Delay (audio effect)

Audio sign process proficiency
Delay is an audio signal serve technique that records an input signal to a storage medium and then plays it back after a period of clock. When the processed sound recording is blended with the unprocessed sound recording, it creates an echo -like impression, whereby the original audio is heard followed by the check audio. The delayed signal may be played back multiple times, or fed back into the recording, to create the sound of a repeat, decaying echo. [ 1 ] Delay effects range from a elusive resound effect to a marked blend of former 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 circuit board software in the 2000s.

Reading: Delay (audio effect)

history [edit ]

The first delay effects were achieved using record loops improvised on reel-to-reel audio magnetic tape recording systems. By shortening or lengthening the loop of tape and adjusting the read-and-write heads, the nature of the check repeat could be controlled. This technique was most park among early composers of Musique concrète such as Pierre Schaeffer, and composers such as Karlheinz Stockhausen, who had sometimes devised elaborate systems involving farseeing tapes and multiple recorders and playback systems, jointly processing the stimulation of a live performer or ensemble. [ 2 ] Audio engineers working in popular music cursorily adapted like techniques to augment their habit of reverb and early studio technologies designed to simulate natural echo. In the former 1940s and early 1950s, respective phone engineers began making devices for function in recording studios and later more compact machines for alive purposes. american manufacturer Sam Phillips discovered the impression while experimenting with two Ampex 350 magnetic 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 legal document couturier 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 highly exuberant, warm and wide. ” [ 8 ]
record echoes became commercially available in the 1950s. [ 9 ] An echo machine is the early on identify for a sound process device used with electronic instruments to repeat the fathom and produce a simulated echo. One case is the Echoplex which used a tape loop. The distance of check was adjusted by changing the distance between the videotape record and playback heads. Another model is the Roland Space Echo with a phonograph record and multiple playback tape heads and a variable star tape speed. The time between echo repeats was adjusted by varying the record focal ratio. The length or saturation of the echo effect was adjusted by changing the amount of repeat signal was fed back into the pre-echo bespeak. different effects could be created by combining the different playback heads. 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 particularly in rock and roll ( Scotty Moore ). [ 10 ] Dedicated machines for creating tape loops were introduced, such as the Ace Tone EC-1 Echo Chamber. [ 6 ] [ 11 ] Tape repeat machines contain loops of tape that pass over a record drumhead and then a playback head. With the Roland RE-201, introduced in 1973, japanese mastermind Ikutaro Kakehashi refined the record delay to make it more authentic and robust, with reduce magnetic tape wear and noise, wow, and flap, extra controls, [ 6 ] and extra tape heads for more delays. [ 11 ] By adjusting the controls and tape speed, musicians could create pitch-shifting and hover effects. [ 6 ] The RE-201 was a success, used by acts including Brian Setzer, Bob Marley, Portishead and Radiohead. [ 6 ] In the 1970s, Jamaican knight reggae producers used delay effects extensively ; Lee Scratch Perry created “ lo-fi sci-fi ” effects by using delay and reverb on a mix console test tone. [11] Dub techno producers such as Basic Channel introduced delay to electronic music. [11] Digital check effects were developed with the arrival of digital recording. [ 5 ]

Analog delay [edit ]

Echoplex EP-2 Before the invention of audio delay technology, music employing an echo had to be recorded in a naturally reverberant space, much an inconvenience for musicians and engineers. The popularity of an easy-to-implement real-time repeat effect led to the production of systems offering an all-in-one effects unit that could be adjusted to produce echoes of any time interval or amplitude. The bearing of multiple taps ( playback heads ) made it possible to have delays at varying rhythmical intervals ; this allowed musicians an extra means of formula over natural periodic echoes .

