How do you set your delay to get that soaring lead tone?

Gary Moore uses more reverb than delay...but seeing as you mentioned delay. I have one set at 250ms and one at 500ms both at approx 2-3 repeats and between 25-33% wet.

 

Dark delays blend with the tone. Bright delays stand out. This is true of reverb as well.

You can have a lot of delay on your guitar but make it less noticeable by turning down the treble on the delay itself or using a dark patch/mode like analog or tape.

Typically for spacious leads I set my DD-20 to tape mode (less bright than standard not as dull as analog). 425 ms delay time, 3 repeats, and delay level to taste but never more than half of the dry signal volume.

By comparison, the edge uses bright delays that are nearly as loud as the dry signal.

 

Using delay is not as much of a repeat or annoying slapback but a longer setting that enhances the sustain of the instrument like going beyond reverb that adds depth and ambient sounds that works best for a OD driven tone.

 

I use 8 tap multiband delays to simulate reverb for lead:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GWWir6g-nE

just a speaker sim demo to highlight a couple of celebrity-style reverbs/delays.

Multibands allow the delay to mix with the reverb in a dynamic way, not as bland as delay into reverb or vice-versa

It cuts through like no other

EVH uses a similar aproach, he has often admitted that he can't stand reverb.

 

Tried this last night and it makes a huge difference. I was leaving my delay signal way too bright. Great tip :BEER

 

What would these settings look like on either an Analogman AR20DL(300ms) or CMATMODS Deeelay?

 

Analog delays are already somewhat dark by design. The major problem with them is the short delay time. My slapback delay setting is 225 ms so 300 ms isn't really long enough for the kind of spacious lead delay I like - that requires 400-500ms. I would max your delay time and set the repeats to 4 or 5 to compensate for the short delay time. keep the delay level at less than half the dry signal volume or less to start. Things can get muddy and indistinct with too much delay.

 

The MP deep blue delay seems tailor made for what your looking for, because the delays sort of smear together.
I use my Time Factor. There is a a blur control (or something like that) in one of the models. I can get repeats that are kinda reverby, setting to 250 or 500, with 2-3 repeats and low mix (I have a momentary switch that sets mix from 15% to 26%). Add an expression pedal to increase feedback to 4-5 repeats. This is my almost-always-on delay patch. I like it more than the tape, to my surprise (because of the blur feature).

 

Typically a longer delay time (450-550 ms) and less repeats amd a little less mix so that it still cuts.

I use the Nova with the Tape Delay setting.

Matt

 

I can't remember if these are 100% correct, you will need to adjust.

Time: Between 2:30 and 3:30
Repeat: 11:30
Level: Between 1:30 and 2:30

Set the delay level about 1.5 below the original signal, and don't go beyond 5-6 repeats. Make sure it's a midtempo repeat.

 

I find anywhere between 330ms to 450ms; one or two repeats and mix knob to taste really get those searing smooth leads.

 

public service bump....

 

The trick is to set the wet/dry mix heavily on the dry side...like maybe70/30 dry/wet. I go for 2.5 repeats...that is two fairly audible repeats with just a hint of a third in the background. Timewise, 300ish ms seems to work for me.

The Boss RV-3 is great for stuff like this because you can mix reverb and delay and get really huge, sweeping notes and bends.

 

bump...how about in loop? I prefer parallel.

 

This may be a really dumb question, but what do you guys do if you have to play a mix of rhythm & leads? Do those 400+ms delay settings muddy things up when you're playing chords?

 

It depends on the tune. Certain styles or tunes lend themselves to a nice wet delayed rhythm tone. For me its a struggle to turn off the delay pedal because that sound is very addictive but there is a real danger in overusing the effect. Typically I switch between a big delay and a short delay depending on the tune and for some blues, rnb and reggae i keep the signal dry even in the solo sections.

 

Yeah, I'm always afraid I'm going to overdo it with the delay, so I tend to underdo it, and it ends up sounding more like reverb...

 

The lo res delay on the DL4 is nice for this if you want a trippy kind of sound as it feedsback. Not bright and great for ambient sounds.

 

By the way, I have an expression pedal set up on my delays so that I can control the effect level via my foot. For me it hard to preset things for rhythm and lead or various other noise. So, it is just easier for me to do it on the fly.
I use the lo res, filter, and mod delays most of the time with the occasional reverse. Pretty dang fun!