Donner Twin Series Tap Delay Pedal Review

The twin series tap delay pedal from Donner is an affordable pedal which incorporates three different types of delay types in one box.  One of the striking things about this pedal is its layout.  It’s rare to see a pedal that’s this short and wide in terms of design but it works.  The great thing about this unique wide design is you won’t accidentally tap the wrong button by accident.

Who is Donner?

Donner started as a budget guitar effects manufacturer, but now offer guitars, amps, pianos, and more! I first tested their pedals in the early days of their business and they been consistently making solid performing effects since the get-go.  They have since branched out even further making electronic drum kits, gig bag, and accessories.  It’s great to see them grow and become a force in the affordable end of the guitar market.

The Layout

The layout is very simple.  We have a level, feedback, and delay pots on the top.  These three controls affect the overall mix, repeats, and speed of the delay effect.  The “delay” control is also the same as the tap tempo button so you can use both or one or the other.

The tap tempo feature makes it really easy to get “on time” with the music. The Donner Tap Delay is part of the full range of “Twin Series” pedals and offer an affordable way to get into a delay effects with a tap tempo feature. 

Delay Types

The three delay types in this Twin Series Tap Delay pedal are Analog, Digital, and Reverse.  These three modes all sound different and all are noise free in their design.  This pedal has zero issues with noise and hiss.  I’ve not only used this in the video review below but I have also used it live with no problems at all.

Donner Tap Delay Settings Guide

Mode	Genre	Level	Feedback	Delay
Analog	Blues/Rock	40%	20%	150ms
Digital	Modern Rock	50%	30%	300ms
Reverse	Ambient/Shoegaze	60%	70%	500ms

Comparable Tones

The Donner Tap Delay is comparable to pedals like the BOSS DD-7 in terms of sound types.  While the BOSS DD-7 and DD-8 offer more tones, the sounds are very comparable.  I owned a BOSS DD-7 at the time of testing the Donner and they are very similar in their versatility.  If you want the most versatile Delay, the BOSS DD-8 is hard to beat. 

Delay Tones

The Donner Delay offers three type of tones including Analog delay which is my personal favorite for blues, rock, and country.  There’s also a digital delay which is reminiscent of the sounds you might find in 80s music or the classic clean delay tone from the Edge of U2.   The third delay is Reverse which can get crazy (Think Hendrix!)

One of the Bugs

The only small thing to take note of is the fact the effect doesn’t love being switched from Analog to Digital while the repeats are in effect.  For best results turn the effect off from the left button, switch effects, then turn it back on.  This way it won’t do anything weird.   Overall this is a great sounding pedal for a great price.

Build Quality

The build quality of the Twin Series Tap Delay is great thanks to the metal construction and solid pots, switches, and foot switches.  The switches feel good and very expensive and the enclosure is made of metal.  Unlike a lot of inexpensive effects Donner build their pedals out of a robust enclosure so I doubt you’ll have any issues with dropping or mistreating it (to a point of course). This pedal’s so sturdy, I’m pretty sure it’d survive a drop from a Marshall Stack—though let’s not test that theory!

Who is the pedal for?

The Donner Twin Series Tap Delay is great for anything from adding delay to a blues solo and also for ambient players.  The cool thing about the pedal is it works great in the effects loop and also in the front end of the amp.  I tested it in both the effects loop of my amps and also directly into the front-end, and there were no issues with noise or hiss.

This $60 pedal’s a no-brainer for adding pro-sounding delays to your setup. Gigging players will dig the tap tempo for syncing with a drummer. Ambient nerds, the Reverse mode’s your ticket to sonic weirdness.” Tie it to real-world scenarios, like small gigs or home recording

 Compared with other boutique pedals on the market this will save you some money.  The great thing about Donner pedals is they are inexpensive but they actually sound good which is a point of difference compared with a lot of inexpensive pedals.

Final Thoughts

I’ve said it before that I think Donner is responsible for making some of the best inexpensive effects on the market today.  While they are not perfect, they do a great job for folks wanting to save a few bucks. You’ll often see their pedals re-branded and sold under different names and are still a fixture in the affordable guitar market in 2025.

Post Updated May 2025