PAR T 13

The Delay BY ALEX CASE Part 1 of our look at having audio wait around a bit before hitting your ears Fir st some mus i c . Hum or sing Fig u r e 1 explains what’s going on a random delay time, dial in a mus i - along with me the tune at the console. Ho w do you set up cal delay time instead. Should it ‘C o m fo r t ab l y Numb’ from The Wall by the delay unit itself? Most delays repeat with a quarter note rhyt h m , Pink Floyd . You know the first line: ha ve avai l a ble the controls shown in an 8th note, a triplet,...? Hello (Hello...hello...hello). Is there Fig u r e 2: input and/or output level , One way to do this is simply by lis- any b o d y in there? de l a y time, and reg e n e r ation control . te n i n g . Typ i c a l l y, we use the snare to This is a classic use of a long delay. Input/output levels are self- ‘tune’ a delay—to set a musical delay The drea m y, di s t u r b e d , out of mind exp l a n a t o r y. De l a y time can be fixed ti m e . Ev en if you plan to add delay state of our friend Pink is enhanced or var i a ble—using the three modula- to the voc a l , the piano, or the guitar, by (the entire, brilliant roc k and rol l tion controls (rat e , depth and it is usually easiest to use the snare ar ra n g e m e n t , including) this rep e a t - shape)—as we’ll see in later exa m - for setting the delay time both in g , ge n t l y fading echo . pl e s . The Regeneration control , because it is a rhythm instrument How ’ s it done? Perhaps the sim- sometimes called the feedback con- and because it hits so often. So muc h plest way is to use a post fader aux tro l , sends the output of the delay of pop music has a back beat—the send from the vocal to the delay, ba c k into itself. That is, a delayed sn a r e falling reg u l a r ly on beat two wh i c h is returned on a separat e signal can be further delayed by run- and beat fou r . fader (see Fig u r e 1a). This sends the ning it back through the delay again. Send the snare to the delay and voi c e , with all its compression and This is how the delay is made to listen to the echo . Starting with a eq u a l i z a t i o n , to the delay. We have repeat more than once, as happens long delay time of about 250 mil- full control of the return from the to the wor d ‘h e l l o .’ li s e c o n d s , adjust the delay time until de l a y as it is on its own fad e r . As we’ll see throughout this and it falls onto a mus i c a l l y rel e van t Wel l , al m o s t . Pat c hing it up this ne xt month’s article, the simple con- be a t . This can be mighty confusing. way would add a delay to the entire tr ols of Fig u r e 2 empower the delay It may help at first to pan the snare vocal perfor m a n c e , not just the wor d to become a fan t a s t i c a l l y diver se sig- off to one side and the delay ret u r n ‘h e l l o .’ So we resort to an automated nal proc e s s o r . In the case of the long to the other. send as shown in Fig u r e 1b. No w we de l a y used by Pink Floyd , we need to It ’ s pretty jarring to hear a delay ha ve a fader and cut button dedicat- set the delay time to the approp r i a t e fall at a non-musical time interval . ed to the control of the send into the length of time and add enough reg e n - But when you adjust it into the time de l a y, not just the ret u r n . er ation to make the echo repeat a of the mus i c , you’ll instantly feel it. This echo send remains cut most fe w times. The other controls on the It is easiest to find a quarter note of the song. You briefly open it up de l a y aren ’ t necessary here. de l a y, but with practice and concen- for the wo rd ‘ h e l l o,’ and pre s t o — tra t i o n , you can dial in triplet and that single wo rd starts to ech o. How long is long? dotted rhythms too. Put this into automation and 99.9% of the time these echo e s Sometimes we ca l c u l a te a delay you’ll get the perfectly tailore d should be set to a time that makes time instead. Ho w is this calculated? d e l ay eve ry time. musical sense. That is, do n ’ t just pick Bear with me here, as some equations

