Yes, this actually worked.

Delay, or echo (as it should be called) is the repeating of sound. It is the sound when you yell into a canyon and you hear your voice back at you because it reflects off of the rocks. No canyons around? Well, you can simulate this sound with a delay pedal. But it is usually capable of a whole lot more.

First, I must say that delay pedals have come a long way since the tape driven devices of the 60’s and 70’s. While there are those that can’t get that warm, mushy sound from anything else and still drag around an expensive and fragile tape delay, the rest of us have reverted to compact pedals or multi-effects.

The Line6 POD HD500 models vintage delays. This is what I used for my examples.

These days, pedals can do things that magnetic tape running over multiple play heads could never do. Remember yelling into that canyon? Well, those repeats don’t sound exactly like the original sound. They are quieter, and sound duller than the original sound. If you want more echo, you’d better get a bigger canyon, right? Many current delay pedals can alter the sound of the repeats even further, and this is what we will get into in this article.
Delay as Chorus

The Deluxe Memory Man is renown for the warm analog modulated delays it produces.

If you own a delay pedal with modulation (made famous by an Electro Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man) then you also own a chorus pedal. Remember, chorus takes a sound and modulates (changes) it by speeding up and slowing down the echo, which changes the pitch. When mixed with the original, non-shifted sound, you get chorus. Remember, the chorus only affects the repeats, so you must mix it with the original signal to get the chorus sound. So you can set your delay to a modulated chorus, delay time at 0, mix on 5, feedback (number of repeats) on 0. Great sounding chorus that doesn’t get muddy!

Delay as Looper
Delay is one of my favorite effects, as I started experimenting with a reel-to-reel tape recorder I hooked up wrong when I was 13. Not knowing of pioneers of guitar-based looping like Robert Fripp and Brian Eno at the time, I sent the input into the output and created a loop of sound that repeated, got louder and saturated the tape. Later, I learned of what they called Frippertronics where a Les Paul, fuzzbox and volume pedal were plugged into 2 reel-to-reel tape recorders and produced the albums No Pussyfooting and Let the Power Fall.

A diagram of Robert Fripp & Brian Eno’s original tape loop system, called ‘Frippertronics.’

Today, to get this sound, you need long delay times. I love about 5-7 seconds, but most pedals don’t go that high. This example is about 3 seconds of echo. I chose a tape delay setting which cuts lows and highs, and adds a slight saturation on the repeats. I put mix on 4, and feedback just short of all the way up. If your delay pedal will continue to repeat while it is off, you can turn it off while it is repeating and solo over it. Old playing gradually fades away (since feedback is just short of all the way up), so you can turn the loop back on and add to it. I’d much rather play with something like this than standard sample-based looping pedals available these days.

Delay as Spaceship
This one is fun, and great for the end of a song. Delay time at 8, Mix on 5, and Feedback on 8. When you hear an echo, twist the delay time knob up and down. Instant space sounds! Or short wave radio. Or possessed Whammy pedal. Now this only works on analog delays as well as digital delays that model analog technology. Some delay pedal builders have intentionally muted this sound, thinking that it isn’t musical. Fools!

Delay as Slight Overdrive
This one I was able to do on my PodHD 500 that has a setting called ‘Tube Echo’. This adds slight distortion to the echoes only. So, with delay time at 0, mix at 10, and feedback at 0, all I am hearing is a single repeat but no unaffected signal. Instant trashy overdrive!

Delay as Steel Drum?
I use an analog-style delay, with a very short delay time, and feedback almost all the way up. Mix is on 5, and what we end up with is a very metallic sound effect (almost like a ring modulator) which will certainly annoy most people around you. Very rock & roll.

Manipulating Feedback and Mix in Real Time

On a delay, the more control, the better. Tap tempo and expression pedal control are essential for teaching the sound who’s boss.

The Seymour Duncan Deja Vu Tap Delay has a jack in the back which allows connection of an expression pedal. This can allow real time adjustment of the number of repeats. You can connect another expression pedal to adjust the wet/dry mix, all in real time. Rarely do I set and forget my delay, so these connections for control while I am playing is essential to use the delay as an instrument itself.
I love using pedals in different ways than they were intended. This started when I was very young, and got pedals very infrequently. If it had 2 knobs on it, boy, I used those 2 knobs! I knew everything about that pedal, including using it in ways the designers never really thought of.
Now, I haven’t even gotten to syncing delays to the tempo, like The Edge, or reverse delays like Led Zeppelin used. What creative ways have you used effects pedals in ways they weren’t intended? What cool sounds inspired you to experiment?