Digital or Analog Delays

[Indigo]

I currently use my dl4 for some special effects and sometimes i use the digital to add some sustain and slapback to my soloing. its okay, but not great. I thought of maybe purchasing a delay pedal just for this to run through my loop. now the question is.. would i need a digital delay or an analog? and what are the differences?

 

[ibznorange]

digital is well, digital, and analaog is, umm, analog
they are literally just that, in terms of dictionary definitions.
Digital delays are more diverse. analog delays tend to ad a bit of sweet repeating sound, i dunno, its not just like another repeat of the same note, it sounds like it should naturally be following the original.
but digital delays, especially the boss DD6, are WAY more versatile. shorter delays, longer delays, tap tempo, etc.

 

[Indigo]

thanks for the reply..
perhaps id want to try analog.. it sounds like it may be better for what im going for

 

[MF_Kitten]

analog has a slight lessening of high end and low end with every delay, like there is a very soft filter that the delay runs through, and remember that that delay then runs through the same "filter" again, and gets re-filtered, and then that delay does that agin etc, so every following delay will be more softened and lo-fi-ish... it sounds very warm and sweet, good for lead work and clean stuff, but not that ideal for slapback stuff, where you want the twingy twangy bright "slappy" sound. you could do it with an analog delay, of course, but it´s really a matter of taste...

i wanna get my hands on a Behringer DD1 delay, because it has the Hold function... you play a chord, and while it´s ringing, you press the pedal down for a second, and release it, and that chord will loop and ring forever. plus, you can make glitchy noises with it if ou make a loop and then mess with the delay time. and if you "record" the pick attack, then that is gunna loop over and over again, and it sounds nuts

 

[bostjan]

Hmm. Digital is cheaper and more effective. Analog has a more old-fashioned tone with more tonal color. If you never bought a delay before, I would recommend Digital for a start.

 

[Indigo]

anyone else use any delay pedals for what im doing? should it be done through the loop?

 

[TomAwesome]

anyone else use any delay pedals for what im doing? should it be done through the loop?

Yes, the effects loop would probably be the best place for it.

 

[Desecrated]

I kinda like digital delays over analog.

 

[AngelVivaldi]

i prefer digital as well

 

[Benzesp]

FYI, If its not a Tape delay like an echoplex EP-2 or a Roland Space Echo, you have a digital delay.Real analog dealy comes from a magnetic storge medium.. pedals and rackmout gear use solid state flash as a storge medium are digital. There are some units that replicate or model analog delay but they are still digital.

 

[ibznorange]

FYI, If its not a Tape delay like an echoplex EP-2 or a Roland Space Echo, you have a digital delay.Real analog dealy comes from a magnetic storge medium.. pedals and rackmout gear use solid state flash as a storge medium are digital. There are some units that replicate or model analog delay but they are still digital.

not quite. while youre totally correct on the original delays being tapedriven, and the newer analog delay's being designed to copy them, (some of) the non tape analog delays are in fact fully analog circuits. The old ibanez AD's come to mind, and a few others.

 

[Benzesp]

As long as your analog signal is not stored on an analog medium its most likely digital. If a signal hits an A/D converter to be stored then its digital. But then is turned back to analog as it leaves your fx box. There is only one other kind of analog delay, it used a rotating magnetic drum instead of tape, cant remember what it was called.

The Ibanez AD-80 were really not true analog delay. It used the Panasonic MN3005 which is an analog "voiced" storge circuit but is by definition digital.

 

[ibznorange]

As long as your analog signal is not stored on an analog medium its most likely digital. A signal hits an A/D converter to be stored then its digital. But then is turned back to analog as it leaves your fx box.

Oh ok. i had heard it used some sort of manipulation which itself caused the delay. Ill have to mention that to the tech over at the shop. Good to know. oh well, they still sound great

Theres an old drum delay for sale at one of the pawn shops, i'll check it out later this week and see if it has the name for it.

So do you do pedal work at all? or are you just an information sponge/hound like the rest of us?

 

[Benzesp]

Oh ok. i had heard it used some sort of manipulation which itself caused the delay. Ill have to mention that to the tech over at the shop. Good to know. oh well, they still sound great

Theres an old drum delay for sale at one of the pawn shops, i'll check it out later this week and see if it has the name for it.

So do you do pedal work at all? or are you just an information sponge/hound like the rest of us?

Yea they do sound good . They also made a rack version the AD-100 I think. It's nice too.

I'm a technician at AMD, I geek out on this stuff, I love vintage electronics. Its just cool stuff.

 

[BigM555]

As long as your analog signal is not stored on an analog medium its most likely digital. If a signal hits an A/D converter to be stored then its digital.

You are certainly correct about A/D converters. If the signal is converted then the delay is digital. Being analog does not necessitate a magnetic storage medium however. Electronic circuits can use a "bucket brigade" utilizing "non-digital" old school components and be "analog". Likewise they can use fully solid state components and still be considered analog as long as the signal isn't sampled through an A/D converter.

Back, on topic, for sweet delays I can't say I've ever heard anything better than an old Roland Space Echo. I got to play with one years ago when I was a kid and have never forgotten the coolness of the device. It was big, ugly, cumbersome and finicky but man did it sound sweet.

 

[Benzesp]

Ah yea, the "bucket brigade", you are correct sir! Its a series of capacitors that store an analog signal. So I was wrong about the AD-80 and 100. I got old schooled! haha...

http://www.generalguitargadgets.com/diagrams/pt80techinfo.pdf

good read on it!

Have any of you tried the Line 6 echo pro? It's about as close as you can get to a Echoplex without acutually owning one. The hardwire bypass on the unit is pimp as well.

 

[ibznorange]

so i dont have to tell mike hes a liar? sweet. yeah he said they used some sort of deal just to hold on to the signal, didnt really explain it though.

those space echos sure are neat.
never got to mess around with an echoplex though

 

[sakeido]

anyone else use any delay pedals for what im doing? should it be done through the loop?

definitely through the loop. I recommend the TC Electronic Nova Delay - I had one and sold it and regret doing so immensely.

 

[Drew]

I currently use my dl4 for some special effects and sometimes i use the digital to add some sustain and slapback to my soloing. its okay, but not great. I thought of maybe purchasing a delay pedal just for this to run through my loop. now the question is.. would i need a digital delay or an analog? and what are the differences?

Actually, I use a DL4 myself. It doesn't play nicely with the FX loop of my Rectifier (which is a little hot), but with everything else I've used it in it sounds great. It has "analog" models, if that's your thing, too, and they sound fairly good.

I personally prefer digital delays because they're a little clearer and more articulate sounding, and because it's easier to use a good digital delay's EQ section to "darken" a delay than it is to make a good analog delay "clearer," but unless something's wrong with your FX loop, the Line6 DL4 is good enough that you're not going to get a noticeably better delay unless you spend some serious money on it. A simple delay pedal most likely won't seem like much of an upgrade.

 

[Indigo]

I just wanted to use the Dl4 for my cool effects, like the sweep delay and such. and just get a delay to do the delay on solos and such. just so that doesnt "Waste a slot" on my dl4.