Most audio effects processors include a simple delay.
Often, that effect gets overlooked because we typically reach for the plates, halls and other reverbs first.
However, if you have the capability, adding some delay can create some very cool effects.
For this post, I will contain the suggestions to vocals only. Guitarists often add tap delays themselves, and putting some tap delay on drums can be really cool (when done well).
But those will remain out of scope for the time being (play with those on your own).
There are tons of uses for delay; I will focus on two today—thickening and echo.
Fatten it Up
Sometimes getting a vocal to sit right in the mix can be tough. Turning it up doesn’t always help, and after you’ve applied some compression, EQ and perhaps even parallel compression, you may still want to round out the vocal sound a bit.
This short delay has two audible effects.
First, it makes it easier to hear the vocal (a very neat psycho-acoustical trick). Second, it can really round out a reverb sound. I typically combine the short delay with a reverb (I’m back to plates at the moment) and blend the two effects together into one.
The delays on the DiGiCo SD8 digital console at our church have the ability to do feedback, which creates that “echo loop” sound, but I normally don’t use it. I like to keep it simple (and my room has enough flutter echo anyway).
Audible Echo
Sometimes, certain songs can benefit from an audible echo. For example, I really like using a quarter note tapped delay in Your Great Name on the chorus to create an effect on the repeats of “Jesus.”
I use this effect sparingly as it’s really easy to overdo. But having the words echo back after you sing them is a great way to reinforce what you’re singing.
To set the delay times, you can either use a bpm to msec calculator (or perhaps your effects unit or plug-in works in bpm), or tap it using the tap button.
Tap buttons will calculate the time between taps and set the delay to that. You simply tap on 1 & 3, or 1,2,3 & 4 or just on 1. Sometimes tapping on odd beats works too. Tapping every three beats on a 6/8 song often produces a cool effect.
I usually tap the faceplate when I’m not tapping the button to maintain proper timing. Typically it takes one or two measures to get it dialed in.