tape based [edit ]

many check processors based on analogue tape recording used magnetic magnetic tape as their recording and playback medium. Electric motors guided a tape loop through a device with a kind of mechanisms allowing modification of the effect ‘s parameters. [ 12 ] popular models included Ray Butts ‘ EchoSonic ( 1952 ), the 1959 Echoplex by Mike Battle, “ whose sounds are still being experimented with today ”, [ 9 ] and the Roland Space Echo ( 1973 ). In the Echoplex EP-2 the maneuver principal was fixed, while a combination record and erase head was mounted on a slither, frankincense the delay time of the echo was adjusted by changing the distance between the record and play heads. In the Space Echo, all of the heads are fixed, but the travel rapidly of the tape could be adjusted, changing the delay time. The 1959 Ecco-Fonic had a spin head. Thin magnetic magnetic tape was not wholly suited for continuous operation, however, so the record loop had to be replaced from time to meter to maintain the audio fidelity of the serve sounds. The Binson Echorec used a turn out charismatic cram or magnetic disk ( not entirely unlike those used in modern arduous phonograph record drives ) as its storage metier. This provided an advantage over tape, as the durable drums were able to concluding for many years with little deterioration in the audio quality. [ 13 ] Surviving tape-based delay units incorporating vacuum pipe -based electronics are sought by modern musicians who wish to employ some of the timbres accomplishable with this engineering .

oil can [edit ]

An option resound system was the alleged “ oil-can delay ” method acting, which uses electrostatic rather than electromagnetic record. [ 14 ] Invented by Ray Lubow, the oil-can method uses a rotating disk of anodize aluminum coated with a abeyance of carbon particles. An AC bespeak to a conductive neoprene wiper transfers the bang to the high electric resistance disk. As the particles communicate by the wiper, they act as thousands of bantam capacitors, holding a little part of the charge. A moment wiper reads this representation of the signal, and sends it to a electric potential amplifier that mixes it with the original source. To protect the charge held in each capacitor and to lubricate the entire assembly, the disk runs inside a sealed can with enough of a particular anoint [ a ] to assure that an even coating is applied as it spins. [ 15 ] The effect resembles an echo, but the capricious nature of the storage medium causes variations in the phone that can be heard as a vibrato effect. Some early on models featured control circuitry designed to feed the end product of the read windshield wiper to the spell headway, causing a reverberant effect as well. many different companies marketed these devices under assorted 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 1965–7. 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 finally producing the Echo-ver-brato, the Electrostatic Delay Line, and many others into the eighties .

solid state [edit ]

early battery guitar delay blueprint, 1976 solid-state delay units using analogue bucket-brigade devices became available in the 1970s and were briefly a mainstream alternative to tape echo. The earliest know invention was prototyped at a Boston-based strait support company in 1976. [ citation needed ] The core engineering used a Reticon SAD1024 IC. In the 1980s, this design was used by Boss Corporation for their mass-production products and the Rockman amplifier. Though solid-state analogue delays are less elastic than digital delays and generally have shorter delay times, respective classic models such as the discontinued Boss DM-2 are still sought after for their “ ardent ”, more natural echo quality and increasingly decaying echoes .

Digital stay [edit ]

An Ibanez DE-7 delay pedal sound exercise of a plugin pretense of an analogue check ( EHX Memory Man ) with intonation and pitch fault Digital delay systems function by sampling the stimulation signal through an analog-to-digital converter, after which the signal is passed through a digital signal processor that records it into a storage cushion, and then plays back the stored audio based on parameters set by the user. The delayed ( “ moisture ” ) output may be mix with the unmodified ( “ dry ” ) signal after, or before, it is sent to a digital-to-analog converter for output. The handiness of cheap digital signal process electronics in the late 1970s and 1980s led to the exploitation of the first digital stay effects. initially, digital delay effects were available in more expensive rack-mounted units. One of the first was the Eventide DDL 1745 from 1971. [ 16 ] Another popular rack-mount digital delay was the AMS DMX 15-80 of 1978. [ 17 ] As digital memory became cheaper in the 1980s, units like Lexicon PCM42, Roland SDE-3000, TC Electronic 2290 offered more than three seconds of delay time, enough to create background loops, cycle and phrases. The 2290 was upgradeable to 32 seconds and Electro-Harmonix offered a 16-second delay and coil machine. finally, as costs came polish far and the electronics grew smaller, they became available in the form of foot pedals. The first digital stay offered in a pedal point was the Boss DD-2 in 1984. Rack-mounted stay units evolved into digital reverb units and on to digital multi-effects units capable of more sophisticated effects than pure stay, such as reverb and audio time stretching and pitch scale effects. Digital delays present an extensive array of options, including a operate over the time before playback of the delay bespeak. Most besides allow the drug user to select the overall level of the process signal in relation to the unmodified one, or the charge at which the delay bespeak is fed back into the buffer, to be repeated again. Some systems allow more exotic controls, such as the ability to add an audio percolate, or to play back the buffer ‘s contents in reverse .

