SECOND LIFE
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE NEW LINE 6 DL4 MkII
AT FIRST GLANCE, THE NEW Line 6 DL4 MkII doesn’t seem much different from the original DL4. The overall dimensions are smaller and the housing is more simplified and streamlined, but the front panel still has six knobs and four footswitches. The pedal’s operation is still as simple and straightforward as it’s always been, but the engine under the hood has undergone significant upgrades. The rotary effect selector switch still has 16 positions, but a new Alt/Legacy button provides access to three banks of effects: 15 new MkII delay models, 15 original DL4 delay models (with Rhythmic Delay replaced by the Echo Pro’s Echo Platter Binson EchoRec model) and 15 “secret” reverb models. The MkII models add several new Line 6 original models plus a TC Electronic 2290 ducking delay, a new Maestro EP-3 Echoplex model with enhanced tape saturation, a Roland RE-201 Space Echo and a modded Boss DM-2 model with increased delay time. The effect selector switch’s six o’clock position engages the looper no matter which bank is selected. While the five control knobs are essentially the same, the Delay Time knob now also allows users to select note subdivision values when the Alt/Legacy button is held down. The DL4 MkII’s rear panel provides several significant upgrades, including MIDI In and Out/Thru jacks and an XLR Mic input with level control. There’s also a slot for a microSD card for expanding the Looper’s recording time and saving a recorded loop, and a USB C jack for connecting the pedal to a Mac or Windows computer. The DL4 MkII’s expanded internal memory allows the Looper to record 240 seconds in mono/120 seconds in stereo and provides 128 customizable preset locations. Bypass options now include true analog bypass, buffered bypass, DSP bypass (for natural decaying delay trails) and dry kill. By combining all of the beloved sounds and ease of operation of the original unit with a new selection of delay and reverb models, expanded preset memory and looper recording times and a smaller overall footprint, the Line 6 DL4 MkII is destined to enjoy the same long-lived classic status as the original DL4.