Using Delay Live...

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some dude

some dude

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Looking for tips on using delays live.

Historically I've never really jived with delay. I'd try it, fight with it making a mess of my sound, then give up and do without.

I'd really like to figure this shit out. What I'm trying to avoid is two scenarios;

1) You know those dudes who do youtube clips, shred their faces off and all you hear is a big, messy wash of delay that sounds like shit? Yeah... I don't want that.

2) Delay that's so laid back that it doesn't actually do anything aside from muddy up your signal.

It always seems like I'm suffering one of those two problems... it's either too much, or too little.

I'm thinking I'm going to experiment with making my delays brighter instead of darker. My theory is that dark delays just mud up the signal and full delays contribute to the shitty wall of delay sound. Maybe brighter will work better? I donno... looking for tips from dudes that've figured this one out.
 
If you don't want a darker sound, a digital delay would probably suit you better than an analog one
 
I just picked up an Eventide TimeFactor.

I can go either way (dark/bright).

That said, I just finished trying bright and it was a total shit show.
 
Bright/digital delays tend to "get in the way" for most things, for me. I much prefer a nicely set analog delay that's present but still fades away nicely into the background.

Consider the analog setting on your Timefactor.
 
Well 100% wet will get the youtube shredfest wash out, are you going 100% wet?

Levels?

What kind of amp? Super compressed nu metal or marshall growl and open? Too compressed will give you the wash out sound.
 
Digital Jams":2q5yfs62 said:
Well 100% wet will get the youtube shredfest wash out, are you going 100% wet?

Levels?

What kind of amp? Super compressed nu metal or marshall growl and open? Too compressed will give you the wash out sound.
Click to expand...

Generally running between 11% and 18% wet. Seems to work alright. Still figuring it out...

Amp is a Boogie Mark V. Gain on channel 2 (crunch) is around 8.5 and on channel 3 (Mark IV mode) is between 6 and 7. I use both channels for rhythm and lead, with maybe a 3db volume boost when switching to lead. Delay is in the loop.

All of my problems with delay have been on previous amps... this is my first time using a delay with this one (tried using a Carbon Copy and DD3 previously, but it overdrove their inputs so I don't really count that attempt).
 
Delay is a mojo thing. Some times it's there... some times it's not. Just keep messing with it until you get the sound that you are looking for.
 
I tend to only use delay when its going to be apart of the sound, Ie, rythmic u2 type of thing, or just a 1/4 note delay that bodes well with what is being played. I don't like delay on solo's much for me, unless its a rythmic thing. Delay is rythmic, start adding too many notes and patterns, and that is a sure way to muddy up things.

I have a few delays programmed in for me on my G-system, light, more noticable, and then different rythms, like dotted etc. I also like something of a slap back delay, just there to give texture to your sound, but not too much to get in the way.
 
Honest question, do you know how to use different types of delay?

For rhythm you want a short time with little to no trails, just enough to give you a room type sound. For leads you want to have the tap tempo correct with the beat and have 2-3 trails under your core tone.

Wish I had a timefactor, would give you some settings.

Use the presets as your starting point and find one tha is close and go from there, longer of shorter swells, tempo, etc.

Hit youtube as there are a ton of eventide demos.
 
Digital Jams":1dt27oa2 said:
Honest question, do you know how to use different types of delay?
Click to expand...

Not really. The only delay I've ever really mastered is using a tape/modulated delay when playing Children of the Grave, and that's mostly getting the first 'beat' to pop into the gap in the rhythm with enough trails to give a detuned chorus effect.

For rhythm you want a short time with little to no trails, just enough to give you a room type sound. For leads you want to have the tap tempo correct with the beat and have 2-3 trails under your core tone.

Use the presets as your starting point and find one tha is close and go from there, longer of shorter swells, tempo, etc.
Click to expand...

I found one preset that I've started tweaking... it's kind of a boring digital delay sound, but it seems to work well.

How would I dial in something like the 'Sweet Child o' Mine" type of delay? I can do it manually (around 500ms if I remember correctly), but whenever I try to tap tempo it I wind up with a rhythmic harmony going on...
 
I think Sweet Child just has some reverb but I could be wrong.
 
Yeah--500ms is a pretty long delay for a solo. I usually use a stereo delay (analog or digital, depending on the rack) and set the times at 280-320 ms Left and 380 ms Right. I use pretty much the same times if I do ping-pong or multi-tap delays. What everyone else has said is solid. You have to be patient and make small changes to get to the sound you're looking for.

There are some great contemporary and classic delays, some of which have been mentioned here, and include:

Eventide Time Factor
TC2290 (does WAY more than just delay, but worth every penny)
TC Electronic ND-1 Nova Stereo Delay
BOSS DD-7
BOSS DD-20 Giga Delay (Great unit, never should have sold)
Echoplex
Line6 DL-4

...and there are many multi-effectors that include great-sounding delays as well.

Cheers,
 
For leads I stay within 300-400ms usually. I discover mostly that delay gets buried in a band mix, and that when you actually play leads with a delay, you feel like playing dry, unless you turn the mix way up when it mushes up things. I guess the secret is to use w/d/w or w/d, but that is not available to most of us.

Best delay to get right I ever had without running two amps is the Providence 80s Delay. It's digital but can sound very old school, too.

I also discovered recently that when you're adding a bit of reverb (spring in the M13) after the delay, it helps adding space to a delayed sound and make them blend better, thus not mushing up your sound but making it big.
 
Surprised nobody mentioned how important ducking is to make sure you get a nice delay without it muddying up.
 
Code001":3q7m80zx said:
Surprised nobody mentioned how important ducking is to make sure you get a nice delay without it muddying up.
Click to expand...

I've been experimenting with ducking... the only issue I have with it is that it ducks. Maybe I just haven't figured it out yet, but I'd like it if it didn't duck quite so much... so that it still sounded like a delay while playing, then kicked it up louder in the gaps.
 
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