How Do You Use Your Delay Pedal?

[JWJ915]

Do you use it to "thicken" your acoustic tone, with very short repeats? Or do you use it for more echo and longer repeats? I'm trying to decide on a delay pedal. I've heard from some that a pedal with tap tempo is essential, and I've heard from others that it is not. Maybe it all depends on how you intend to use it.. I play primarily solo gigs and use a loop pedal. I'm new to delays, so I'm looking for your opinions and experiences. Thanks!

[jricc]

First, I don't go for a true acoustic tone. I use a Fishman Rare earth mag with some compression. i use delay with a short slapback effect. So it does thicken a bit. But I do a lot of stabs instead of strumming. I like The TC Electronics Flashback.

I never use tap tempo.

[Wistah]

I don't use delay on acoustic guitar. I do like a little bit of delay to thicken vocals though.

[noledog]

I use either my Loudbox's on board delay or sometimes my MXR Carbon Copy which is analog; it's very warm. I use it with slight delay, minimal repeats and slightly to the dry side in the mix just to phatten up.

[Kalani]

I use a T-Rex Replay box—-I love its tiny size—-as an “always on” effect. Shorter repeats if I’m strumming, longer for finger-picking ballads. Too many repeats can muddy your sound and I try to keep it not too pronounced. I think tap tempo is essential as the more the delays are in time, the less messy the sound will be. I also will use it by itself (without reverb) for a cleaner sound that will cut through a crowded room or for rooms that are too reverby already (lots of wood/glass). Lots of great pedals to choose from nowadays!

[6L6]

K&K Pure Mini (dreadnaught) > BOSS DM-2 Analog Delay > BOSS CH-1 Super Chorus > either my Fishman Mini or Performer amp. VERY important to have the delay in FRONT of the chorus.

Makes for an incredibly rich tone!

[YamahaGuy]

Electro-Harmonix Canyon Delay will meet many needs and has tap tempo or you can add an auxiliary button for the tap tempo to make it easier. I like the fact it has 10 different modes and has some really cool sounds, especially using Shim. I use delay to fatten up the sound of my guitar when playing along with a cajon, keyboard and bass. They are great for getting ambient sounds when laying down a first loop on the looper too.

My Carbon Copy is good too, but at the price point and with all the bells and whistles I prefer the Canyon.

Tap tempo makes is a lot easier to dial in the intervals for your repeats.

[lschwart]

In some contexts I use a short analog delay to thicken my lead sound in combination with reverb. For that there's no real need for tap-tempo. In other contexts, however, I use longer delays that become part of the rhythmic pattern (for strumming, fingerpicking, and leads) and for that, tap-tempo is very important.

I use a Flashback delay (first version), which has an audio tap-tempo (you hold down the footswitch and tap the tempo on your guitar strings, then you release the switch). The newer version of the pedal has that, too, but you can also plug an external tap-tempo switch to the right stereo input if you're using the pedal in mono. I mostly use the analog and the tape delay settings, plus a modulated delay TonePrint I downloaded from the TC site (the TonePrint function opens up a lot of possibilities). Nice little pedal.

Louis

[Andy Howell]

No delay on guitar but as has been said a little on vocals can make a noticeable difference.