Looping [edit ]

Gibson Echoplex Digital Pro While the early delay units with a long delay capacity could be used to record a flick or chord progress and then play over it, they were challenging to work with. The Paradis LOOP Delay, [ 18 ] created in 1992, was the first whole with consecrated looping functions such as Record, Overdub, Multiply, Insert, and Replace, which made it more intuitive and user-friendly. Gibson manufactured a slightly improved version as Echoplex Digital Pro [ 19 ] until 2006. Its software Aurisis LOOP is besides the last loop creature based on a continuous memory structure as used by record and digital delays. Most following loopers repeat samples and frankincense have small in coarse with a digital stay, the exceptions being Maneco ‘s early measuring worm devices, the Boss DD-20 in digital delay modality and the Pigtronix Echolution .

Computer software [edit ]

reasoned exemplar of a plugin simulation of an analogue check ( EHX Memory Man ) with modulation and peddle switch on Amplitube 4 . Steve Harris ‘ Delayorama software

artistic uses [edit ]

In popular and electronic music, electric guitarists use check to produce densely overlie textures of notes with rhythm complementary to the music. U2 guitarist The Edge uses delay while he plays arpeggios on electric guitar, therefore creating a sustained, synth-pad -like background. Vocalists and instrumentalists use delay to add a dense or ethereal quality to their whistle or dally. extremely long delays of 10 seconds or more are frequently used to create loops of a whole melodious phrase. Robert Fripp used two Revox reel-to-reel videotape recorders to achieve identical farseeing stay times for solo guitar performance. He dubbed this engineering “ Frippertronics “, and used it in a count of recordings. John Martyn was a pioneer of the echoplex. possibly 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. “ Glistening Glyndebourne ” on the album Bless The Weather ( 1971 ) showcased his developing technique of playing acoustic guitar through the echoplex. He by and by went on to experiment with a bull box, a volume/wah wah bicycle, and the echoplex on Inside Out ( 1973 ) and One World ( 1977 ). Martyn is cited as an inhalation by many musicians including U2 ‘s The Edge. [ citation needed ]

officiate and variants [edit ]

[20] “ Block diagram of the signal-flow for a typical simple delay-line, ” tied to an electric guitar, for case. Dotted line indicates varying component. Delay effects add a time check to an audio signal. When the wet ( processed ) audio is blended with the dry ( unprocessed ) audio, it creates an echo -like effect, whereby the original sound recording is heard followed by the delayed sound recording. [ 5 ] Delay effects typically allow users to adjust the sum of feedback. By feeding some of the delay audio back into the buffer, multiple repeats of the audio play spinal column ( feedback ). At low feedback settings, each reprise fades in volume. senior high school levels of feedback can cause the level of the output to quickly increase ( self-oscillation ), becoming louder and louder ; this may be managed with limiters. The delay signal may be treated individually from the input signal audio – for exercise, with an counterweight. [ 21 ] Most delay effects besides allow users to set the check time, or the come of clock between each audio playback. The may be synchronized to a BPM, allowing users to set fourth dimension values as beat divisions. [ 5 ] Delay is used to create other effects, including reverb, choir and flanging. [ 5 ] Digital delay effects record a sample of audio and play it back. Software versions record the audio to a buff. Digital stay may besides modify the record sound, by reversing it, altering its lurch, or other manipulations. Some digital delays emulate the “ game, farinaceous ” sound of earlier delay effects. [ 5 ]

