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Here's a question: why do some delay pedals have subdivisions on their length/time knobs/switches? Why not just a clean sweep from like 10-2000 or whatever?

I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable answer, but I have no idea what it is.

I think it’s just to make tapping in a rhythmic delay easier; you tap a quarter note and the echos play back at the selected rhythmic rate

That is why.

I'm confused - what about pedals without tap? Like a DE7, with the Range selector switch split up into 30-160, 120-550, 480-2600, etc?

Oh sorry when you said subdivisions I thought you meant musical subdivisions rather than switches between the separate delay time ranges. What you are talking about is a totally different thing to what ratrod and I were talking about.

I would imagine it's to make the sweep of the knob more usable to do certain common things in each mode e.g. I guess it might be harder to tweak for the exact right 'slapback' sound on a knob that goes all the way to 2seconds max.

Each of those ranges corresponds to a certain "style" of delay. So I think it's an easy way of giving maximum control within a certain zone. Like, I want slapback so I put it on the shorter setting. I want long so I put it on the long setting.

It may have to do with fidelity too. i.e you trade time for resolution

qersty wrote:It may have to do with fidelity too. i.e you trade time for resolution

yeah that's why at least BOSS pedals saw it as an improvement. The smooth delay knob times on vintage DD-3 are all at different sampling rates. you might notice it gets a touch grungier at the max delay time. (you'll definitely notice it on the PS-2!!!) whereas every single delay time available on DD-5 is CD quality, and it does not warble.

Yeah, I realize now I could've been clearer. That all makes sense. I guess as someone who almost always uses the max delay time (or at least the max 25% of delay time) I never really thought about it.

Thanks, all! You're great.

no u

I don’t WANT to know how delay pedals are made. It’s magic!! A witch stirs a boiling cauldron and a delay pedal comes out after they throw a frogs liver in.....

One little cat tells the other little cat what to play to match your input signal, and the other little cat plays it on a tiny guitar.

mathias wrote:One little cat tells the other little cat what to play to match your input signal, and the other little cat plays it on a tiny guitar.

Cats. Does their cunning know no bounds?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75WFTHpOw8Y

This is perhaps the most succinct explanation of hybrid BBD-digital circuit topography I've ever heard.

mcatano wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75WFTHpOw8Y

This is perhaps the most succinct explanation of hybrid BBD-digital circuit topography I've ever heard.

I have sampled that last line so many times. In my head.

mathias wrote:One little cat tells the other little cat what to play to match your input signal, and the other little cat plays it on a tiny guitar.

this is canon now