High Quality Analog Delay?

Knights Who Say Neve · Post by **Knights Who Say Neve** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 11:13 pm

Does anyone know of a unit (in production or not) that offers reasonably high audio quality analog delay? I have an Ibanez UE405 and I can only describe the analog delay on it as "medium fi". I like it but it's not always appropriate. Preferably I'd like to have something akin to what Demeter did on their recent spring reverb unit.

RefD · Post by **RefD** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 12:40 am

i think Yamaha, Loft and Roland made some good BBD stuff in the early 80s, but i can't recall any model info. sorry.

bobbydj · Post by **bobbydj** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 12:47 am

I use several of these:

Dot · Post by **Dot** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 2:23 am

Look no further than the TC Electronic 2290
http://www.tcelectronic.com/TC2290

Still in production, but it been out since the 80's, so you can probably find a good deal on a used one. This unit is the shizzle and an industry standard delay.

konabuzz · Post by **konabuzz** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 4:59 am

Dot wrote:Look no further than the TC Electronic 2290
http://www.tcelectronic.com/TC2290

Still in production, but it been out since the 80's, so you can probably find a good deal on a used one. This unit is the shizzle and an industry standard delay.

The 2290 is indeed da shiznit, but is in fact, digital all the way, baby. It can be made to sound very analog, and has limitless modulation possiblities, etc. Goes for around $900-1000 on the 'Bay.

The Fulltone Tape Echo mentioned earlier is sooooooooo nice. Outta my league money-wise, tho. What's nice also is that it's new, not a 25 year old Roland Space Echo that's this close to breathing it's last.

The UE405 has a wonderful delay, but is a little on the lo-fi side, as you say. Of course that's what many people are seeking to begin with.....analog crud -- it can be a beautiful thing. However, if you want a little cleaner sound, the Ibanez Ad-202 is a good bet. It's a dedicated delay, with modulation, tone control, etc. max delay time is 300-400 ms. The can be found on Ebay for $150 - 200. I've got two and really have fun running them as a "stereo" effect with the delay times set slightly apart. Such a huge sound. If you can find an Ibanez Ad-230.....better yet -- max. delay time is 600ms, which is amazing for an older analog. XLR in/out, too. Goes for $300 and up.

Another clean, clean, clean analog delay is the Rockman Stereo Echo, found on Ebay for probably $200 and up. Pretty rare now. Super clean, and has interesting ping - pong option.

Of course there are tons of delays that have their own weird signature, but are not what you'd call "clean" by any stretch. Think of all the pedals you could use with a Reamp'r thingie. Wow...Memory Man? Good luck.

bobbydj · Post by **bobbydj** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 5:34 am

konabuzz wrote:The Fulltone Tape Echo mentioned earlier is sooooooooo nice. Outta my league money-wise, tho.

Yeah. I was being sarcastic. I thought the "several" would give it away. Here's what I actually use:

They're rubbish.

I'm Painting Again · Post by **I'm Painting Again** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 6:00 am

hey a good way to get high quality and a delay..is to just record a clean hi-fi channel of what ever your recording then blend with an analog delay or pedal..for example i use a hi-res mic into an expensive preamp then either send it to a memory man to tape/hd or do the same in the mix process..so the blending of a nice mic chain and a simple pedal like the MM can give the illusion of a high quality delay..it doesnt hurt that the MM has a very cool tone..

Dot · Post by **Dot** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 7:11 am

konabuzz wrote: The 2290 is indeed da shiznit, but is in fact, digital all the way, baby.

Jeez, yeh, you're right. I sorta forgot it's digital.

krylenko · Post by **krylenko** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 7:52 am

konabuzz, if you pop your ad-202 open, you can tweak internal pots to increase the delay time. I believe the control is labeled "clock speed". you can also vary feedback levels and modulation parameters.

be careful adjusting things, though--those pots are fragile. I always wanted to bring the connections out to front-panel knobs on my 202. you can get a MUCH wider range of sounds out of it by tweaking the internal controls.

andrew embassy · Post by **andrew embassy** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 8:19 am

Dot wrote:
konabuzz wrote: The 2290 is indeed da shiznit, but is in fact, digital all the way, baby.
Jeez, yeh, you're right. I sorta forgot it's digital.

