Delay (audio effect)
Delay is an audio signal processing technique that records an input signal to a storage medium and then plays it back after a period of time. When the delayed playback is mixed with the live audio, it creates an echo-like effect, whereby the original audio is heard followed by the delayed audio. The delayed signal may be played back multiple times, or fed back into the recording, to create the sound of a repeating, decaying echo.[1]
Delay effects range from a subtle echo effect to a pronounced blending of previous sounds with new sounds. Delay effects can be created using tape loops, an approach developed in the 1940s and 1950s and used by artists including Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly.
Analog effects units were introduced in the 1970s; digital effects pedals in 1984; and audio plug-in software in the 2000s.
History
The first delay effects were achieved using tape loops improvised on reel-to-reel audio tape recording systems. By shortening or lengthening the loop of tape and adjusting the read-and-write heads, the nature of the delayed echo could be controlled. This technique was most common among early composers of musique concrète such as Pierre Schaeffer, and composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, who had sometimes devised elaborate systems involving long tapes and multiple recorders and playback systems, collectively processing the input of a live performer or ensemble.[2]
American producer Sam Phillips created a slapback echo effect with two Ampex 350 tape recorders in 1954.[3][4] The effect was used by artists including Elvis Presley (such as on his track "Blue Moon of Kentucky") and Buddy Holly,[5] and became one of Phillips' signatures.[4] Guitarist and instrument designer Les Paul was an early pioneer in delay devices.[6][7] According to Sound on Sound, "The character and depth of sound that was produced from tape echo on these old records is extremely lush, warm and wide."[8]
Tape echoes became commercially available in the 1950s.[9] Tape echo machines contain loops of tape that pass over a record head and then a playback head. An echo machine is the early name for a sound processing device used with electronic instruments to repeat the sound and produce a simulated echo. The time between echo repeats was adjusted by varying head position or tape speed. The length or intensity of the echo effect was adjusted by changing the amount of echo signal was fed back into the signal recorded to tape.[10]
A landmark device was the EchoSonic made by American Ray Butts. It is a portable guitar amplifier with a built-in tape echo, which became used widely in country music (Chet Atkins) and especially in rock and roll (Scotty Moore).[11]
Dedicated machines for creating tape loops were introduced One example is the Echoplex which uses a tape loop. The length of delay is adjusted by changing the distance between the tape record and playback heads. Another is the Ace Tone EC-1 Echo Chamber.[12]
With the
In the 1970s, Jamaican
Analog delay
Before the invention of audio delay technology, music employing an echo had to be recorded in a naturally reverberant space, often an inconvenience for musicians and engineers. The demand for an easy-to-use real-time echo effect led to the production of systems offering an all-in-one effects unit that could be adjusted to produce echoes of any interval or amplitude. The presence of multiple taps (playback heads) made it possible to have delays at varying rhythmic intervals; this allowed musicians an additional means of expression over natural periodic echoes.
Tape delay
Early experiments such as
Delay processors based on analog tape recording use magnetic tape as their recording and playback medium. Electric motors guide a tape loop through a device with a variety of mechanisms allowing modification of the effect's parameters.[14] Popular models include Ray Butts' EchoSonic (1952), the Watkins Copicat (1958), [15][16] the Echoplex (1959)[9] and the Roland Space Echo (1974).[17]
In the Echoplex EP-2, the play head position was fixed, while a combination record and erase head was mounted on a slide, thus the delay time of the echo was adjusted by changing the distance between the record and play heads.[citation needed]
The Space Echo uses a free-running tape transport system to reduce tape wear, noise, and wow and flutter, and made the units more reliable and easy to transport.[18] It was more reliable and sturdy than previous tape echo devices, making it easy to travel and perform with.[18] It has been used by musicians in genres such as reggae, dub, trip hop, post-punk and experimental rock.[18][19]
Thin magnetic tape was not entirely suited for continuous operation, however, so the tape loop has to be replaced from time to time to maintain the
Oil can
An alternative echo system was the so-called oil-can delay method, which uses electrostatic rather than electromagnetic recording.[22]
Invented by
The effect resembles an echo, but the whimsical nature of the storage medium causes variations in the sound that can be heard as a vibrato effect. Some early models featured control circuitry designed to feed the output of the read wiper to the write wiper, causing a reverberant effect as well.
