The 3-Delay Mix System

The 3-Delay Mix System
Learn the exact framework for using

delay perfectly in any mix
Nathan Nyquist
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The 3-Delay Mix System:
Learn the exact framework for using delay perfectly in any mix
Copyright © 2018 Nathan Nyquist. All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents
The #1 Thing to Ask Yourself Before Reaching for Delay
What’s The Difference Between Reverb and Delay?
Reverb + Delay = The Total Perceived Environment of a Mix
Paradigm #1: Blend/Contrast Theory and Delay
The Two Categories of Delay: Repeats & Slapbacks
How to Use Delay and Reverb Together
Echo Modes: Single, Dual and Ping-Pong Delays Explained
Analog/Tape vs. Digital Delays
Direct Insert vs. Send-Return Configurations
Delay Controls Explained
Mix
Delay Timing/Tempo
Feedback
Low/High-Pass Filters
Rate/Depth (Pitch Modulation)
Time Offset
Diffusion
Left/Right Offset
Width
Delay Techniques
Slapback Techniques
The Room Slap
The Space Slap
The Vocal Slap
The Pseudo Gated Snare
Repeat Techniques
Vocal Delay
Lazy Hi-Hat Delay Programming

Plucked Delay
The Pseudo Delay Technique
Pad/Sustain Instrument Delay
Percussive Delays
The Universal Delay Template
How to Mix Delay
Delay Time
Feedback
EQ: (Low/High-Pass & Peak Filtering)
Reverb
Width
Panning Delay
Advanced Mix Controls
Chorusing
Distortion/Saturation
The Radio Delay Effect
Flanging/Phasing
Sidechaining/Ducking
Volume Automation
The 4 Most Important Tweaks You Can Make to Get the Right Delay
The Power of Iteration and The 5 Minute Mix Technique
An Echo Master is Born

Getting the Perfect Delay in 5 Minutes or
Less
Delay is essential for expanding the depth and space of our mixes beyond what’s
possible with reverb alone. But of course like any mixing tool, there’s a lot of
ways to get it wrong and really just a handful of ways to get it right.
Fundamentally, when it comes to configuring delays that sit perfectly in a mix,
there are two major challenges that must be solved:
1. Getting the right delay timing.
2. Mixing the delay properly.
Getting the right delay timing is about understanding which delay times work
best for a given situation. In order to do this we’ll learn the value of breaking
delays up into two categories called Repeats & Slapbacks. Understanding the
strengths of each delay category is one of the first steps for getting delay right.
Beyond this, it’s the mixing of delay so it fits perfectly that presents the majority
of challenges. It’s for this reason that we’ll explain in depth how to mix delays
with EQ, reverb, width, panning, sidechaining/ducking and volume automation.
If you’ve read any of my other books then you know I’m a big on having preset
ways of doing things. I don’t like wasting time trying to figure out what works. I
would rather spend that same time using techniques that have a high success
rate. This allows me to spend more time judging whether I like this or that effect
instead of spending 20 minutes tweaking parameters hoping I end up with
something that works. Much of the time it doesn’t and this is hugely de-
motivating!
The purpose of The 3-Delay Mix System is that it guarantees you’ll use the right
amount and right kinds of delay for a mix. Not only that, but it gives you a preset
system that will enable you to get the right delay in an utterly short period of
time. This means you’ll spend more time making progress in your songs instead
of getting stuck in one place.
While there may be 1000’s of unique delay presets out there, the reality is that
there are only a handful of delays that you need to create the kinds of mixes that
will eclipse the competition in pure magnitude.
So the main challenge with delay is figuring out how to use it in a way that
contributes to the clarity and expansiveness of your mixes. But the real goal is to
get delays that sit perfectly in the mix without making your life a living hell
trying to set it up. So in this book you’ll learn the following:
Learn how to mix delay with EQ, Reverb, Chorus FX, Distortion,
SIdechaining/Ducking and Automation.
Learn the difference between Reverb and Delay and when to use
which one in a mix.
Learn how to use delay and reverb together.
Learn The 3-Delay Mix System which guarantees you’ll use the right
amount of delay to get a richer more convincing sense of depth in
your mixes.
Get access to the five most universal delay presets which enable you to
get the delay you need in 5 minutes or less.
Learn the 4 most important delay controls to tweak in order to get
results that work every time.
Learn the difference between Analog and Digital Delays and how each
excels at achieving specific mix results.
If you feel you could benefit from any of these learnings then this book is for
you.
So with that let’s jump into the first thing you should ask yourself before
reaching for delay. Once you can answer this question, it will make your life as a
producer/engineer much easier.

The #1 Thing to Ask Yourself Before
Reaching for Delay
There’s only 1 question you need to ask yourself before reaching for delay.
“Do I want this instrument to have an echo or not?”
It could be a vocal, a lead, guitar or anything. It's just about deciding if you want
to enhance it with an echo. If yes, then grab a delay.
As we’ve already mentioned, the sound of an echo is what you hear when you
yell in a valley. The longer it takes an echo to come back to you, the bigger the
valley. The faster an echo comes back to you, the smaller the valley. As you'll
learn later on, delay timing is just a way for us to control the perceived size of
this imaginary valley effect.
It’s not uncommon for beginners and intermediates to avoid delay, opting for
reverb instead. This is usually because there's a sense that we're less likely to
screw things up with reverb. But realistically, it just isn’t a good thing to avoid
using delay since effective use of delay is what separates professionals from
amateurs.
In the next section we’re going to talk about the fundamental difference between
reverb and delay. By understanding the major difference between these two
processors, it’s going to help us figure out how to use each tool properly.

What’s The Difference Between Reverb and
Delay?
A lot of people wonder what the actual difference is between reverb and delay.
They honestly can feel too similar sometimes, especially if you’re just starting
out. This has to do with the fact they both rely on echoes to achieve their effects.
But the major difference between them is in how they simulate these echoes.
A delay is meant to create a distinct and evenly spaced series of echoes over
time. A delay only creates extra copies of a sound. If you imagine yelling in a
valley and hearing your voice echo back to you, then this is what a delay
processor does.
A reverb on the other hand is meant to create the sound of echoes reflecting,
multiplying and building up over time within a closed space such as a church
hall or studio. As these echoes reflect back and forth, they multiply and become
more blurred. It’s this effect of multiplying and blurring that creates the
distinctly smooth and washed sound of reverb.
So the major difference between reverb and delay is that:
1. Reverb - Simulates the boundaries of a Closed Space like a church
hall or studio.
2. Delay – Simulates the Distinct and Evenly Spaced Echoes of a valley.
A delay will never be as good at simulating a space as a reverb. A reverb will
never be as good at creating the distinct and evenly spaced echoes of a delay.
The fundamental difference here can be summed up as the difference in sound
between yelling in a valley (delay) and yelling in a church (reverb).

Reverb + Delay = The Total Perceived
Environment of a Mix
In The 3-Space Reverb Framework I explained that all the reverbs in a mix
will add up to create the entire perceived environment of a mix. I stretched that
truth a bit because delay is its own can of worms and I didn't want to complicate
things.
The truth is that the total perceived environment of a mix is the effect of all your
reverbs and delays coming together at any given moment.
So if you have 3 reverbs and 1 delay happening during a chorus, then the total
perceived environment of your mix will be the result of their sounds merging
together to create the total impression of 1 space.
Part of the reason this happens is because all the reverb in a mix will
automatically blend together to create the impression of one environment. It
doesn’t matter how different the reverbs are, the brain will automatically add
them together.
Now that we’re learning about delay, we can take this phenomenon of reverbs
merging together one step further.
In reality it’s all the reverb and delay in your mix merging together that gives
you the total impression of space. That means:
Reverb + Delay = Total Perceived Environment of a Mix
The best way to get a sense for the total perceived environment of your mix is to
create a bus that has all your reverbs and delays routed to it. Label it ‘Total
Environment.” While your project is playing mute/unmute the ‘Total
Environment” bus and you'll quickly notice how it’s creates a space that wraps
around your instrumentation like a blanket.
In practice I find that I use reverb to create 85% of the total perceived
environment of my mixes. The last 15% is created by my 1 - 3 delays happening
at any moment.

I’ve always relied on Reverb to simulate the boundary/physical walls of the
space my mix takes place in. Delay only allows us to add some echoes that will
play INSIDE the space being simulated by reverb. These additional echoes have
the effect of working alongside reverb to give us the total perceived environment
of a mix.
So in summary:
Total Perceived Environment of a Mix = Reverb + Delay.
In practice, 85% of the total perceived environment is created by
reverb. The last 15% is created by 1 - 3 delay effects happening at any
moment.
Reverb is the boundary, the walls of your mix.
Delay is just an added effect that happens INSIDE the environment
created by reverb.

Paradigm #1: Blend/Contrast Theory and
Delay
Blend and Contrast is how we create front to back separation in our mixes.
When we have reliable ways of creating front to back separation, then our mixes
will eclipse the competition in pure magnitude.
Blend/contrast is in fact the same thing as front/back mixing:
Contrast = Front of the mix
Blend = Back of the mix
As an example, if a vocal is playing up front in a mix then it must be contrasting
against more blended instruments which play toward the back of our mix.
If we didn't achieve proper contrast between our vocal and backing
instrumentation then we would get a vocal that suffers from a whole slew of
problems. Things like lacking clarity, disappearing in the mix, etc.
It’s for this reason that blend/contrast theory is so important because it’s a way
for us to bring things forward (contrast) or push them back (blend) in the
mix. Doing this in the right way is what creates pure audio bliss.
Now I know that blend/contrast can be a bit esoteric and so if you feel more
comfortable, then simply think of it it as front/back mixing—they’re the same
thing. The only difference is that Blend/Contrast is a slightly more advanced
perspective that unlocks a vault’s worth of creative possibilities.
Below I’ve provided some much more practical rules for achieving
blend/contrast in a mix.
For an instrument to Contrast and play in the Front of the mix it has to:
1. Be louder.
2. Have less reverb.
3. Have more high frequency content.
4. Attract more attention (because of #1 - 3)
For an instrument to Blend and play in the Back of the mix it has to:
1. Be quieter.

2. Have more reverb.
3. Have less high frequency content.
4. Attract less attention (because of #1 – 3)
In any mix I’m always aiming for 70% of my instruments to blend and the other
30% to be contrasting against that blended backdrop. This creates the ideal
balance for maximum depth to occur.
The reason I’m telling you about blend/contrast is because delay primarily
functions as a contrast tool. This is because it’s a unique sounding effect that
will attract attention to itself. As you might notice this relates directly to rule #4
above.
Where delay usually presents the biggest challenge is in getting it to fit with the
mix. More specifically, it’s getting your delay to play further back in your mix
so that it fits perfectly with everything else.
Very rarely do we want a delay to play directly up front in a mix— most of the
time it just doesn’t sound good. The easiest way to solve this problem is to low-
pass filter the delay. Low-passing anything will always push it further back in
the mix. Just after having a lower volume level, low-pass filtering is the 2nd most
powerful way of achieving more blend in a mix (see blend rules above).
Just be aware that no matter how much you try to force delay to the back of the
mix, it will always to some degree push itself away from the reverb boundaries
of your mix. This is because no matter what:
Delay will ultimately contrast with reverb, which means it will always play
more toward the front of your mix relative to whatever reverb is applied to
it.
Correctly fitting delay with a mix is such an important process that you’ll be
learning everything you need to know about it later on in the section of ‘How to
Mix Delay.’
So in summary:
Contrast = Front of the mix.
Blend = Back of the mix.
In any mix I’m always aiming for 70% of my instruments to blend
and the other 30% to be contrasting against that blended backdrop.

This creates the ideal balance for maximum depth to occur.
Delay primarily functions as a contrast tool.
No matter how much you force delay to the back of the mix (blend), it
will always to some degree push away from and therefore contrast
with the reverb boundaries of your mix.

The Two Categories of Delay: Repeats &
Slapbacks
So far I've illustrated delay as being the sound of your voice echoing in a valley.
The thing is, if the valley were to get smaller and smaller until its walls were as
close together as those of a large alleyway or parking garage, then you’d have a
faster form of delay called Slapback.
In practice, slapback is used to achieve a very different result from your regular
valley echo effect. It’s for this reason that we divide the slower echoes of a
valley from the faster echoes of a large alleyway/parking garage into two
categories called: Repeats and Slapbacks. They can be summed up as follows:
Repeats (>120ms) will be your SLOWER valley type echoes.
Slapbacks (<120ms) will be your FASTER room, alleyway and parking
garage type echoes.
By understanding the practical differences between these two categories of
delay, it will make configuring delay much easier.
Repeats
[>120ms delay time]
Valley Echoes
Repeats are just delays that have a delay timing of 120ms or greater.
For the most part, we will be configuring repeats as tempo synced delays with
timings like 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, etc., delay times.
Because of their longer timing, repeats will have a noticeable separateness from
the source. Think back to our valley echo from earlier, that's really what I mean
when I talk about a repeat.
Repeats will usually be configured as tempo synced delays. The challenge with
tempo synced delays is to configure their timing in a way that complements the
tempo and rhythm of your track.
One of the side-effects of using too much delay is that it can mess up your
track’s rhythm and make it insanely difficult to get your delays to fit with the
mix in a way that sounds good. It’s for this reason that,
It's best to limit yourself to no more than 2 tempo synced delays playing at
the same time in your track.
As an example, this means that during a verse you could only have 1 tempo
synced delay on your vocals and another on a background melody of some kind.
Anything more than this has a high chance of leading to mix problems. I’m not
saying it’s impossible to work with more than 2 tempo synced delays, I’m just
saying that if you’re not yet comfortable with delay then following this rule is
your best bet to get things right.
Slapbacks
[30 - 120ms delay time]
Small Rooms, Large Alleyways & Parking Garage Echoes
Slapbacks are delays with a timing of 30ms - 120ms.
Unlike our usually tempo synced repeats, slapbacks will always be configured
with a millisecond (ms) timing.
The most common example of a slapback in the real world is if you’ve ever been
in a large alleyway and clapped your hands. You’ll usually hear a very quick and
distinct echo come back to you—this is slapback (clapback).
Because of their shorter delay timing, slapbacks are perceived more like a small
room, large alleyway or parking garage. This is as opposed to the bigger repeats
created by a valley.
The #1 way I look at slapbacks is as a small space simulator, much like a

small room, large alleyway or parking garage.
I often refer to these as economical reverbs because they are exceptional for
simulating the early reflections of a small room reverb. It can actually be better
than reverb for simulating small spaces and this will be demonstrated in our
vocal slap technique later on.
At most I like to have 1 or 2 slapbacks playing at the same time in my tracks.
You really want to limit the amount of delay in your track in the same way you
would limit the amount of reverb. Just like reverb, there’s only so much space

for delays before they start to compromise each other’s clarity.
Less is more is one of my core mixing philosophies. It means that the less delays
you have playing at once, the more clear and precise they’re going to sound.
This will lead to an overall better mix.
One really cool way to avoid having too much reverb energy in your mix is by
using slapback delay instead of short-decay reverbs (<.7sec decay time).
The major benefit of using slapback as opposed to reverb is best demonstrated
on vocals. Slapback will give the vocals a sense of space while still allowing the
vocal to stay up front in a mix. If we used reverb for the same job it would have
the potentially negative side-effect of pushing the vocal toward the back of the
mix.
This points to one of the major benefits of delay compared to reverb. Applying
delay to an instrument will allow it to stay up front while giving it an added
sense of dimension. In comparison, a reverb will add dimension, but will also
have the effect of pushing the affected instrument toward the back of the mix.
There is in fact another category of delay called Ultra Fast Delays. These are
even faster than Slapbacks and before I talk about them I want you to know that
we use them for very niche effects (See Pseudo Gated Snare Effect in ‘Delay
Techniques’ Section).
For the most part this book was written with Repeats and Slapbacks as the
focus since mastering these fundamental Delay techniques will place your mixes
above the rest.
Ultra Fast Delays

