Digital Delay

[UnlikeKurt]

Hey all....kind of DAW question, kind of universal
I've never used a digital delay, either plug-in or rack unit, and i was wondering if anyone could direct me to a good resource to explain what all the various knobs/dials do, and how to use them together to best utilize a piece of gear....I've read as much as i can about delay itself in various books, including in modern recording techniques etc. But i haven't been able to find any actual breakdown of all the elements of a digital delay.
Thanks
james

[Mr. Dipity]

Hey all....kind of DAW question, kind of universal
I've never used a digital delay, either plug-in or rack unit, and i was wondering if anyone could direct me to a good resource to explain what all the various knobs/dials do, and how to use them together to best utilize a piece of gear....I've read as much as i can about delay itself in various books, including in modern recording techniques etc. But i haven't been able to find any actual breakdown of all the elements of a digital delay.
Thanks
james

My I recomend you >buy< one? Five minutes with a cheap stomp box would be worth hours of perusing manuals and websites.

[UnlikeKurt]

That's a good idea, which i have accomplished to much titilation. However, i'd like to know what exactly is happening when i turn a depth knob, what am i doing when i crank a frequency knob, etc. I'm under the impression that understanding the reason for something occuring is helpful in learning how to use it.

[Evergreen]

I don't know what kind of answer you are looking for but on my TC Electronics M-One-XL the functions are:

Delay Time (in milliseconds): time between source sound and first delay and all the other following delays

Feedback(0% to 100%): 0% is 1 delay...100% is an infinte number for delays

Pan: if hooked up in stereo you can pan the delays to one side or bounce them left and right

High Cut (in Hz): rolls of the high end of the delays. i use this a lot. sounds more "natural" IF delay could ever sound natural

Low Cut: opposite of above. I don't know if i have ever used this.

FX level: sets the volume of the delays

Thats about it. The best thing to do would be buy (borrow) a delay and play with it. Books will only tell you so much. They are not hard to use.

Tim

[syrupcore]

However, i'd like to know what exactly is happening when i turn a depth knob, what am i doing when i crank a frequency knob, etc.

what unit is that?

most delay's dont have a freq or depth. for the ones that do, it's prolly a modulator of some sort. if you understand the controls of a phaser or flanger, that will explain the extra controls on your delay.

Will

[Evergreen]

However, i'd like to know what exactly is happening when i turn a depth knob, what am i doing when i crank a frequency knob, etc.

what unit is that?

most delay's dont have a freq or depth. for the ones that do, it's prolly a modulator of some sort. if you understand the controls of a phaser or flanger, that will explain the extra controls on your delay.

Will

I thought depth on a delay meant number of delays or feedback

and i thought if it says frequency it could mean one of two things depending on the model... 1. high cut frequency or 2. frequency of delays(delay time)

[syrupcore]

I thought depth on a delay meant number of delays or feedback

and i thought if it says frequency it could mean one of two things depending on the model... 1. high cut frequency or 2. frequency of delays(delay time)

totally could be. that's why I asked the model. phasers, flangers and choruses *usually have depth/frequency controls. they are essentially delays as well and are controlling exactly what you describe.

will

[vvv]

"Frequency", when it comes to delays in my experience, is always about equalisation, versus "number of delays."

Also, "feedback" refers to how much of the output (after the original processing) is "fed back" into the unit. This may sound a bit like having more delay lines, in that if you have a single delay line at 1/4 notes and use 100% feedback you would eventually multiply the initial single signal to infinity, if the electronics could do so.

But that is not the same as having additional delay lines, it is simply adding the processed signal to itself and re-processing. Eventually, you reach the limits of the electrinics in terms of signal degradation, distortion, memory, etc.

Multiple delay lines are more variable and controllable (dotted sixteenths, anyone?) and cleaner sounding.

Chorsii (hey, maybe it's Latin!) and flangers do use a small amount of delay to achieve their purposes, but in the very low millisecond ranges.

[inverseroom]

Check out R. G. Keen's site for a good effects FAQ:

http://www.geofex.com/effxfaq/fxfaq.htm

And somebody will say this eventually, probably Chris Garges, so let me jump the gun and utter the word

EFFECTRON!

[psinglet]

That's a good idea, which i have accomplished to much titilation. However, i'd like to know what exactly is happening when i turn a depth knob, what am i doing when i crank a frequency knob, etc. I'm under the impression that understanding the reason for something occuring is helpful in learning how to use it.

UnlikeCurt,

I don't know if this pertains to your question, but here goes just in case...

On a Lexicon PCM41, the "delay multiply" knob sets the multiplier for the delay length chosen. In addition, it can create some interesting pitch shifting if moved while the unit is generating delay. If rotated clockwise, the pitch goes up, if rotated counterclockwise, pitch goes down. The VCO section is an automatic control of the "delay multiply" knob, allowing for some nice (and some weird) pitch effects. The three knobs that control the section are:

1. Depth: think of this as how far are you turning the "delay multiply" knob. More depth=more pitch shift.

2. Waveform: Think of this as the "pattern" you are turning the knob in. Sine=smoothly from side to side (think of how a sine wave looks). Square=jumping quickly back and forth (think of how a square wave looks). Envelope=volume determines the modulation.

3. Rate: Think of this as the speed you are turning the knob. Faster rate will cause the pitch to go from low to high faster.

Hope some of this is useful.

[fremitus]

depth is indeed the amount of change in delay time. if your waveform is a sine wave and your depth is at zero, then the delay will stay at (arbitrary amount) 100ms. crank up the depth and it will sweep from say 75ms - 150ms in a smooth sine wave like variance. turn the frequency knob to the right and hear a shorter/faster sine wave, thus a faster modulation between 75ms - 150ms.

If perchance you have a knob for 'wave' then you can likely sweep from sine wave to square wave which will dramatically change the delay time from 75ms to 150 ms, without stopping in between at the desired frequency, for a silly cool choppy effect that can be fairly not so musical, but nifty.