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Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 11:05 am
by goroth
What to do dudes? (shit is SW but I'm trying to keep this under 6 pages long - most of the cohesive thoughts are contained outside of the NSFW tags)
Whenever other people post these sort of questions I always feel like "dude, I know nothing about what you play, what you like, or whatever...so buy everything
But... I
fucking finally got rid of some gear locally and am in the hunt for a delay. I've decided to go nuts on delay - got a No Memory coming in for the warbly weird stuff, and then I want a delay for oscillating fun. And that's kinda where I'm at.
Requirements:
*Top mount jacks, no broader than a 1590BB mounted with the short side on the top/bottom and the long side on the um... side.
*Oscillation must be controllable. I don't want anything that ramps up to crazy volumes super quickly - I want to be able to ride the oscillation, either with a soft touch for oscillation, or expression control for feedback.
*Budget: no more than 200 usd.
*Don't want crystal clear repeats.
*Doesn't matter if the delay time is short.
Thoughts thusfar:
Caroline Kilobyte or Moog MF Delay:
The contenders as I see it:
Carline Kilobyte
Pros: The oscillation switch has a filter on it which stops it from getting too screechy. Sounds like fun. It has a drive circuit on the delay line = DISTORTED DELAYS WOOO!
Cons: It's a PT2399. I love the sound of a nicely thought out PT delay, so that's cool, but the No Memory is also PT based, and I wouldn't mind a different flavour. I also think PT delays sound best when they are shitting themselves, and the Caroline maxes out at 500ms. Brian on the other hand knows where it's at and the No memory is 1 second of trashy delay.
Moog MF drive
Pros: Bucket brigade. Always fun with a nice analogue delay. Can control the feedback with an expression pedal, and there is a demo (Chicago music duders?? PGS?) where the dude is letting the feedback oscillate, then reining it back in, then letting it loose again. Good fun.
Cons: The drive pot controls the mixed output, and I want the delay to be at unity. I can deal with adding grit to both the dry and the wet signals (even though I think it'd be cooler to just affect the wet signal) but I want that unity man! So that's a cool feature I'll just have to ignore.
The stuff I've considered but won't buy list:
I've got a Boss DD-7, but I'm using that as a looper and for reverse delay, and while the analogue mode on it is nice, it's not as nice as a DD-3. And the DD-3 doesn't do expression control of the feedback. Also, if I used the DD-7 I'm stupid enough to be slightly unsatisfied knowing that I like the repeats on the DD-3 better. I know that you're average punter probably can't hear the difference between a DS-1 and a DD-7 but I don't care. I'll notice!
Bitquest - rad delay but expression controls the delay time, not the feedback. ILFDD too big.
Don't want to buy Malekko because reasons.
Here's what I'm thinking:
Should I just flip a coin? Is one clearly better than the other and I'm missing something? Are there other rad delays out there I've not considered? Should I buy the Moog because it's black, and well.. satan? Or is the Caroline better because it has a trimpot labelled "tacos"?
Before anyone jumps in and suggests like a Snazzy FX Wow and flutter - the size requirements are absolute, and I have little to no patience or self discipline, which means I've gotta be able to buy it like now, and it also means I'm never going to save a dollar more than what's in my pedal fund right now.
Re: Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 11:33 am
by braaandooon
DE7! Duh. But doesn't fit all of your requirements. Only thing I have to offer about the moog mf delay is that I've been seeing alot of them pop up on ebay as refurbished in pretty big lots, I know they had problems getting them out in time with the other minimoogers, but seems reliability is an issue and alot of people have been returning them. I was ready to grab one up cheap until I contacted the place that was offering them and got the speal. Outside of that I've tried one and loved the sound, but gonna wait and see how they hold up as theyve only been around a few months.
Re: Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 11:43 am
by lapsteel
Echo base. Maybe skullservant/dirge can make you one. Probably could get satan written on it in dirge script. Either way if you like oscillation this does some pretty atmospheric stuff and the modulation is pretty epic...
Re: Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 11:44 am
by braaandooon
Forgot about the ibanez em5 being top mounted and small, the inner trimpots will need to be adjusted to get it oscillating to taste. Very underrated pedal and can be had for under a bill.
Re: Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 11:54 am
by jrmy
lapsteel wrote:Echo base. Maybe skullservant/dirge can make you one. Probably could get satan written on it in dirge script. Either way if you like oscillation this does some pretty atmospheric stuff and the modulation is pretty epic...
Yeah, the Madbean he's done is TIGHT. The base circuit is pretty dark, but he's discussed adding some kind of tone control. And the oscillations do jump pretty fast, but again, that's in the bare-bones-build. There might be a way to add some kind of limiting / volume control on the oscillations if you ask.
