Delay Setting Question - 1st Repeat Too Loud

Warrior

Power User
How do I control the level of the first repeat while maintaining the mix level?

If I hit a note you'll hear the first repeat at almost the same volume as the first note.

Is "Input Gain" the best way to control this?
 
You can think of the Mix control as the volume of the first repeat relative to the dry signal, and the Feedback control as the rate of the volume decrease of each successive repeat.

Feedback at 100% means each successive repeat is the same volume as the one before it so you get infinite repeats.
Feedback at 0% means you get only one repeat (the 2nd repeat being 0% of the volume of the first repeat), etc.
 
Thanks.

I'm always intrigued how players such as Vai can have what would seem to be a very washed out delay setting yet his main signal doesn't seem to really get washed out.
 
You can think of the Mix control as the volume of the first repeat relative to the dry signal, and the Feedback control as the rate of the volume decrease of each successive repeat.

Feedback at 100% means each successive repeat is the same volume as the one before it so you get infinite repeats.
Feedback at 0% means you get only one repeat (the 2nd repeat being 0% of the volume of the first repeat), etc.

Bump
 
Thanks.

I'm always intrigued how players such as Vai can have what would seem to be a very washed out delay setting yet his main signal doesn't seem to really get washed out.

There are different tricks that can accomplish this along with the standard controls. You can implement ducking, which is where your delay lowers in volume as you play, then goes back to normal when you stop, you can do stereo separation where the left and right channels deviate in repeat speed by a few milliseconds which can "widen" your delayed signal while your dry signal stays centered, you could play with panning your wet and dry signals differently, or you could even try to independently EQ your wet and dry signals into different places on the spectrum, or some combo of each of these things.

There are a lot of tricks you can do to separate wet and dry for better clarity. Big obvious 100% accuracy digital delay repeats are cool if you want that specific effect, but just as a general gap-filler for solos or even rhythm work if you're in a one guitar band, having clearly replicated highs and high-mids in the repeats crowds the detail of the playing too much. Personally I like going for a low Mix but a decent to good amount of feedback, then cutting out some highs on just the delay for a slightly darker or duller set of repeats that end up sounding somewhere between actual delay and a "clean" sounding reverb.
 
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There are different tricks that can accomplish this along with the standard controls.............

I've experimented quite a bit in the past but I've never been able to really nail down the delay I am looking for. Hearing your descriptions of some of the parameters and how you apply them helps me understand a little better how I might approach this.

I would love to see a tutorial by someone like M@. Reading the manual is one thing. Actually seeing the parameters applied to achieve a desired effect is another.

Thanks for the help!
 
Using EQ on the delay is really useful to have it be ambient but not clutter the original signal. High shelf gets rid of the competing clutter of notes, and low shelf gets rid of the mud that can build up. And the different EQ sound gives the echo it's own sonic profile that your brain can separate out as a separate signal.
 
I'd play around w/ the ducking settings. Set the overall level of the delay for the volume you want the repeats to sound, then experiment w/ the ducking so that it lowers the level of that first delay.

Example: Set ducking to -6db, and the release time just less than the length of time it takes for the 2nd repeat to happen. Adjust to taste...
 
Another vote for using Lo- and Hi- cut on your delays. You can often run the delay levels higher if you carve out the low and hi end from them. Compression on the delay is also a trick to keep the delay level up if that's something you're looking for.
 
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