RECORDING JULY 2000 ar e about to appear. If you know the tempo of the song (we’ll call it T) in beats per minute (BPM) and you wan t to calculate the length of a quarter note delay in milliseconds (Q), do the fol l ow i n g : - First convert beats per minute into minutes per beat by taking the rec i p ro c a l : T beats per minute becomes 1/T minutes per beat. - Then convert from minutes to milliseconds: 1/T minutes per beat x 60 seconds per minute x 1,000 milliseconds per second. - The length of time of a quarter note in milliseconds per beat is: Q = (60 x 1,000)/T = 60,000/T For example, we know a song with 60 beats per minute ticks like a watch, with a quarter note occurring exactly once per second. Let’s try using the equation. T = 60: Q = 60,000/T = 60,000/60 = 1,000 msec (one second) per quarter note Double the tempo to 120 bpm. T = 120: Q = 60,000/T = 60,000/120 = 500 msec (half a second) per quarter note I use milliseconds because that is the measurement most delay units exp e c t . Kn o wing the quarter note de l a y makes it easy to then calculate the time value of an 8th note, a 16th no t e , dotted or triplet val u e s , et c . Some newer delay devi c e s , li k e the TC D-Two revi e wed elsewh e r e in this is s u e , let you display delay times in either milliseconds or bpm direc t l y, but remember that you need to know be fo r e you look at a bpm value if the Figure 1a) Constant Send - Use an Aux Send (literally an Echo Send) de l a y is calculating a quarter note or some other length. or Spare Track Bus to send the Vocal to the Delay In the ‘C o m fo r t ab l y Numb’ exa m - ple abo ve, th e y clever ly use a dotted The quarter note delay stron g l y The delay time they chose has the 8th note delay. It is worth tran s c r i b - em p h a s i z es the time of the song; it’s effect of inserting a 16th note rest in ing it for some production insight. ord e r ly and persi s t e n t . Sing it to be t w een each repeat of the word . The tune is drea m y and lazy in you r self as a quarter note delay: Hello is sung on the down b e a t . te m p o , mo ving at about 64 bpm. The Hello x x hello x x hello.. . . Thi s The echo never again falls on a tw o syllables of ‘hello’ are sung as would make it seem like Pink is do wn beat. Fir st it anticipates beat 16th notes. being nagged or pushed aro u n d .S i n g tw o by a 16th note, then it falls on To appreciate the perfection in the 8th note delay and you find the the “a n d ” of beat two. It then falls a Pink Floyd ’ s dotted 8th note delay repeats fall one after the other, wi t h 16th after beat three . Fin a l l y, it dis- ti m e , le t ’ s consider two other, mo r e no rest in between the wor ds: hello ap p e a r s as the next line is sung. ob vious choices: a quarter note delay hello hello hello hello. This is just This timing scheme determines or an 8th note delay (consult Table 1). plain annoyi n g . that ‘hello’ won’t fall on a beat again until beat four, by which time the Table 1: evaluating the musical timing of delays next line has begun and ‘hello’ is no longer audibly repeating. It’s really a pattern of three in a song built on four.This guarantees it a dreamy, disorienting feeling. It remains true 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a the beat to the overall ‘numb’ feeling of our Hel lo sung word hero Pink, keeping an uncertain, dis- connected feel to the story told. x x x x hel - lo quarter note delay The result is a pre-calculated cre- x x hel - lo 8th note delay ation of the desired emotional effect. And it’s a catchy hook—a real Pink x x x hel - lo dotted 8th note delay Fl o yd signature. (Th ey ’ v e used this x x x hel - lo x hel - lo x hel - lo with regeneration tr i c k before , to devastating effect: ‘Us And Them’ from Dark Side Of The Hel lo x hel - lo x hel - lo x hel - lo net effect Mo o n , ‘D o gs’ from An i m a l s .. . . . )