Haas effect [edit ]

abruptly delays ( 50ms or less ) create a common sense of “ broadening ” the sound without creating a perceptible repeat, and can be used to add stereophonic width or simulate double-tracking ( layering two performances ). [ 21 ] The consequence is known as the Haas effect after the german mathematician Helmut Haas. [ 21 ]

table tennis check [edit ]

In a table tennis check, the delay signal alternates between two stereo channels. [ 21 ]
In a multi-tap delay, multiple “ taps ” ( outputs ) are taken from a delay buff, each with independent times and levels, and summed with the master signal. [ 5 ] [ 21 ] Multi-tap delays be used to create rhythmical patterns or dense, reverb -like effects. [ 21 ]

Doubling echo [edit ]

Doubling echo is produced by adding short stay to a recorded healthy. Delays of thirty to fifty milliseconds are the most coarse ; longer delay times become slapback echo. Mixing the original and delay sounds creates an effect alike to doubletracking, or unison operation .

Slapback resound [edit ]

Slapback echo uses a longer check time ( 60 to 250 milliseconds ), with little or no feedback. [ boron ] A slapback stay creates a thickening effect. The effect is characteristic of vocals on 1950s rock-n-roll records. In July 1954, Sam Phillips produced the first gear of five 78s and 45s that Elvis Presley would release on Sun over the next year and a half, all of which featured a novel production proficiency that Phillips termed slapback echo. [ 22 ] The effect was produced by re-feeding the output sign from the playback head tape recorder to its record mind. The forcible quad between heads, the amphetamine of the record, and the choose volume being the main manipulate factors. Analog and late digital check machines besides easily produced the effect. It is besides sometimes used on instruments, particularly drums and percussion section .

Flanging, chorus effect, and reverb [edit ]

Flanging, chorus and reverb are all delay-based sound effects. With flanging and refrain, the stay time is very short and normally modulated. With echo there are multiple delays and feedback then that individual echoes are blurred together, recreating the audio of an acoustic space .

Straight stay [edit ]

Straight delay is used in voice reinforcing stimulus systems ; a straight delay is used to compensate for the propagation of phone through the air. Unlike audio delay effects devices, straight delay is not blend back in with the original signal. The stay sign alone is sent to loudspeakers so that the speakers distant from the stagecoach, as in a large outdoor rock festival, will reinforce the stage sound at the same time or slightly late than the acoustic sound from the phase. The stay sign uses approximately 1 millisecond of straight delay per foot of air or 3 milliseconds per meter, depending on the air out temperature ‘s effect on the accelerate of reasoned. [ degree centigrade ] Because of the Haas effect, this technique allows audio engineers to use extra loudspeaker systems placed away from the stagecoach and calm give the magic trick that all strait originates from the stagecoach. The determination is to deliver sufficient voice volume to the back of the venue without resorting to excessive legal volumes near the front. Straight stay is besides used in audio to video synchronization to align sound with ocular media ( for example, on television or web circulate ), if the ocular generator is delayed. ocular media can become delayed by a number of mechanisms or reasons, in which case the associated audio must be delayed to match the ocular content .

Samples [edit ]

Delay effect (1) (

) A unretentive address passage, followed by the same passage processed using diverse delays
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Delay effect (2) (

) A curtly passage on flute, before and after the lotion of a multi-tap, multi-channel delay
Problems playing this file? See media help.

See besides [edit ]

Notes [edit ]

^[14] Union Carbide UCON lb65
^[21] Increasing the feedback of a slapback consequence can create a sound alike to a spring reverb effect .
^ At an air temperature of 20 °C ( 68 °F ), one meter of sound travel takes 2.92 milliseconds, and one animal foot of sound travel takes 0.888 ms .