Gallery: Delay Pedals Help Guitarists Find Those Tasty, Trippy Tones
01mxr-carbon-copy-intro
Musicians are always looking for that secret sauce to give their songs some extra character, and some of the greats -- The Edge, Robert Fripp, Lee Perry, everyone in Pink Floyd -- found their most treasured sounds wrapped in layers of delay. Delay is one of the most common types of guitar effects. It's essentially an echo effect -- it takes the note or chord that you play and then spits it back out again (and again) at a constant interval. Think of U2's guitar sounds, like the intro for "Where The Streets Have No Name": The Edge is playing a relatively simple guitar part, but it's being repeated over and over again at a certain speed so it keeps piling on top of itself. As he continues to play new notes, those are also delayed. The end result is layers and layers of shimmering guitar. Back in the heyday of classic rock, most delay pedals were still made with analog technology. But beginners love delay pedals -- they immediately make every note more interesting and expressive -- so demand has risen for cheaper takes on the technology. As a result, delay has gone largely digital, and computer chips have mostly replaced the rotating magnetic drums, tape loops and other kinds of echo box voodoo favored by the greats of yesteryear. Digital has its advantages. It's low cost, durable, and the time between echoes can stretch out to 12 seconds or longer. Some high-end digital delay boxes are truly exemplary -- we review one of them here, the [Eventide Time Factor](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2011/02/delay-pedals-help-guitarists-find-those-tasty-trippy-tones/?pid=733) -- but purists tend to favor the old-school mojo of a purely analog signal. Read the individual reviews:[](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2011/02/delay-pedals-help-guitarists-find-those-tasty-trippy-tones/?pid=734) [Moogerfooger MF-104Z](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2011/02/delay-pedals-help-guitarists-find-those-tasty-trippy-tones/?pid=734) [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2011/02/delay-pedals-help-guitarists-find-those-tasty-trippy-tones/?pid=732) [Diamond Memory Lane 2](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2011/02/delay-pedals-help-guitarists-find-those-tasty-trippy-tones/?pid=732) [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2011/02/delay-pedals-help-guitarists-find-those-tasty-trippy-tones/?pid=733) [Eventide Time Machine](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2011/02/delay-pedals-help-guitarists-find-those-tasty-trippy-tones/?pid=733) [](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2011/02/delay-pedals-help-guitarists-find-those-tasty-trippy-tones/?pid=735) [Pigtronix Echolution](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2011/02/delay-pedals-help-guitarists-find-those-tasty-trippy-tones/?pid=735) One old bit of analog tech that's still around is bucket-brigade circuitry. Having first arrived in the late 1960s, bucket-brigade circuits rely on thousands of capacitors lined up, one after another. The signal is passed from one capacitor to the next, like firefighters passing buckets of water down a line. As the signal moves, it modulates and changes shape, painting everything in a hazy psychedelic wash. Bucket brigade devices (BBDs) have some limitations compared to digital chips when it comes to how much sound they can carry, but their old-school charm has kept them in demand. If you want a pedal with guts of pure analog gold, be prepared to shell out some serious coin. Top-shelf BBD pedals not cheap. But you could pick up an [MXR Carbon Copy](http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/m169-carbon-copy-analog-delay) (pictured above) or an [Electro-Harmonix Memory Man](http://www.ehx.com/products/deluxe-memory-man) for half the cash of something like the [Moogerfooger](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2011/02/delay-pedals-help-guitarists-find-those-tasty-trippy-tones/?pid=734) or [Diamond Memory Lane 2](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2011/02/delay-pedals-help-guitarists-find-those-tasty-trippy-tones/?pid=732), both of which we review here, and be totally satisfied. Some manufacturers are taking the mojo of analog circuits and marrying it to the versatility of digital chips by creating hybrid pedals that house both old-school and new-school technology. One such beast, the [Pigtronix Echolution](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/reviews/2011/02/delay-pedals-help-guitarists-find-those-tasty-trippy-tones/?pid=735), is reviewed here. So if you're serious about delay, open up one of these Pandora's Boxes and let the illness leak all over your tone. You'll be sick with joy.