Many different companies marketed these devices under various names. Fender sold the Dimension IV, the Variable Delay, the Echo-Reverb I, II, and III, and included an oil can in their Special Effects box. Gibson sold the GA-4RE from 1965–67. Ray Lubow himself sold many different versions under the Tel-Ray/Morley brand, starting out in the early sixties with the Ad-n-echo, and eventually producing the Echo-ver-brato, the Electrostatic Delay Line, and many others into the eighties.
Solid-state delay
The bucket-brigade devices (BBD) was developed at Philips in 1969. Delay effects utilizing this technology eventually became available. Notable examples include the Memory Man from Electro-Harmonix, released in 1976 and the Boss DM-2 released in 1981. BBD-based devices offered a convenient alternative to tape delays and leslie speakers but were eventually largely supplanted by digital delays.[25]
Digital delay
Digital delay systems function by sampling the input signal using an
Digital delay effects were initially available as expensive rack-mounted units intended for use in television and audio production studios. One of the first was the
Digital delays present an extensive array of options, including control over the time before playback of the delayed signal. Most also allow the user to select the overall level of the processed signal in relation to the unmodified one, or the level at which the delayed signal is fed back into the memory, to be repeated again. Some systems allow more exotic controls, such as the ability to add an audio filter and modulate the playback rate.
Looping
While the early delay units with a long delay capacity could be used to record a
Computer software
A natural development from digital delay-processing hardware was the appearance of
Artistic uses
In popular and electronic music, electric guitarists use delay to produce densely overlaid textures of notes with rhythms complementary to the music. U2 guitarist the Edge uses delay while he plays arpeggios on electric guitar, thus creating a sustained, synth pad-like background.[31] Vocalists and instrumentalists use delay to add a dense or ethereal quality to their singing or playing. Extremely long delays of 10 seconds or more are often used to create loops of a whole musical phrase. Robert Fripp used two Revox reel-to-reel tape recorders to achieve very long delay times for solo guitar performance. He dubbed this technology "Frippertronics", and used it in a number of recordings.[32]
John Martyn was a pioneer of the echoplex. Perhaps the earliest indication of his use can be heard on the songs "Would You Believe Me" and "The Ocean" on the album Stormbringer! released in February 1970.
Function
Delay effects add a time delay to an audio signal. Blending the delayed audio with the original audio creates an echo-like effect, whereby the original audio is heard followed by the delayed audio.[5] The delayed signal may be treated separately from the input audio - for example, with an equalizer.[34]
Most delay effects allow users to set the delay time, or the amount of time between each audio playback. The may be synchronized to a
Delay effects typically allow users to add and adjust feedback. By feeding some of the delayed audio back into the delay mechanism, multiple repeats of the audio are heard. At low feedback settings, each repeat fades in volume. High levels of feedback can cause the level of the output to rapidly increase, becoming louder and louder; this may be managed using a limiter.
Haas effect
Short delays (50 ms or less) create a sense of broadening the sound without creating a perceptible echo and can be used to add
Ping-pong delay
In a ping-pong delay, the delayed signal alternates between the two channels of a
Multi-tap
In a multi-tap delay, multiple taps (outputs) are taken from a delay buffer, each with independent times and levels, and summed with the original signal.[5][34] Multi-tap delays can be used to create rhythmic patterns or dense, reverb-like effects.[34]
Doubling echo
Doubling echo is produced by adding short delay to a recorded sound. Delays of thirty to fifty milliseconds are the most common; longer delay times become slapback echo. Mixing the original and delayed sounds creates an effect similar to
Slapback echo
Slapback echo uses a delay time of 60 to 250 milliseconds with little or no feedback.
Flanging, chorus effect, and reverb
Straight delay
Straight delay is used in
Straight delay is also used in
Samples
See also
- Analog delay line
- Broadcast delay – The practice of intentionally delaying a live broadcast
- Digital delay line
Notes
- ^ Union Carbide UCON lb65[22]
- ^ High levels of feedback can cause the level of the output to rapidly increase (self-oscillation), becoming louder and louder; this may be managed with limiters.
