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C0MPUTER MUSlC I^NU^RY 2006 IUI0RIAL
neke nuelc Hcv FX masterclass
Delay
As one o |e nos ve|s|e eeCs |e|e s, we s|ow you
|ow o nke |ee| use o Ce|y n you| p|oCuCons
5
o far |n th|s ser|es we've |ooked at
the bread and butter of product|on
effects compress|on and reverb.
From hereon in, however, the tools we'll
be covering are meant to be used and
abused to stamp your authority and
creativity all over your productions. This
month we're looking at delay.
Put simply, delay is the repetition of
a sound. lt's usually taken to mean
distinctly audible repetitions of the type
most non-producers call echoes, but in
fact, much faster repetitions are also
technically delays too, it's just that after
a certain point we start calling them
reverb or flanging or whatever. Iust like
reverberation, delay is so much a part
of natural sound that things sound
strange without it. But unlike
reverberation, delay can be a
fantastically unnatural sounding tool,
and is great for creating sounds and
grooves that you simply won't encounter
in nature. lt can even be used to
produce pseudo-arpeggio, chorus,
phasing, flanging and reverb effects. ln
this respect, delay is perhaps the most
versatile type of processing you'll
encounter. But how do we obtain it?
There have only ever really been
three techniques used to create delays
analogue |tapel, digital hardware and
plug-ins. Let's take a look.
0o the 0V0
TUTDPIAL FILES
A|| the |oops referred to |n
th|s tutor|a| can be found |n
the Iutcr|a| F||es fo|der
Common types of delay
TAPE
Though |t took the advent of d|g|ta|
techno|ogy to rea||y turn the corner |n
stud|o reverb, some rather tasty de|ay
un|ts had been ava||ab|e |ong before
that. There were a var|ety of product|on
mode|s lthe Watk|ns 0op|cat and
Ro|and Space Echo be|ng the two
most recogn|sab|e ||nesl and any
number of custom un|ts, but the bas|c
concept was s|mp|e. A |oop of tape
wou|d p|ay |n lnot surpr|s|ng|yl a |oop.
As |t d|d, |t wou|d pass an erase head,
a record head, and then a var|ab|e
number of p|ayback heads. The who|e
th|ng worked by send|ng the |ncom|ng
s|gna| to the record|ng head, and then
that s|gna| wou|d be p|ayed back by
one or more of the p|ayback heads,
thus creat|ng the de|ays. T|m|ng was
contro||ed by a|ter|ng the speed of the
|ooped tape. |n add|t|on, the de|ays
cou|d be extended by send|ng some of
the output s|gna| back |nto the
record|ng head, thus creat|ng feedback
and extend|ng the de|ays. Not on|y
that, but because of the natura| s|gna|
degradat|on of ana|ogue tape, these
extended de|ays wou|d get
success|ve|y du||er sound|ng and often
have subt|e var|at|ons |n p|tch just
||ke sounds |n the rea| wor|d. 0n some
un|ts, the p|ayback heads cou|d even
be |nserted |nto or removed from the
cha|n separate|y. So, |f tape de|ays
were so coo|, why d|d we sw|tch to
d|g|ta|? We||, the mach|nes wore out
qu|ck|y, the tape wore out even
qu|cker, the contro|s were ||m|ted, and
the who|e system was expens|ve and
cumbersome. So that |ed to.
DICITAL DELAY UNITS
0|g|ta| de|ay un|ts are very ||ke reverb
un|ts |n that they use a comb|nat|on of
samp||ng and f||ter|ng to rep||cate the
effect of rea| wor|d echoes. When
d|g|ta| de|ay un|ts f|rst emerged,
presets were st||| just a g||nt |n most
producers' eyes and each parameter
had a knob to get anyth|ng usefu|
you had to have prev|ous know|edge
or an adventurous and pat|ent
d|spos|t|on. Then, |n the 90s,
mu|t|-effects un|ts and more advanced
c|rcu|try soon saw off that hands-on
approach, unt|| most peop|e cou|dn't
te|| you |n wh|ch sub-menu to f|nd the
de|ay patch parameters, much |ess
what those parameters were. So wh||e
the contro| ava||ab|e was much greater
|n these un|ts, |n pract|ce most peop|e
stuck to a preset and on|y ever rea||y
tweaked the feedback and t|m|ng land
not even the |atter |f the|r un|t featured
BFM sync|ng v|a M|0|l. Now, wh||e
there are qu|te a few c|ass|c hardware
reverbs that st||| have an env|ab|e
lthough not exact|y rea||st|cl sound
today, even w|th nosta|g|a |t's hard to
see most d|g|ta| de|ay un|ts as much
more than a step towards.
