NAMM 2026: Ibanez is back in the guitar pedal game with the Layer Delayer – an ambitious, feature-packed delay pedal that aims to do things a little differently.
Ibanez is calling its latest stompbox, which offers an almost-synth-like control panel, a “revolutionary pedal that redefines the possibilities of delay effects”. It's drafted in fusion maestro Jack Gardiner to help showcase the otherworldly, mind-bending delay effects it has on tap.
It skews typical tape echo builds by generating 16th note and triplet delay signals, which run alongside a slew of independent volume controls and flashing lights to display the delay pattern in real time.
But it also has quarter note delays baked in, meaning it can still operate as a traditional delay all the same.
The top level knobs dictate Mix, Filter (via Resonance and Cut Off), Time (which can work in milliseconds or be locked to a bpm), Feedback, and Tone, which switches between tape echo, analog, and digital delay styles. Two of those styles can be blended simultaneously.
Other controls include the Tail Decay, a tap tempo, and when using the pedal in stereo, the delay's pan speed between speakers is highly customizable via eight different modes. As for the footswitches, they're on hand for engaging the pedal, switching between presets, and tapping in a tempo.
Connectivity-wise, it offers stereo inputs and outputs, as well as a wet signal effects loop, MIDI compatibility for nearly all of its parameters, and an expression pedal for off-pedal control. There's also a Level mini-switch to adjust the headroom and eliminate distorted signals.
It’s powered by the usual 9V plug, and is equipped with a USB-C port for future updates. The pedal arrives with 20 factory presets, with 50 slots available across five different banks.
Aesthetically, there’s a cool 1980s arcade-style chic going on, meaning it wouldn’t look out of place on the set of Stranger Things, and sonically, there's a whiff of the era, too.
It can be easy to forget, in amongst its impressive array of metal guitars, that Ibanez has an important place in stompbox history. Its TS808 Tube Screamer, for example, is one of the most iconic overdrives of all time.
Yet, new pedal releases from the firm are infrequent. Cue the Layer Delayer to try and blow all other delay pedals out of the water.
Whether it manages to pull that off remains to be seen, but with a comprehensive switchboard of controls and an innovative approach to the humble delay, Ibanez
The Ibanez LD303 is available now for $279.99.
See Ibanez for more information.
Elsewhere, Ibanez recently issued its answer to Abasi Concepts and the Ernie Ball Music Man Kaizen with its all-new Alpha guitar.
