Chapter 3: Delay and Reverb
supplementary content/information
This page is meant to be used along with your copy of Delay & Reverb. This page focuses on delay and reverb techniques.
These examples are meant to open a window into the possibilities in the live performance world with delay and reverb pedals. Try to take the basic ideas encapsulated in these clips and expand upon them, explore them, and use them as a jumping off point to develop your own methods and strategies for using these types of pedals in your live performance.
page 19 - Delay & Reverb in practice
The first two sets of examples examples serve to illustrate the sonic difference when you put your reverb or delay at the START of your signal chain versus at the END. Note the disparity in clarity and integrity of the instruments’ attack.
Below are some other Examples with a wet Delay and Reverb at the END of a signal chain.
page 20 - reverb techniques
The examples below highlight how reverb’s influence can enhance the sound of a single horn, or a full horn section. Listen to how the reverb brings the saxophone, trumpet, and trombone to life, adding context and vibrancy. Note how the horn section settles into the mix asnd becomes a more cohesive part of the musical whole when reverb is added.
page 22
These examples show how reverb can be looked as an effect rather than a contextual tool. In the first example, there is an ambient drone track. Listen to how the reverb, when fully wet, allows the saxophone to play the part of a longing melodic vocal on top of the drone. Examples 2 and 3 show other reverb sounds that could be used in similar ways.
page 23 - delay techniques
In this example, we use the DD-7 to illustrate how delay can be used to sound like reverb. This technique can be done with may delay pedals, and is a useful way to expand their functionality.
page 24
Below we have a mix of good and bad. Listen to how the horn line is obsured and sounds sloppy in the Uptown Funk example. The use of delay by only one instrument in a section will give that effect. Note also, the negative effects of too much delay in your mix. The original lines being played are pushed into the background and the resulting sound is muddy and garbled. For good uses of delay with a band, listen to the bottom two examples, where delay is selectively added to specific moments to emphasize certain parts of the melody.
page 25
Delay timed to Build Chords
Paul Hanson Hocketing Tutorial
Horn player as part of the rhythm section
In this example, the Sax player is using a harmonizer and an envelope filter to approximate a guitar or keyboard, and employing a specific delay to contribute a rhythmic element to the song rather than a conventional horn line.
Eventide Pitchfactor Delayed harmony Techniques
The Pitchfactor allows the user to choose any of the the notes in the voicing being produced, and delay them by a number of beats or milliseconds. Here are a couple examples of how that can sound.
massive delay soundscapes
page 26 - advanced techniques: Combining reverb & Delay
Here are two sets of examples of the difference produced by switching the position of Delay and Reverb in your chain.
Combination Reverb and Delay Pedal Examples
page 28
Below are two examples of reverb that could be used as a pedal that is always on. They are simple and subtle and provide just a touch of context and vibrancy.
If simple and subtle reverbs are not your goal, then reverbs like the ones below can provide cavernous, broad soundscapes.
page 29
Keeley work station - 2 identical delays with different time parameters
two different delays with the same time parameters
Below you will find an example of the Keeley Delay Workstation utilizing two different delays with all the same parameters simultaneously. Listen also to the similar two-delay example, but done with two pedals rather than one.
ventris with two reverbs simultaneously
two reverbs with different mix and decay Parameters
The first example below uses the Ventris’s dual reverb capabilities to employ two different delays with different parameters simultaneously. The second example accomplishes the same technique, but with two separate reverb pedals.
Solo using reverb
Below you will hear a trumpet with an added octave down play the bridge to one of Wayne Shorter’s greatest tunes, “Infant Eyes.” Listen first to the bridge with no reverb, and then again with an added reverb from the Source Audio Ventris.
horn line using reverb
Below you will hear a horn section playing the intro to “What You Won’t Do For Love” by Bobby Caldwell. Note how the reverb makes the horn section sound more a part of the mix, and gives them a vibrant decay that adds to song.
examples: reverb with other effects
Listen to the effect as reverb is added halfway through these clips. The reverb brings the affected sound to life, giving more color and context.
Here are some more examples of effects with reverb added to to further enhance their sound.
page 30
simple delay used to make Common dub/reggae Sound
more complex reggae delay
chorus-like delay
Below are two examples of using fully wet extremely fast repetitions completely replace your dry signal. Since the repeats are so fast, your sound seems almost stitched together and choppy. The example on the right is somewhat similar to Chris Bullock’s sound on “Lingus” by Snarky Puppy, and the example on the left has a violin-like quality to it.
page 31
textural reverb and delay examples
These examples take advantage of extremely saturated, almost fully wet reverbs and delays to create texture and pads.
examples: Halo/Shimmer/Helix reverb Fully wet
These examples utilize little to no dry signal and rely on Shimmer and Halo reverbs to provide ethereal angelic soundscapes.