4. Delay Pedal Uses

Here are some practical examples of how to use a delay:

Slapback:

The classic widener since the early Rock'n'Roll days. Take a single delay between 50 and 150 ms (as desired), and boom! With such short times, the echo signal can be quite audible. The number of echo repetitions should be kept minimal; one repeat is usually enough.

Slapback Delay - first bypass, then turned on

Stereo Spread:

Fantastic for stereo setups: a delay in stereo with different delay times on each side. Add some modulation effect to the echo repeats, and the sound floats in the room. For those who prefer a clearer yet wide sound, go for short echo repeats without modulation.

Stereo Delay with Modulation - first bypass, then turned on

Space and Depth:

Especially for heavily distorted lead sounds, a longer delay is often the preferred choice to create spaciousness and depth. A strong reverb would make the already compressed guitar signal sound even more undifferentiated; the guitar would blend into the band sound more towards the back and struggle to stand out. With a delay and a few repeats, the distorted sound remains much clearer and cuts through better. Additionally, the notes get some "artificial sustain" from the echo repeats. You can adjust the effect level to your taste: subtle if you just want a fuller sound, or go all out with a high effect level to make the lead sound really big and powerful. In this case, it doesn't matter as much if the delay time matches the tempo; settings here are also purely subjective. Many guitarists prefer a fixed setting; Gary Moore usually used a delay with about 400 ms delay time for this. It gets even fancier when you go stereo – for example, with a ping-pong setting or simply with different times on the left and right.

Lead Delay - first bypass, then turned on

Rhythmic Play:

To keep the delay effect rhythmically smooth, it's useful to adjust the delay time to the song tempo. The echo repeats should be set in corresponding note values (half, quarter, eighth, dotted eighth, etc.). In the days of analog delays, this had to be done very carefully by feel with the knob, while in the digital delays of the 1980s, at least you could calculate the delay time for the desired note values in milliseconds using a formula. Fortunately, players are spared these actions today because of the Tap Tempo function. The delay time is set to a note value, and the tempo (in quarter notes) is tapped with the tap button. If you want to integrate the echo repeats into the guitar part, it makes sense to set the effect level almost as loud as the original signal. It's worth listening to recordings of "Another Brick In The Wall - pt.1" (Pink Floyd) or "Where The Streets Have No Name" (U2), where loud tempo delays are used to give the guitar part its impact. The played original signal is only half (or less) of what is heard. The Edge (U2) likes to use a delay set to dotted eighth notes. If he plays eighth notes, the delay fills in the gaps wonderfully. But you can also create two-voice sounds if the delay is set so that the first echo repetition hits a played note. For example, Brian May created his multi-voice sounds on stage with "Brighton Rock - Live" (Queen) like this. If you want to create such rhythmic play with the delay effect, make sure the desired delay pedal has a tap footswitch.

Tempo Delay - first bypass, then turned on

Soundscapes:

With a delay effect, you can also create very expansive sounds, soundscapes that harmonically support the played parts. For this, various digital delays have special algorithms that can generate such sounds. These effects work best in stereo when the delay's sonic cloud is spread across left and right, enveloping the guitar signal in the middle.

Soundscape - first bypass, then turned on