PLUC-INS
|nterest|ng|y th|s |s one area of
computer-based d|g|ta| mus|c
product|on that has made rea|-wor|d
product|ons as adventurous as the|r
potent|a| a||ows on paper. Why?
Because most decent de|ay p|ug-|ns
now put a|| the contro|s back where
they be|ong on the front pane|l
Modern p|ug-|ns run the gamut from
s|mp|e BFM synced de|ays to Nat|ve
|nstruments' repeat|ng behemoth,
Spektra| 0e|ay. 0e|ay upon de|ay can
now be |nd|v|dua||y contro||ed, stacked,
f||tered and used to modu|ate others,
creat|ng h|therto unheard of grooves
and textures. 0h, and you can use
them to create the odd echo tool
0|d tae de|ays had a charm a|| cI the|r cwn
A0VANCE0
EFFECTS
|A| 3
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C0MPUTER MUSlC I^NU^RY 2006 IUI0RIAL
IUI0RIAL I^NU^RY 2006 C0MPUTER MUSlC
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OGA fccue neke nuelc Hcv FX masterclass
THE ANAT0MY 0F 0ELAY
|ese Cys |e|es no suC| |n s ypC| Ce|y, so |e|e |e se|eCon
o popu|| Ce|y p|uns nC exp|nons o |e| v|ous key unCons.
01
WET/DPY MIX As
w|th a|| effects, th|s
sets the ba|ance
between the or|g|na| and processed
s|gna|s. For the most part de|ay
p|ug-|ns are used as |nserts these
days, but |f you want to set and
contro| the parameters for mu|t|p|e
tracks or |f you want to add
further process|ng to the effected
s|gna| |t's best to p|ace your
p|ug-|n on an effects bus. And wh||e
there are no hard and fast ru|es, a
good start|ng p|ace |s 55 dry for
|nsert usages and l00 wet for
de|ay on effects busses.
0Z
FEEDBACK Feedback
descr|bes the process
by wh|ch the output of
the de|ay effect |s sent back to the
|nput and the |eve| contro|s the
strength of the s|gna|. Natura||y, as
the d|fferent sounds p||e up there
are end|ess var|at|ons on the
sounds produced. |dea||y, feedback
shou|d be supp||ed from the very
end of the s|gna| cha|n.
03
DELAY TIME Th|s
parameter contro|s
the |nterva| between
the moment a de|ay processor
rece|ves a s|gna| and then sp|ts out
a copy of |t. |t's poss|b|y the most
cr|t|ca| parameter on a de|ay. Short
t|mes produce th|cken|ng or
modu|at|on effects, |onger de|ay
t|mes produce aud|b|e echoes, |dea|
for BFM de|ays. 0e|ay t|me |s
common|y measured |n
m||||seconds or rhythm|c step and
note va|ues.
04
0PDDVE Many de|ay
p|ug-|ns that feature
note va|ues for de|ay
t|me |n add|t|on to lor |nstead ofl
m||||seconds, have the opt|on to add
some sw|ng by app|y|ng e|ther
dotted or tr|p|et note va|ues to the
de|ay t|me. For examp|e, |n Log|c's
Tape 0e|ay you can move smooth|y
between tr|p|et, norma| and dotted
notes |n percentage |ncrements.