- spring reverb effect.[34]
- ^ Depending on the air temperature's effect on the speed of sound. At an air temperature of 20 °C (68 °F), one meter of sound travel takes 2.92 milliseconds, and one foot of sound travel takes 0.888 ms.
References
- ^ Lehman, Scott (1996). "Effects Explained: Delay". Archived from the original on 2003-04-02.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Gehlaar, Rolf (1998), Leap of Faith: A Personal Biography of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Prozession
- ^ "Sam Phillips: Sun Records". Sound on Sound. Archived from the original on 2018-01-29. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ a b Blitz, Matt (2016-08-15). "How Sam Phillips invented the sound of rock and roll". Popular Mechanics. Archived from the original on 2016-08-18. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ MusicRadar. 7 June 2011. Archivedfrom the original on 2015-09-08. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ a b Dregni, Michael. "The Roland Space Echo". Vintage Guitar. Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ Meeker, Ward. "Les Paul Remembered". Vintage Guitar. Archived from the original on 2014-09-10. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ Haas, Will (August 2007). "Tape delay in your DAW". Sound on Sound. Archived from the original on 2017-05-12. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
- ^ a b Dregni, Michael (July 2012). "Echoplex EP-2". Vintage Guitar. pp. 54–56.
- ISBN 978-0-88188-552-1.
- ^ Hunter, Dave (April 2012). "The Ray Butts EchoSonic". Vintage Guitar. pp. 46–48.
- ^ Ace Tone Catalog 1969 (PDF), Sorkin/Ace Tone, 1969, p. 16, archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-12
- ^ "Creating dub delays with standard plugins". Attack Magazine. 2020-08-20. Archived from the original on 2020-10-22. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ "RE-201 Space Echo", Vintage Synth Explorer. 1997. Retrieved on July 30, 2006.
- ^ "NAMM Oral History Interviews: Charles Watkins". NAMM.org. NAMM. 16 May 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ Inglis, Sam (February 2021). "Wavesfactory Echo Cat". soundonsound.com. SOS Publications Group. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ Dregni, Michael (December 2014). "The Roland Space Echo". Vintage Guitar. Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ a b c Dregni, Michael (December 2014). "The Roland Space Echo". Vintage Guitar. Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ Brakes, Rod (2022-03-24). "Boss Enters a New Age of Space Echo with the RE-2 and RE-202". Guitar Player. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ^ Studholme, Richard. "A brief History". Archived from the original on 2007-10-20.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ White, Paul (October 2007). "Boss RE20". Sound on Sound. SOS Publications Group. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ^ a b Scott (2007-08-11). "Oil Can Delays". Retrieved 2018-08-04.
- ^ US 2892898, Raymond Lubow, "Delay apparatus"
- ^ R.G. Keen. "The Technology of Oil Can Delays". Retrieved 2021-02-15.
- ^ "A brief history of bucket-brigade delays". Retrieved 2022-10-17.
- ^ Smith, Geoff (May 2012). "Creating and using custom delay effects". Sound on Sound. Archived from the original on 2016-06-28. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ "50th Flashback #2.1: The DDL Digital Delay". Retrieved 2021-05-13.
- ^ "AMS DMX 15-80s Stereo Digital Delay". Retrieved 2019-06-26.
- ^ "Paradis Loop Delay". Loopers-Delight.com.
- ^ Matthias Grob. "How the Gibson / Oberheim Echoplex Came Together". Loopers-Delight.com.
- ^ The Edge, Davis Guggenheim (director) (2008). It Might Get Loud (film). Sony Pictures Classics.
- ^ "Frippertronics: how Robert Fripp and Brian Eno brought looping to life". Happy Mag. 2022-08-06. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
- ISBN 978-1-4411-5607-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g Smith, Geoff (May 2012). "Creating and using custom delay effects". Sound on Sound. Archived from the original on 2016-06-28. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ Rob Bowman. "Phillips, Sam." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 20 Jul. 2016.
- ^ Reid, Gordon (June 2004). "More Creative Synthesis With Delays". Sound on Sound.
- ^ Mike Sokol (January 8, 2018). "Why Wait? The Where, How & Why Of Delay Loudspeakers". Retrieved 2024-03-08.
- ^ "Speaker Delay: What You Need to Know". Gearsupply. April 30, 2021. Retrieved 2024-03-08.