[0 - 30ms delay time]
Chorusing and Stereorizer FX
Ultra fast Delays operate in the 0 - 30ms range.
Ultra fast delays are really just chorus and stereorizer effects. Chorus FX allow
us to add to the number of voices of a given source. This will be equivalent to
adding backing vocals to a main vocal; only with an ultra fast delay it won't
sound as natural.
Chorus FX rely on delay times within the 0 - 30ms range. This is because the

goal with chorus is to multiply the number of voices within your source. In the
same way that members of a chorus would sing slightly out of sync, this is what
we simulate with delay times of 0 – 30ms.
Stereorizers are unique in that they allow us to give a mono sound an artificial
sense of width.
Even though delay can be used as a chorus effect, it’s much easier to just use a
dedicated chorusing processor. Now what’s really cool about chorus FX is that
adding chorus to a sound always has the effect of pushing that sound further
back in the mix. This gives us another way to increase the front to back depth in
our mixes.
It’s especially useful to apply chorus FX directly to an instrument when more
reverb isn’t getting you as far back in the mix as you want. This technique of
pushing instruments back in a mix with chorus FX works because of the
following rule:
The Rule of Single vs. Multiple Voices
Which states that,
1. Single voiced instruments tend to play up Front in a mix.
2. Multiple voiced instruments tend to play in the Back of a mix.
A single-voiced vocal is going to sound clearer and therefore play more up front
than a vocal that’s being doubled. It’s for this reason that lead vocal is mostly
single voice and backing vocals rely on large amounts of doubling to help
position them in the back of the mix. It’s a psychoacoustic effect and one that I
find invaluable for increasing perceived front to back depth when reverb hasn’t
gotten me as far back as I’d like.
This rule is how orchestras are arranged with ensemble (multiple-voiced)
instruments like violins playing toward the back of a mix and single voiced
instruments like Oboes playing in the front of the mix. You almost never hear
Oboes playing in ensemble because they are lead style instruments and therefore
played in a single voice fashion in the same way we might have vocal lead
delivered.
I wanted to introduce you to ultra-fast delays just so you know what they’re used
for. That being said, throughout the rest of this book, the way we will be
exploring delay will be focused on using Repeats and Slapbacks since these are
the most essential delays to know how to work with.
Here’s a summary of the important points from this section:
Repeats and Slapbacks are the two major categories of delay we’ll be
focusing on with in this book.
Repeats (>120ms) are your SLOWER, usually tempo synced, valley type
echoes.
Slapbacks (<120ms) are your FASTER, millisecond (ms) timing, small
room, large-alleyway and parking garage type echoes.

How to Use Delay and Reverb Together
One of the big questions that gets asked a lot is, “How do I use delay and reverb
together?”
The first thing you should know is that the majority of the time you will be
applying reverb to your delays. But of course, like anything there are some rules
that need to be followed in order to do this correctly.
First we must determine whether a delay needs reverb, because not all of them
will. Lucky for us, figuring this out is simply a matter of knowing whether it's a
Repeat or a Slapback. Once you know this, use the following rules:
1. Repeat (>120ms): Add Reverb.
2. Slapback (<120ms): NO Reverb.
So repeats need reverb added while slapbacks do not.
The best way to go about applying reverb to your delay is to use one of your
main mix reverb returns. In The 3-Space Reverb Framework this would be
your Front, Middle or Back Space Reverbs.
Anyway, so once you know you've got a repeat that needs some reverb then the
issue becomes which of my reverbs do I use? In practice your repeat should
have the same reverb as the source instrument it’s being sent to. An example
will make this much easier to understand.
If you have a vocal being sent to reverb A as well as to Delay B, then what you
would do is take some of Delay B and send it to Reverb A as well.
This would give you the following routings:
Vocal ► Reverb Return A
Vocal ► Delay Return B
Delay Return B ► Reverb Return A
I want you to be aware that sending delays to a reverb with 2.5 seconds or longer
decay can create an undesirable buildup of reverb energy in the mix. Since
there’s only so much space for reverb in a mix I’ve developed a workaround for
this. What I like to do is duplicate the desired reverb to another return. Then on
this newly created return I will shorten the reverb decay to about 1 - 1.5 seconds.
This saves our precious mixing real-estate by preventing an unnecessary buildup
of reverb energy that would otherwise congest our mixes.
So in summary:
A delay should use the same reverb as its source. (I. E. a vocal delay
should use the same reverb as the vocal itself).
Repeats (>120ms) should always have some reverb applied to them.
This sounds more natural.
Slapback (<120ms) should NOT need any reverb because they already
sound a lot like reverb and that would be overkill.

Echo Modes: Single, Dual and Ping-Pong
Delays Explained
Most delay processors offer you a few modes to choose from. They most
commonly consist of: single, dual and ping-pong delays.
Each mode relates to the number of echo lines you’ll be working with. While a
single delay will have just 1 echo line, dual and ping-pong delays will both have
2 echo lines.
I believe single-delays are the most practical and effective delays to use. There's
less variables to deal with and so you're less likely to mess them up. They’re also
the easiest to fit with the mix.
Dual and Ping-Pong delays are just single-delays on steroids. These tricked out
delays allow us to manipulate the stereo information of our mix in rhythmic and
textural ways that aren't achievable with just a single delay.

Single-Delay
A single delay is the staple of delays. In practice I use these the most because
they’re easy to work and sound great. Before you start messing with any of the
other delay modes you should feel comfortable using this one.
It’s the simplest delay to use and when I’m unsure of how I want to use delay
it’s the first mode I will test things with. Since there’s only one echo line to
manage it’s much easier for me to decide whether I’m getting what I want.
In practice if a single delay doesn’t get me close to what I’m after, then a
dual or ping-pong delay probably won’t solve the problem—it’ll make it
worse.

Dual Delay
This is just like a single delay except now you get to tweak two independent
echo lines. Each echo line can have different echo times which allows us to
create unique delay effects.
Dual Delay to me has always been the next step up from a single delay. If I feel
like a single delay isn’t doing enough for me and I need to jack it up on steroids
then I reach for a dual delay.
When I reach for a dual delay it’s because I want to have more control over the
stereo rhythm of my delay. This means I’m reaching for dual delay because I
want different timings for the left and right channels.
Dual delays are cool, but I’ve always felt safer using single delays because they
are more practical.

Ping-Pong Delay
A ping-pong delay is used to create an echo that bounces back and forth between
the left and right channels.
With ping-pong the first echo will always play in the left “Ping” channel. The
second echo will always appear in the right “Pong” channel and when it appears
it is based on the ping time + the pong time.
As an example of this, say Ping is set 500ms and Pong is 250ms.
If you play a note then you will hear Ping 500ms later, Pong 750 ms later (Ping
+ Pong) and Ping again at 1250ms (Ping+Pong+Ping), then Pong again at
1500ms (Ping + Pong + Ping + Pong) and so on.
So the delay repeats are relative to each other with each repeat of Ping showing
up in the left channel and then each pong showing up in the right channel.
Of all the delays I use ping-pong the least because it’s less of a mixing tool and
more of an obvious stereophonic/rhythmic effect.
I use ping-pong to catch their attention, not for dimension
Ping-Pong delays will fill a much more niche desire, generally fitting into the
category of sound design rather than mix placement and depth enhancement.
This is just the way I’ve categorized it because delays in and of themselves are
very complicated.
So in summary:
90% of the time I'm just using single delays because of their simplicity
and practicality. The other 10% of the time I'm using the dual and
ping-pong modes.

Analog/Tape vs. Digital Delays
One of the questions that gets asked a lot is whether it’s better to use analog/tape
delays or digital delays. Before I tell you which one I prefer, let’s talk about the
specific differences between the two delay emulations.
Analog/Tape Delay - will give you a warmer echo, with more high frequency
roll-off, harmonic saturation, and more pitch modulation. Really you’re just
getting a delay that has more character.
Digital Delay - will create an exact copy of the original sound. There shouldn’t
be any high frequency roll off, zero saturation and no pitch modulation. Of
course all delays have rate/depth modulation and low/high-pass filtering so you
can control this, but the major difference is that a digital delay, by default isn’t
going to color the sound.
No matter how you configure an analog/tape delay it’s always going to
color/saturate your sound in some way. This is because analog/tape delays are
set up to simulate the behavior of old hardware which is imperfect. While
analog/tape delays sound cool, the automatic coloring of the delay sound will
usually make it more difficult to fit a delay in a denser mix.
In order to hear a character echo like tape/analog delays, you really need extra
space in your mix for them to breathe. A dense mix usually isn’t going to have
the kind of extra space you need for it to work.
I personally find that digital delays, because they are plain, are the easiest to
work with as well as the most versatile for a variety of mix situations,
especially denser mixes.
If I’m unsure at all about what I want out of a delay then I always start with a
plain, digital delay. If that doesn’t get me 80% of what I want then analog delays
aren’t going to solve anything.
The primary goal when using delay is for it to add audio cues to my track which
increase the perceived dimension of my mix. When I say audio cues it means
that my major goal is just to have an echo occur. The occurrence of an echo, no
matter how it sounds, gives the ear extra information about the unique
environment of your track. This is because as you’ll remember:
(Total Perceived Environment = Reverb + Delay)
I only care that the ear can detect an echo. I don’t need the echo to sound all
analog and old fashioned because that will usually get drowned out in a dense
mix anyway.
Delay is not the main focus of my track and therefore it’s OK if it sounds plain-
jane with only some necessary low/high-pass filtering and reverb mixing. So as
you might notice, I prefer using digital delays because they are easier to work
with and do the job just fine. They remove a lot of the guess work when
tweaking delay.
If you want to know how to choose between using analog/tape and digital
delays, then there are a couple rules I follow which have made my life much
easier:
Use Digital Delays if you’re unsure of what to use or if you’re working
with a Dense Mix.
Use Analog Delays when you have a Sparser Mix and you want a
character delay that draws attention to itself.

Direct Insert vs. Send-Return Configurations
I prefer using delays in a send-return configuration. That means I’ll be sending a
portion of a source signal to a return with the delay effect on it.
What makes the send-return configuration the best is the level of control it gives
you when mixing your delay. For example, with delay on a return, you can EQ
the delay without affecting the source instrument: something you can't do when
using delay as a direct insert.
When using delay in a send-return configuration the mix knob will always
be at 100%.
Despite my preference for send-return setups, I still occasionally use direct-
inserts, simply because in certain scenarios it’s easier to do so. This usually
happens when more complex processing chains are required. There’s nothing
wrong with this. I only want you to know that you have the option of using
direct inserts if you feel it will make your life easier.
For the most part using delays as direct inserts only seems to feel natural up to
about 30% mix. As you go beyond 30% you lose more and more of the dry
signal and it eventually messes with your overall balance between wet/dry. This
is why for the most part delays are used in send-return configurations.

Delay Controls Explained
The 3 most important controls of any delay are Delay Time, Feedback and
Low/High-Pass Filtering. If you can’t achieve 80% of the result you’re after
with just these settings, then you’re doing it wrong. This isn’t hyperbole; this is
what will produce results with zero confusion. Whenever I’m in a hurry, which
is most of the time, if I open up a delay to tweak it, then I only look at these 3
major controls.
This section will explain the controls provided on virtually all delay processors. I
know it can feel like there are many controls to figure out here, but just keep in
mind what the 3 biggest controls are because once you reduce delay to just these
3 controls it will transform how you use delay.
Below I’ve included my own perspectives and ways of approaching each control
which may assist you in becoming more skilled with delay.

Mix
Mix controls the balance between the dry unaffected source and the delay effect.
If using a send-return configuration which is the main way we’ll be using delay
then mix should be at 100%.
If using mix as a direct insert, I find it's generally only usable up to about 30%
before you start getting balance issues.

