Delay Debate

[Gearmond]

Hokay, so I always figured delay is a fairly devicive subject for guitarists. some hate it, some can't live without it.

I always found that is a bit too easy to sound really good with delay. if you get the timing right, its pretty much instant counterpoint. it feels like theres always a formula to it, imo. I mean its fun and all, but somethings missing for me.

so what do you guys love/hate about delay? favorite pedals? fun feedback stories?

[The4455]

I agree with you that with a perfectly timed delay pedal you sound alot "better," I like delay for clean guitar at a "slap-back" setting to make it sound fuller. My favorite delay expereince was/is when I used/use my Theremin through it, and use teh delay to self oscillate. When I hear teh word delay I think David Gilmour and being at the airport.

[tuffteef]

i like delay for its ambience and oscillations

what i hate
is when your tape delay stops working all the time like mine
and i hate the cheesy chorus and vibrato on delays thats supposed to be like wow and flutter
i get wow and flutter but at like random times like once on an actual tape delay
not 247 hoes jeez

[D3rP]

I only really like delay for ambiances and such also. Not at all for slapbacks and leads and shit.


Don't have much experience with it though and only have 1 and 1/2 but want moar.

[theactionindex]

I'm definitely in the "can't live without it" category. While I can still play fine without it, I absolutely looooooove creating ambient textures with delay in combination with pretty much any/every other effect on my board. Not to mention self oscillation is fun as hell. I'm happy with my Superdelay and Deluxe Memory Boy, but I'm still always on the quest for new delays to fuck around with.

[madmax1012]

i bought my boss dd-7 and i really like it for certain things, but i didn't "love" delay until i first used the M9. i don't really use it for slap back, but it makes ambient stuff just sound amazing. and i agree that oscillation is fun especially when you have a 13 year old sister who can't stand it

[Mudfuzz]

My guitarist falls into the never met a delay she didn't like group... She has a SMMWH and a Maxon AD900 on her board. I personally have always had a love for it but almost never get to use it live. I have a AD900 on my board and I have a Space Echo for recording. I also have one of those Digitech pds 1002s around somewhere...

[bigchiefbc]

I friggin LOVE delay. I don't use it on every song, but easily 4 or 5 songs per gig. And settings are changing from song to song, so I dig presets. Right now I'm using a DD-20, which does pretty much all I need for now. At some point I'm going to build myself an analog delay for the crazy feedback takeoff noise stuff for the end of the set. That is the only thing that the DD-20 isn't good at.

mmmmm, delay

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ld3c_IVmk8[/youtube]

[01010111]

I love delays. I haven't owned one where I though to myself, this sounds like shit. They all have different sound qualities and depending on what you're looking for one of those cheap artec delays could be where it's at.

At home I use them for everything, but when it actually comes to writting a song I typically only use two setting: ambient, and slapback. Dotted eighth style delays are fun for arpeggios, but whenever I try and incorporate them into a song it never quite works out. I've never found a real use for gilmor style solos either.

[fever606]

Guitar > Big Muff > Delay > Amp. Everything else is negotiable.

I use delay to add layers to my playing, to give it a fullness. Very little rhythmic counterpoint / dotted eighth hooey in my straight playing*. Big fan of the Boss DD-# and DM-2 and the old-skool DMM. Currently shacked up with the El Capistan, with some support from the Boss PS-3 (2 second delays whut). Killer combo.

* Admittedly, like half my thing these days is making the guitar sound like a synth, and then the rhythmic delays come in handy.

[Gearmond]

yeah, i agree with the stance it not being too practical live, unless you go out of your way to make delay friendly music.

aka post-rock :P

[fever606]

yeah, i agree with the stance it not being too practical live, unless you go out of your way to make delay friendly music.

aka post-rock :P

I mean this in the nicest possible way, but horseshit. Post-rock is fine and all, but that is far from the only genre of "delay friendly" music. Shoegaze much? Or perhaps you have heard of a little thing called reggae? Nevermind the Gilmours and Frisells and Fripps and...

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

^ true dat. delays are everywhere in music.

[echobaseone]

can't live without and yet, when i play live I don't use them.
i have 3 now.
but you know, fuck playing live. I am a maestro at home.

[adrianlee]

Only one guitarist in my band, I use delay to just sound bigger.

And, ping ponging delays on a stereo set up is the tits.