empress superdelay

[empress_effects]

Hello,

I helped design the Empress Superdelay. If you have any questions about it, please post here and I'll do my best to answer them.

One thing we figured out yesterday is the release date: May 12th.

Steve.

[thisfire]

Can I preorder one?!?

:drool

[benbenben]

ONE QUESTION :D

I've already preordered one of these from a distributor overseas. BUT

the looper function, in the video you mentioned the short looper was 6 seconds for higher quality, how long is the long looper?

[empress_effects]

You can preorder one now by going to www.empresseffects.com/order_page.php.

The longer looper is 12 seconds long.

Steve.

[benbenben]

Sweet! 12 seconds is good for me!

Cheers Steve!

[TaronKeim]

Can't wait to try one out!

_TJK*

[magnus02]

can you stack loops or is it single loop that you can simply play over? thanks

[empress_effects]

You can keep on overdubbing onto the loop.

[jlearman]

Reallllly interested in the superdelay. 2 questions:

1) Is it a bucket brigade delay? or digital? (i'm guessing digital) If it is digital, does the dry signal get converted to digital as well?

2) Is the modulation digital or analog? Can I use the modulation and tap tempo at the same time?

[empress_effects]

1) It's digital. The dry signal does get converted. At first we were trying for a completely analog dry signal. We tried a digital potentiometer, a VCA, and something else (i forget), but we couldn't get anything to work that decreased noise. They only increased noise.

We've been getting people in Ottawa to try out the pedal, comparing it to other pedals with various amps. So far, everyone has said the fidelity is amazing. Of course, just believing what someone else says (especially when they're selling something) without checking it out is sometimes a really bad idea. Ideally, you should listen to the pedal with your own setup before buying. We're going to put up a sound clip of it being switched in and out soon enough. We're pretty sure you won't be able to tell the difference. I know some people like when pedals color the sound. Oh well, you can't please everyone.

2) The modulation is digital. The high pass and low pass filters are digital. They can be used with any mode, including modes that use the tap tempo.

[this1smyne]

i just jumped on the pre-order list.... is it one of those that i'll wait 2 years for? how long is the list? thanks! Looking foreward to trying it out!

[empress_effects]

We're building the Superdelays right now, so we'll be able to ship out on the release date (May 12).

[paraedolia]

1) It's digital. The dry signal does get converted.
1. But, true bypass so when off it's just your regular analogue dry signal right?
2. Is it stereo? I can only see a single input and a single output jack in the pics.
2.5 If stereo, is that regular dry signal on one channel / wet on the other ... or something else?
3. I also see an expression pedal jack? What's that going to do? Time/modulation/intensity?

There's been a bit of a buzz about this up on the guitars canada forum too...

[empress_effects]

1. Yes, it's true bypass. So when it's bypassed, it's completely analog.
2. No, it's mono.
3. The expression pedal jack can control the mix and feedback.

[this1smyne]

and it ships.... I cannot wait!

[Crazyquilt]

Are the filter/modulation options available with the looper?

Thanks.

[thisfire]

Mine shipped too...can't WAIT!

[empress_effects]

yes, the filter and modulator work with the looper.

[rwe333]

Man, I had a chance to demo an early proto...
Was a superior, feature-laden delay then and it's been refined since.
Looking forward! Remarkable design by some wonderful peeps.

[iaresee]

I'll second Wayne's comments: it is a fantastic delay. The fidelity is really outstanding. You really don't know what good digital is until you plug into one of these.

I've had a great time with this setting on the Empress Effects Superdelay (http://www.empresseffects.com/superdelay.php). Basically lets you play and when you stop it'll just do this nice faded edge, infinite repeat thing. Start playing again and it ducks it all down. Lets you perch right on the edge of crazy without going over.

mix: 12:00
d time | ratio: 4:00
feedback: 4:00
mode: misc
volume: 12:00
exp: none
filter: lp
modulation: fast
mode: b

I'll post some more Superdelay settings over the next few weeks. When you get yours: share your settings! I'd love to try out things other people find cool. It's an incredibly deep pedal with a deceptivily straight foward interface.

[Crazyquilt]

yes, the filter and modulator work with the looper.


*swoon*

Looks like more stuff's going to be hitting the Emporium soon...

[paraedolia]

is the digitized signal downsampled ever? I've heard of situations where under certain loads the normal high bitrate hifi signal gets downsampled to make more memory available-- I think with some of the Line6 gear, so if you then throw in modulation? How does this delay handle the increased requirements of having modulation on too?
Does it do a decent tape delay sim?
The soundclips sound great...and I'm in Canada...