Delay Timing/Tempo
Delay Timing/Tempo is used to control the amount of time between your
original sound and the delay effect. It also acts as the time between each echo
repeat.
As an example with a 500ms timing (500ms is half a second) if you played a
kick into a delay you would hear the 1st repeat of the kick 500ms later. 500ms
after the 1st repeat you would then hear the 2nd repeat, and then 500ms after that
you would hear the 3rd repeat and so on (we’ve called them repeats here instead
of echoes because they’re >120ms).
Coming back to our valley example from earlier, delay timing allows you to
control how far or close the mountains are. Closer mountains means less time
between echoes because the sounds are reflected back faster. Mountains that are
further apart will create echoes that have more time between them since the
sound has to travel much further. This means we can control how big or small
our valley is by using delay timing.
Helpful tip: 1 second has 1000 milliseconds. 1/2 a second has 500
milliseconds.
When using delay you’re either going to be using tempo synced or millisecond
(abbreviated ms) timing.
Tempo synced delays are delays which are synced to the tempo of your track.
More often than not, this is what I’m using as they are the easiest and most fun
to play with.
With ms timing you’re not locked to the tempo of your track and you can
experiment with all sorts of delay times. This is best for fitting your repeats in
gaps not achievable by your tempo sync options. This is because tempo synced
delays are more likely to fall on top of rhythmic elements of your track.
The benefit of ms timing is that it allows you to precisely configure your delay
to fit your needs. It will take more effort since there’s going to be more places
where it sounds worse than where it sounds good. There will usually be about a
5 – 10ms range where you like your millisecond timing the most. Outside of that
5 – 10ms range your repeat will fall out of time with your track in a very
unmusical way.
Slapbacks – We’re always working with millisecond (ms) timing.
Repeats – First I’ll flip through different tempo sync settings. If none
of the tempo sync options (note, dot, trip) seem to work, then I’ll try
millisecond timing.

Feedback
Feedback allows us to control how many echoes a delay will make. The higher
the feedback the more echoes we get.
With a feedback of 0% you’re only going to hear one echo. As you turn the
feedback up you get more and more echoes.
As an example, if you had a kick going into a delay with a feedback of 0% and
you played the kick you would only hear one echo.
If you turned the feedback up to 50%, you might hear something like 10 echoes
after that original kick hits.
At a 100% feedback you’re going to get something of an infinite line of echoes
that never goes away. This is only useful for effect scenarios.
Feedback always works in such a way that each successive echo will be quieter
than the last. As echoes become quieter they will sound more and more distant.
It’s this feature of echoes becoming increasingly distant that is the defining
quality of delay.
In the majority of practical applications feedback is set from 0 – 40%. This is
because a longer line of echoes is more likely to cause rhythmic as well as
mixing problems.
The trick for getting the right feedback setting is to try and get away
with as low a feedback, while still getting the desired effect.
Too few echoes is better than too many or you’ll run into problems
getting them to fit with your mix.

Low/High-Pass Filters
Virtually all delay units will have low/high-pass filters because they are the most
natural way to make your delay sound different from the source. As you’ll
remember from earlier, delays sound better when they sound different from the
original source.
Low/High-Passing not only allows you to control the tone of your delay, but it’s
also the easiest way to control how your delay fits with your mix. You don’t
want delay taking up any more frequency real-estate than it has to otherwise you
can run into the problem of muddying up your mix with delays that are too
frequency dense.
This is one of the most important controls for fitting delay in a mix. As such
we’ll be going go much deeper into how to use these controls later on in the
section on ‘How to Mix Delay.’

Rate/Depth (Pitch Modulation)
This allows you to module the pitch of the delay. This is useful for giving delay
a richer character and simulating analog style delays.
Rate - is how fast the pitch modulation occurs.
Depth - is how dramatic the pitch modulation allowed to be.
When configuring delay I’ve increasingly moved away from having any pitch
modulation happening on my delays. When I do apply pitch modulation I prefer
to use a very subtle, barely detectable amount that just adds a very gentle pitch-
warble to the sound
Slapbacks – Are more effective with 0% rate/depth modulation.
Repeats – you can have whatever pitch modulation settings you want for
these. It’s purely a character control.
Higher amounts of rate/depth modulation are useful for simulating the pitch
variation of analog/tape style delays.
I’ll be honest and say that I don’t even bother with this control 90% of the time.
It’s not on my list of priorities of things to configure within a delay, because it
shouldn’t be what will make or break a delay.

Time Offset
Time offset is sometimes referred to as early/late, rushing/dragging. It allows
you to take a tempo synced delay and nudge it forward or backward in time.
The reason time offset is so useful is because if you have something like a guitar
that plays every 1/4 note and you decide you want it to have a 1/4 delay, then it
means that your repeats will be inevitably land on each original note of the
guitar. This can cause undesirable chorusing, phasing and doubling of the sound
that you probably won’t want. You can remedy this by using offset so the
repeats happen slightly earlier or later than the original source plays.
Time Offset combines the best of both worlds: tempo sync +
millisecond timing.

Diffusion
Diffusion is a way for us to smear the sound of our delay and make it sound as if
it’s being run through a reverb.
I personally never use diffusion to fit delays in the mix. Instead I sometimes use
it as an effect in the same way I would use phasing and flanging—to
dramatically alter the sound.
Now if I'm being honest, I find diffusion to be somewhat useless because it
effectively turns delay into a reverb. Yes it's a cool and unique sound, but it’s
just an option that for the most part I find impractical amongst an ocean of much
simpler and more powerful delay techniques.
Diffusion makes it more difficult to accomplish the goal of adding dimension to
a mix simply because it smears your delay information making it disappear into
the backdrop of your mix. We want our delays to contrast/draw attention in a
mix, not to disappear.

Left/Right Offset
Left/Right offset is best used to enhance the stereo width of single-delays. It
does this by adding a small delay between the left and right channels of your
delay.
In practice this is best achieved with a 10 - 15 millisecond offset.
If you’re familiar with the haas effect then you’ll understand how offset works.
The haas effect is a psychoacoustic phenomenon where when the same sound is
played once in the left channel and then 5 – 20ms later in the right channel. This
causes our ears to perceive the sound as having increased stereo width.

Width
Width is just a global control for the stereo width of your delay. If you’re using a
single delay with a left/right offset of 0ms then width shouldn’t do anything. It’s
only when you use the recommended l/r offset of 10 -15ms that your width
control will then allow you to manipulate how wide or mono your delay is.
Now as far as I’m concerned, there are 4 main width settings to use. These are
not only how I mix delays, but this is also how I break up the entire stereo field
of a mix. They are as follows:
Mono – 0%
Half Mono – 50%
Full Stereo – 100%
Extra Stereo – 120 - 200%
Mono (0%) – is for making the delay stay away from the outside stereo edges of
your mix.
Half-Mono (50%) – Sometimes making a delay mono can suck the life out of it.
It can also make the delay sit directly over top of mono sources. This setting
affords us the best of both worlds by allowing us to keep our delay away from
the widest edges of our mix while also preventing them from overlapping the
immediate center of a mix.
Full-Stereo (100% - Outside edges of your mix) – This is by default where I
leave the width setting of my delays at. From here I will usually decrease the
delay to half-mono, and then mono. From these 3 positions: Mono (0%), Half-
Mono (50%), and Full-Stereo (100%) I will then decide which settings I like the
most.
Extra-Stereo (100% - 200%, Beyond the edges of your mix) – I never go
above 100% width on delay because it messes with phase and will sound weird
to me. The only reason I’ve included it is because if you push the stereo width of
just 1 element in your track to 120% it can give your track some extra width
without negatively impacting it.
I don’t mess with this extra stereo width (120%) until right before mastering
where I will select 1 instrument and play with its stereo width to between 100 –
120%. This is because for me it’s a finishing touch and I need to configure it
relative to a complete mix, not a mix in the making. The foundation of your mix
stereo spread is built from 100% width all the way down to 0% mono.
By default I always leave the width setting of delay at Full-Stereo
(100%). From there I will test Half-Mono (50%) and then Mono (0%)
and then decide which setting I like most.
I approach the width of all my instruments in the same exact way as
above with lead elements usually being kept mono, and the rest of my
mix being Half-Mono (50%) and then Full-Stereo (100%).

Delay Techniques
We’re now going demonstrate and explain some of the most fundamental delay
techniques for getting great mixes. Aside from the Percussive Delay and Hi-Hat
Rhythmizer techniques which are more production oriented; I believe you should
develop a strong understanding of the usefulness of these techniques because
they are essential for mastering delay.
I would recommend that as you read through that you test each technique within
a project of your DAW of choice.
The best way to get a feel for how these techniques work is to first apply them to
a soloed instrument so you can hear them in isolation. Then un-solo the
instrument and notice how the delay contributes to the entirety of your mix. This
will give you the fastest learning.
All the delays will be on send-return configurations which means the mix knob
will be at 100%. You’ll be mixing the delay into your project by using the send
control within each individual channel of your DAW. We will also be leaving
the width of each delay at 100% because that’s the best place to start. From there
you can decide whether half-mono (50%) or mono (0%) is a better width for
your mix.
We’ll be organizing the techniques by either Slapback or Repeat categories.
Knowing whether you want a repeat or a slapback should be the first step to
setting up any delay. We’ll be starting with slapbacks because I think it’s a more
natural progression to go from simulating a small space to the bigger sound of
repeats. So let’s jump in!

Slapback Techniques
(30 - 120ms delay time)
Small Rooms, Large Alleyways & Parking Garages
Because of their shorter delay timing, slapbacks will be perceived more like a
room or a large alleyway. This is as compared to the bigger repeats created by
larger spaces like a valley.
One of the major benefits of using slapback is that it will give instruments an
added sense of depth and space without necessarily having to apply reverb. It’s
for this reason that I often refer to these as economical reverbs. This is because
they are exceptional for simulating the early reflections of a small room reverb;
all while taking up less mix-real estate then a similar sounding reverb.
Slapback truly is an awesome effect and it’s something which I severely
underrated when I was less experienced. My hope is that by reading through this
section you'll discover how powerful it truly is.
So let’s show you how we can use slapbacks in our mixes.

The Room Slap
Recommended Use: Leads, Vocals, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Synth Bass
I refer to this as poor man’s reverb. It’s a way to give the feel of a room without
having the density and smearing effect of a reverb. It’s a great way to save
precious mix real-estate while also giving instruments space and depth.
The benefit of using room delay instead of reverb is that reverb tends to suck
things back in the mix. Room delay allows the affected instrument to remain
forward while also giving the impression of playing within a space.
Here’s how you configure it:
1. Set up a Single Delay.
2. Set Width to 100%.
3. Set Feedback to 5%.
4. Set Delay Time to 30 – 50ms (My favorite all around timing is 33ms).
5. Increase Send Amount until you hear the effect the way you like.
I always start with larger send amount than I need. This makes
it easier to focus on the effect itself as I configure it for my needs.
6. Adding more Feedback will be perceived in the same way as adding
more decay to a reverb.
With this particular delay I’m always high-passing with a 12 db/oct filter so that
the <300hz frequencies are removed. This allows the delay to add space to a mix
without clogging up our precious <300hz frequencies which are essential for
creating the solidity and power of our bass instrumentation.
As with many slapback effects you can get away with some aggressive high
passing of the effect. Often times I’ll high-pass between 500hz to 1000hz. You
don’t have to worry about it sounding natural. The goal with slapbacks is to
create audio cues that tell the ear there is some kind of space. Even an
aggressively thinned slapback is still going to tell your ear that there is a space.

The Space Slap
Recommended Use: Leads, Vocals, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Synth Bass
This is the bigger sibling to the room delay technique above. Whereas the room
delay is meant to simulate a smaller room like a studio, this technique will
simulate a medium sized space such as a parking garage. As such, the only
difference between the Room Delay and Space Delay Effects is their delay time
setting.
Room Delay = 30 – 50ms
Space Delay = 50 – 80ms
The major benefit here as with all slapback effects is that it won't have any
conflict with the tempo and rhythm of your mix.
Compared to a similar sounding reverb this effect creates better separation
between the dry source and the simulated space. This allows us to keep our
source signal up front in the mix while also giving it a large sense of space
which will extend into and blend with the reverb spaces of our mix--all without
having to use reverb, because total perceived environment = reverb + delay.
Here’s how to set it up:
4. Set Delay Time to 50 – 80ms.
5. Increase Send Amount until you get hear the effect the way you like.
6. Low-Pass 5 - 10khz with a 6 or 12db/oct filter in order to create more
separation between this effect and the source.
At higher send levels this effect will typically require more low-passing in order
to keep it separate from the source instrument.
If ever you feel a slapback effect is too present and bright sounding then low-
passing between 5khz – 10khz will help it fit with your mix.

The Vocal Slap
Recommended Use: Vocals, Leads, Acoustic Guitar
Vocal slap is easily one of my favorite ways to treat vocals. Using this technique
alone will literally upgrade the depth and space of your vocals.
The most valuable aspect of vocal slapback isn't just that it saves precious mix
real-estate, it’s that it makes it easier to sit vocals up front in a mix while also
making it appear as if the vocal is playing inside the reverb environment of your
mix. All of this occurs without needing to send your vocal to any reverb at all!
This is where total perceived environment = delay + reverb, can be experienced
directly.
Most producers/engineers like a vocal that’s up front and it turns out slapback
delay is the ultimate solution to this problem. I can keep my vocal forward while
also giving it the illusion of fitting with the rest of the mix—almost as if it were
being fed into the same reverbs as the rest of the mix.
I love this technique, it’s great and most importantly, it’s ultra easy. So let’s
show you how to set it up:
2. Set Width 100%.
4. Set Delay Time to 60 – 110ms (70ms is universally effective).
Shorter delay times will give you a tighter slapback effect.
5. Increase Send Amount until you hear the effect the way you like.
6. Add more Feedback to increase the spaciousness of the effect.
With slapbacks turning up Feedback will always be perceived in
the same way as increasing the decay setting of a reverb.
With vocal delays we high-pass them so those precious <300hz frequencies
remain clear. As with most slapback techniques you can get away with up to
1khz of high-passing.
I’ve found 500hz to be the most full-proof cutoff point when high-passing
vocal slaps.
The more you high-pass this vocal slap, the smaller the room will be perceived.
This is why it's ok to experiment with agressive high-passing of vocal slaps--
theres little to no downside here.
Low-passing this vocal slap controls how lively and in your face the effect is.
When I low pass it’s usually to remove any unwanted frequencies 5khz+. This
creates some potentially needed separation between vocal and slapback. It will
also have the benefit of pushing the slapback effect further back in the mix.