You know, that star wars kid actually had pretty good lightsaber form...

WelcomeHome · Post by **WelcomeHome** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 10:07 am

Guys,

You can't lose with the Boss DM300. This unit rocks. All analog delay and chorus unit. Two inputs, controls for RATE, INTENSITY, and TONE. Mixed output and 100% wet out. Also has attenuation switches for input and output impedances. Ultra quiet, super sexy!

Downsides: it's an unconventional shape, you'll have to custom fit it into a rack tray, and the height isn't standard either. It's not a balanced unit, XLR/TRS need not apply.

I don't see them often. I love mine and would never part with it. I also just snagged an RE-101 last night - the antithesis of hi-fi for sure. I plugged it in and I think I immediately grew 3' dreadlocks and the room filled with potent weed smoke!

M

eeldip · Post by **eeldip** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 10:19 am

if you can find one the DOD R-885 is a really high class analog unit. much more hi-fi than my ibanez rack thingy.

the difference between the straight and delayed signal is noticable, but it isnt quite as pinched as ibanez analog delay (which also picks up some funky resonances).

of course, the medium finess is sort of the POINT of an analog delay. analog delays are great cause the delays dont step on the original signal, and as they repeat they sort of move through perceived space (they retreat to that weird analog delay world) giving you a "bigger" sound stage. but if you are looking for a sort of mid point between hi-fi digital and analog, the DOD will get you there.

oh and its only got like 256ms of delay (which i think you can tweek with the internal pots to a bit longer?)

workshed · Post by **workshed** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 11:17 am

What about using an old reel-to-reel to produce an analog delay? I have an old Pioneer 1020L 2-track that was given to me a few years ago and once the replacement power cord shows up, I plan on messing with that and also using it to add some natural compression to ProTools mixes. I found this site to be somewhat helpful for me to understand what all this beast might be able to do:

http://arts.ucsc.edu/ems/music/equipmen ... .html#Echo

-Bret

WelcomeHome · Post by **WelcomeHome** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 11:52 am

I have the DOD 880 Dual Delay (earlier stylings of the 885). Compared with the DM-300 it's more lo-fi and that's why I didn't mention it before. Since it is on the table now I wanted to share my experiences in hopes others may benefit from it...

I usually employ it as an aux send 100% wet or, if using it live, bring it in on it's own channel and mix it to please with the original signal on a different channel of the same amp. This is because the tone of whatever you put into it, guitar, keyboard, etc. will be noticeably dulled in a rather annoying way, even in bypass mode. An easy way around this, and what I do with my Rhodes setup, is to use a Morley ABY box as a signal splitter. Channel one is pure clean Rhodes and goes to one channel on my amp. This keeps my tone bright and full, unsquashed. Channel two goes to the DOD 880. I set the mix of the delay to 100% wet, so that no signal will pass thru unless the footswitch is punched in. I set my input level and then run the output from the delay into the second channel of my amp, again checking levels between "clean" and "delay". Blast into outer space. This setup will obviously only work if you have a two channel amp OR two amps (which I'm actually running now, much to my bandmates dismay=). It may sound a little involved, but trust me, if you have one of these DOD units, or a lot of other effects that suck tone like this does (MemoryMan and Ibanez units come to mind as well), this method will open your ears to the way your instrument should sound.

Also, the way the 880 feeds back can take some getting used to. It will run away from you VERY fast, unlike a Space Echo or the afformentioned Boss DM300 which take off very smoothly and slowly. A guitarist friend tried to use my 880 on several occasions and never got the hang of it. I'd say the comfort/control learning curve is a little bigger than other delay units.

I hope I'm not coming off like a know it all about analog delays or something...I've just spent a TON of time with a few units and I hope someone can learn something from this. I regularly practice and gig with my 880 and I love it.

Have fun,

M

Knights Who Say Neve · Post by **Knights Who Say Neve** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 12:04 pm

I need a hi-fi one so I can do tricks like delaying close mics relative to room mics and things like that, in real time. I want to keep things analog so lining up the mic hits in a DAW is not an option. Mabye someone has a link to a simple (simple enough for a soldiering-iron challenged lug nut such as myself) bucket-brigade device that will provide up to, say, 15ms of delay, with minimal artifacts?

Or is there a better way to delay mics?

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