Delay, Echo
30
Delays and echoes are effects that repeat a sound a short time after it first occurs.
The simplest (and oldest) delay effect is tape slap — a single repeat about 100ms
after the original sound. (It was often used on Elvis’s voice and rockabilly guitar
tracks.) Tape slap becomes tape echo when the output of the tape is fed back into
the input (feedback),turning a single repeat into a series of repeats — each a little
softer and a little darker than the last. This darkening of each repeat is characteristic
of the analog tape recording process. Digital delays don’t have this characteristic
— each repeat has the same exact timbre and the only difference from repeat to
repeat is in loudness.
Digital delay and tape echo are both useful, but they are different. Tape echo is
warmer and allows the original sound to stand out more, while digital delay can
present a “perfect” copy of the orignal sound.
The MPX 100 Delay, Echo variations
include mono (5.5 seconds), stereo (2.7 sec-
onds) and 6-voice multitap effects. Each of
the 16 variations can be used for digital delay
or tape echo effects. When Adjust is turned
past its center postion to the right, tape echo
effects are produced. (Each repeat is darker
and softer.) When Adjust is turned to the left
of center, digital delay effects are produced.
(Each repeat is the same timbre, but softer.)
In variations 1-8, Adjust also sets the
amount of feedback — a single repeat when
the knob is centered, more repeats as the
knob is moved past center in either direction.
Delay time is set with Tap. Each variation is
preset with a different useful rhythm.
In Variations 9-16, the amount of feed-
back is preset and Adjust determines Delay
time — the delay time is shortest when the
knob is centered, increasing as the knob is
moved away from center in either direction.