More delays

If you've been trawling the net lately, this is news indeed. BOSS' delay units, the current DD-3 & DD-7 have been superseded by these; the DD-3T & DD-8 respectively. Don't worry folks, no crazy departure from the former units we all love & rely on. The DD-3T simply adds a tap tempo to proceedings. The DD-8 on the other hand, has a loop feature on board & a touch of reverb, among others. I'm not a big delay fan, in fact I don't have any plugged into my practice line up at home. However, I enjoy digital delay more than the analog version. I'm not a  fan of how things decay into oblivion nicely & warmly, I prefer an exact repeat to fade. That's just me I guess. In the mean time, from BOSS' official channel:

Delays

After years of playing guitar, these are my only delay units:

• Ibanez Delay/ Echo DE7. I used to own the grey version which was the standard colour for this (discontinued) series. The TONE LOK pedals allow the user to push in the control knobs once they are set. This prevents accidental adjustments while in use. It's a very practical pedal with rather inviting analog tones from the echo function. That limited edition colour is alluding to its more famous cousin, the AD9.
• Ibanez Echo Shifter ES-2. In addition to the bang-for-the-dollar warmth you hear coming from this one, the slider delay time control provides some experimentation on days when you are bored & in need of extra terrestrial intervention. Also, the modulation features on board means you get depth for proto-reverb in case you are in the mood to play Crying Game for your company's melancholic annual dinner & dance.
• BOSS Digital Delay DD3. This is perhaps still the industry standard when it comes to precision delay. Personally, I prefer digital delay over analog responses because I like to hear the exact repetition as opposed to warm decay. I used to play a cousin's DD7 for a while which I had set in one application which the DD3 could handle for less money, of course. 

People around me kept saying that for happening solos, delay is essential. Maybe it sounds appealing to the majority out there but I find delayed signals annoying. I can endure intense, delay-like reverb but the delay unit per se isn't something I embrace. I'm not compelled to follow others anyway.

Delay-ducation (1)

Good morning everyone. This is the introduction to a series of delay discussions. I'm not a fan of the delay effect but I'm not gonna put this topic away for personal reasons; it's more of a self-educating process for me. Hopefully the matters brought up are of use to you as well. So here goes...

What is a delay?

The delay effect is one that replicates exactly the input it receives & churns it out thereafter based on a time setting. The most fundamental understanding of delay here would be an echo, this is something that we all could relate to, yes?

What are the delay types available?

For the purpose of this discussion, we will look at the 3 delay types available in the market  (everything else is a variation): 1) Analog delay 2) Digital delay 3) Tape echo

Are echo & reverb included?

Yes, these are technically delay types as well. Both echo & reverb conform to the definition of replication & time-based release. Echo is indeed the mother of delay. Technical tinkering of the echo effect gave birth to other delay types. Reverb is essentially an echo which is venue specific. These days, the digital front offers plate-type reverb which are audio voicings & spring reverbs are included in amplifiers to emulate a venue voicing. 

To be continued... :-)

Digital delay (seriously digital)

Delay fans, this is something to behold by Korg- the SDD-3000. All the delay introversion you'd ever wanted, it's in here. If you enjoy the digital responses by BOSS but wanting more, do give this a consideration. It has some inputs by a certain U2 tech so you know what to expect :-)

DODs

DOD pedals were firm alternatives to the BOSSes back in the '80s - '90s. What I like about them were those super sensitive switches which would activate the unit via a mere touch. Battery access was also via a flip hatch as opposed to the BOSS access where unscrewing is necessary. The DOD brand name ventured into digital applications & gave birth to a sister brand name, Digitech. Ironically, the Digitech label took over proceedings at the turn of the century reproducing many of the DOD tones but manifesting them in the Digitech pedal design.

I own 4 DOD units, 3 of which are seen here (I can't seem to locate my Death Metal unit in the mean time...) the Supra Distortion saw missing knob caps exposing the screw heads inside. The DD/ Sampler pedal was my attempt to steer away fro the BOSS digital delays which were battery eaters because back then, acquiring a PSU for any pedal wasn't as easy as buying a 1-Spot unit today. The DOD EQ was also another BOSS digression, I prefer this EQ unit due to its wider range; -18/+18 vs BOSS' -15/+15.