Delay

I use the Dark and Long preset a lot as a starting to point and tweak it to my taste. Which usually means backing way off the feedback, Crossfeed and mix controls. I'll turn them each down, usually somewhere around 20-25 and set the factor to 1 for both channels. Also I set the diffusion time/amount values to 100. That's typically the setting I use for "Floydish" sounding guitar. I don't use delay that much at all on vox unless I'm doing something intentionally trippy and artsy.
 
 
If I use that preset/settings on midi guitar it usually requires a high pass up to 150-200hz as well as a notch/cut around 500-600hz to gain some clarity back.

delay is so fun.

and if you set up a left/right, with different times, it can totally replace any verb, on almost any source.

trick is timing.

you don't want to match the tempo ALL the time, ala what bit said....

but you also don't want to muck things up.
it is a subjective choice, and your SUCCESS at making the right decision, is a measure of your ability as a mixer.
don't give everything the same patch, you'll make mud.
but don't arbitrarily assign time values, that's just lazy.



also, use effects envelopes, and jack it where you want it stand out, bring it out where it only muddies things up.

i like long delays on guitar solos.....
med-short delays on vox, a little longer than true 'slap-back'
very short delays, almost like doublers, on dry rhythm guitar....

i have put delay on 
voice.....
snare.....

kick.......

keys.......

percussion......

guitars......

bass.........

shakers.......
maracas......
congas........


in other words, everything!

LOL


the thing is, if you have a super dry mix, and put on an obvious delay, say, a long thick delay on a synth solo, it will be super obvious.....so you make that choice based on the fact you want an obviously studio-tricked out track....
others will want to HIDE the delay, to make it strictly ambient.

i've tried to mix reverb in with delay, and have decided it's just muddy.

sounds way better, with ONLY reverb or delay, and i happen to think DELAY works better than REVERB, because the delay can be more clean, depending on how you set it up.

just rambling here....

I rarely use any delay but when I do I like long delays and always on the voice or other solo instrument. I create a delay bus and set the delay time to close, but not exactly on, to 1/4 or 1/2 note increments using a delay time calculator. If in stereo I will set one side a little ahead and the other a little behind the beat.

http://www.thewhippinpost...ay-time-calculator.htm

I've sometimes used sends to control what is delayed but I've also cloned the audio track and either deleted everything I don't want delayed or used automation to mute everything I don't want to delay and used that as the track to send to the delay bus.

Here's another off-label application: put a delay on your reverb bus, in front of the reverb and 100% wet. Sort of like the predelay setting except you can make it more complex and with panning effects. You can get a really dense reverb on a vocal this way while maintaining lyrical clarity. Great for backing harmonies.

I'm a big fan of tempo based delay.... I equate it to having worked in a room that was well suited to the particular song.

Delay based tempo is a much more subtle effect than when you are off the tempo... and if you use too much it will block up and get muddy much earlier than if the delay return shows up when there are no other notes playing.

So if you want to enjoy tempo based delay... you should look for subtle almost subliminal effects... and you should probably recognize that when it gets muddy you are not going to make it any better by adding more and more.

After struggling for years to sync analog delays to a song... I consider digital tempo based delay a real treat to work with.


best regards,
mike

Beag there are delay calculators floating around out here in internet land.

here's one I just goooooogled :
http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/Audio/delay/Freeware.htm

Some great tips here from everyone. That said, there really is no right or wrong unless you've degraded your mix. I like to use effects. I actually like country music these days more than anything because those engineers aren't afraid to use effects where in rock/metal, reverb and delay is no longer allowed. It's degraded audio and super compressors only in that style.

But anyway, in my opinion Philip, less is more when it comes to delay. Anything that "repeats" means it could be doubling something bad. LOL! For my recordings delay are used as special effects for solo instruments and for those little odd places where you may need a little effect like that. I'm from the other school that feels tempo sync is super important. There is nothing like a delay time that doesn't fit the song. That said, if I'm using a stereo delay, only one of the sides needs to be in sync. A trick I like to use that really works well is to take a delay time on the left, and set the right side to the same time but raise the time by 10ms. It keeps you in time, but images your delay. This is awesome for vocals and lead guitars. One thing I do hate is slap back delay. It just sounds bad to me...like the first delay units created that didn't have long delay times available. Slap just sounds nervous to me...like Ted Nugents guitar vibrato....I find it annoying.

HAAS effects: These can work well on instruments that need a little something extra, but keep in mind that these offset your instrumentation and can sometimes make things sound a bit phased. The reason being, one side is delayed so you're hearing it late simulating that the OTHER side is louder when in fact it isn't. This is a cool quickie enhancement but I have always felt it needs to be used with care or you can get a strange sound that just doesn't fit what you're doing.

I like the longer delays myself...especially on vocals to where you automate the tail ends of words almost like a ducked delay. Celine really used this well in the Titanic theme song. Incredibly expressive and deadly in a good way. When you DO use it on somethnig that is a focal point though, don't be afraid to make it heard. No sense using something that you can barely hear unless of course it's used as an enhancement type deal where you don't really want it up front. I've been told over the years that on some of my guitar solos, people thought the delay was a bit too loud. They didn't say that because it was too loud, they said that because they were trained that if you can hear something dominating, it's too much. I feel I'm a pretty clean player...when you can execute your stuff correctly, you can use as much effect as you want as long as it is not masking what you are playing or hiding the fact that you can't play very well. In some of my solos, I WANT those notes to repeat to where you can hear them sticking out like a sore thumb. As long as the tails don't walk on top of the new stuff that comes in the next phrase to where it sounds like a cluttered passage, you're ok.

That said, I'm also very selective as to where delay is used on the material I mix. To me certain instruments are cloudy enough as they are just because of their natural voicing. Adding a delay to them just makes them more cloudy in my opinion. But, there are no rules if you can make it work. The key thing to remember here is....we should never rely on these effects to make us sound bigger or wider. The key is to print the sound to where it stands on its own from the beginning and the effects are just enhancing it or taking it to the next level. Too many guys slap delays and wideners on stuff trying to make things bigger sounding. If something isn't right to begin with, you just made a bad sound bigger...or more cluttered.

Delay calculation tricks: For those of you who have asked about this stuff, you don't need a calculator at all. You have everything you need inside Sonar. :) Beagle, you'll love these.

I'm assuming those that asked about this probably started a project without a set bpm or a click track...would that be correct? The reason being, as long as you have a click track or a set bpm in your project, you NEVER have to worry about this as it will be sorted out for you. I'll explain.

1. If you have a bmp already selected: All you have to do is open up the Sonitus delay, click on the "host" button, press play and it will select the time for you according to your bpm in the project. All the settings in each side for 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 etc will be auto-set to the time of your project via host setting. Even if you choose not to use the Sonitus, you can use it for the bpm calc. :)

2. If you do NOT have a bpm already selected: Two simple remedies here.

a. Fire up the bpm tap in Sonar. Tap and get a basic average...when you see what the average bpm is, click cancel so you don't mess up your project, fire up the delay of your choice, input the bpm. If using Sonitus, switch to manual instead of host, type in the bpm, and again, all the 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 etc times will be in sync to the bpm you typed in. You'll be close enough no matter what.

b. Take your best audio track and audio snap it. It will tell you what the average bpm's are. Choose one and input it into your delay...done! Again, you'll be close enough no matter what. See...pretty cool eh? :)

-Danny