05
DEPTH/PATE/
WAVEFDPM When
natura| echoes occur,
the d|fferent character|st|cs of the
|nteract|ng surfaces create
extreme|y subt|e var|at|ons |n p|tch
and t|m|ng. W|thout these, the effect
of de|ays can sound qu|te robot|c
and unnatura|, but fortunate|y the
|nherent wow and f|utter of o|d tape-
de|ays created a s|m||ar effect. |n
d|g|ta| de|ay, however, these
var|at|ons don't occur natura||y,
so |n much the same way as LF0s
can be used to modu|ate synth
sounds, they're a|so emp|oyed to
modu|ate the p|tch of de|ayed
s|gna|s, thus creat|ng a s|m||ar
effect. Typ|ca| contro|s |nc|ude the
modu|at|on depth, rate lor speedl
and waveform shape.
06
E/FILTEP Both
nature and o|d tape
de|ays |nherent|y
consp|re to a|ter the frequenc|es of
any repet|t|ons. |n the rea| wor|d th|s
|s due to the ways d|fferent
frequenc|es react w|th surfaces, and
|n tapes |t's to do w|th the ||m|ts of
tape record|ng and the c|rcu|try of
the un|ts. To reproduce these
effects, many de|ay p|ug-|ns offer
rud|mentary E0 or h|gh and |ow cut
f||ter|ng, and these are p|aced
before the feedback stage to ensure
the effect |s rea||st|ca||y cumu|at|ve.
07
SYNC 0ne of the
greatest features of
p|ug-|n de|ays over
tape land even most o|d M|0|
modu|esl |s that they offer easy
sync|ng of de|ay t|mes to the
project's host tempo. And |n
most cases the p|ug-|n w||| even
fo||ow any tempo changes w|th|n
a track.
08
PAN Fann|ng de|ays
w|th d|fferent sett|ngs
|eft and r|ght |s one of
the eas|est ways to add some
creat|ve dynam|sm to your m|x. For
max|mum effect, try hav|ng d|fferent
de|ay t|mes for each channe| |t's
eas|est |f you use steplnote-va|ues
for each.
09
DPIVE The natura|
effect of h|gh
feedback sett|ngs on
o|d tape-de|ays was to create
extreme tape saturat|on, wh|ch
sounded qu|te n|ce. But on d|g|ta|
p|ug-|ns the effect of over|oad|ng
|sn't qu|te so sweet, so some
feature a dr|ve contro| to add the
smoother sound of excess to the
output s|gna|.
PSP 08
Logc Tape Delay
Cubase DoubleDelay
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C0MPUTER MUSlC I^NU^RY 2006 IUI0RIAL
neke nuelc Hcv FX masterclass
Cettng the most from a basc delay
BPM Load up a basic delay plug-in. You need one that features at least
feedback, delay time and mix controls. Now add your chosen loop into
your arrangement and set your sequencer to loop over it. Set the Feedback
to zero and the wetldry mix to about 50. Play back the loop now and you
should hear one repeat. lf your delay has step or musical interval settings you
can use these to alter the timing of the delay, but if possible, alter the timing in
milliseconds instead and listen to it drifting in and out. Now raise the Feedback
slowly and you can hear the effect of the signal feeding off itself. Turn it up too
high and the effect will be self-perpetuating and keep building up and up until
the signal clips.
There are a million different ways to
modify and modulate delays, creating a
vast range of effects, such as phasing
and flanging. But to really understand
those, it's vital that you first understand
the fundamentals. We all know a delay
when we hear one, and we can explain
roughly what it is, but when was the last
time any of us actually manually
created any basic delay patches from
scratch? Well, it's about time we did.
^nd before we start, you'll need to
select a suitably percussive loop that
suits your style of music...
5LAP-BACK The temptation for production novices is to slather reverb all over their
mixes and leave their delay set to BPM style effects |largely because that's what
most plug-in presets offerl, but this misses out on something much less muddy and
far sexier than reverb slap-back delay. To hear this effect, you'll need to alter the
timing in milliseconds anywhere from about 30ms to 100ms should see you right.
The general effect of slap-back delay is very vintage, as it was used liberally on
guitars and vocals in the days before digital reverb |most notably to give Iohn
Lennon's voice that distinctive psychedelic soundl, but it can make an exciting and
distinctive substitute for reverb on most types of signal. Note: 0lassic slap-back
requires the feedback be set to zero, but don't be afraid to play with it a little.
