It's my first time trying out this pedal, but I was really blown away by the controls being just buttons. I hear the original DC-2 had mechanical switches but these are now electrical—that alone shows this is a great update. At first, I thought having buttons alone would make this pedal a one-trick pony. But at the same time, I do agree that knobs are sometimes difficult to manage. When you know the exact tone you want, knobs are helpful, but if you don't, having numerous knobs with infinite possibilities can lead to an endless search. So I think having just these four buttons and less options is actually really helpful, because it means you can't go wrong.

The DC-2W felt to me like a chorus at first, but I would not be able to recreate this tone with a chorus. This is a really interesting pedal. The circuit uses BBD (bucket brigade) just like a chorus, but I hear the DC-2 has a different circuit design. Choosing “1” on the Mode Selector gives you a sound like a light chorus, but as the number increases, the effect not only feels bigger in width, but longer in time as well.

If I were to describe a chorus like the CE-2W as a natural seasoning, then the Dimension is more like an artificial flavoring that no-one would notice is artificial, if that makes sense! For people who don't like that everyday chorus effect, and aren't too fond of a phaser either, the Dimension would be your ticket. It's got space depth without being synthetic. It's very subtle too, so it would probably sound better on clean than distorted tones. Also, if you use stereo output it enhances the spaciousness even more.

The SDD-320 mode reproduces the rack effect of the same name. It's got more highs than the Standard mode, and sounds thicker. Being the studio rack effect that it was, all the settings sound full and complete, and I like this mode more. I think this would sound great on vocals and drums as well. I use stompboxes for things like that, and it sounds awesome sometimes. Using analog effects in home recordings can thicken up your sound too. There isn't a setting on here that doesn't sound good, so applications are endless.

And I love the fact that you can push two buttons at the same time. So there are four single-button sound types, plus six types with two buttons pressed, plus the Standard and SDD-320 mode—so that's 20 sounds to choose from. Each one has different depths, time, space...maybe it's not as simple as it seems. I guess you can end up chasing your tone down a rabbit hole with this pedal too, but in a good way!

My preference is button “3” or “4” for the single-button, or for double-button settings, I would choose my tone on “1” or “2” and add from there. The tone thickens up that way. While the double-button tones are thicker, the single-button tones are more subtle and that's a good thing in many cases. This pedal is not the one-trick pony I thought it would be at all—it's very fun to play with.