Boss SDE-3 Dual Digital Delay Pedal

Compact Legend

Introduced in 1983 by our parent company Roland, the SDE-3000 is revered for its beautifully rich sound and distinctive modulation. The coveted SDE tone was realized through a finely tuned digital engine and the non-linear behaviors of the supporting analog circuitry, including magnetic saturation in the anti-alias filter, evolving modulation produced by the components of the time, and an altered triangle LFO shape. The SDE-3 brings the authentic vibe of this classic delay to a pedalboard-friendly BOSS compact, enhanced with innovative creative features for every musical style.

Vintage Color and Character

Dripping with warmth and musicality, the SDE-3 elevates your tone with endlessly evocative delay sounds. The efficient panel provides the primary controls of its vintage benchmark—including delay time, feedback, and independent rate and depth knobs for the modulation—plus additional knobs that expand your sonic potential. Explore retro single delays and ’80s-style mod/delay combos. Or tweak the mod and high-cut controls to conjure moody, atmospheric tonalities for ambient, chill, and lo-fi music.

Offset Magic

Along with reproducing the SDE-3000’s famous mono sound, the SDE-3 includes a powerful Offset feature to create interesting tones with two simultaneous delays. With one simple control, you can instantly add a second delay to the primary delay for a wealth of mono and stereo colors.

Doubled Delays—Turning the Offset knob up to its center position introduces a second delay that’s 1–100 ms longer than the primary delay. For example, if the primary delay is 400 ms and the Offset is 10 ms, the second delay’s time is 410 ms. Coupled with the SDE-3’s time, feedback, and highly adjustable modulation controls, you can craft deep delay tones unavailable with typical delay pedals.

Timed Dual Delays—In the second half of its range, the Offset knob produces a shorter second delay that’s based on the primary delay time. Use the pedal’s tap tempo function to determine the quarter-note value for the primary delay. Next, turn the knob to sweep the second delay’s time between eighth-note and dotted-eighth subdivisions. This lets you introduce a variety of rhythmic effects that sync with your music.

Multiple Output Modes

The versatile SDE-3 provides output configurations for any stage or studio scenario. Run it in mono for basic setups. Play in true stereo with discrete left/right delays or a panning mode for ultra-wide sounds that move across the stereo field. Send dry and direct feeds to two amps for wet/dry setups. Or mute the direct sound entirely for studio mixing and parallel effect rigs.

Modern Workflow

The SDE-3 offers numerous control options to enhance your performances. Press and hold the pedal switch to enable the tap tempo function. Or use the TRS MIDI input to receive clock sync signals from DAWs, pedals, and drum machines. Connect external footswitches for on-demand access to tap tempo and a hold function for on-the-fly looping. Alternately, an expression pedal can be used to control the Level, Feedback, and Time knobs for delay mix adjustment, wild pitch effects, and dramatic self-oscillation.