The Pseudo Gated Snare
Recommended Use: Snare and Percussion
This is one of my favorite techniques for giving snares a massive stereo sound.
It’s a lot like the gated reverb snare effect, only it’s tighter and won't overtake
your mix the same way gate reverb will. This will literally cause your snare to
pop in your mix like you wouldn’t believe.
The way this technique works is by adding a very short 10 – 15ms stereo delay
to your snare. This creates a quick echo which will expand the power and stereo
presence of your snare.
Here’s how you do it:
1. Set up a Dual Delay.
3. Set Feedback to 0 – 5% (I always start with 0%).
4. Set Delay Time for Left channel to 10ms and Right channel to 13ms.
6. High-Pass the delay between 120 – 300hz to prevent the effect from
clashing with the 200hz and lower body of your Snare.
7. Low-Passing the delay with a 6 db/oct filter between 5 – 10khz gives
nice separation between this effect and your snare.
This is by far one of my favorite effects to apply to snare. It adds an amazing
sense of power and width to snare without causing them to take over the mix. It
does qualify as an ultra fast delay technique, but I’ve included it in this section
since it’s the only one in the book.
You'll find that you can use this effect alongside whatever reverb your snare is
being sent to. If you use this effect on a snare that already has reverb, then you
may want to decrease the reverb send in order to achieve a more appropriate
balance
Snare is by far one of the most important elements of any track so it’s no
surprise it gets a first class treatment.

Repeat Techniques
(>120ms delay time)
Valley Echoes
Repeats are just delays that have a timing of 120ms or greater. Unlike slapbacks
they are perceived as being distinctly separate from the source instrument. Think
of an echo in a valley or sports stadium, that’s the kind of separateness we’re
talking about.
For the most part we will be configuring our repeats as tempo synced delays
with timings like 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, note, dot or trip delay times.
I always begin with plain note timings and then if those don’t work I’ll
experiment with the more exotic dot and trip modes. It could just be me, but
90% of the time I’m using regular note timings. Dot and trip modes will create a
more rhythmically exotic effect that for me has very niche uses.
Whenever I’m adding repeat delays to the mix it’s because I’ve decided that, “I
want my track to have an echo, like a valley or a stadium.”
Let’s show you how we can use repeats in our mixes.

Vocal Delay
Recommended Use: Vocals and Leads
Vocal delays are different from vocal slapbacks in that we’re after a much more
separate echo effect. While a slapback is perceived much like a smaller reverb, a
vocal delay will be perceived as audible copies of words and syllables.
The most important thing to accomplish when configuring vocal delay is to
make sure that it doesn’t interfere with lyric intelligibility.
With vocals I’ve found the best all-around delay times to be 1/4 and 1/8 note
timings. I’ve noticed a lot of the pro mixers like Chris Lord-Alge prefer timings
like these on vocals and there's obviously a reason for this because to me they
sound perfect.
Let’s show you how to set up a vocal delay
4. Set Delay time to 1/4 or 1/8.
The timing you like depends on the way the vocals are delivered.
5. Increase the Send Amount until you hear the effect the way you like.
It’s better to hear too little than too much delay on vocals or you
risk intelligibility issues.
6. High-Passing vocals to at least 200 - 400hz will prevent the majority of
intelligibility problems you could encounter.
7. A Low-Pass between 1khz - 10khz with a 6 or 12db/oct filter will help
push the delay back in the mix as well as preventing any intelligibility
issues.
The most important result with vocal delays is to make sure they sound separate
from the original vocal itself. This is because lyric intelligibility is king. It's for
this reason that we’re always low-passing vocal delay.
I also like to high-pass vocal delay to around 300hz or greater because it creates
cleaner separation between the vocal and its repeats.
Because vocals are sung in a cadence and rhythm unique to the style of the song,
it’s sometimes useful to apply a small amount of offset in order to better match
the delay to the vocal delivery. This can help you to get repeats that fit perfectly
within the little spaces between each word or phrase.

Lazy Hi-Hat Delay Programming
Recommended Use: Hi-Hats
This is more of an EDM technique for working with sampled hi-hats. As you
may be aware, the simple offbeat 1/8th hi-hat is the foundation of all hi-hat
programming. You’re also probably aware that we like chugging, swinging,
rhythmic hi-hats that play on 1/16 note divisions, and for those of us who like to
get freaky, even 1/32 note division.
Now I don’t always like having to perform all the extra clicks/drags/duplicates
required to make a 1/16 note hi-hat rhythm. As it turns out, there’s a really easy
way to create a nice swinging hi-hat pattern by using delay.
This is best achieved when using a simple 1/8th offbeat hi-hat pattern.
The effect is powerful because the added hi-hat repeats will be made to sound
different from the original offbeat hats. Not only can the volume of our delayed
hi hats be manipulated, but so can their tone by way of EQing. These options for
shaping the delayed hi-hats allow this effect to make the resulting rhythm sound
very organic.
Hi-hat rhythms are in fact the result of velocity changes as well as timing
variations. This technique allows us to add these types of rhythm and intensity
variations to a basic 1/8th hi-hat pattern. Not only that, but if you couple this with
the timing offset of your delay processor, you’ll be amazed at just how flexible it
really is.
I love how effective this technique is so here’s how you do it:
Sometimes I’ll Hard Pan the delay return to the Left or Right
channel.
3. Set Feedback 0%.
You can turn Feedback up with this, but I’ve never found much
use for anything beyond 10%.
4. Set Delay time to 1/16.
6. Use Offset to control the swing of the effect and thereby simulate

more exotic rhythms.
7. I will sometimes apply some 12db/oct low-passing at 10 - 15khz to
simulate softer hats.
The idea here is to EQ shape these hats in some way that gives
them some tonal difference from the orginal source.
When using EQ for this effect the most valuable balancing changes you can
make are in the 5k + frequencies of the delayed hi-hats. This might involve
shelving filters or sharp EQ cuts/boosts etc. The point here is to take away or add
frequencies so that these extra hi-hats sound different from the source. By doing
this, it makes this effect sound much more complex and natural.
EQ shaping these delayed hi-hats is what can make or break the technique. One
of my favorite ways to do this is to use a 12 db/oct low-pass filter between 10 –
20khz. You can even add some extra Q so that you get a little resonant peak at
the cutoff point—very cool!

Plucked Delay
Recommended Use: Plucked Leads/Synths, Strummed Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
The tricky thing with using delays on plucked or picked instruments is to make
sure that the delay isn’t so fast that it disorients you from the pluck of the
original source. You also want to make sure that it isn’t so slow that it just
doesn’t fit the way the instrument is being played.
Since plucks have lots of transient information, it can be disorienting to hear a
repeat with an equal amount of transient energy. Because of this it’s best to
apply some generous low-passing to these delays so as to prevent them from
clashing with the source instrument.
The most valuable timings I’ve found for plucked instruments are 1/8 and 1/16.
In particular the faster the instrument is playing the better 1/16 will be. With all
other instruments 1/8 can do a better job.
Here’s the most all around way to set this up:
I generally prefer wider delays for plucked instruments as it’s
better for keeping the repeats separate from the original source.
3. Set Feedback to 10 – 20%.
4. Set Delay Time to 1/8, 1/16 or even 1/32.
Go with what sounds best.
5. Increase Send Amount to desired level.
6. Low-Pass the delay so it gets doesn’t interfere with your dry signal.
Usually the faster the plucked instrument plays, the more you’ll
have to low-pass to prevent interference.
7. Offset can be useful for finessing the timing of the delay if you feel it’s
landing too on top of the original dry rhythm. Gently nudging the
time forward or backwards can give a more natural sound to the
delay.
I can’t stress the importance of low-passing these delays in order to keep them
separate from the source instrument. Anything that’s plucked is going to have a
lot of transient information. If it’s transient rich then it’s going to poke out with a
delay more than a non-transient rich instrument with the same volume of delay.
In order to remedy this a 12 db/oct low-pass filter works well.

The Pseudo Delay Technique
Recommended Use: For turning the audience into a dreamy puddle of joy during
a big transition.
This technique is more in the category of transition effects, things like cymbal
crashes and lifters/downsweeps. Despite this, it's important to know how to do
because it functions as purpose-built form of delay.
Often times at the end of a verse or a transition I’ll want the last couple notes of
an instrument to repeat for a while and taper off over the next 8 bars.
A lot of people accomplish this by just turning the feedback way up on the delay,
but I’ve found that the repeat tail created by this just isn’t manageable over
longer periods of time, like 8 bars. It’s usually that the repeats get quiet too soon
or we turn the feedback way up then they end up being loud for too long. It’s a
classic issue of too hot or too cold, but never right.
The main issue here is volume and so we need a more flexible way of
controlling it outside of just using our feedback.
To accomplish this I like to create an audio copy of the last few notes I want to
have repeat. Then I'll place these audio copies on a new track and duplicate them
to the grid so they repeat as many times as I want.
The pseudo delay is by far the most hands on way of working with delay. What’s
even more surprising is that it doesn’t even use a delay processor.
Here’s how you set it up:
1. Cut a snippet of the last section of the audio you want to repeat.
If you want a 1/8 delay then create a copy of the last 1/8 of the
performance.
If you want a 1/4 delay, then create a copy of the last 1/4 of the
performance.
2. Take your original snippet of audio and duplicate out over the next 8
bars.
3. Automate volume as well as a low pass filter to simulate the fade out
of the repeats over time:
You can automate resonance as well as any other parameters
that come to mind.
When I’m first configuring the automation to simulate I always just set the
beginning automation level at 100% and then 8 bars, the automation level will be
set to 0%. This simulates a fadeout into complete silence. I will then do the same
thing for the low-pass filter as I do for volume automation.
After getting a basic slope constructed for both my volume and low-pass
automation I can then move on to fine tuning the shape of my automation in
whatever way I want.

Pad/Sustain Instrument Delay
Recommended Use: Synth Pads, Expressive Violins. Definitely not on Cowbell
I wanted to include a technique on using delays with pads because I think it’s a
very interesting topic to discuss. Should you use delay on a long sustain
instruments that don’t change very much like pads? Generally speaking, NO it’s
pretty monumentally useless.
If you have a synth pad or violin and it’s always sustaining at the same volume,
then adding a delay isn’t going to do much more than add chorusing and blur
your pad/violins out. Even if notes change in the pad the delay isn’t really going
to function any differently than if the pad just had a longer amplifier release
setting.
That being said, if you’re dealing with a pad that is dynamic, which means that
its volume changes over time, for example a pad that decays in volume over 1 or
2 bars, then delay can be very fun to use because it will create a dreamy, repeat
that lags behind the evolution of your pad.
In the case of dynamic pads as described above I’ve always preferred using 1/4
as well as 1/2 delay timings. These are in my opinion the best as well as most
reliable options.
Let’s show you how to configure that below:
1. Set up Single Delay.
4. Set Delay time to 1/4 or 1/2.
5. Increase Send Amount to desired level.
6. Low-Pass the delay so it gets pushed back in the mix as much as you
want.
While this technique is something you’re free to use I would much rather you
rely on manipulating the amplifier release envelope of your pad.
This section was created more as a PSA to those of us who haven't figured out
how delay works with pads because it can be a frustrating issue.
I just don’t feel pads are the best place to use delays. It doesn’t mean you won’t

find great ways to use delay on pads; it’s just that I think it’s significantly more
important to focus on using delay elsewhere because it’s much more rewarding.
You really shouldn’t be using anything more than a few delays in your mix,
especially if you’re just starting. As we’ll mention later on I really like to limit
myself to 3 delays per mix and this is because it guarantees such consistently
positive results.
So in summary, using delay on sustain sounds or non-dynamic sounds is usually
pointless thing to do, there’s better things to spend time doing.

Percussive Delays
Recommended Use: Percussion. Any kind of drum, try it.
This particular technique isn’t so much a mixing technique as it is a production
technique. That means it’s focused on building out ideas rather than getting ideas
to fit together which is the primary focus of mixdown and for the most part
delays are used as a mixdown effect.
Adding delays to percussion is one of my favorite things to do. I love laying out
complex drum rhythms and this allows me to add more complexity to a rhythm
without having to program it by hand. You’ll probably notice some similarities
between this and the hi-hat rhythmizer technique from earlier.
Something to keep in mind is that this percussive delay technique isn’t usually
found in more natural styles of music like classical orchestra and rock music. In
these styles sonic and creative liberties are generally taken with other more
important elements of the music.
This is the one area where I will definitely explore polyrhythmic delay settings
such as dot and triplet divisions.
This is really just an experimental technique for discovering some unique
rhythms for your drum arrangement. As such, it’s simply a matter of setting up
the delay and experimenting with different timings while everything loops.
Here’s how you set it up:
1. Set up Stereo or Ping Pong Delay.
2. Set Delay Time anywhere from 1/32 to 1/4 in note, dot or trip.
Experiment and find the timings you like.
3. Increase Send Amount to the desired level.
4. Use Low-Pass to push these delays further back in the mix.
5. Offset is an extremely powerful candidate here as it allows you to fine
tune the rhythm of your delay giving it a more organic quality.
My production method has always been to get results with the least effort
possible and this is my favorite way to add to my drum rhythm with a minimal
effort.
I’ve found that it feels most natural using this on only one drum element per

track. That being said most producers/engineers prefer to save their delays for
more important stuff like vocals, guitars and synth leads and I agree with this
approach because it usually makes mixing easier to manage.

