Among more modern rock bands, Blink-182 stands out as one of the more successful of the last 20 years. This is due to their catchy and infectious songwriting, which often comes with fantastic guitar hooks. Tom Delonge, a talented guitarist in his own right, uses effects such as delay on many songs to create the signature sound that Blink-182 fans know and love.
But what delay pedal does Tom Delonge use on Blink-182 tracks? Tom can usually be heard using a Boss DD-6 digital delay. This easy-to-use and reliable delay pedal can create a wide variety of sounds, many of which can easily be heard on many Blink-182 albums.
But who is Tom Delonge anyway, and why is his delay pedal so important? Has he ever used other delay pedals? What makes the Boss DD-6 so good? What other gear makes Tom Delonge’s guitar playing sound the way it does? Read on to find out the answers to all these questions and more!
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Who is Tom Delonge?
Tom Delonge is an American singer, songwriter, and guitar player most famous for being in Blink-182 as well as Angels and Airwaves. He is recognizable in many songs due to his distinctly nasally singing voice along with his infectious and catchy guitar riffs.
Growing up in Poway, California, he embraced skateboarding and punk music at an early age, and upon meeting bass player Mark Hoppus, this cultural fusion leads to the creation of Blink-182 during Delonge’s high school years.
The rest, as they say, is history. Blink-182 went on to become an extremely famous rock bands of the last 20 years, and in no small part due to Delonge’s guitar sound, which uses many effects, one of which being delay.
What delay pedal does Tom Delonge use?
To achieve his delay effect, Delonge likes to use, as mentioned above, a Boss DD-6 Digital Delay. This delay pedal is the first of the Boss brand that gives the user panning effects. It also gives stereo delay, making it a cutting-edge pedal at a relatively affordable price point.
Although there are a few Blink-182 songs where Tom uses delay, such as on “Pretty Little Girl,” the sound is more prevalent in his other project, Angels and Airwaves. Using it to create spacey and atmospheric guitar lines, Delonge carves out a unique and interesting guitar sound using only this relatively simple and affordable delay.
This is the strength of a DD-6, as it is easy to use, a good price for an effects pedal, and has a lot of variety and depth in the ways it can be used as well. It allows for tap tempo, a reverse mode (for more psychedelic riffs like those of older garage rock shredders), and a delay time of 5 seconds.
What other gear does Tom Delonge use?
Delonge’s delay isn’t the only piece of gear he uses to make his unique sound.
Firstly, there is his guitar. Other than his Tom Delonge signature guitar, he mostly uses a classic Fender Stratocaster or an Ibanez Talman.
While the Strat is a fantastic all-around guitar for any style, the Talman is more for shredders, tappers, and other guitarists that need to move around the neck quickly and efficiently.
While Delonge uses a great number of amps, his favorites are the Vox AC30 and the Marshall JCM900 4100. These two amps give him the sharp and punchy sound that Blink is so famous for, while still having the versatility to give good sound to his spacier, more atmospheric songs or parts as well.
As for other effects pedals, Delonge uses a few. For overdrive, he’ll often use a Big Muff, an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer, or a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive. These pedals give Delonge’s guitar sound the punchiness it needs to create those catchy ear-worm riffs that make his guitar playing so popular.
Wrap up!
Tom Delonge isn’t just famous as a singer and songwriter, and his guitar playing carries a lot of his songs to success as well. His use of effects is no small part of his mastery of pop-punk guitar playing, and delay, although not always there, can be a big part of this.
To capture Delonge’s delay sound, make sure to be using a Boss DD-6. This affordable and effective delay pedal can echo your riffs back at you in many different ways, and its versatility and reliability make it one of the best delay pedals on the market.
If you want to emulate Tom Delonge’s guitar-playing sound, this pedal, along with some of the other gear listed, is a great place to start!
However, as they say, the tone is also in the fingers! Gear can only get you so far, so make sure to watch videos of Tom playing and practice his parts to really understand why and how he plays the way he does.
