Electro-Harmonix Memory Man

The original Memory Man was an early bucket brigade delay (BBD) effect pedal that allowed musicians to create long echo effects without using tape. It has been claimed by Mike Matthews (founder/owner of Electro Harmonix) that the Memory Man was the first such “stompbox” type of effect for echo. Release dates for the Memory Man and its competition seem to be impossible to track down today, so whether or not the Memory Man really was the first of its kind cannot be verified. If it was not the first, then it was most definitely at least one of the first.

The original run of Memory Man pedals can be roughly sorted into two groups based on the type of BBD chip used. The early pedals used Reticon SAD1024 chips. This group may have begun in 1976, and may have been discontinued in 1978. From 1978-1984, Panasonic MN3005 chips were used. The vintage units include several revisions of 3 knob, 4 knob, and 5 knob models. 4 knob models were exclusively SAD1024 based, but 3 and 5 knob models were made with both types of chip.

The Memory Man pedals were reissued circa 1996. Two models were reissued: the last versions of the 5 knob (Deluxe Memory Man) and 3 knob (Stereo Memory Man). The 5 knob was revised a few times, and the 3 knob was deleted after a few years. Panasonic had discontinued their BBD chips by the 2000s, but Electro Hamonix stockpiled them and reissue Memory Man production was OK for a few years.

Eventually, by the late 00s, the Panasonic chips ran out. New BBD chips became available from the Shanghai Belling company. These are labelled BL instead of MN. With the new chips, Electro Harmonix released the Memory Boy, the Memory Toy, and deluxe versions.