The Universal Delay Template
The purpose of the Delay Techniques section from earlier was to give you some
ideas as well as real world examples for how to configure delay. Hopefully you
tried some of those techniques because they are invaluable in helping you build a
well-rounded skillset.
Now the reality with configuring delay is that it can be very time consuming,
and most importantly, there’s little room for error. There are too many risks
involved and I prefer spending time doing things that work.
The Universal Delay Template is the answer to all these problems. It’s a preset
system that gives you access to 5 of the most universally effective delay presets.
These are the delays that I’ve found get used over 80% of the time in mixes.
They allow us to experiment quickly and find what works with minimal effort.
One caveat to the requirements of this template is that you won’t see any
tape/analog delays being used in my version of it. I use digital delays because
they’re incredibly versatile and let me know right away whether a delay will
give me what I want.
In 80% of situations if none of these delays do anything good for your track then
it’s likely that delay just isn’t what you need. I believe production and
engineering is all about giving yourself quick demos of 2 or 3 different options
and then deciding which one works best and moving on.
Going through a 100 incrementally different positions of one or a few knobs

is not a useful way to mix. It’s a useful way to learn, but it’s not a useful way
to mix.
For this template we’ll be using the following 5 delays:

1. 1/4 Delay –Single Delay. Digital Delay.
2. 1/8 Delay – Single Delay. Digital Delay.
3. 1/16 Delay – Single Delay. Digital Delay.
4. Slap Delay (<120ms) – Single Delay. Digital Delay.
5. Free Delay (500ms) – Single Delay. Digital Delay.
So let’s give you a quick rundown of the different delay timings we’ll be using.
Delay #1: 1/4 Delay
When I want a big, epic delay sound I’ll reach for this delay. It very often sees
use on Leads, Vox and anything I want a distinct Repeat on.
How to set it up:
3. Set Feedback to 10 - 30%.
5. Set Low-Pass filter to 10khz.
6. Set High-pass filter to 150hz.
Delay #2: 1/8 Delay

I use these on leads and plucked/picked instruments. I find these especially
useful when a 1/4 delay sounds good but creates melodic conflicts.
How to set it up:
Delay #3: 1/16 Delay

Usually works better on instruments that are played faster such as rolling
basslines and picked guitars.
How to set it up:

Delay#4: Slap Delay

This is set up just like the vocal slap technique we showed you earlier. Lots of
things can benefit from this all around slapback settting.
How to set it up:
4. Set Delay time to 60ms.
Delay#5: Free Delay (500ms)

This is in my template just to remind me that sometimes millisecond timing
works better than tempo synced. I don’t use it as often because it takes more
work, but sometimes if I need something different I’ll reach for this.
I use this delay in an auxiliary fashion, which means that if I need an extra delay
configuration that isn’t satisfied by my 4 other delays, then I’ll reach for this one
and set it up accordingly.
As a quick reference, 500ms is the same timing as 1/4 delay at 120bpm.
How to set it up:
4. Set Delay time to 500ms.
Having these 5 preset delay returns in your projects will make your life much
easier. I would suggest forcing yourself to get by with just these until you’re
really comfortable using delay, otherwise be prepared to spend a lot of time
configuring delays.
As you go through the mix process you’ll eventually feel the need to adjust the
settings of these delays. That’s perfectly fine, they are only meant to give you a
strong place to start.
In the next section we’re going to show you how to put The Universal Delay
Template into action. While you’ve got access to five universally effective
delays; within a mix you shouldn’t have more than 3 delays playing
simultaneously. Anything more than that and your mix is likely to be ruined by
too much delay.

The 3-Delay Mix System is meant to show you HOW to use The Universal
Delay Template for optimal results. One of the ways it does this is by limiting
the maximum number of delays that can play simultaneously to 3.
This means that in whatever session you’re working then you should already
have The Universal Delay Template setup.
I personally find it invaluable to establish a strong foundation with my first two
delay choices for any mix. If these aren’t set up correctly, then activating a 3rd
delay is just going to throw me in front of a bus.
After selecting one of the universal delay presets, you should only need to
configure delay timing, feedback and low/high-pass filtering to get at least
80% of a final result. If after configuring these 3 controls you can’t tell whether
the delay is going to work in your track, then it’s likely that delay isn’t what you
need.
In practice I find that I regularly make use of 2 repeats and 1 slapback and this
is my way of working within our 3 delay maximum.
Below you can see how I like to use The 3-Delay Mix System in something like
a chorus or verse:
Delay #1: (Repeat) - Main instrument, vocal, lead, etc.

Delay #2: (Slapback) - Vocals, guitars, bass.
Delay #3: (Repeat) – Synths, piano, etc. It’s creative so I can do
whatever I want.
You’ll notice that the 1st Delay is a repeat applied to one of my main
instruments. This is the most natural application of delay and it’s the one that’s
easiest to get right.
With the 2nd Delay I use a slapback because in virtually all of my mixes I use
slapback on vocals. You might have even wondered whether I use slapback and
repeats together on a vocal and the answer is yes! This is a very common and
powerful mix combination for vocals.
The 3rd delay is whatever you want it to be, just make sure you get the first 2
right before you even consider this one! I can’t stress how important I think it is
to get the first two delays right. If you don't, then mixing the rest of your track is
going to be an intensely frustrating experience.
Now since The Universal Delay Template isn’t exhaustive, there will be some
cases where you’ll find that more exotic delay timings (dot & trip etc.) feel
appropriate. You might even prefer an analog delay to a digital delay. You might
even find that the ‘Delay Techniques’ section has more useful choices.
You’re free to do whatever you want, just be aware that…
The main idea behind The Universal Delay Template and The 3-Delay Mix
system is to keep it simple. If you can’t get things working right away with these
simple options then it means there’s going to be a bigger risk when attempting
more complex configurations.
So to summarize, here are the steps for using The 3-Delay Mix System:
1. Setup Universal Delay Template.
2. Select Delay #1 (Repeat) by experimenting with any of the Universal
Delay presets.
3. Select Delay #2 (Slapback) by experimenting with any of the Universal
Delay presets.
4. Only when your first two delays work should you then consider
adding in Delay #3 (Repeat).
I should mention that how you treat snare is in fact an exception to The 3-Delay
Mix System because getting a rocking snare often requires its own unique
treatment. This means that should you decide to use a slapback or the pseudo-
gated snare effect on your snare, then it won’t count against your 3 delay
maximum. This same exception also applies to The 3-Space Reverb
Framework where snare is often given its own dedicated reverb return in order
to get the perfect snare reverb sound.
The 3-Delay Mix System is like auto-pilot for a plane. It’s guaranteed to get you
to your destination safely. It’s important to have the confidence that you’re
going to get results that work. From this position it’s much easier to experiment
and discover your own unique ways of mixing.
If you know that option A is guaranteed to work, then you’ll be freer to explore a
more exotic option B. If option B doesn’t work then you can simply fall back to
the option A. Mixing with a safety net like this is the most liberating and
rewarding kind of mixing.
Unfortunately most mixers choose to go through all the pain of blind
experimentation and develop some strange habits along the way. A lot of these
habits become self-limiting and then you end up with self-hating musicians.
The majority of the best guys I’ve seen have very preset ways of doing things.
Those of us sitting around trying to reinvent the wheel or always feeling the need
to discover something brand new are at risk of failing to master the basics.
Experimentation is obviously a part of music, but a lot of the best music is the
result of simple habits concretized through repetition and commitment to the
fundamentals.
As a point, Chris Lord-Alge the famed audio engineer, only has 4 returns
dedicated to delay for his projects. The guy is a pro and if he feels he only needs
4 returns for delay, then I’m going to take that as a good sign that what we’ve
learned here today is powerful.
Obviously if you want to use more than 3 or even 4 delays, you’re more than
welcome to. But do this with the full understanding that if things start to go
downhill, it’ll be because you’re operating outside a guaranteed auto-pilot. At
this point whether you land safely or crash into a ball of fire depends entirely on
your engineering prowess.
The real secret here is that you don’t develop engineering prowess by jumping
straight to 5+ delays. You get the engineering prowess much faster by using less
delay and that’s why The 3-Delay Mix System is so powerful.

How to Mix Delay
When it comes to mixing delays, using extra inserts on a delay return will give
the most control. That means instead of using a delay’s internal EQ, I will
instead use an additional EQ as an insert on the delay return.
This doesn’t mean you can’t use a delay’s internal low/high-pass filters, because
it’s the first thing I try. However, if I need more control over the shape and tone
of my delay, then a separate EQ will do a much better job.
Delay Time, Feedback and Low/High-Pass Filtering are the 3 most important
controls on any delay unit. These controls should get you at least 80% of the
result you’re after.
The next most essential thing is to apply Reverb to your delay. It usually sounds
a bit off to have dry delays in a mix. Now when I say applying reverb to delay, I
mean specifically applying reverb to Repeats and NOT Slapbacks. Slapbacks
should rarely if ever need reverb.
Repeat delays sound better being sent to a reverb
Below is a list, in order of importance for how to mix delay:

1. Delay Timing
2. Feedback
3. EQ - Low/High-Passing & Peak Filtering
4. Reverb
5. Width
6. Panning
Beyond configuring Delay Time, Feedback, and EQ settings, Reverb is the
next most important treatment to understand when mixing delay. You should be
able to get up around 95% of the result you’re after with the first 4 controls in
the list.
Width and Panning along with the advanced mix controls I’ll be giving you later
on will give you the last 5% of control over the mixing of your delay. This
doesn’t mean they aren’t important, just that they usually aren’t essential for
getting a delay that sounds good in the mix. Rather they are important for
refining the overall stereo spread of your mix.
Alright now, let’s go through in order, the techniques for effectively mixing your
delays.

Delay Time
Delay time is our first mix control simply because of the fact that we must select
a delay time that works with the rhythm of our track. Selecting delay times that
don’t work with the rhythm of your track is a bad mix decision!
With slapback timings (<120ms) you don’t have to worry about whether your
delay will work with your mix because as long as a slapback isn’t insanely loud
it will never cause any problems with the rhythm of your track.

Feedback
Feedback allows you to control how long a delay lasts in your mix. In practice,
shorter feedbacks will always cause less mix problems than longer feedbacks.
I think it’s really important to understand the effectiveness and versatility of
shorter feedbacks. I’ve always preferred shorter feedbacks than longer ones,
simply because a longer feedback is more difficult to fit in a mix.
Shorter feedbacks will always cause less mix problems than longer
feedbacks.
The other rule of thumb is that if the instrument is playing constantly, say every
1/8 note, then shorter feedbacks will sound better. If the instrument is playing
very intermittently, perhaps just once or twice every 8 bars, then you can get
away with very long feedbacks to fill the extra space in between.

EQ: (Low/High-Pass & Peak Filtering)
After setting volume levels, EQ is the best way to control the Front to Back
positioning of your delay.
Low/High-Passing not only allows you to control the tone of your delay, but it’s
also the easiest way to control how your delay fits with your mix. You don’t
want delay taking up any more frequency real-estate than it has to otherwise you
can run into the problem of muddying up your mix with delay. Below I’ve
included the primary reasons we low/high-pass delay.
Low-Passing Delay
The purpose of Low-Passing Delays is to:
1. Push delays further back in the mix.
2. Prevent higher frequencies of a delay from masking the clarity of the
original source instrument.
My preferred filter slope when low-passing is a 12 db/oct slope because in 95%
of situations it produces the best result in terms of both separation and pushing
the delay back in the mix.
Recommended Frequencies Ranges to Low-Pass:

1. Repeats – 1khz – 10khz.
2. Slapbacks – 5khz – 15kz.
In practice I find myself hovering around 10khz -15khz most of
the time because I usually prefer my slapbacks to sound “lively.”
High-Passing Delay
The purpose of High-Passing Delays is to:
1. Prevent frequencies from 300hz and lower from muddying up the low
end (bass) of our mix.
My preferred filter slope when high-passing is a 12 db/oct filter. Sometimes I
will use a 24 db/oct filter for delays that have lots of bass energy, but 12db/oct

slope should handle virtually all your needs.
We’re always high-passing delays to at least 200hz because those frequencies
will easily muddy up and destroy the power of your bass. It’s for this reason that
when high-passing delay I like to follow The Rule of 300 which states that
if it isn’t bass, kick or snare then at 300hz and lower you should remove those
frequencies.
Recommended Frequency Ranges to High-Pass:

1. Repeats – 200hz - 600hz. Once you go beyond 600hz your repeats will
lose a noticeable amount of size and dimension.
2. Slapbacks – You can aggressively high-pass these, sometimes going as
high as 1khz.
Both high and low-pass filtering will create more separation between the source
and the delay. This is simply because you’re removing frequencies, which by
default reduces frequency masking.
Now the important difference to understand between them is that High-Passing
is a means of removing frequencies you don’t need so that you have a cleaner
mix (Rule of 300) while Low-Passing is a means of pushing the delay further
back in the mix.
The more you low-pass a delay, the further back it’s going to appear in the mix.
This is because our ears use high frequencies to determine the distance of a
source.
You might notice that I’m substantially focused on the art of low-passing
repeats because that’s where it’s most important to get right. Slapbacks,
because of their short duration, won’t negatively impact your mix if you don’t
low-pass them. You should still low-pass slapbacks and my one-size fits all
cutoff point for this has always been 10khz with a 12db/oct filter.
There will be some special occasions where you feel that high-passing a delay to
300hz or more just doesn’t sound the way you want. I would say trust your ears
first, then fall back to the rule second.
If you want to trust your ears, go for it. But if for some reason you find it ends
up causing more problems than benefits, then simply fall back to the rule. This

applies to any rules or tips that I give you. These rules are only designed to give
us certainty that what we’re following will guarantee success.
Now when it comes to EQing delay you aren’t just limited to using high and low
pass filters. Assuming you’re using the delay on a return bus then you can follow
it up with a post EQ. This allows you to apply peak filtering which gives you
added control over the shape and tone of your delay.
Peak Filtering
Peak filtering is helpful if you find that a particular frequency range in between
your low and high-pass cutoff points is causing issues with your mix.
If you feel your delay has a resonant peak somewhere in the middle that you just
don’t need then you can remove it with a peak filter. Conversely I might feel that
delay needs more resonance in a particular frequency and so I would use
boosting EQ to emphasize this.
Because it’s extra work, I won’t go out of my way to do Peak Filtering unless I
feel it’s absolutely necessary.
Extra Tips for EQing Delay

There are some really interesting things to keep in mind when EQing delay. One
thing to be aware of is that the denser the mix, the more you can get away with
aggressively removing the lower frequencies of your delay. The density of the
mix will have the effect of hiding the unnatural sound of an aggressively high-
passed delay.
This is to do with the fact that as a mix becomes denser with noises, the ear pays
less and less attention to the tonal shape of a delay and instead relies on the
selected delay timing in order to figure out spatial dimension. So it’s the timing
of the delay that’s more important to your ears than the frequency balance and
this is why for the sake of getting clean mixes we can be as aggressive with EQ
shaping delays as we need to be.
A delay’s real purpose is to provide sound cues to your ear which enhance the
perceived space and dimension of a mix. Your ears really don’t care how much
low frequency content is in a repeat or slapback. They’re much more focused on
attributes like the delay time and high frequency roll off of the delay.
Don’t ever worry if your delay sounds natural or not. Instead focus on whether it
fits with the mix and adds more perceived space or not. That’s all that matters.