RECORDING JULY 2000 Long delay It ’ s a funny idea, ad ding an echo to a singer, pi a n o , gu i t a r , or whatever . It do e s n ’ t seem to have any motivat i o n based on rea l i t y . The only way to hear an echo on the vocal of a song is to go to a terrible ven ue (like an ice hockey rink or the Gran d Ca n yon) and listen to mus i c . The sound of an echo across the en t i r e mix is in fact not a pleasant exp e r i e n c e . It is messy and distinctly no n - mu s i c a l . The echoes we find in pop mus i c tend to be used with more res t ra i n t . In some cases the echo is added to a single track , not the whole mix. An d it ’ s mixed in fai n t l y so as to be almost inaudible. In other cases the delay is adde d on l y to key word s , ph ra s e s , or licks . Support If a constant echo is to be added to an entire track , the echo needs to be mixed in almost subliminally, ne a r ly hi d den by the other sounds in the mi x . A soft echo underneath the lead vocal can give it added richness and su p p o r t . This approa c h can stren g t h - en your singer, es p e c i a l l y when the me l o d y heads into falsetto territory. Pu l s i n g , subliminal echoes feeding a long reverb can create a soft and del- icate sonic foundation under the vocal of a ballad. Then there’ s the vulnerable roc k Figure 1b) Automated Send - Uses two different Aux Sends or Track Buses. The Send and roll singer in front of his mate’s Channel is a Console Strip dedicated to controlling exactly what is sent to the Delay. Ma r shall stack. After the last cho r u s the singer natural l y wishes to screa m so: it’s half a dozen Roger Daltreys . sort of effect was to use a spare ana- “Ye a a a a a a a a a h ! ” and hold it for a This makes quite a statement. lo g tape machine as a generator of couple of bars. It isn’t easy to over - You can do this too. All you need is de l a y. During mixdown the machi n e come the guitarist’s wall of sound. Ro ger and a long delay with some remains in rec o rd . Signal is sent Help the singer out by pumping some reg e n e ra t i o n . fr om the console to the input of the in-tempo delays into the screa m . tape machine in exa c t l y the same The best “Ye a a a a a a a a a h ! ” ever Slap way you ’ d send signal to any other rec o r ded in the history of roc k and A staple of ’50s roc k is sometimes effects unit: using an echo send or roll (and I have this from a rel i ab l e part of a contemporar y mix: slap- sp a r e trac k bus. so u r ce) is Roger Daltrey’ s in “Wo n ’ t ba c k echo . You never heard Elvis That signal is rec o r ded at the tape Get Fooled Ag a i n ” by The Who .The without it. Solo John Lennon there- ma ch i n e , and milliseconds later it is sc r eam occurs right after the re- for e often had it. And guitarists play- pl a yed back. That is, though the tape in t r oduction when those cool key- ing the blues tend to like it. ma c hine is rec o rd i n g , it remains in bo a r ds come back in, and right Start with a single audible echo repro mode so that the output of the be fo r e the line “Meet the new boss. so m ew h e r e between 90 ms and 200 tape machine is what it sees at the The same as the old boss.” ms . On a vocal you’ll instantly add a pl ay b a c k head. This scream is a real roc k and rol l distinct ret r o feeling to the sound. On As Fi g u re 3 show s , the signal cl a s s i c . Listen caref u l l y (especially at guitar it starts to feel more live, li k e goes in, gets printed onto tape, t h e the end of the scream) and you ’ l l you are in the smoky bar you rs e l f . tape makes its way from the re c o rd hear a set of delayed screams under- Be fo r e the days of digital audio a head to the play b a ck head (taking ne a t h . It ’ s Roger Daltrey, on l y more common approa c h to creating this time to do so), and finally the sig-

RECORDING JULY 2000 tape speed, and how it is calibrat e d . If you push the level to the tape de l a y into the red , you introd u c e that signature analog tape compres - si o n , and at hotter levels still, an a l o g tape saturation distortion. Tape delay becomes a more com- pl ex , ver y rich effect now. It isn’t just a delay—it is a delay plus equalizer plus compressor plus distortion dev i c e . This can be darn difficult to simu- late digitally. It ’ s sometimes the per- fect bit of nuance to make a trac k special within the mix. Emphasis Ad ding a long delay to a key word , as in the Pink Floyd exa m p l e , is a way to emphasize a particular word . Figure 2) Signal Flow Through a Typical Delay Unit It can be obvi o u s , li k e the ‘hello’ that begins the song. Si m ulating a call nal is played back off tape and es at the time. To help out, ma nu fa c - and response type of lyr i c , the delay returned to the console. The re s u l t tu re r s made tape delays , wh i c h wer e is often a hook that people sing is a tape delay. tape machines with a loop of tape along with. The signal is delayed by the in s i d e . The spacing between the Al t e r n a t i vel y, it can be more sub- amount of time it takes the tape to rec o r d and playb a c k heads was tl e . A set of emphasizing delays hits tr avel from the rec o r d head to the ad j u s t a ble to give you more flexi b i l i - key wor ds throughout “S y n ch ro n i c i t y rep r o head. The actual delay time ty in timing the delay. II ” on The Pol i c e ’ s final album then is a function of the speed of the Here in the year 2000 we have Sy n ch r o n i c i t y . The first line of ever y tape and the particular model of more options. Life is good. We can chorus ends with the wor d ‘a way,’ tape machine you are using (which buy a digital delay that is easily wh i c h get a little delay based boost. determines the physical distance adjustable, wonderfully flexible, Listen also to key end words in the be t w een the two heads). probably cheaper than a tape verses: ‘face,’ ‘race,’ and, um, ‘crotch.’ Want to lengthen the delay time? machine, and it either fits in one or These are a quick dose of several Sl o w the tape machine down . You two rack spaces or exists convenient- echoes, courtesy of the regeneration might have two, ma ybe three cho i c e s ly in a pull-down menu on our DAW. control. of tape speed: 7 1/2, 15 , or 30 inche s But if you have a spare tape The Wal l f l o wer s’ “One Headlight” per second (lovi n g l y called ‘i p s ’ ) . ma c hine that has perhaps been sit- on Bringing Down the Horseof f e r s a None of these delay times seem ting unused ever since you made the great example of rea l l y hiding the exa c t l y right? Maybe your tape in vestment in a DAT machi n e , you ’ v e de l ay s . Listen caref u l l y to the third ma c hine has vari-speed that lets you got the opportunity to create tape ver se—the wor ds ‘turn’ and ‘b u r n ’ find tape speeds slightly faster or sl a p . This can even be a cassette ea c h get a single subliminal dotted sl o wer than the standard speeds list- de c k if it has a tape/monitor swi t c h quarter note delay. ed abo ve. to let you monitor the playb a c k head It ’ s not unusual to low pass filter Ca n ’ t make these delay times fit while you rec o rd . these sorts of delays . Re m o ving the into the rhythm of the song? No Why bother? Some people are sim- high freq u e n c y content from each pro b . Go buy another analog 2-trac k pl y turned on by anything ret r o. Tap e repeat makes it sink deeper into the ma ch i n e , one with a different head de l a y is more trou b l e , mo r e exp e n - mi x . Nice delay units provide you ar r angement so that the delay time si ve, and we know some great old with this filter as an option. will be differen t . rec o r ds used it. That is rea s o n M o re ove r, t h e re is often the ab i l i- Wait a second. A single tape enough for some engineers. I perso n - ty to double the delay time on out- ma ch i n e , wh i c h might cost severa l al l y am not into ret r o for ret ro ’ s sake; b o a rd digital delays by pressing a thousand dollars, is capable of just a I take the trouble to use a tape delay button labeled “ X 2 ,” m e a n i n g fe w different delay settings? Yup .A when I want that ‘s o u n d . ’ ‘times two.’ This cuts the sampling 3-speed tape machine used this way An analog tape machine intro- rate in half. With half as many sam- is like a rea l l y exp e n s i ve effects duces its own subtle color to the ples to keep tra ck of, the amount of de vice with three pres e t s . Dra g . so u n d . Ma i n l y, it tends to add a low time stored in a fixed amount of Tape delay was originally used fre q u e n c y hump into the signal, m e m o ry effective ly doubles, h e n c e because it was one of the only cho i c - depending on the tape machi n e , th e the ‘times two’ lab e l .