Re: Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:07 pm
by goroth
I actually have a dirge delay at home but I have no idea what circuit it is. I don't really care cos dem dirge graphics!!! Massive enclosure, so it won't fit on my board. Will have to check Skully's workload and see if it corresponds with my need for instant gratification
Re: Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 1:00 pm
by Warpsmasher
The echo mode on the Source Audio Dimension reverb is pretty great, but you'd have to get their expression pedal as well. Might take you over budget a little bit, but it seems to meet all the requirements, and does all the cool expression pedal stuff you could ever want, and with reverb too. You can also start without the exp, and footswitch between different presets.
Re: Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 1:38 pm
by coldbrightsunlight
goroth wrote:I actually have a dirge delay at home but I have no idea what circuit it is. I don't really care cos dem dirge graphics!!! Massive enclosure, so it won't fit on my board. Will have to check Skully's workload and see if it corresponds with my need for instant gratification
Ohhh I was gonna ask why the dirge wasn't doing it for you because what I think you're describing is just what I loved about that pedal!!
Re: Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 1:44 pm
by Eivind August
What about those "old" Jack Deville Dark Echos? There's a new one coming, but that wont be top mounted.
Re: Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 2:40 pm
by goroth
monkeydancer wrote:goroth wrote:I actually have a dirge delay at home but I have no idea what circuit it is. I don't really care cos dem dirge graphics!!! Massive enclosure, so it won't fit on my board. Will have to check Skully's workload and see if it corresponds with my need for instant gratification
Ohhh I was gonna ask why the dirge wasn't doing it for you because what I think you're describing is just what I loved about that pedal!!
To be honest I'd be afraid of trashing the finish on it too - I dig it so much. Looks durable as, but I'm not always rational in terms of gear. It's also nice having good gear at home not just in the rehearsal room haha! Been playing it every day dude - and bonus for the LDR Skully added being 3 year-old friendly
. Win-win - I get modulated delay, he gets to play with flashing lights and turn knobs.
Re: Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 3:11 pm
by Tristan
I thought the DD-3 could be modded to take an expression jack for the feedback or the time.
I'm pretty sure it's possible with the DD-5 anyway and that one sounds awesome too, in fact it kinda always stays in check in a beautiful way, even if you crank the feedback so I'd say it's a big contender, it has it's own kinda metallic quality to it though.
There's also the Red Witch Violetta which is really tiny and has expression control over the repeats.
Does the Disaster Transport have an oscillation function?
You discard quite a few really cool options by the size requirements though, 1590BB is no problem but most cool delays are oriented the other way so you might be better off looking at those as well (even just consider putting the pedal sideways on your board maybe).
Another thing I'd do is wait for the No Memory to get there and try it out first, you might end up using it in a completely different way or be able to use it both ways or whatever, requirements may change based on your experiences with it.
Oh yeah, have you thought of using a kickdisk or option knob for the repeats / feedback maybe?
That would broaden up your options considerably as well.
Re: Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 3:30 pm
by goroth
Tristan, that was of course the logical answer - to wait and see what the no Memory does... haha.
but GAS?
Re: Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 3:35 pm
by coldbrightsunlight
goroth wrote:monkeydancer wrote:goroth wrote:I actually have a dirge delay at home but I have no idea what circuit it is. I don't really care cos dem dirge graphics!!! Massive enclosure, so it won't fit on my board. Will have to check Skully's workload and see if it corresponds with my need for instant gratification
Ohhh I was gonna ask why the dirge wasn't doing it for you because what I think you're describing is just what I loved about that pedal!!
To be honest I'd be afraid of trashing the finish on it too - I dig it so much. Looks durable as, but I'm not always rational in terms of gear. It's also nice having good gear at home not just in the rehearsal room haha! Been playing it every day dude - and bonus for the LDR Skully added being 3 year-old friendly
. Win-win - I get modulated delay, he gets to play with flashing lights and turn knobs.
Awww that's adorable. Inducting him into fun noise early, I like that.
Re: Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 4:22 pm
by Tristan
goroth wrote:Tristan, that was of course the logical answer - to wait and see what the no Memory does... haha.
but GAS?
Yup, trying to be the voice of reason, that's very not ILF I know but I've caught a nasty flu so I'm a bit ill...
Cool story about your little one!
Re: Which oscillating delay?
Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 4:53 pm
by goroth
Yeah, he normally gets annoyed that I'm daring to spend time on activities that don't involve lego/spiderman/turning the couch into a rocketship etc, but oscillating fuzz (Ab Synth) and oscillating delays seem to do the trick. I think it's the fact that the knobs make stuff sound radically different, and it's obvious that he's making the change in the noise. Turning the depth up on a phaser isn't necessarily as cool. And of course it gets loud. Loud is good.