Reverb
In the section entitled ‘How to Use Delay and Reverb Together,’ we talked about
how it’s best to apply reverb to Repeats and NOT to Slapbacks.
This was summed up by the following rules:
1. Repeat (>120ms): Add Reverb.
2. Slapback (<120ms): NO Reverb.
So the focus here is going to be adding reverb to repeats. Whether you’re using
The 3-Space Reverb Framework or your own reverb setup, you’ll have the task
of deciding which reverb to send a given delay to.
The best way to go about applying reverb to your delay is to use one of your
main mix reverb returns. In the 3-Space Reverb Framework this would be either
your Front, Middle or Back Space Reverbs.
So once you know you've got a repeat that needs some reverb then the issue
becomes which of my reverbs do I use? In practice your repeat should have the
same reverb as the source instrument it’s being sent to. This was demonstrated
earlier by the following example:
If you have a vocal being sent to reverb A and also to Delay B then what you
would do is take some of Delay B and send it to Reverb A as well.
So in effect you have the following routings:
Vocal ►Reverb Return A
Vocal ►Delay Return B
Delay Return B ►Reverb Return A
When configuring the amount of reverb being applied to a delay I always start
by ‘lightly’ sending some of the delay into a reverb. This may seem unintuitive,
especially if in our vocal example above, the vocal has tons of reverb, but the
delay does not.
Often times I’m sending a deceptively small amount of my delay into reverb. I
used to think the delay should have as much reverb as the source signal, but I
realized this wasn’t the case. Here’s why.
You’ll remember that we first push delays to the back of the mix by low-pass

filtering them. Since this creates the perception of the delay sounding far away,
then if we add even a small amount of reverb it builds upon that illusion. So in
practice we can trick the ears into thinking a delay is part of a reverb space
despite barely feeding into it.
The big takeaway here is that:
You can get away with sending a very small amount of your delay signal to
reverb in order to fit it with the mix.
This is helpful to understand for when you decide to start sending delays to
reverbs with 2.5 seconds or longer of decay. With higher send levels this doesn’t
work so well because it will usually create a large buildup of reverb energy in
the mix.
My workaround for this has always been to duplicate the desired reverb to
another return. Then on the newly created return I will shorten the decay to
about 1 - 1.5 seconds.
This practice allows us to better control the total amount of reverb energy in our
mixes and therefore our mixing real-estate.

Width
You may sometimes find that delay feels as if it’s playing wider than the
reverbed edges of your mix. This is usually undesirable because delay is meant
to sound as if it’s playing inside the reverb of your mix.
If it’s playing wider than your reverb, then by definition it will be playing
outside and not inside your reverb environment. So in this situation it can be
helpful to reduce the width of your delay so it tucks in nicely with your reverb.
As a quick review let’s take a look at 3 of the 4 width settings we’ll be using to
control the width of delay in our mixes. They are as follows:
Mono – 0%
Half Mono – 50%
Full Stereo – 100%
You’ll notice we’ve omitted “Beyond Stereo – 100% - 200%,” because I
personally believe this setting doesn’t produce any practical results for delay.
By default I just leave width at a 100% and will use that for as long as it works. I
typically find that as a mix gets busy that I’ll want to reduce the width of delays
in order to move them away from more important instruments that occupy the
outside stereo edges of my mix.
Below I’ve included some tips for using the different width settings I’ve
provided.
Mono (0%)
Is for making the delay stay away from the outside stereo edges of your
mix. I often find I prefer a delay to have a 80 – 90% width so as to allow
my reverbs to occupy the widest stereo position in my mixes. This to me
creates a nicer mix. [That being said I often forget to do this, and I’ve
never noticed a HUGE difference between 80 – 90 versus just leaving
width at the default 100%. This makes my life easier.]
Half Mono (50%)
Making a delay mono can suck some of the life out of it while also making
the delay sit directly over top of your mono source. This setting affords us
the best of both worlds by allowing us to keep our delay away from the
widest reverb edges of our mix while also preventing them from
overlapping the immediate center of a mix.
Full Stereo (100%)
By default I leave the width of my delay at 100%. From here I will usually
decrease the delay to half-mono, and then mono. From there it’s a simple
matter of deciding which of these 3 settings I like the most.
When I’m producing I always leave width at 100% by default and from there I
will test half-mono and then mono and see which width I like the most for a
delay. I’ll admit that because I’m lazy and more interested in doing things other
than adjusting the width of my delays, I won’t go out of my way to do this unless
it feels like an absolute priority.

Panning Delay
The reason we pan delays is to keep the delay effect away from the source
signal. Sometimes a delay seems to be overtop of a source instrument and it can
give it an immediate improvement to pan the delay away from the instrument’s
stereo location. I don’t always do this, but when I’m building the overall stereo
spread of my mix this is a useful trick to have up my sleeve.
An example of this would be say I have a guitar riff playing hard left in my mix.
It could be that there is nothing complementing it hard right in my mix and so
this creates an empty gap. In this situation I might send the riff to a delay and
then pan that delay hard right. This is a simple trick for getting a nice stereo
spread.
I don’t pan slapbacks. It’s an option, but it’s not something I’ve found useful for
my needs.
So in summary there’s two basic reasons I’m panning a delay:
1. To build out the stereo spread of my mix.
This is the epitome of using delay to fill empty spaces
2. To prevent a delay from conflicting with the source.

Advanced Mix Controls
Even though these are advanced controls for mixing delay, they aren’t necessary
controls for mixing delay. You could do without them and still get a professional
mix.
Chorusing is just another way to push delay back in the mix. I won’t apply
chorusing until I’ve done all I can with the send level and low/high-pass
filtering.
Distortion and saturation is the aftermarket way of taking a clean digital delay
and turning it into an analog delay.
With any kind of distortion or saturation at your disposal you can create your
own tape/analog delays. That is going more into sound design territory, and in
terms of production efficiency it’s much easier just to grab a purpose built
tape/analog delay that already takes care of that for you.
I’m all about efficiency, I want to play and experiment quickly. I don’t want to
get played by my tools. No matter how experienced you get, you can still get
trapped by your tools if you go too deep with them at the wrong time.
Anyway, let’s start by explaining the benefit of chorusing to push delays back in
the mix.

Chorusing
Chorusing is just another means of pushing the delay back in the mix. This is for
me personally the only reason I apply chorusing to a delay. If the delay has been
low-passed and mixed with reverb and I still feel it’s not playing as far back in
the mix as I want, then I will chorus it.
Keep in mind that chorusing delays to push them to the back of the mix really
only works well on stereo delays. So as long as your delay plays wide, then
chorusing is an option.
This technique works because of the phenomenon that multiple voiced
instruments sound further back in a mix than single voiced instruments. This is
because the more voices, the more blurred the sound becomes. So when you
apply chorusing to a delay thenthe modulation effect is going to blur the delay
and effectively push it further back in the mix.
This psychoacoustic effect is supported by centuries of orchestral arrangement
technique.
Within an orchestra, string ensembles act as the backdrop for more important
solo instruments like oboe and clarinet which usually play up front. If you listen
to any contemporary classical or even pop record with strings. You’ll notice this
to be true. The fact that single voiced leads play up front and multiple voiced
instruments play in the back.
Chorusing allows us to artificially apply this phenomenon to our delay.

Distortion/Saturation
When I say using distortion and saturation on delay I mean applying it to a clean,
digital delay as a means of giving it similar character to analog/tape delay.
The advantage here is that you can configure whatever type of vintage delay you
want. The disadvantage is that you have to configure it, and it’s usually time
consuming.
Keep in mind that the distortion we’re talking about right now is standard,
single-band distortion. Generally speaking, on my delay return I like to add
distortion in following order:
Delay > EQ(1) > Distortion/Saturation > EQ(2)
The reason we EQ before distortion is because we’re using single band distortion
and we want to control the exact frequencies which are let through to the
distortion unit. This allows us to shape into our distortion which gives us the
most control over the type of distortion result that we get.
If you know anything about distortion then you know that it’s dependent on the
frequencies that are feeding into it. Low frequencies under 300hz tend to make a
distortion sound thicker and less aggressive. It’s for this reason that when
distorting sounds we focus on distorting frequencies in the 200hz+ range. To
make sure we only distort frequencies 200hz and higher we place an EQ before
the distortion. On that EQ we will high pass to 200hz or higher with a 12 or 24
db/oct filter.
Distortion is inherently a pretty random effect. I call it finger painting with
sound, but you’re afforded the most control over the distortion you get by EQing
into it.
The reason we follow distortion with an EQ is because even though we can
shape the signal going into distortion, distortion is still going to give us a
somewhat random and unpredictable output. The #1 way to exert complete,
control over unruly distortion effects is to follow them with EQ.
The best example of this: Delay > EQ(1) > Distortion/Saturation > EQ(2)
chain is achieved when creating a radio style delay. Radio style delays are just
delays that have a prominent 500hz – 3khz range. This can be achieved through
a combination of EQing and Distortion. This effect is best used for Repeat style

delays and not slapbacks. Let’s show you how to set it up:
The Radio Delay Effect

1. Set up your Delay Chain as such: Delay > EQ(1) >
Distortion/Saturation > EQ(2).
2. EQ(1): High-Pass signal at 800hz with 12 db/oct. Low-Pass at 3khz
with 12 db/oct.
At this point you should have a nasally delay sound.
If you want more nasality then add resonance to the cutoff point
of the low-pass filter.
3. Distortion/Saturation: Turn up the drive until it sounds as if it’s
playing out of a really small speaker.
Too much distortion will usually cause the sound to break up.
4. EQ(2): The point of this EQ is to help you fit the Radio Delay with
your mix.
Further Low/High-Passing and peak filtering are game here. It
depends on the mix!
I use the words saturation and distortion somewhat interchangeably, though they
can be classified as such:
Distortion= Audio Destruction
Saturation= Gentle Harmonic Excitement

Flanging/Phasing
Flanging and phasing are used on delay for effect purposes. You will be using
these for creative effect. You will never find yourself using these effects as a
means of fitting the delay in the mix because they will only make it more
difficult to fit a delay within the mix.
Since I rely on delays primarily as a means of adding dimension and depth to my
mixes I never find myself feeling the need to use flanging/phasing on delays.
But of course like everything, I sometimes find myself using them on delays
because it adds a very distinct kind of movement and character to my tracks.
Again this is used for creative effect, and not to mix the delay so it fits.

Sidechaining/Ducking
Sidechaining/Ducking is a technique where we use a compressor to reduce the
volume of the delay whenever the source instrument plays.
Sidechaining and Ducking are two words for the same thing.
Ducking is a much closer description of what is happening here because we
literally want to ‘duck’ (lower) the volume of our delay whenever the instrument
feeding the delay plays. This is most useful for things like leads, vocals, and
guitars. I really don’t make a practice of using it anywhere else other than
leads/vocals and guitar.
Sidechaining/Ducking is the easiest way to prevent the delay from clashing with
the instrument feeding it. It’s such a common technique that many delay plugins
today have a dedicated ducking feature.
The goal when sidechaining/ducking is to reduce the volume of the delay during
those parts where the instrument feeding it is playing. This keeps the delay out
of the way and prevents it from negatively impacting clarity and intelligibility of
the source.
Even if a delay has a dedicated ducking feature, I’ve always preferred using a
separate compressor to achieve the desired amount of sidechaining because it
gives me more control.
The steps for setting up a Delay Sidechain pretty much a one-size fits all
approach. Here’s how to do it:
1. Add a Compressor as the last insert on your Delay return.
2. Enable the Compressor’s Sidechain feature.
Setting up Sidechaining is unique to each DAW. Refer to your
DAW’s manual if you’re unsure how to accomplish this.
3. Use the Source Instrument as your Sidechain Input.
Make sure the source instrument is feeding into the Sidechain of
your compressor.
4. Set the Compressor Ratio to 2:1.
5. Set the Compressor Attack to 0ms (As fast as possible).
6. Set the Compressor Release to 50ms
7. As everything plays, bring down the Threshold of the compressor
until you get the desired amount of separation between your source
instrument and the delay.
With Threshold bring it down until the volume of the delay is reduced by around
50% whenever the source instrument is playing. This is just a general range and
you really should trust your ears. The goal of intelligibility and focus is the main
driver in determining how far I bring the threshold down.
I want the source to be clear and focused and if the delay affects that in any way,
then I’ll bring the threshold down until it’s no longer an issue.
The other most important control is Release. You need to set the release so that
the ducking effect works with the tempo of your track. If the release is too fast
then the delay might come back in between the smaller gaps in your source.
50ms has always been my starting point and I always focus on getting my
threshold set before moving on to configuring the release.
Sidechaining/Ducking is a great way to fit a delay with a source that’s playing
constantly. It creates nice space between everything and its ease of use is
massive compared to the more involved process of volume automation.