RECORDING JULY 2000 Figure 3) Tape Delay - The Tape Machine is always rolling, In Record. The distance between the Record Head and the Playback Head as well as the selected Tape Speed determine the Delay Time.

Halving the sample rate also low- i n t roduction of U2’s “ Wide Awake ” er s the upper freq u e n c y capability of on The Unforgettable iF re. The quar- the digital devi c e . You know this if ter note triplet delay isn’t just an you are fol l o wing the sampling rat e e f f e c t , i t ’s part of the riff. war s: 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 96 kHz and The Edge has composed the delay mo re . The key benefit of increa s e d element into the song. Ditto for “I n sampling rate is improved high fre- the Name of Love” fr om the same qu e n c y resolution (A ‘Nuts & Bolts’ al b u m . An echo isn’t just an echo any column dedicated to digital audio is mo re , it ’ s a part of the tune. for t h c o m i n g ) . While sampling rates are cre e p i n g Make it short up on all our digital toys (especially The delays discussed ab ove are DAWs and mu l t i t ra ck re c o rd e rs ) , we all audible as ech o e s , repeats of an sometimes lower the sampling ra t e e a rlier musical phra s e . D e l ays are on our digital delay s . L ow pass fil- sometimes so short that they are n ’t tering the delay is often a desirab l e p e rc e ived as ech o e s . That is, as the mix move . d e l ay time falls below about 50 m i l l i s e c o n d s , the sound of the Groove d e l ay is no longer an ech o. We still Be yond support, sl a p , and empha- hear the delay, but it takes on a si s , we sometimes rea c h for delay to n ew persona as the delay time gets fill in part of the rhythm trac k of a this short. so n g . Reggae is famous for its cliché Ne xt month we exp l o r e these ech o . Drum program m e r s have been shorter time effects. kn o wn to put in an 8th or quarter note delay across the entire groo ve. Alex Case wonders: why are flight Excerpted from the July edition of RECORDING magazine. Guitarists use delay too. U 2 ’s Th e de l a ys always long delays? Request ©2000 Music Maker Publications, Inc. Reprinted with permission. Edge has made delay a permanent Nuts & Bolts topics via case@rec o r d - 5412 Idylwild Trail, Suite 100, Boulder, CO80301 part of his guitar rig. A classic in g m a g . c o m . Tel: (303) 516-9118 Fax: (303) 516-9119 example is apparent from the ve ry For Subscription Information, call: 1-800-582-8326

RECORDING JULY 2000