James Merithew02delay-pedals-3
Moogerfooger MF-104Z Analog Delay --------------------------------- Bob Moog designed more than just synthesizers. Sure, the [audio alchemist](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Moog) achieved worldwide fame by inventing the eponymous analog keyboard that birthed a million caped prog rock crusaders. But he also turned his talents to effects boxes. His Moogerfooger effects pedals -- handsome, oversized, wood-capped stompboxes -- have earned legendary status among gear junkies. Since Bob's death in 2005, Moog Music has been reissuing his designs under the Moogerfooger banner, recreating the all-analog bucket-brigade device (BBD) circutry and vintage tones of the originals. The [MF-104Z Moogerfooger Analog Delay](http://www.moogmusic.com/moogerfooger/?section=product&product_id=39) is an updated version of the original MF-104, which Moog put out in 2000 and, like all original Moogerfoogers, has since become a collector's item. Quite simply, the pedal produces some terrifyingly beautiful delay effects at a terrifyingly steep price (around $700). But if you ask us, it's the best analog delay you can buy for any money. The controls are simple: Delay time, which adjusts the length of time between echos; Mix, which adds dry signal to your processed signal; and Feedback, which dictates how much of the previous echo is fed back into the circuit for another run through the ringer. Cranking up the Feedback knob gives you a snowballing effect where your echoes grow noisier and more outrageous as they layer up on top of each other. Each of the three primary controls can also be manipulated by an expression pedal, which is sold separately. The Moogerfooger has staying power -- it features a delay time of just over 1,000 milliseconds, or a full second. Lesser analog bucket-brigade effects top out between 330 and 660 milliseconds. Just below the Delay Time knob is a Short/Long switch. In the "Short" position, the Delay Time knob goes up to 500 milliseconds. When you switch to "Long," it pushes the delay to a hair over 1000 milliseconds and catapults you straight to Outer Bongolia. Input and output levels each have their own knobs, so you can use a low-input microphone or you can distort your signal by adding some nasty overdrive. Of course, the pure sound of anything you plug in can be preserved by dialing in the right levels. That's plenty for delay-heads to chew on, but Moog has added a switchable effects loop to this box. You can loop in another pedal like a chorus or a wah-wah, allowing you to add layers of additional effects to the echoes as they are being generated. We hooked up the Moogerfooger to a Fender Bassman amp and plugged in a Gibson SG guitar. Starting off with the more conservative settings and short delay times, it produces a thin, "cardboard tube" sound. It's great for funky Eddie Hazel fuzz tones, or bleak Martin Hannett-style stuff. You can get some cool rockabilly slapback sounds out of it, too. Open it up to about 400 or 500 milliseconds and you really hit the Moogerfooger's sweet spot. Most delays get dark and mushy, but the Moogerfooger preserves the lows without breaking them up too much, and the highs stay bright. Playing a chord and letting it ring produces an awesome chorus effect. Plucking out notes or playing a solo run leaves behind a rainbow of gorgeous psychedelic audio trails. Playing some palm-muted passages with the Feedback knob cranked up makes things devolve into pulsing, rhythmic thumps (be careful with that Feedback knob or you'll blow a speaker). It's at this stage that using the effects loop makes the most sense. We colored the sound with some wah to get a Hendrix vibe. Adding some tremolo makes your instrument of choice sound like it's coming out of a broken Leslie speaker. Finally, throw it into "Long" mode and you'll get that full second-long lysergic waterfall effect, and pretty much anything you play sounds ripped straight from side five of Santana *Lotus*. Of course, I had to try it with a keyboard, too. Now, I ain't no John Medeski, but let's just say after spending an hour mangling the sounds coming out of a Fender Rhodes and a Micro Korg synth, I'm considering a career in either video game soundtracks or at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop doing incidental scores for *Doctor Who*. It's so much more fun to play keys with Bob's box riding shotgun. As killer as the Moogerfooger sounds, its price tag is hard to ignore. At $700, it costs more than our test amp and almost as much as our test guitar. But, it really is the sweetest sounding, most warm delay this reviewer has ever tried. For a quarter of the money, you could get a decent analog delay box, but the units at that price range are far less versatile than the Moogerfooger. Also, you'll be quick to realize the Moogerfooger is meant to be played not with the feet, but with the hands -- as an actual instrument rather than simply a stompbox effects unit. Twisting the knobs while you're playing is how you make any delay more colorful, and Moog understood that by building the Moogerfoogers into over-sized boxes. That's why keyboard players and DJs have traditionally buzzed about them more so than guitarists or bassists. You can leave it on the floor and control the settings using expression pedals, but otherwise you may feel like you're wasting a valuable resource if you're using it as a simple stompbox. So you might want to consider getting the expression pedal, too. And you'll probably only want to drop that kind of cash on it if you can incorporate into your rig in a way that will take full advantage of its magical powers -- *by Michael Calore* __WIRED:__ Beautiful, goopy analog delay sounds. Incredible versatility, good for guitars, keyboards, and mixing applications. Wood case and big sturdy knobs ooze that classic "Made in the USA" mojo. Expression pedal lets you play footsie with it. __TIRED:__ Costs more than your first car. Big like a shoe box. Guitarists will want the expression pedal ($40 extra) to get full use out of it. $700, [Moog Music](http://www.moogmusic.com/) __Rating: 9 out of 10__