Volume Automation
Volume automation is a much more precise way of controlling a delays
interaction with a source instrument and I couldn’t imagine approaching vocal
mixing without it being an option.
Often we will want to control the times when we can hear a delay on a vocal
such that the delay only happens at certain points in the delivery.
In particular this has to do with the fact that while a vocal is playing we usually
want to hear the delay less and whenever there’ a pause in vocal delivery we will
want delays to fill up that empty space. So when the vocal stops playing for a
moment it’s common practice to fill that gap with a vocal delay.
There’s two ways we can automate a delay:
1. Automate Send Amount – Enables us to control which syllables of a
vocal actually get the delay effect.
2. Automate Return Volume – This is just hands-on, more precise version
of Sidechaining/Ducking.
Automating Send Amount

By Automating Send Amount we can control which syllables or notes of a
source instrument will create echoes.
A good example of this technique is often used on the last few words of a vocal
phrase where there’s then a big empty gap before the next phrase/section begins.
Many engineers will use an automated delay send to fill in this empty gap with
the exact words they want copies of.
To do this we would automate the delay send so that it only catches the last
syllable before the vocal rests until the next phrase begins.
Automating Return Volume

By Automating Return Volume we can control the volume of the delay return in
the same way we would use sidechaining/ducking. The benefit with automating
the return volume is that gives you more precise control over the delay’s volume.

I always try to get away with sidechaining first because it’s much less involved
and if it works then I’d rather do that. If I end up feeling at any point that the
sidechain just isn’t working then I will reach for volume automation.
The only drawback to these techniques is that once you automate the return
volume or send amount, you can no longer adjust the overall send/volume for
that delay. The simple workaround for this is to just add a gain insert to the delay
return and use that as your volume fader.

The 4 Most Important Tweaks You Can
Make to Get the Right Delay
I just dumped a MASSIVE amount of information for anyone to learn about
delay. Despite having all this knowledge, I don’t consciously think of doing all
these things while mixing. That would be utterly insane and I’d freak out and
never do anything.
In an actual session I use delay in a very simple way. All I focus on is getting
correct delay timing, feedback, low/high-pass filtering and reverb settings.
The reality is that these are the 4 most important controls for getting delay to
work in a mix. These controls alone should get you 80% of the result you’re
after. Reverb will be the last 15% and then whatever other mix choices you
make will be the last 5%.
So in summary the 4 most important tweaks you can make to any delay are:
1. Delay Time
2. Feedback
3. High/Low-Pass Filtering
4. Reverb (Doesn’t Apply to Slapbacks!)
I promise you that if you use The Universal Delay Template along with The 3-
Delay Mix System and just these 4 controls you’ll consistently get results that
work. The best part is you’ll get them quickly, that way you can move on to
other more important tasks in your mix.

The Power of Iteration and The 5 Minute Mix
Technique
Setting up the right delay shouldn’t take longer than 5 minutes. I believe this can
extend to virtually every processor, except for synthesizers and multiband
processors.
Most of the effort we put into using any tool should be in deciding whether we
like it or not. Gradually tweaking this or that knob for 10 minutes straight and
judging each step of the way is counter to the production/engineering process.
Gradually tweaking knobs is a great way to learn and understand the tools, but
it’s not a good way to mix.
I prefer swinging a parameter to 2 or 3 different positions that give me
dramatically different results. This makes it a lot easier to decide what sounds
best. An example of this would be deciding between feedback at 10%, 30% and
50%.
Say I like 10% and I want to go more granular, then I could try 2%, 5% and
10%. See which one I prefer. At this point the differences become so minor it
makes your job taxing. This is why I usually stop after deciding I like 10%.
I swing between 2 or 3 positions on just about anything that I can do it on
because it’s efficient and makes mixing feel like a breeze because I only have to
decide what sounds best between 2 or 3 options and then move on with my life.
If you’ve read The EQ and Compression Formula then you’ll recognize this to
be the basis of the Broad Strokes approach to mixing. It’s categorically the most
effective, efficient and liberating way to mix.
I don’t know about you, but I hate spending 10+ minutes tweaking anything
hoping it works out. Much of the time it doesn’t and this is frustrating and de-
motivating in proportion to the time lost. So the more time lost, the more de-
motivating the experience and therefore the more it derails creative flow.
I prefer having preset techniques and systems that guarantee amazing results. If
you can’t understand the value of a preset system then you just haven’t failed
enough or you’re caught in one of those funny misunderstandings of what it
actually means to be good at engineering/production.
When you go to use a screwdriver you don’t think about how you’re holding it.
You don’t think about how to twist it. You don’t have to think about how to get
it to do what you want. A screwdriver is a tool and it always does what it does. It
can’t be messed up.
Any processor, delay especially should be approached in this simple way—but
they usually aren’t. There are too many knobs, too many options. And so one
tool can be used in a multitude of ways. This creates a massive challenge for
anyone because they usually end up questioning whether they’re using the tool
correctly or not.
I’m telling you this having gone through the years of over-engineering. I’ve tried
1000’s of times tweaking this compressor, EQ or reverb for half an hour only to
end off worse than when I started. I didn’t know what I was doing. And I really
didn’t know what I was after and so the only option was to experiment and find
out. This just doesn’t work.
I’m here to tell you that the biggest improvement to your mixing will happen the
sooner you begin to move away from over-tweaking and start developing your
own preset ways of doing things. The preset systems I offer are meant to reduce
the massive number of options down to just 2 or 3 dramatically different choices
so that you can decide what sounds best.
Now I’m not saying that spending 15, 30 or even an hour playing with a
processor isn’t a good way to learn, because it can be. But this isn’t a good way
to mix. Mixing requires you to constantly shift your perspective in order to
maintain a fresh sense of the mix. If you don’t regularly shift your perspective,
then you’ll end up with tunnel vision and you’ll over-engineer which will get
you a bad mix.
Good production/mixing is about movement from one thing to the next and then
the next. This is often referred to as the iterative process of mixing. What
iterating really means is that each decision you make influences the next and
then the next. This means that the way you EQ a vocal could influence how you
mix the bass. How you mix the bass influences how you mix your kick and so
forth. So every mix adjustment you make will affect your future mix decisions.
The only way to mix is by iteration. But in order to iterate you need perspective
and you’re not going to have perspective if you tunnel on one thing.
The longer you tunnel on one mix decision or knob, the more your perspective
shrinks. Once it shrinks, it’s harder to get back than it is to maintain it. It’s like a
ticking time bomb and the mission is to get in, defuse it quickly and then get out
before it’s too late.
Your mix perspective literally shrinks for every minute spent in one place. This
is why I limit myself to 5 minutes of working with one processor and then move
on. This especially applies to EQ’s, Reverbs, Compressors, Distortion and of
course Delay.
Now I prefer limiting myself to 5 minutes, but I’m also very fast with my mouse
thanks to years of FPS games like Doom and Quake. Different people work at
different speeds. The main idea is to limit yourself to the minimum, but still
optimal amount of time needed to get a result.
I’ve found 10 minutes to be my personal limit before perspective and creativity
shrink away. I get scared when it starts taking anything longer than 5 minutes
because I know what I’m risking—perspective, creativity, fun—the most high
value components of production/engineering.
Now the most reliable way to stay within the ideal 5 or 10 minute cap for
tweaking stuff is to have preset ways of using tools. These are tested and proven
approaches and techniques that have an almost universal application. Not only
do these guarantee results that work, but they sound great too. The benefit here is
that once you have something that works, it’s much easier to tweak if you need
to.
The other side of using preset techniques that may not be as clear is that you
understand which controls in your processor don’t really need to be touched
unless absolutely necessary. For example you’ll remember from earlier that the 4
most important controls in any delay are delay time, feedback, high/low-pass
filtering, and reverb.
Fundamentally this is all you need to get 90% of the delay that you want. Most
processors work in this way, or can be simplified from the overwhelmingly large
number of options down to a much smaller subset of what I call your big knobs
—the knobs that do the actual work.
It’s all about keeping it simple. In order to keep it simple you need to have skills
in place to solve problems as they arise. A skill is something you’ve internalized
which means it’s automatic and so requires less effort to apply it.
A skill is no different than a preset.
An example of this is that you can tie your shoelaces without thinking—that’s a
skill. Tying your shoelaces is a literal preset for getting shoelaces tied. It’s stored
up in your memory banks as ‘Tie Shoelaces like a boss.’ You don’t need to think
about how to do it. The only part you’re really conscious of when tying your
shoes is mostly at the end when you make a quick assessment of whether it
worked or not. You judge the result of the shoe lace tying.
This is what we want to achieve with delay and most mix processors. We want
shift more toward having preset ways of doing things, that way all we need to do
is judge whether we like the end result or not.
This is just a personal opinion I developed after years of being anxious for
success and thinking I needed to twist and touch everything while
producing/engineering. Admittedly this caused me to hyperfocus on things and
learn them to the depth I’m able to explain, but I wasn’t having fun and so
naturally this phase of my career coincided with a 3 yearish writers block.
I finally started having the most fun producing/engineering when I shifted away
from having to create/reinvent everything from scratch to having systematized
and automated ways of quickly testing different things.
This shifted my experience from a worker toiling away to a much more
advanced role where I really come in when things are finished and then all I
have to do is decide whether I like what I’ve gotten.
This is why The 3-Delay Mix System is so valuable. It not only maintains
perspective by giving us results in 5 minutes or less, but it shifts our focus from
thinking about how to accomplish something to deciding which preset will get us
closest to the result we want. If we don’t then we just try another preset.
Keep in mind that the only way this judgment works is if you’re deciding
between 2 or 3 options. Any more than 3 options and that will inhibit ability to
make effective decisions.
I place emphasis on only getting as close as you need to continue moving
forward with your life and not getting stuck. This means I often aim for 60 –
80% of what I’m after. I aim for a lower percentage when I sense that I’m out of
my scope or clearly in a more obsessive perfectionist mood.
This chapter is really me talking about one of my sticking points which was
over-engineering and thinking I needed to do everything. Just because there was
a knob for it, I felt obligated to know everything it did. But then I noticed a clear
difference between what I did when I was making actually good music versus
when I was trying to learn a tool in isolation.
My engineering while producing is the most efficient and reduced version of all
the knowledge that I have about this stuff. It’s the premise of all my books. The
goal has always been to systematize everything so it required less effort and still
sounds phenomenal.
Joy never came from being able to tweak things to exact specifications. My joy
comes from getting the sound I want in the fastest way possible. The more cool
sounds and ideas I can string together, with limited effort, in a short period of
time, then the more fun I have.
Following the system in this book will prevent over-engineering by removing
vast amounts of uncertainty from the process. After all, over-engineering is what
happens when you don’t really know what you’re doing.
It’s when you know that what you’re doing has a high probability of success that
you get the reward faster. This is music after all. The reward should be fun to
get, not hard.

An Echo Master is Born
Once I got really comfortable using delay in my projects I started having a lot
more fun. I became less reliant on reverb and that allowed me to conserve
precious mixing real estate.
By mastering delay I’m able to give my tracks extra depth and dimension.
While reverb is the primary tool for achieving depth and the total sense of
environment within your mix, delay allows you to punctuate that environment
and give it more texture.
Delay and reverb are essential for creating the maximum amount of perceived
front to back depth in your mixes.
Something I very briefly touched on was the value of chorus for pushing delays
back in a mix. This doesn’t just apply to delays, I will often use chorus to push
instruments further back in the mix without having to reduce volume or apply
reverb. I’ll even go so far as to say that chorus is the ultimate tool for getting as
far back a placement as you can possibly achieve.
My biggest discovery was when I realized that the delays I always used in my
projects were 1/4, 1/8, 1/16 repeats and then slapbacks.
I can’t stress how much more versatile I find digital delays compared to
analog/tape style delays. I love the sound of analog/tape style delays, but the
work horse flexibility of a clean, digital delay makes it so much easier to shape
and work into a mix. Obviously in sparser mixes I can experiment with
analog/tape delays, but in general I’m not in any hurry to do this unless I really
want delay to be noticeable in my track.
I’ve always felt that delay is more about adding echo cues to the track. These
echo cues, much like The 3-Space Reverb Framework add up to give your ears
the overall impression of the space and environmental character of your mix.
While reverb is your cake, delay is just the icing on that cake.
I want to let the ears of my listeners know there’s more in my track than just the
blurred sound of reverb. I want them to hear the echoes of important things as
they explore the boundaries of the space I’ve worked hard to create.
In the end, all you really need to ask yourself once you’ve decided you need

delay is what kind of delay you want: Repeat or Slapback. Once you know this,
then by following the techniques and rules in this book, you’ll quickly get the
exact delay your mix needs. You’ll spend more time building and less time
failing, and that’s honestly just a lot more fun.
Cheers,
Nathan
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The Rule of 300

One of the most frustrating issues many producers encounter is a muddy or
undefined low end in their mixes. Producers run into this problem because the
instruments occupying the 20hz to 400hz frequency range of their mix are
having a conflict catastrophe.
The reality is 20hz – 400hz is the most difficult frequency range for us to master
because our hearing isn’t as adapted to noticing details in it.
In order to avoid this temporary, but inherent weakness in our low end hearing
there is one simple rule we can follow—The Rule of 300.
The rule of 300 states that if it isn’t bass, kick or snare, then you must high
pass those instruments at 300hz or higher.
The higher you can get away with the better for your mix.
This rule eliminates the main causes of a muddy mix because as you now know
we run into this problem when our 20hz to 400hz range is swamped by too many
competing instruments.
When professional mixers talk about balance they mean it as if there’s a balance
scale in front of you and so imagine on the one end there is something heavy,
and the other has something light. And like a balance scale you must be very
selective about which instrument(s) are frequency ‘heavy’ and which ones
are frequency ‘light.’
Balance just means that it sounds pleasing to you, but when mixers talk about
balance they mean that you’re decisive about which instruments get to be
frequency dense and which one’s get to be frequency light in a given frequency
zone.
By following this rule your mixes will immediately start occupying the top 5%
of mixes out there.
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The Mastering Reverb

