advice re delay

[Bassnut62]

I'm interested in delay; but not really sure how or when i would use it - any suggestions for good situations to use delay on bass?

Also what other effects do TBers combine with delay?

Lastly, has anyone got experience with / opinions about Tech 21 Boost DLA with Tap Tempo?

[kenstee]

Originally Posted by Bassnut62

I'm interested in delay; but not really sure how or when i would use it

Don't get one until you have answered this question.......seriously.....

[Happynoj]

I combine delay with more delay. I delay my delay. Mind you, that it just to create stupid noise.

I don't do any delay based rhythmic riffs. It's mostly just to fill space or for atmosphere.

[bassteban]

In most of my live playing settings, I have no practical use for delay on bass. That said, I have 4 delay pedals(+ the various delays in my B2.1U)& often wank away w/2 or 3 going at once. If you don't know why you would want one, I'm not sure you'd get much out of one. Go annoy the GC crowd by testing a few out, I say.

[BassBrass]

Two practical uses for delay on bass (without going to happy delay-land where everything is delayed including the delays) are 1. using 2 amps, a slight slap-back on one makes for a huge sound 2. using delay for a 1/4 note pulse (like Pink Floyd) where you play ever other note and let the delay do the other. Both these use delay set with just one repeat. Of more interest is looping: making groove or sound loops that you or someone can play over. This takes practice and dexterity. Looping is a great tool for practice too. Some delay pedals loop. OK I just though of a third: repeated delay can be used for song ends/intros or noise/sound effect breaks.

[jlane72t]

I have an Ibanez DE7 which i love to tweak the knobs on to make crazy noises...but outside of "One Of These Days" I've never found a context to play it "straight".

[skepsis]

A quick question relating to delay...

Is there a way I can combine a delay with an echo or reverb to get more sustain on my chords?

I play ambient stuff so I'm trying to find a way (other than new pickups and amp) to get notes to ring 10-15 secs?

[mccartneyman]

A compressor will give you sustain more so than a delay. As for delay, Tony Levin often uses a slight delay in his solo work. "Silhouette" from his "Live Double Expresso" CD is a good example.

[Bassnut62]

Some good advice already from our community. I like the one about don't get one until you know what you want to use it for.
I can see having lots of fun noodling off into outer space with delay; but practical uses do sound like they are less obvious on bass.
Please keep your thoughts and experiences coming.
thanks

[ttasselm]

I find myself using delay a lot, with bass and with guitar. It is a great way to fill out space. I like boosting the feedback and cutting the effect level to give some "air" to each note in a more open or sparse instrumental context. I also use it a lot to just noodle around, and often come up with some pretty cool ideas for my bass/guitar playing, like a riff I end up basing a song around. Dotted eighth grooves are always fun to come up with.

It's all about experimenting. You just have to play with it.

[mattfong]

To be quite honest, I find delay rather useless in regards to the 'normal' role of the bass.

I use delay for 2 reasons:
1) It's fun (I'm talking bedroom experimentation here, and no, not of the sexual kind)
2) My band sometimes has more ambient, out of time sections of songs where delay can be quite useful. (Where the time spent experimenting in point #1 comes in handy)

Speaking of delay, my Memory Boy should be arriving in the mail any day now!

[SoonerMatt]

Originally Posted by kenstee

Don't get one until you have answered this question.......seriously.....

+1. If you're not sure how or when you'd use it chances are you don't need it.

[skepsis]

Originally Posted by mccartneyman

A compressor will give you sustain more so than a delay.

Thanks man...

[kevteop]

Delay's one thing I've never really found much use for on bass but they are fun to have around the house.

[champbassist]

Some nice advice here:

http://talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=552405

As for me, I get to do some really guitar-esque solos (Think Petrucci/Steve Vai tone wise) in my band as we are a drum/bass/guitar/vox (just one guitar) four piece. I love using delay there. For more conventional bass lines, delay can be of use only if your bass can cut through the mix very well. For melodic lines in harmony with the guitar, I sometimes use delay for sounds like Big Sur Moon (Buckethead) or The Echo Song (Paul Gilbert). For normal bass lines, delay does add a bit of space to your sound but it isn't all that recognizable most of the time.

[Bassnut62]

ok, that's plenty of ideas on how to go about finding uses for delays.
i think i come down on the side of .... like most things you have to experiment to find out what to do with them, especially with more far-out effects.
other effects are more obvious as to their uses, e.g. fuzz, chorus, filter, octave.

so how about some recommendations and reasons on different delays available?

[MakiSupaStar]

I use delay all the time with dub. Only in subtle context when we hit a 'spacey' section. I only have a Boss DD3, you can pick one up for 60 bucks or so. From using this, I have acquired a 'need' (GAS) for a delay that utilizes 'tails', where, once the pedal is disengaged, the delay sounds off until it fades out. This is so much better than immediately cutting off when you turn the pedal off, IMO.

[kevteop]

Originally Posted by MakiSupaStar

I use delay all the time with dub. Only in subtle context when we hit a 'spacey' section. I only have a Boss DD3, you can pick one up for 60 bucks or so. From using this, I have acquired a 'need' (GAS) for a delay that utilizes 'tails', where, once the pedal is disengaged, the delay sounds off until it fades out. This is so much better than immediately cutting off when you turn the pedal off, IMO.

I had a delay on my board for this sort of thing, but found it was much more appropriate to use delay on the snare/hi-hat or guitar or organ than it was on the bass.

[sillyfabe]

delay is also fun with added modulation. i currently use a Boss RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay for clean repeats and my Roland RE-20 Space Echo for dirty, tape, saturated goodness. Using my Boss BF-2 Flanger with a high res, mid depth and slow rate inot the Space Echo with 3 tape heads and different delay times for each head produces amazing ambience and just sounds good!

[dullsilver_mike]

I use delay fairly often when playing with other instruments that are a mile away from my tonal territory on bass. If I'm in a rock ensemble, it's really hard to use, If other folks are going all acoustic or playing high up on synths, etc.( and the drums are sparse) I can crank up some long delay about half the volume of my dry signal and let it fill up all that sonic space. The sensibility of bass effects on top of acoustic music probably seems really strange to most, but it fills things up in the nicest way.

If there are electric guitars around I still get away with a few of the things mentioned in this thread: 1)tapping delay to a quarter note beat, and 2)using slapback, but more quietly than you usually would on a guitar. The DD-6 I use also has a "hold" function where every sound just starts piling up and the volume ramps up into chaos in a matter of seconds. It's a great way to end an over-the-top swell right before a dynamic shift into a quiet part of a song.

I'm also with the philosophy: if it's affordable, go ahead and buy an effect and see what you can do with it. You don't have to have a specific sound in mind before buying. I don't think such purchases really lead people down the path of "forcing in novelty sounds that don't fit" or "hiding behind effects they don't need." No doubt people do those things, but not because they bought a pedal before knowing what to do with it.