BBD History
Timeline
1968
BBD technology developed by F. Sangster and K. Teer of the Philips Research Labs.
Early version was limited to just a few stages and low frequencies (presumably, audio frequencies) only. Parasitic capacitance was a major problem.
1969
CCD technology developed at AT&T Bell Labs by Willard Boyle and George E. Smith
CCD seemed more promising than BBD, but it too was very limited for about five years.
1974
Nov Matsushita (Panasonic) releases the MN3001. (Tycobrahe delay is made of 4 MN3001 chips. Other chips on Tyco board seem to have late '74 date codes.)
Eventide Instant Flanger (allegedly released in "late '74" in AMGTVE using "unknown" Phillips BBDs. Schematic I've seen is dated 1975.)
Carlsbro (Sola Sound?) Mantis allegedly released in 1974. Also alleged to use 8x Philips 1022 BBDs (can't find a gut shot yet). Considering 1022 was announced in Aug '75, it is doubtful that the Mantis is available in 1974.
1975
Aug - Electronics magazine announces Philips TDA1022 BBD chip - $4 bulk pricing, Reticon "readies" SAD1024 for release, $10 per chip.
CCD and BBD devices for audio are widely available, but they are expensive.
Marshall Time Modulator (prototypes? Reading interviews, forum posts, I speculate the Marshall potted delay devices used Reticon and may have started with SAD1024 or similar and ended with R5101 or similar. Interviews emphasis the distinction between BBD and CCD and other technical details that are remarkably similar to the Reticon literature.)
Alleged release of Reticon SAD1024/SAD512, but I cannot verify this.
Reticon white paper by Buss and Weckler (Discrete-Time Analog Signal Processing Devices Employing a Parallel Architecture) is featured in the Oct 1975 Internation Conference on CCDs. This white papers shows a schematic with a "SAD-100" section.
Oct - Date on Philips TDA1022 datasheet. 512 stage BBD.
Roland JC120 Jazz Chorus amp features MN3002 based chorus effect.
Tycobrahe Delay maybe... unverified (MN3001)
Eventide Instant Flanger (MN3001) )
MXR Auto Flanger M-111 module meant for MXR rack system for studio systems. I've yet to see a schematic. The 1975 release is alleged by AMGTVE. A PCB image from unit for sale appears to show a TCA 350Y (ITT analog delay line; 185 stage).
1976
Reticon white paper by Buss and Weckler mention modern BBDs overcoming the low frequency limitation by achieving good transfers up to 5MHz. Advances in IC design overcome parasitic capacitance problem.
QUOTE from Buss and Weckler 1976 - "The SAD1024 illustrated in Fig 8 is widely used in audio delay applications." This implies the SAD1024 has been released for some time.
BBDs are recommended for 2500 stages or less. CCDs are recommended for 8000 or more stages.
Memory Man EH-7500 - 1976 pots, unverified release date (SAD1024)
June - Boss CE-1 (MN3002)
Terry Hanley - Schematic dated 10-5-76 (SAD1024)
1977
Jan - SAD1024 featured in EDN magazine. Called a CCD.
ehx.com put up a blog post in 2010 suggesting that Spring 1977 was the release of the original Memory Man. They posted an ad showing the artwork typical of the EH-1309.
April - SAD1024 is the "IC of the month" in radio electronics magazine
Aug - MXR Delay schematic dated 8/2/77 (SAD1024)
Oct - SAD1024 featured in PAiA Phlanger Article in radio electronics
Date on Reticon R5101 datasheet and evaluation board
Date on Reticon SAD1024 and SAD512 datasheet
1978
May - Memory Man EH 7810 Schematic dated May 1978 (MN3005)
Deluxe Memory Man EH 7850 Schematic has a note regarding 1978 (MN3005)
Boss DM-1 Schematic dated 1978. (Reticon R5101)
1979
DOD 680 Analog Delay originally comes with the R5101 (mini toggle version).
1980
DOD 680 Analog Delay (SAD4096) - earliest examples I've seen anyways
1981
June - Boss DM-2 June 1981 First version uses MN3005, later MN3205
Late '90s
Electro Harmonix reissues the Deluxe Memory Man (5 knob) and Stereo Memory Man. Both pedals use the MN3005.
Mid '00s
Electro Harmonix runs out of MN3005 chips. The Stereo Memory Man RI disappears and the Deluxe Memory Man is redesigned for a quad of MN3008 (2048 stage) chips. EH did find some MN3005 chips again and they are featured in some of the Memory Man with Tap Tempo pedals.
When were they discontinued?
No idea what years the SAD and MN lines were discontinued yet, but an online message board post from February 1994 says the SAD line was "long discontinued" even then, but MN chips were still available new. The original era of BBD based delay appears to have just been a short window between 1976 and 1983. Effect pedal companies all released digital delays in the 1980s. Presumably, this killed the demand for the BBD, and Reticon may have deleted the chip by the late '80s or early '90s. Panasonic chips may have lasted into the late '90s or early '00s. AMGTVE gives 1999 as the year the MN series was discontinued.
Reissues of the MN chips began in the late '00s by Cool Audio (Behringer) and Visual Sound.
AMGTVE = Analog Man's Guide to Vintage Effects
Additional Reading
Bucket Bridge Devices Circa 1976 - Buss and Weckler
Bucket Bridge Devices Circa 1977 - Buss and Weckler
A great wealth on info on BBD history can be sourced from the white papers from Reticon linked above.
Another great general charge transfer device (including BBD and CCD) overview from September 1975. Sites the Matsushita release of MN3001 as November 1974. Philips TDA1022 was "recently announced." No mention of Reticon of SAD devices in the article, but does mention that BBD devices for audio are widely available (1975). Gives a general idea of what was available mid-'70s and the prices of such chips. American CCDs are mentioned to be $9 to "hundreds of dollars" per chip in 1975.