James Merithew03delay-pedals
Diamond Memory Lane 2 --------------------- When it comes to preserving the original tone of your instrument, the [Diamond Memory Lane 2](http://www.diamondpedals.com/products/memorylane_2.html) is hands-down the nicest sounding delay pedal we've played. The delay signal has the ability to sound like a mirror of your dry signal, or you can dial in some of its pleasant character to enhance your tone. Either way, your tone stays warm and real. The Memory Lane has most of the features you'd find on any analog delay pedal: feedback, modulation, mix, plus a few extras. For instance, there are two separate delays to switch between, which allows you some versatility in a live performance. You can keep a shallow, T. Rex–style slapback sound on deck while, on the other channel, you're freaking out on psychedelic waves of delay. Tap tempo is a nice addition since it can be hard to find on analog delays, and it allows you to easily sync up with the rest of your band. Out of the box, the oscillations of the delay signal are a bit limited if you're used to a lot of feedback and zany sounds, as with [Electro-Harmonix's Memory Man](http://www.ehx.com/products/deluxe-memory-man). This can be remedied by opening up the pedal and putting the pedal in "space ship mode" by fiddling with an interior switch. Once you get used to the settings, this pedal is just plain fun to use. You can easily dial in familiar delay tones or go exploring off the deep end. The EQ knob has some nice coloring effects, brightening and darkening your delay signal by emphasizing either high or low frequencies. There's also a switch to add some dotted eighth notes to your delay. This means that instead of just the constant pulse of the delay, it will actually come back to you in more of a rhythm. The pedal's large round knobs for each setting help with mid-song adjustments. You can either bend over quickly to change them by hand or just edge the knobs with your shoe. The Memory Lane's killer app is its ability to add other effects to the delay signal. If you have a distortion pedal, for example, you could make all your delays sound crunchy and messed-up. You can achieve this by hooking up your pedal of choice (via an effects insert cable) into the expression-pedal input. This presents all sorts of silly options and makes an otherwise straightforward pedal a lot more versatile. Even without added effects, the two expression-pedal options -- delay time and feedback -- are a huge bonus. They allow you to adjust either value with a pedal, so you don't have to stop playing. The main downside of the Memory Lane 2 is the price. You could buy a pretty nice guitar or several other pedals for what it costs. On the other hand, if you have that kind of extra cash, the increased quality and value is there. Also, Diamond has announced that, due to a parts shortage, it will only be able to produce the Memory Lane 2 for a little while longer. So, if you want one, snatch it now or brush up those eBay chops -- *by Keith Axline* __WIRED:__ Transparent when you need it, but has its own juicy tone when you want to get crazy. Built like a tank. Overall sound is among the best we've heard. Good amount of features to keep you interested. __TIRED:__ Pricey McPricey–pants. Learning curve skews towards the steep end. Expression pedals not included. $600, [Diamond](http://www.diamondpedals.com/) __Rating: 8 out of 10__
James Merithew04delay-pedals-2
Eventide Time Factor -------------------- You'd have to be one sick soniopath to require something from a delay pedal that the [Eventide Time Factor](http://www.eventide.com/AudioDivision/Products/StompBoxes/TimeFactor.aspx) cannot do. The Time Factor's cup spilleth over so completely with features and sounds, you could literally play through it non-stop for days and still find yourself discovering new tricks. Eventide's name has long been associated with rackmount effects that are used in professional recording studios around the world. But now the company has basically taken its rackmount delay module and crammed it into a stompbox pedal. While the knobs and interface don't make it easy to make some adjustments on stage (unless you have an expression pedal to change values with your feet), you should be able to dial in the sounds you want at your practice space and then call them up relatively easily during a gig. We were able to bank several desired effects, and then use a combination of the three footswitches to navigate between sounds. Once you get the hang of it, it feels pretty natural. There are a ton of different delay emulators here -- straight digital delays, vintage analog and digital delays, tape echo, a reverse delay and a modulated delay for fantastic chorus effects. There's also a delay that ping pongs between the two stereo output channels, and one that does an EQ filter sweep through several different ranges -- both of those are pretty disorienting. In addition, each delay category has two separate delay signals whose times and feedbacks can be controlled independently of each other. And then? Well, there's also an impressively-featured loop function. And then? There are three different types of bypasses. And then? There’s a USB port for syncing with an audio controller program. On top of all that, there are a bunch of other options that will be much appreciated by pro-audio control freaks, but are too technical to get into here. None of this magic matters too much, however, if the tone isn't there. Thankfully, the Time Factor delivers a pristine replication of whatever you feed into it. The overall quality of the sound can be a little cold, or flat compared to straight analog delays, which tend to add a mysterious warmth and depth. But any tone coloration that does appear is so minor compared to other digital delay pedals that even analog snobs will like it. Some effects, like the simulated tape hiss on the tape echo setting, can be a little much. But