple delay presets, a very handy BPM display, and like all BOSS pedals, it almost never breaks down.
The auto-swells are not the only setting that helps create ambient sounds. The freeze setting also gets you a similar tone; if you combine a freeze effect with the volume pedal/knob, you can get swells that never die out, exactly like the keyboard pad with the sustainer on!
Plus, what makes the DD-500 great, it’s the availability, The pedal is easy to find almost everywhere.
4. Mattoverse Electronics Swell Delay
This is a special pedal, as it’s only focused on getting the best swell tones. There are the standard delay settings and a dedicated swell knob and switch that makes it the most versatile and easier to use out of all pedals on the list.
Swell rate, repeat, and mix are the three only settings you truly need for the swell – the rest can be taken care of by another delay pedal if you have the budget and need or by the delay of the Mattoverse.
The tapping option is great, as it works similarly to the classic volume pedal swells we are used to using and gies for almost the same freedom.
5. Strymon TimeLine Multidimensional Delay Pedal
When in doubt, go for the Strymon! The pedal feels like a pedalboard of its own, and it gets slightly tricky to use at first, yet it does a lot to justify the price.
The swell setting is just as great as all the offers, as customizable to the slightest spec. The pedal is also a great looper, and that, combined with swells, makes for an entire ambient track in the right hands.
Delays Pedal Swell Vs. Pedal/Knob Swell
If I could choose, I’d pick all options. You need the auto-swell of the delay to get precise, modern, and intense swells – on the other hand, the pedal swells are more controllable in a physical way by your foot movement.
The good news is that you most probably already have a volume knob on the pedalboard and can easily resort to it! My rule of thumb is, if I’m going rock n’ roll and can get away with improvising, I only swell with the volume pedal; if, however, the song is dependent on swells, like many modern/ambient tunes, then the delay pedal is always the first choice.