I've been playing on and off for over 50 years and have recently sussed that whenever there's a discussion about pedal boards, everyone seems to have a delay of some sort. Apart from some obvious stuff like Gilmour/May etc. what are the rest of you doing? FWIW, I'm in a covers band doing Beatles/Eagles/Sheryl Crow along with some Indie stuff.
I have a Boss delay so maybe some one could take a take a pic of their 'standard' setting and post it on here. I've had 2 Boss pedals die in the last 6 months so would be good to use it before it goes belly up. You'd think a company the size of theirs would offer some sort of repair service.
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You must have been fairly unlucky as Boss is generally known for being a reliable brand.
Which Boss delay is it? (they make quite a few).
In any case posting knob settings may not be that much use as the controls tend to vary wildly between different delay pedals.
It may be that you just aren't a delay guy if you haven't found a use for it.
There are a few ways of using a delay:
You can have the repeats set low, the level fairly high and the delay set very short (under 50ms) for that classic rockabilly slapback which is great for anything rootsy rock and roll and also adds a bit of a thickening effect which is great if you are in a one guitar band.
You can also set it as a general always on ambience. Lots of higher gain players tend to do this rather than reverb. If you want to do this then have about 2-3 repeats, keep the level fairly low and have the time about 200-300 ms. In this way of doing things you might have the level a bit higher and kick it on just for solos.
The final common thing is to have the echoes as a integral part of the song, but generally you will need a tap tempo for that and it comes down to if you play stuff like U2 in your band.
But loads and loads of ways. I remember seeing Albert Lee and he would set the tap tempo for almost every song so that when he turned the delay on it’s playing note for note what he’s playing, equal in the mix although you need to be an accurate guitarist. Reverse delay gives you that almost instant psychedelia thing. One of my favourite uses of delay is Walking on the Moon, if you play that guitar part there is so much space that it sounds dead without that single delay.
https://youtu.be/k1TRZt26qm8
Memphis Slap - single repeat ( Regen), probably 100ms (give or take) delay time and nearly 50:50 on the mix. No modulation but you’d struggle to hear that on a single repeat. Classic rockabilly.
Skank’n’Dub - for adding character to clean reggae rhythms, good for that post punk reggae influenced stuff - The Police, The Ruts, The Clash,etc. Early analogue delays had a max time of 350ms so that’s a sound you often hear in mid to late 70s reggae, rock, punk and that setting is around there.
- the "pad for solos" guys, like Mick from TPS and countless 80s rock stars Comfortably Numb,
- the rhythmic guys, like The Edge or Muse, or
- I guess there's also the "slight echo for vibe" guys which arguably covers the 50's slapjack thing as well as the new wave /80's sort of thing that covers The Cars through to The Police (something like the intro for My Favourite Mistake if we're looking at the OP's references)
#1s tend to prefer the analog 3-knob pedals as they don't care much about tempo and complexity as long as that pad thing is there. This is what e.g. the MXR Carbon Copy is best at#2 generally needs the delay to have a specific sound and tempo to serve the music, so that's where your bigger more complex delays typically come in. Usually with Tap Tempo just because it makes everything *much* easier.
#3 is more vintage again. Originally would have been done with tape or tube echos, which pedals like the Strymon Deco or Volante are directly trying to emulate. But you can get there with most pedals.
I'm 2 and a bit of 3, so I like big bright delays with lots of control and can't function without tap tempo, so having gone around the houses a bunch of times I'm currently using an Eventide Timefactor. And for #3 I'd favour a Deco.
From the influences you've listed I'd be amazed if you didn't enjoy a Deco. It'll do delay, but it does so much more to push you towards classic recorded sounds full of saturation and slight modulation.
My few attempts at using tap tempo live have always ended in utter arse; certainly nice things to be done with delay without it and I'm happy to stick to those!
And the Slapback guys.
Been uploading old tracks I recorded ages ago and hopefully some new noodles here.
Been uploading old tracks I recorded ages ago and hopefully some new noodles here.
I think I could be happy with a good rock sound and a delay pedal. In fact for years that's all I had, a good old Boss DD-3, plenty versatile.
For long delay tap tempo is a game changer. The idea (generally) is to have it there without overwhelming what you're actually doing. Having the repeats in time really helps it melt into the sound