Adding the same reverb to everything in your mix is the ultimate glue technique.
If you aren’t already then once you start doing this your mixes will hit a new
level that you simply couldn’t imagine.
Pros will occasionally mention they do this, but they often don’t talk about how
substantially it brings everything together in your mix. Put simply, it’s better
than bus compression at gluing things together, and bus compression is literally
referred to as ‘the glue.’
The trick with using reverb on your master is to create what I call a premaster
reverb track and to then route every instrument/fx/send (everything) through this
track. The premaster reverb track is then routed directly to your master. You will
then create a separate Master Reverb Send where your master reverb goes. This
master reverb send is routed directly to your master.
You will then use the premaster reverb track to send a small portion of the its
signal to your master reverb send. The Master Reverb should be using a small
room preset with .3 - .7sec of decay. You’ll want to low-cut frequencies
(<200hz) on your master reverb because you just won’t need those, otherwise
they will swamp your mix.
From the premaster track you can control how much all the instruments in your
track are feeding this final reverb. The idea is to feed the master verb somewhat
lightly so that it’s almost imperceptible, but you can get fairly aggressive with
this and that is very enjoyable to do as well.
This final reverb is meant to emulate the room your track is playing in. Like if
you were playing your track through speakers in a club, this is what the master
reverb is emulating, albeit with a much shorter decay. I don’t know why, but it
really makes a song come together in the most simply, impressive way.
This master reverb treatment happens pre-master, hence the pre-master reverb
track we used. This does mean that I like running the Master Reverb +
everything else in my session through my entire master treatment chain. There’s
nothing wrong with this for me because I don’t rely too much on extreme forms
of mastering for my projects.
That being said, one of the symptoms of heavy loudness maximization on your
master is that the stereo width/ intelligibility of your track tends to go down.
This can be remedied by configuring a master reverb on your project right before
your final limiter.
This is just me getting into mix-engineer porn at this point, but the idea would be
doing your entire master chain, except for your final limiter on a ‘pre-master
treatment track.’ You then send a little bit of your ‘premaster treatment track’
signal to your master reverb send, and then mix these all together at your Master
right before the limiter.
This allows our master reverb to be unaffected by your mastering chain. What’s
really cool is that the heavy-handed effects of your pre-master treatment will
influence the sounds going into your master reverb and all this is happening
without the master chain negatively impacting your master reverb’s stereo
information and acoustics.
This is powerful because reverb information suffers the most from heavy
compression and limiting. It’s also an advanced technique that underlines the
best mastering technique, namely that all really good mastering is a means of
hiding the side-effects of mastering.
It works to hide mastering because while everything was heavily processed in

your pre-mastering chain you’re restoring some naturalness to it by running it
through a reverb after the fact. And that reverb is only running into a limiter
before your track is mixed down. It’s this sequence that acts to hide mastering
artifacts like multiband compression/limiter pumping.

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The Bus Compression Framework: The set and forget way to get an
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Why Do We Call It Pocket Compression? (Instead of

Bus Compression)
The reason I call this pocket compression is because the compressor action
creates an artificial pocket around instruments within a compression group. This
artificial pocket has the characteristic of giving all those instruments similar
dynamic behavior.
When I say dynamic similarity I mean that the volume of all the instruments in
that group is changing in relation to our bus compressor being triggered.
Because any instrument or simultaneous playing of instruments within a group
could trigger compressor action, it means that every instrument plays a part in
the group’s dynamic behavior which is the point of bus compression.
When I say “compressor behavior” I mean the increasing/decreasing of gain
reduction. The rate and speed at which gain reduction increases/diminishes is the
result of your attack and release settings.
It should be noted that within a bus compression group there’s typically a few
louder instruments that have a greater impact on the behavior of the compressor.
Other instruments are often too quiet to actually trigger or have a big influence
on the compressors behavior. A good example of this would be in a drum bus.
In a drum bus the compressor movement is typically being driven by your kick
and snare. Hi-hats don’t generally trigger the compressor and this is because
they usually aren’t loud enough to do so.
Now with bus compression you’re actually using a compressor to give
instruments specific time-dependent volume characteristics. That's just a fancy
way of saying you’re making instruments within a group breathe relative to one
another. As I've mentioned with my technique, this breathing/pumping is so
subtle that it actually glues instruments together dynamically.

The dynamic glue we’re talking about is this subtle rhythmic pumping/breathing.
The rate and speed of the subtle pumping/breathing is the result of your attack
and release settings.
The other glue effect we’ve already mentioned is simply the fact that all bus
compressors impart a subtle and transparent form of saturation across all
instruments running through them. This saturation simply adds harmonics to
these instruments in about the same way in about the same place. This subtly
unifies the “tone signature” of all our instruments which gives our mixes a
professional sense of cohesion.
Now with my technique I simply use SSL bus compressors. They're perfect and
there's a reason everyone loves them. This imparts the same saturation across all
instruments no matter what group they're being sent to, thus gluing and unifying
the tone of my entire mix.
Now with pocket compression we are deliberately forcing instruments to behave
the same in relation to the compressor they’re going into.
My favorite way to think about it is imagine you’ve got an elastic balloon around
a group of instruments. The compressor settings determine how much space
there is between the balloon edges and the instruments. This amount of space is
the same thing as your Threshold setting.
At some point your instruments will get so loud that they fill in this extra space
and begin to press against the edges of your balloon. How stretchy or not
stretchy the balloon is is determined by your Ratio.
A 2:1 Ratio is the best stretchiness for this balloon, virtually always.
The rate and speed at which the balloon stretches when instruments get too loud
and press into its edges is determined by your Attack and Release settings.
And so with bus compression you’re limiting the volume freedom of instruments
as if there was an elastic balloon being placed around them preventing them
from moving too far beyond the initial boundaries of the balloon.
It’s this artificial effect of creating an elastic boundary around instruments that is
pocket compression.
This main idea is so simple, and amazingly powerful because it means that faster
attacks (.1 - 3ms) and slower releases (.6 - 1sec) pushes stuff in the back of the
mix, which creates blend and slower attacks (10 - 30ms) and fast releases (.1 -
.3sec) allow grouped instruments to remain more open, dynamic and in front of
the mix which creates contrast.

The Bus Compression Framework
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Mastering Multi-Band Compression: 17 step by step multiband
compression techniques for getting flawless mixes
Learn More
Blend/Contrast Theory and Multiband Compression

If you’ve read any of my other books then you know that the foundation of my
mixing philosophy is blend and contrast. I want for 70% of my instruments to
blend together into the background of my mix, and the other 30% to contrast and
push forward into the front of my mix.
By following this rule I’m able to create massive depth with less effort and less
stress.
I can assure you, within a few sessions of applying this paradigm it will
transform the way you approach mixing. You’ll be more exacting with your
decisions and you won’t find yourself getting stuck debating whether something
is right or wrong.
All you need to do is decide if an instrument is blending or contrasting.
At every level of my mixing, this is my primary goal. Why do I use The 3-Space
Reverb Framework when mixing? Because it’s sonically designed to create more
blend and contrast.
Why do I rely on 4-Zone Mix theory in The EQ and Compression Formula?
Because in each of the 4 frequency zones I always make sure there’s 1
instrument that’s louder (contrasting) and the rest are just supporting
(blending).
How specifically am I using Bus Compression in The Bus Compression
Framework? I’m using it to create improved blending via the ‘glue’ effect of
compression. But I’m also applying deliberately, different compression settings
to blending and contrasting instrument groups.
The different settings pushes blending and contrasting groups apart which
creates more depth. As such a contrasting instrument group will always have
more open compression settings compared to a blending instrument group which
has slightly more restricted compression settings.
It’s the additive effect of these precise and repeatable techniques which creates
increasing levels of blend/contrast. With increasing levels of blend/contrast we
can make massive depth and crystal clarity a virtually effortless byproduct of a
formulaic mixing methodology.
This is what I aim for when I teach this stuff.
Can you make someone a great mixer right away? No, but you can teach them
the exact sequences and patterns that great mixers use.
Unfortunately many great artists and mixers aren’t exactly aware of how they do
what they do and I think that's bullshit because it holds the rest of us back. It
makes those of us just starting think the learning curve is steep.
It isn't as steep as we think. It's the initial time investment that's steep. But that's
the price for anything worth having.
So everything I talk about is a formula. It's a methodology that you can copy and
paste into your process to get an instant skip over the confusion.
We really need to experience results that we can appreciate in order to connect
the deeper dots—the ones we're really after.
So knowing whether I’m after blend or contrast is my deeper connecting of the
dots. It lets me know exactly what to do so that I don’t get lost trying to figure
out what I’m after. It’s very simple and at the same time, this way of mixing
isn’t so rigid or encumbering that it drops me from a creative state.
Blend/contrast is a universal of art. Our perceptions are built around it. Hot-cold,
black-white, happy-sad, quiet-loud, distant-close; everything.
So when we’re mixing it's all about intensifying blend/contrast and the way we
do this with multiband compression has to do with the 2 main results Multiband
Compression can achieve. They are as follows:
1. Transient Control
1. Transient Enhancement
2. Transient Reduction
2. Volume Leveling
These 2 results also happen to be the exact same ways we use a regular
compressor.
The only difference is that now we can do it on a specific frequency range which
is what gives us the ability to use a multiband compressor to flexibly shape the
frequency content of a sound.
Again, you can only shape a given frequency range if it has differences in
volume to work with. If it’s always sustaining at the same general volume, then
multiband compression has virtually no positive benefit worth confusing
ourselves with.
Transient Control for Blend/Contrast
Transient in the context of a multiband compressor means shaping the peak
volume of a frequency range. Now the sentence I just said is true, but it can be
super vague, so don’t worry because the first 2 multiband compression
techniques I’m going to give you will show you exactly how to achieve transient
control.
For the most part it is going to be the results that connect the dots. The 17
techniques I’m going to be showing you a little later will give you the exact
results you need to figure things out.
Examples are almost always clearer than the technical explanations. Technical
explanations are just meant to prime your mind so that you’re a little more
subconsciously prepared to connect the dots when you get a demonstration later
on.
So as a quick review here’s exactly what I mean about transient control as it
relates to blend vs. contrast:
1. Transient Enhancement will always = More Contrast
2. Transient Reduction will always = More Blend
Volume Leveling for Blend/Contrast

Volume leveling in the context of a multiband compressor means reducing the
difference between loud and quiet portions of a given frequency range.
In our earlier example with the piano hammer playing louder and then quieter,
we can set compression to reduce the volume of just the loud part so it gets
closer in volume to the quiet part. Then simply applying makeup gain brings the
overall level of volume back up, hence volume leveling.
Whenever a given frequency range gets too loud it begins to contrast and move
toward the front of our mix. When it gets too quiet it can overly blend and

eventually disappear into the background of our mix.
So we volume level frequency ranges because sometimes they’re too loud and
sometimes they’re too quiet and leveling out the volume level makes that
frequency range sit more stably in your mix.
Generally in mixes you want the majority of instruments to remain fairly
dynamically stable because this gives you control over their mix placement.
But mixing is an art, and sometimes having 1 or 2 instruments be able to
dynamically warp in and out of your mix because of their dramatic changes in
volume can create more contrast and depth.
As you’ll learn in the techniques I’m going to show you, much of the time we
simply reduce the volume of loud parts without applying makeup gain. This is
something that’s counterintuitive because makeup gain is sort of presented as the
final step of using any compressor and so some people assume it’s meant to be
used all the time—it’s not, I’m going to show and explain why later on.
Volume Leveling is primarily a blend effect, simply because it holds stuff in
place. But you can also hold stuff in place so it’s louder and more present and in
this way it becomes more of a contrast effect.
With volume leveling we are using the multiband compressor to prevent
individual frequency ranges from darting back and forth throughout our mix.
You’ll get a perfect example of volume leveling frequencies that move back and
forth in your mix with technique #3. In that technique I’ll show you the very
visual example of how to control resonantly sweeping frequencies in your mix.
In fact, the reason volume leveling is so effective when dealing with sweeping
resonances is because sometimes we like lots of resonance, but it can be
overwhelming in certain frequency ranges and so wont fit perfectly with the mix.
Volume leveling with multiband compression is the ultimate solution to this
problem.
The techniques you’re going to learn are the ones I use. Because it’s me, they are
incredibly formulaic and they work.
I’m giving them to you, partly because I feel obligated since I know I’m not the
only one who was, for the longest time, ruthlessly tortured by multiband
compression at a CIA blacksite called my studio.

I only want for you to find out for yourself just how effective the techniques are
because they’re going to free up a lot of mental energy so you can eventually
focus on more important decisions like blend and contrast.
The more we don’t have to think about how to use something and the more we
can just fiddle with a tool while aiming for something simple like “is it blending
or contrasting?” the more it becomes an enjoyable exploration and the more
creativity blossoms.

Mastering Multi-Band Compression
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The 3-Delay Mix System - Learn The Exact Framework For Using Delay Perfectly in Any Mix (Audio Engi - Ion, Sound Design & Mixing Audio Series - Book 5) - Nodrm

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Learn the exact framework for using

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The #1 way I look at slapbacks is as a small space simulator, much like a

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Ultra Fast Delays

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I use ping-pong to catch their attention, not for dimension

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(Total Perceived Environment = Reverb + Delay)

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Going through a 100 incrementally different positions of one or a few knobs

For this template we’ll be using the following 5 delays:

Delay #2: 1/8 Delay

Delay #3: 1/16 Delay

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Delay#4: Slap Delay

Delay#5: Free Delay (500ms)

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Delay #1: (Repeat) - Main instrument, vocal, lead, etc.

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