on others, like the simulated low bitrate A/D converters of vintage delay pedals, the digital nature of the pedal works in its favor by providing odd pixilated noises with the sweep of a knob. Of course, half the fun of delay pedals is just wanking around until you stumble upon some crazy sounds, and the Time Factor has plenty of crazy hidden inside. A word of warning: This pedal is *complicated* to say the least. It's not for the impatient or the inexperienced. For better or worse, it seems like Eventide has thought of everything you could possibly want in a delay pedal. This presents obstacles to finding particular sounds, and it can be discouraging to use. But if you really know your delays, and you need to switch between several different effects during a performance, this could be just the pedal you need -- *by Keith Axline* __WIRED:__ A piece of pro-studio gear packed into a pedal. Build is both slick and sturdy. A delay lover’s library of Babel. __TIRED:__ Too complicated for inexperienced players. You really have to want to geek out on delay in order to enjoy many of its features. $400, [Eventide](http://www.eventide.com/) __Rating: 7 out of 10__
James Merithew05delay-pedals-4
Pigtronix Echolution -------------------- The [Echolution pedal](http://www.pigtronix.com/products08/echolution.html) from Pigtronix looks like something out of *ToeJam and Earl*, so it's fitting that this digital/analog hybrid provides a zany take on many delay conventions. It spits out tasty, straightforward delay sounds, but it also carries a separate bank of outer space modulating nonsense like tremolo, chorus, and various other effects to color the results. In other words, it's oozing over with delicious features that will keep you fascinated for hours. Thankfully, the manual's guided tour of the settings helps to make the daunting amount of controls a little less intimidating and it open your mind up to all the possibilities the Echolution offers. Like many of the most creative pedals our there, most users will likely have to adapt their idea of how to use delay to the Echolution's internal rules, which can be a little irking at first. For example, the pedal's delay time has been sectioned off into 3 discreet ranges: short (10 to 120 milliseconds), medium (100 milliseconds to 1.2 seconds) and long (1 - 12 seconds), instead of just one big sweep knob common to other pedals. This actually helps make the range of sounds more digestible because it divides a wide expanse of times into three clear sonic spaces. The pedal has two main modes that you can jump between with the stomp of a button: tap tempo delay and modulation delay. Tap tempo mostly gives you a classic timed decay of the note you just played based on, you guessed it, the tempo that you've tapped into the foot switch. The modulation delay gets a little crazier, with options to add chorus and tremolo and alter the delay time by rocking back and forth on the optional expression pedal. Both channels use blend, drive and feedback knobs common on most delay pedals, but there's also the nice addition of a high-cut knob which takes the color of your delays from bright to dark. On the modulation side, there are knobs for setting delay time and for adding tremolo and chorus effects. The tremolo and chorus pots control the depth of those effects while the LFO speed knob controls the speed of their oscillations. Twiddling all these parameters will give you very pleasant and unique versions of sounds you've likely heard before if you're familiar with delay pedals or if you're familiar with certain bands who use them (like U2). The really trippy stuff happens when you start to flip the switches in the middle. The reverse switch takes what you just played and then plays it backwards over and over again -- it sounds like a psychedelic warp drive. The loop switch is a little misleading because it doesn't actually loop what you play, only the delay signal that's generated from what you play. And there's no record option to set the start and stop of the loop, just on or off. Fortunately, this option can be controlled remotely through a foot switch. The trails switch keeps your delay going even when you turn the pedal off so you get a smooth transition between delay and non-delay parts in songs. Finally, one of the unique features that you won't find on too many other pedals is the multi-tap switches. Instead of just an evenly spaced delay, with these switches turned on, your delay becomes a rhythm in itself. Play one note and let it ring -- you'll hear a syncopated rhythm taping itself out in your delay. With the Feedback turned up quite a bit, this provides a back beat of the notes you're playing that you can then also play along to. Looking for a way to make practicing your scales fun? This is it. There are a few downsides to this Horn o' Plenty. First, as you've gathered already, some users may suffer from overload and walk away frustrated. There's a lot to digest here. Second, the three delay time ranges are not foot-switchable, so if you're playing live, you'll be stuck in one delay range until there's a long enough break in the action for you to reach down and twist the knob. Finally, the overall color of the sound is not as warm as other analog pedals we've played. There can be quite a bit of background noise depending on what settings you're using. None of this will likely bother you if you've liked what you've read so far. The fact remains that this is a phenomenal pedal that provides solid analog delay functions with plenty of extra goodies to both entertain you and inspire your creativity. It was hard to pull this one off the pedalboard and send it back to Pigtronix after testing it -- *by Keith Axline* __WIRED:__ Unique take on delay standards. Fun for hours. Enough features to shape several signature sounds. __TIRED:__ Suffers from a touch of feature glut. Tone is a little sterile. Nickelodeon-style looks make it hard to be taken seriously on stage. $480, [Pigtronix](http://www.pigtronix.com/) __Rating: 7 out of 10__