[empress_effects]

You're right, delays often have a low sample rate to provide more memory. We tried to stay away from that, but we did have to use that technique in the Looper (Mode 8).

In Looper there's three submodes: Short, Long, and Reverse. With short, audio is sampled at around 48kHz (ie not downsampled). With Long and Reverse, the sample rate is halved to get double the recording time.

Honestly, I can't tell the difference in audio quality between Short and Long. I kind of wished we didn't do the Short, and instead put in another interesting submode. But at some point in design you gotta stop adding little features.

As for the modulator, it will work on every mode. It doesn't degrade the sound at all.

And for the "decency" of the tape delay sim: we think it's sounds pretty good! But that's a very subjective opinion, and I might be a little biased :-) It would be better to hear from someone else on that.

Thanks for the questions,

Steve.

[magnus02]

so anyone gotten theirs yet? any opinions on it?

[this1smyne]

magnus! you are in my town. i'm getting it in anyday now, you're more than welcome to try it out!

[magnus02]

thats awesome i'd love to come check it out. i'm thinking of placing an order but i always get nervous about something i havent played and much more something nobody has but it really does look amazing. i'll pm you and we can go from there. thanks for the offer.

[thisfire]

Got mine today, #002! Review to come :)

[this1smyne]

got myne yesterday, it sounds freakin' awesome! i haven't messed with it too much, as i won't have time until earlier next week, but so far it has already blown my mind on the quality of the sound and clarity of the delays.... wow.

[Brantleycoker]

i got mine late last week and what can i say it was well worth the close to 8 months ive been waiting on this to come out, is it bad i spent my us stimulous check in canada, i dont think so considering i bought a vos les paul a week before that! but that with my replica delay i have the perfect delay setup, for me at least. hats off to you for the second time empress, and also steve is always very fast with responses to emails i truly appreciate it!.

[amp boy]

i was hoping Songbird here in Toronto would have been still around. They would have carried these.
dang.
keep it going Empress, it's right on to see some quality homegrown stuff being made.

[Boutique Tone]

Hey Empress dudes,

We're totally tripping on the Superdelay. We've been trying it out in a bunch of different amps, both in the loop and straight into the front, and it sounds awesome. We'll be putting up some new web demos on YouTube in a couple of weeks and we'll get the Superdelay and Trem in there. Great job!

Jeremy

[benbenben]

Received the superdelay and gigged with it last night. Amazing! Loving it! Was a bit tricky at first cause i kept accidentaly stepping on the preset button when trying to tap but It's jus cause I'm not used to it... love it! :D

[todd richman]

The Superdelay sounds awesome and has some great features. I may need one of them. One question, could I get one without the red/orange graphics-just a plain white box with black writing and Empress logo?

[ChazMania]

Can this be powered with a PP2+ barrel outlets?

[iaresee]

Can this be powered with a PP2+ barrel outlets?
Yes. The 200 mA outlet should work with it.

[tomusic]

I own the superdelay,

1st mix settinges:
I see you guys play with mix settings of 12:00
my mix setting seems a bit off below 8:00 there is no delay signal
and it kicks in quite hard at 9:00 1 mm up and it's to loud for
subtle ambiance
at 10:00 it sounds like there is already a 50-50% mix
delay used in front of amp, after dirt box

is this also your experience?

2nd headroom/input distortion
My superdelay starts distorting when I kick my treble booster
in front, this happens in the tape mode
It also distorts quite bad when I put it in my fx loop of my amp

Hope you can share experiences thnx!

Tom

[iaresee]

I see you guys play with mix settings of 12:00
my mix setting seems a bit off below 8:00 there is no delay signal
This is normal. The taper on the pots used in the superdelay have range between 7-8 and 4-5 about the same.

and it kicks in quite hard at 9:00 1 mm up and it's to loud for
subtle ambiance
at 10:00 it sounds like there is already a 50-50% mix
This is not normal. Noon is definitely 50:50 for me and there's a nice gradient across the dial to work with.

delay used in front of amp, after dirt box
That might have something to do with it. I run mine in my loop. Can you try it in the f/x loop on your amp if has one?

If that doesn't work you should contact empress. They've got great customer support.


My superdelay starts distorting when I kick my treble booster
in front, this happens in the tape mode
You're overdriving the input buffer on the superdelay. This is to be expected running a booster in front of it. You'll have this problem with any pedal after a booster. You should run your boost after your delay. You want your boost to overdrive your preamp, not the input buffers on your other pedals, right?

It also distorts quite bad when I put it in my fx loop of my amp
Hmm...that shouldn't be the case. Is your loop running line level signals or instrument level signals? IIRC empress can modify your superdelay to work with hotter f/x loops. But you shouldn't take my word for it, give them a call. :)