MULIIIAP Unlike the basic delay types we've seen so far, multitap delays |made
popular on digital delay and multi-effect hardware unitsl do not simply reproduce
the whole signal after the full delay time has elapsed. lnstead, they 'tap' the delayed
signal at various points before the complete delay time and play back the signal at
that point. So, if you imagine the delay path and time as being a pipe of water one
metre long, you can place a varying number of taps |typically three or fourl at
various points along the pipe. The most common controls enable you to set the
time between the taps and also the volume of the signal taken from each tap. 0f
course, if you set the volume of all the taps to zero except the last, what you're left
with is the same basic delay we've been looking at all along.
5tate-cI-the-art mu|t|ta de|ay act|cn w|th P5P's h|gh|y I|ex|b|e P5P 608
Cubase's McdDe|ay |s erIect Icr creat|ng c|ass|c s|a-back eIIects Lcg|c's 5terec De|ay a||cws Icr |ng-cng eIIects w|th |eIt-r|ght crcssIeed|ng
M00ULAII0N We'll be looking at phasing, flanging and chorus in a few months, but
it's worth making a mental note that these are either very similar to |or variations onl
the basic controls and principles of delay.
Peascn's DDL-1 cIIers an exce||ent |ntrcduct|cn tc bas|c BPM de|ays
PIN0-P0N0 0ELAY5 Named because of their fast and rhythmic left-right,
right-left effect. Ping-pong delays are created by supplying a dual-channel signal
|either stereo or two different mono signalsl and then sending the feedback from
the left channel to the input of the right and vice versa. The two signals are then
panned hard left and right to present the effect.
IUI0RIAL I^NU^RY 2006 C0MPUTER MUSlC
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OGA fccue neke nuelc Hcv FX masterclass
Takng the next creatve step
Ab|etcn L|ve
cIIers nc |ess
than I|ve d|IIerent
de|ay |ug-|ns
3
Th|s effect |s created by hav|ng se|ected beats do|ng
doub|e h|ts, but as the f|rst h|t comes ear|y, the second
land most|y unheardl track must be exact|y an
e|ghth-note ahead. For th|s reason, |t's |mpract|ca| to have the
effect on the f|rst bar of a track, so make some cop|es of the
|oop on each track so that |t extends for at |east l6 bars. >>
STEP BY STEP Creating delays without delayl
1
0e|ays are usua||y assoc|ated w|th echoes, but what |f
the repeat comes before the or|g|na|? Anybody who's
heard a decent h|p-hop 0I go|ng to town w|th two
cop|es of a record w||| know th|s tr|ck, though maybe not how
|t's done. Start by |oad|ng up the aud|o f||e D|ng tr|ck |cc
|nto your 0AW of cho|ce. We're us|ng Ab|eton L|ve. >>
2
You need two cop|es of the |oop, so drag and copy the
|oop part to another track l|f your sequencer has troub|e
us|ng the same f||e on two tracks, make a copy of the
aud|o f||e and use that one for the other trackl. |f you're
work|ng |n L|ve, ass|gn track l to crossfader s|de A and track
2 to s|de B, and then push the crossfader |eft. A|so, set the
project tempo to l29bpm. >>
6
|f you're us|ng L|ve, |et the project p|ay, but a sp||t
second before bar 8 4 3 lexact|y one le|ghth-note
before bar 9l push the crossfader a|| the way r|ght, and
then pu|| |t back aga|n a sp||t second before the start of bar
9. |f you're not us|ng L|ve, |t's even s|mp|er s|mp|y chop the
second |oop up |nto segments and mute the parts you don't
need for the effect.
