Digital Delay
Clean echo effect that repeats your signal after a set time — from tight slapback to long rhythmic echoes.
What it does
The Digital Delay creates one or more copies of your signal, delayed by a set amount of time, and mixes them in with your dry signal. The result ranges from a punchy slapback echo (very short delay, one or two repeats) to long, cascading rhythmic trails that wash behind your playing. The repeats are clean and transparent — faithful copies of the original signal.
Parameters
| Parameter | Range | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | 1–2000 ms | ~300 ms | How long after the original note each echo occurs. 50–100 ms = slapback; 200–500 ms = rhythmic echo; 500–2000 ms = long, ambient trail |
| Feedback | 0–95% | ~30% | How much of the delayed signal is fed back into the delay line to create additional repeats. Low Feedback = 1–2 echoes that die quickly; high Feedback = many cascading repeats; 95% = very long trail that dies gradually |
| Mix | 0–100% | ~40% | Blends the delayed (wet) signal with the dry signal. At 100% you only hear the echoes, not the dry note |
| High Cut | 200–20000 Hz | 8000 Hz | Rolls off high frequencies in the delay repeats. Lowering this warms up the echoes — useful for tape-echo style tones |
| Low Cut | 20–5000 Hz | 20 Hz | Removes low-frequency buildup in the repeats. Raising this thins out the echoes so they do not clash with the dry guitar in the low end |
| Drive | 0–100% | 0% | Adds saturation to the delay repeats for a warm, tape-like character. Subtle values add harmonic warmth; higher values dirty up the echoes |
| Stereo Mode | Normal, Ping-Pong | Normal | In Ping-Pong mode, echoes alternate between the left and right channels — creating a bouncing stereo effect |
Advanced parameters
| Parameter | Range | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spread | 0–50 ms | 0 ms | Offsets the timing of left and right delay channels to widen the stereo image of the echoes |
| Mod Rate | 0–10 Hz | 0 Hz | Modulates the delay time with a slow oscillator. Small amounts add a chorus-like shimmer to the echoes; higher values produce audible pitch wobble |
| Mod Depth | 0–20 ms | 0 ms | The depth of the delay time modulation. Combine with Mod Rate for subtle tape-style instability |
| Ducking | 0–100% | 0% | Reduces the delay level while you are playing and lets it bloom during pauses. Keeps the dry signal clear while still producing rich echo trails |
Rhythmic delay timing
To lock delay to a musical tempo:
| Notes at 120 BPM | Time (ms) |
|---|---|
| Quarter note | 500 ms |
| Dotted eighth | 375 ms |
| Eighth note | 250 ms |
| Triplet eighth | 167 ms |
A formula for quarter-note delay time in milliseconds: 60,000 ÷ BPM.
Tips
- Slapback for rockabilly/country: Time ~80–120 ms, Feedback 0–10% (just one or two repeats), Mix 20–30%. This adds depth and space without audible separate echoes.
- Dotted-eighth delay for classic rock/country lead: Set Time to the dotted-eighth value for your tempo (e.g. 375 ms at 120 BPM), Feedback 20–30%, Mix 25–35%. Picking on every beat creates rhythmic trails between the notes that feel like the delay is "playing" with you.
- Long ambient trail: Time 600–1200 ms, Feedback 50–70%, Mix 20–25%. The echoes build slowly behind your playing without drowning the dry signal.
- Keep Mix low (20–35%) in most cases. Too much delay Mix makes the dry signal sound weak and the echoes muddy in a band context.
- Place delay after the amp and cab in the chain, and before reverb so the echoes trail into reverb rather than the other way around.