*dotted 8ths* - which delays do this?

[drolling]

I have to set my delays by ear to do this trick - The tap tempos on my Diamond MemoryLane & DigiDelay are fine for quarter notes, but anything fancier has to be dialed in manually.

Which delays have a dotted eighth preset, and how does it work? Do you tap quarters or eighths and then the pedal compensates?

I've just decided it would be cool to get a pedal that does this. Which one's the most 'analog' sounding?

thanks!!

[aarondavis]

Echo Park, tap in quarter= delay at dotted 1/8ths. BUT, with a little practice it's easy to tap in. I did it all the time with my DL4. Even though I have it on my EP, in a hurry I'll tap it in manually.

[albuht813]

How do you dial in manually? I've got a DL4 and does anyone have recommendations for the Edge types of delay??

[ASATClassic]

I use the echo-tap. With practice, it's not hard to tap in dotted eights. I can do it also with the Digidelay, though that tap always seemed a little flaky.

I think it's important to be able to tap them in on the fly. Sometimes the drummer's a little off and you need to adjust. Or you doing a song where you wern't planning dotted-eighths, but you want to put them in.

A bigger struggle for me is getting the delays to cut through the mix. The echo tap is pretty warm sounding (even through output B).

[drolling]

Originally Posted by ASATClassic

A bigger struggle for me is getting the delays to cut through the mix. The echo tap is pretty warm sounding (even through output B).

Yep, the delay's got to be as loud as the original note for it to flow seamlessly. I've had at least a couple of pedals I had to ditch because of this.

The repeat's got to be as crisp & clear as possible, too. My Deluxe Memory Man's a bit too warm & fuzzy for this purpose. The treble boost on the Memory Lane's EQ's great for this trick.

[LL1]

HI, I not sure if you knew about the mods available. This is listed under FAQ on the site. Several different custom modifications for the Memory Lane are possible, including:

a) custom colors
b) delay time expression pedal jack
c) jack for remote mod on/off switch
d) jack for remote tap switch
e) mix level expression pedal jack
f) mod speed expression pedal jack
g) dotted eight note / quarter note time base switch (tap in quarter notes, get dotted eighth note delays!!)

Email us at info@diamondpedals.com for further info and pricing on custom mods.

I have one on order that is in the mail with the B and G mod. I can let you know how it works out later in the week if interested.

[drolling]

Originally Posted by LL1

I have one on order that is in the mail with the B and G mod. I can let you know how it works out later in the week if interested.

Thanks for posting that. I've been all over their site, but somehow missed the FAQs. I set the time knob around 4:00 for dotted 8ths (depending on tempo) and love the standard configuration of the exp. pedal (regeneration) but it's good to know that Michael offers those mods..

[GtrWiz]

Originally Posted by aarondavis

BUT, with a little practice it's easy to tap in. I did it all the time with my DL4. Even though I have it on my EP, in a hurry I'll tap it in manually.

I've been tryiing to wrap my head around this for a while, I know there's a way to do it. Could you explain your process?

[dotlikeimpact]

Boss DD-20 will do that and more. Triplets, too! Fugghedaboutit. It's too cool.

[aarondavis]

Originally Posted by albuht813

How do you dial in manually? I've got a DL4 and does anyone have recommendations for the Edge types of delay??

Instead of tapping quarter notes, you tap in actual dotted 8ths. The dot on the note adds half of it's time. So a dotted 8th is one 8th plus a 16th. A good way to measure it is to tap your foot or hand, you understand an 8th its on the up beat right... well your hand or foot would be half way back down at the dotted 8th. Simply put, it's just a little longer than an 8th note. :AOK

Hope that helps, good luck!

[Tardy]

I tap these delay times in manually using a DL4 as well. And I almost never use the little delay calculator function on the DL4.
What a lot of folks (a surprising number really) fail to realize is that there is a certain amount of technique involved in tapping in a dotted 8th. I'm sure someone on this board can explain it better than I can, maybe using a pseudo-staff of some kind. My bonehead way of explaining it would be that your first tap will be right on the first beat, while your second tap will be just ahead of the second beat. It takes some practice, and a certain amount of swing I suppose. But once you start to nail it, the little light bulb in your head will go off. I assume any delay that only needs two physical foot taps to make the calculation would work just fine. Just practice.
Can anybody explain it a little better than me?

[dotlikeimpact]

Dotted eight notes are merely three sixteenth note-lengths. So, in 4/4, you would count sixteenth notes, and tap on the first and third sixteenth notes per beat.

[aarondavis]

Interesting, 3 posts that say the exact same thing... just in different ways.

[drolling]

Originally Posted by aarondavis

Interesting, 3 posts that say the exact same thing... just in different ways.

Yes! But each one cool & helpful in its own right!!

Thanks a lot, guys.. Sounds like I'll be taking a look at Boss DDs & DSL EchoTap (and *GASP* maybe even an EchoPark!) sometime soon:AOK

[Tardy]

Keep in mind though, you should be able to tap these times in using your Memory Lane. You don't actually need another delay unit specifically to acheive this.