4
0e|ete the f|rst n|ne bars from track 2, and then sh|ft
the |oop part on th|s track s||ght|y to the |eft, so that |t's
p|ay|ng exact|y an e|ghth-note before track l. Now |et
both p|ay together and ra|se the vo|ume on track 2 unt|| you
can hear the effect leach beat of the |oop shou|d be doub|ed
up mak|ng |t sound ||ke the tempo |s tw|ce as fast. >>
5
Now you know the genera| effect we're go|ng for, |t's
t|me to turn |t |nto someth|ng workab|e. |f you're us|ng
L|ve, you can do what the 0Is do and use the crossfader
to make sure that on|y one of the tracks p|ays at a t|me. |f
you're work|ng |n someth|ng e|se, you'|| need to use another
techn|que to a|ternate. Make sure the vo|ume's the same on
tracks l and 2. >>
^lthough delay is about recording and
replaying small chunks of audio, you
don't always have to use a plug-in to
create the effect there are all sorts of
ways to produce similar results. Iust
remember that studio delay needn't
necessarily be about sounds being
recorded and replayed at different
intervals. 0elay is about repetition, and
there are all sorts of creative methods
of doing this with digital audio. The key
is simply bothering to try.
With this in mind, before we finish
our look at delay, here's an example of
just one of the many tricks you can use.
^pplied sparingly, it's an incredibly cool,
effective and adaptable technique,
which can be used on almost any kind
of music. lt's a particular favourite of
skilled hip-hop 0Is, but if you want to
hear it in effect on a chart-storming
dance track, get hold of a copy of
5olsoul Nugget (lf L Wonno by M&S
Presents The 0irl Next 0oor.
neke nuelc Hcv FX masterclass
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C0MPUTER MUSlC I^NU^RY 2006 IUI0RIAL
|e|y powe| ps
WHEN U5IN0 0ELAY |or, indeed, any
effectl in a sendlreturn configuration,
'the manual' says you should have that
effect's wetldry mix set to fully wet, but
don't believe everything you read. Try
adding some of the dry signal to the
effects bus too. 0epending on your host,
plug-in and the complexity of your
arrangement, this can cause cool
phasing, chorus or thickening effects.
IF Y0UR PLU0-IN enables you to alter
the timing of your delays to dotted and
triplet intervals |you can do it manually
with any plug-in with the right delay
time settingl, be sure to try it out, as the
effects can be much funkier than
straight delays. Iust be extra sure to E0
out the bottom if it needs it, as this kind of effect can
get a bit messy when applied to bass heavy signals.
IEMP0 AN0 IAPE-5IYLE delays can swamp a track
if you're not careful cutting out the bottom andlor
top end can help clear things up. lf you don't have
high- and low-cut controls on your plug-in, try using
the delay on an sendlreturn bus rather than as an
insert then simply apply E0 to the bus.
F0R PLENIY 0F EXCIIEMENI, try applying some
kind of panning to your delays. lf your unit doesn't
enable you to do this, you can place the delay on an
effects bus and apply automation to that instead. lf
your delay is tempo-synced then try drawing your
panning automation to
match the tempo too,
creating a custom
ping-pong delay.
IF Y0U'RE U5IN0 a delay
with plenty of feedback,
you can avoid clutter and
create good stereo width
by panning the main
signal slightly left and the
delays slightly right |or vice
versal. You may need to
put the delay on an effects
bus for this technique to
work. To accentuate or
vary the effect, you can
apply compression too
either to the original
signal, the effect, or both.
IRY U5IN0 IEMP0 delay inserted into a simple
synth pattern channel. With the right timing interval
setting, the effect can be that of a pseudo arpeggio.
This can also work with any other plucked or
percussive instrument playing a sparse or rhythmic riff,
and is particularly good on riffs with at least two
different notes playing in quick succession with a
gap afterwards.
IF Y0U'RE using delay plug-ins to create modulation
and other similar kinds of effects, you should usually
place them in an insert chain. The wetldry balance is
very important in these cases and it's easier to have
only one knob to worry about.
Y0U CAN ACHIEVE some pretty extreme ring
modulation and phase sync-style effects by reducing
the delay time to between 1ms and about 45ms, and
then raising the feedback on a synth channel. The
same effect on real instruments makes them sound
like they're in a cardboard pipe. \ery cooll
Use E tc t|dy u ycur BPM de|ays
Create suedc aregg|cs w|th de|ay
Pan ycur ma|n s|gna| |eIt and
de|ays r|ght tc c|ean u ycur m|x