What's this analog vs digital delay thing?

[Pott]

I don't have much experience at all in the way of delay. I have a danelectro danecho. No clue which it is.

From what I gether, analog is warmer sounding? Is it true or is it one of those mojo things so common these days? (handmade, true bypass etc..)

I'm guessing analog is mostly used for shorter delays and digital for pristine reproduction and longer trails?

[acwild]

Personally speaking, analog is "warmer" because it's not an exact copy of your note like digital. The echo isn't as "in your face" as digital as a result. That's why I prefer it for sound enhancement. I like digital when I want to use the echo as a more prominent effect.

[Pott]

Makes sense. The only way I'd use delay now would be on a clean sound, for a VERY light echo, just to thicken up the sound nicely and liven it up, but with more of a 'can't tell until it's off' effect. So since I'd barely get to hear it, it probably doesn't matter which I go for :s

[acwild]

Makes sense. The only way I'd use delay now would be on a clean sound, for a VERY light echo, just to thicken up the sound nicely and liven it up, but with more of a 'can't tell until it's off' effect. So since I'd barely get to hear it, it probably doesn't matter which I go for :s

That's pretty much how I'm using mine. I keep it in the loop set low on the mix and it's barely there. Very nice warm characteristic that makes for a subtle effect rather than a prominent one.

[IAE]

Digital delays are cool, so long as its not a sterile delay, the EH stereo memory man with hazarai is probably the best digital delay around, the deluxe memory man is probably the best analog delay, both have their uses. I like my repeats to sound as close to original as possible so i like digital. Digital effects like delays, loopers, the POG the HOG are good and if the last two where analog they wouldn't even work so don't get put off of digital as it does lots of thing analog just cant touch. As far as fuzz and distortion goes, I wont touch anything that isn't analog as it sounds like sh!t.

[earthtonesaudio]

The Dan Echo uses (I believe) the Princeton Technology Corporation's PT2395 digital delay chip. If Danelectro built it like the PTC datasheet suggests, there's probably also heavy filtering on the delayed signal, to tame digital harshness and make it more "analog" sounding.

[jfromel]

You should try both, I have a DM-2 (analog) and two DD-2's (digital) on my board, they both have there uses.

[NBarnes21]

Digital and Analog delays are completely different beasts. Any delay fan should have both, I find that between my Carbon Copy and Stereo MM with Hazarai all my delay needs are met.

[Floor]

It's really a matter of religion. Some like the oscilation, oldschool, muddy, lofi analog delays and others like the digital studio delays of the 80's better.
I surgest that you try out both types an dicide for yourself.

[acwild]

It's really a matter of religion. Some like the oscilation, oldschool, muddy, lofi analog delays and others like the digital studio delays of the 80's better.
I surgest that you try out both types an dicide for yourself.

I prefer multiple versions of both. :D

[TieDyedDevil]

From what I gether, analog is warmer sounding? Is it true or is it one of those mojo things so common these days? (handmade, true bypass etc..)

As a rule of thumb, this is probably OK. However, there are always exceptions...

Most digital delays are pristine. But the Boss RE-20 is incredibly warm and organic sounding. Personally I'd pick the RE-20 over an analog delay any day.

IME all analog delays suffer from compander artifacts.

The compander is a circuit used to mitigate the noise from the analog BBD chip. Without a compander you'd get an objectionable hiss all the time. The compander COMpresses the signal going into the BBD in order to swamp out as much of the noise as possible, then exPANDs the output to restore the dynamic range.

If you listen closely to an analog delay you can hear a bit of the hiss behind your guitar's signal. Listen carefully and you'll notice that the hiss fades away as the signal decays. That's pretty much what you'd expect.

There's another artifact, though. To me it sounds a bit like an extra "thump" on the note attack. I've heard this on most of the analog delays I've used. You may or may not notice this at all, depending upon your particular pedal and your playing style. To me, it's a show-stopper in most situations...

I'm guessing analog is mostly used for shorter delays and digital for pristine reproduction and longer trails?

It's true that analog tends to be limited to shorter delays. Longer analog delay times tend to suffer from increased noise and reduced high-frequency response. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's part of the charm of that technology in much the same way that warm, organic distortion is part of the charm of tube amps.

[1mb]

I'm all analog now. Carbon Copy is a good choice as the price is right. But I agree with others that having both is cool.

