How to use delay(??) to play over the chord you just played

Deluxe · #1 03.20.09, 12:55 AM

Can anyone suggest a setup where I could stomp a box, play a chord, stomp a box, then play over that chord as the chord artificially decays (over about 6 seconds) to give the effect of two guitars, without what I play after the chord being delayed too?

I have a Akai Headrush loop pedal and a Boss GT-6 at my disposal, but I can't work out how i can get a snippet of a chord ringing to loop and fade while I play over it without what I play after looping or the 'chord loop' stopping the second I switch off the delay.

If anyone has an suggestions of how I do this or any kit that will do this, you'd make my year!

toma · #2 03.20.09, 6:10 AM

im not 100% sure i get what you are after but think you need a delay with a good trail function, so that you can play a chord, get it to repeat using high feedback and whatever settings you like, then turn off the delay. the high feedback repeats will cotinue for as long as you have set and you are free to play over the top.

Unfortunately, the E2 cant do this as it has awierd trail function where by it trails, but has a fixed trail fadeout, a nice feature, but not great in this situation.

the other thing you could try, tho is unhelpfully complex, is using a bypass switch before your delay, then re connection the signal afterwards.

so you play a chord with the delay settings you want then bypass the delay and play some other stuff.

im not sure if i have quite got the idea, but hopefully that might help a bit?

toma

Deluxe · #3 03.20.09, 6:24 AM

Thanks! Yes, I think you've got it spot on. It occurred to me that I could use a bypass, but was hoping for a simpler answer (I don't have a bypass pedal) - just switch the bypass to the delay pedal off then on again (or on then off?) while the chord rings. Really, all I'm after is a delay pedal that keeps going after it's been turned off, aren't I? So I can't do that with the Akai pedal? I think I've managed to ascertain that the delay on the Boss GT-6 stops dead when it's turned off...

jimye · #4 03.20.09, 7:29 AM

You need a delay with trails that can go almost 100% feedback and tap tempo, the EHX Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai could do this or any number of other delays other way would be to stick your Headrush in a loop with a volume pedal and loop something on the headrush then fade the loop out with the volume pedal whilst playing over it.

Deluxe · #5 03.20.09, 8:09 AM

Thanks. I'm not after a 'bells and whistles' delay pedal (I kinda already have that with the Headrush). Can you suggest a more basic delay pedal with a good trail function?

jimye · #6 03.20.09, 8:14 AM

Boss DD pedals do it I think, you could set them to have a real high feedback play your chord/s (provided there was enough time) and use the tap tempo as your start and stop points, then turn off the delay so you get just the trails. I'd say the DD7 would be your best bet as it has Tap Tempo input (I think) and long delay time.

But why not try the sticking your Headrush in a Loop with a Volume Pedal, it'll probably be a bit cheaper on the whole.

artie · #7 03.20.09, 8:18 AM

why don't you pre record a loop that's just a chord hit/faceout and then just use the loop whenever you need it??

i know about the headrush but the DL4 has an option to just play a loop once and stop... but you can always just loop it and stop it before it loops again.

you obviously have to pre record it every time but it won't sound as artificial as a delay trail.

jimye · #8 03.20.09, 8:38 AM

I think he wants an actual loop fadeout.

Deluxe · #9 03.20.09, 8:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimye

I think he wants an actual loop fadeout.

Yes, spot on

Quote:

Originally Posted by artie

why don't you pre record a loop that's just a chord hit/faceout and then just use the loop whenever you need it??

Yes, I think that might be a better option, although it limits me to one loop per song

Quote:

Originally Posted by artie

i know about the headrush but the DL4 has an option to just play a loop once and stop... but you can always just loop it and stop it before it loops again.

No, I don't think the Headrush can do that, just continual loops

[EDIT] Have done a bit of investigating. The Line 6 Echo Park has an option to switch trails on. How does that rate?

toma · #10 03.20.09, 9:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimye

You need a delay with trails that can go almost 100% feedback and tap tempo, the EHX Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai could do this

i just got one of these and it does not have trails. i have only had it for about 48 hours tho, so i may be missing something.

can you use the tuner out of a volme pedal as a 2nd output? at which point connect the delay yo to the regular output, and he tuner out as your 2nd, then you can control how much signal is bypassed.

also, do you think is it ok to just re connect the signal after the pedal? you dont get phase issues or anything..

jimye · #11 03.20.09, 9:11 AM

I was thinking about the loop function, you can set the repeats knob to fade out but that only fades out old recordings whilst still recording new material if you are playing. although you could get round this with an AB pedal and an ABY pedal having the ABY set to Y the whole time receiving the B of the AB pedal and the A going to the EHXSMM then you could switch to B when you don't want to record but could still fade out the loop holding down the record switch.

Deluxe · #12 03.20.09, 7:40 PM

Have admitted defeat. As people have already said, artificial loop fade is just going to sound crap.

To be more specific, what I was trying to do was avoid hiring a second guitarist (or buying one of those naff twin-neck bass/lead guitars). I'm the bass player (and a proficient guitarist). The only time we need a second guitar is the odd phrase or chord here or there and I'm thinking I can provide those parts myself by playing high-end notes with a bit of distortion. I've come to the conclusion that my best bet is use the loop pedal as it's intended to loop my bass lines then play the chords or phrases over the top. It's not ideal (distorted basses sound crap IMHO), but it'll do the job until I can think of a better idea. Fortunately, we're only a two-piece band as we don't have a drummer (yet!); I'm guessing, if we did have a drummer, they'd hate the idea.

scottie · #13 03.21.09, 6:11 AM

DD6/7/20 will all do this. You just need to set your feedback for the desired amount of repeats and stomp immediately before and after you play the chord.

Should be pretty easy if your stomping foot has good stamina

eyescicle · #14 03.21.09, 11:32 AM

the Echo Park you mentioned will do this just fine. it's inexpensive, and you've got your tap tempo right there as well. the only thing that'll take some getting used to is getting past the momentary tap tempo switch to the latching bypass switch underneath. but at the price you can find one used on eBay it's definitely worth checking out and seeing if it'll do what you're after.

oh, and another cool feature...the mix knob is really versatile, so you can set the mix of that delayed, trailed signal to be up front or more underneath what you're going to play over it.

all in all, this seems like the simplest and easiest solution.

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