Traditional delays simply repeat the original signal without simulating what it would sound like in an acoustic space. All reverbs are delays, but not all delays are reverbs. What you're hearing is the sound of a delayed signal being played back in a reverberant space, which colors and smears the sound. Both are time-based effects, but they add depth and space to mixes in different ways. Digital delays offer more sophisticated and complex effects than traditional analog delay, such as reverb, time-stretching and even pitch-shifting.Īt this point, you may be wondering about the differences between reverb and delay. Some of the most popular examples of early tape delays are the Echoplex EP-2 and the Roland RE-201 Space Echo, popularized by Brian Eno.īoss released the DD-2, the world's first digital delay pedal in 1984, ushering in a new era of time-based effects. By the 1960s and 70s, popular artists began experimenting with analog delay units to create interesting new sounds that fueled the psychedelic, progressive and ambient genres. The length of the loop controls the length of the repeated sounds.Īt first, tape loops and delays were used to create unique rhythms, textures, and timbres in the form of musique concrète. Tape loops are created by splicing a section of tape end-to-end, which can be looped to playback continuously. Originally, delays were created using analog tape loops: a technique developed by Pierre Schaeffer the 1940s. Whether you're adding subtle ambiance to simulate an acoustic space, or creating trippy Radiohead-style delay loops, delay can be a potent form of ear candy that catches the listeners' attention. It can also be used to make tracks sound wider by using a stereo delay on a mono signal, or panning the delay to the opposite side of the mix.įinally, delay can be a great way to add rhythmic excitement to your track. Much like reverb, delay can be used to push a track back in the mix and create the illusion of depth. Depending on the parameters, the signal may repeat once, or multiple times, and can even be fed back into itself to create a decaying echo effect.ĭelay can be a great way to add space to a track without taking up much room in the mix. What Is Delay?ĭelay is an audio processing technique that records an input source to a storage medium (like a reel of tape or a hard drive), then plays it back after a user-defined period of time. In this blog, we'll break down everything you need to know about mixing with delay, including the basic controls, how to set the timing, and tips for achieving different effects with delay. However, sometimes it can be difficult to dial in the sound in your head-especially if you're not used to working with delays. Delay is a powerful mixing tool for adding width, depth and dimension to your tracks.
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