[triviani]

Hi.
I have never had a delay so i'm not familiar with them.. So, what would you use to have a bit more "deep" and "warm" sound, an analog delay or a digital one? or maybe an echo pedal?

I do like oscillations though..

[Rod]

Ther are both good and bad sounding digital AND analog delay and reverb units...go try some...find their personanity in the unit..they all have personalities,,,and sweet spots...find the good tones, then decide it it's what you want......price is pretty irrelevent...follow your ear....reverbs I've been happy with..for different reasons..EH Holy Grail +...[NoT the original standard one], the Digitech Digiverb....Boss RV-5, and the TC Nova Reverb

[BillyJoeJimBob]

Some suggestions for trying out the analog boxes: listen carefully at the longest delay times in particular (but still try them all). Pick clean/soft/quiet notes loud enough to open the compander but allow you to hear the background. Long delays are usually the worse case scenario for noise and if the clock is going to feed through, it will probably happen here. Sames goes for aliasing: pick sharp/high/loud notes and listen for a lower ghost image that, if it happens, you may like or dislike. Also listen for clock feedthrough when it's bypassed: make sure you don't hear any background buzz that changes with delay time. This is the stuff I tend to notice more after the newness wears off and wish I'd been more careful in the store. Happy shopping!

[sodapopinski]

I used to own an Ibanez AD9 but since i play live a lot i needed a delay with a tap tempo. Now i use 2 boss dd-5's. I miss the warm delay of the Ad9, but for ease of use nothing can beat the boss' external tap tempo features. It just depends on what YOU need the delay for.

[Tubevalvemaniac]

Vintage Boss DD2 digital delays are just fantastic.
I prefer analogs like Moog or Diamond.

[IAE]

I have a Kurzweil Mangler who's digital distortions would beg to differ. Insane shit!
I've never come across a digital dirt pedal that was any good IMO.

[mad dog]

I've experimented enough to know that the generalizations don't always hold. A digital delay is on my pedalboard. H&K Replex, sounds in no way digital. Beautiful sound, enough echoplex atmosphere that it's indispensable to me. Lately got a Retrosonic analog delay, equally impressive in its own way. A beautiful sound, with clarity I hadn't heard before in analog pedals.

The platform and technology are secondary. The sound is the thing. Try many and see what works best for you.

[hacker]

If your looking to just get into analog delays, the BBE two-time, which can be had on eBay for $100 new, is a no-brainer. It has an incredibly warm delay tone that sounds just like the classic Boss and Ibanez pedals.

To me, if you want a cool delay for slapback-country, rockabilly, and you play with a fairly clean tone, analog is the way to go. Likewise for "Voodoo Chile" tape delay sounds.

If you want massive clean repeats for Edge-like rhythms or if you send the delay signal to multiple amps to bounce all over the place, digital is the way to go. Higher levels of distortion can easily turn to mud with analog delays as well, so I would go digital if I were looking for that as well.

Tap tempo is an extremely cool feature for creating textures and loops. The Line 6 modeler is pretty cool if you want to experiment with many different types of delays.

[scott58]

Delay and reverb is the few places i prefer digital over analog.

[GovernorSilver]

My former bandmate's first delay pedals were analog because everybody told him analog sounds best, no matter what.

He then realized that the kind of sounds he really wanted were best achieved with digital delay and digital reverb units.

Examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnNNN6S-YcE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0BDjFxQnQ8

I notice most people here end up getting both analog and digital delays anyway. More versatile setup, and you can change faster between both types of sounds, use both together, etc.

[Isaiah4Autumn]

I own these currently...

A) Analog-Deluxe Memory Man (analogman mods)
B) Digital-Line 6 DL4, Boss PS-3, Eventide Timefactor
C) Tape-nothing :cry: (TTE here I come!)

Whatever you think sounds good to you is all that matters...analog v digital both have there +/- in cetain situations when playing but let you ears decide what you prefer...

[zachman]

Delay and reverb is the few places i prefer digital over analog.

:agree

Agree 100%... Been the analog route, and ain't lookin back, of course I do use some analog pedals, but for delay and reverbs... I prefer specific units, which happen to be digital.

http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee118/zachman_photos/My%20Guitar%20gear/NAMMpics023.jpg