Tucker Jackson
From:
Portland, Oregon, USA
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Posted 1 Mar 2024 10:41 am |
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Well, everybody has their own taste... but this is what I use as a starting point as an 'always on' thing on the El Cap delay.
Switches set to "Fixed" and "Mode B"
Wow and Flutter turned to lowest (off, 7:00 O'clock). On steel, I don't like flutter added because it's the kind of thing I listen for to know whether my intonation is off with the band. I've got my own flutter goin' on there...
Repeats - 7:00 for 1 echo... variable up to 10:00 for 3 echoes, depending on how big I want the steel to be in the mix. And if you play ambient music, the sky is the limit.
Tape Age - 10:00. This knob is basically an EQ for the repeated notes. The setting I use here darkens up the repeats a little bit so they don't interfere with the original playing, so you can turn up the unit and have it do more of its thing without getting in the way and calling attention to itself.
Time - A couple of options.
One is to set it by ear so the first repeat is about about a third of a second (or slightly less) after the note. You can leave it set this way for everything you play as long as you keep the mix low enough.
The better option is to set the timing to match the tempo of each song you play. This is important in allowing you to turn up the unit, but not have the effect call attention to itself!
There are two ways to do this: you can either press the 'Tap' button twice in rhythm with the song. Or before the song you can turn the 'Time' knob while hitting the string to try to find your timing -- and hope it matches up when the band kicks in.  It doesn't have to be perfect to still sound acceptable.
Experiment to see if you want quarter notes (every beat, works well on faster tunes) or eighth notes (works well on slower songs). Your overall goal is to keep the repeats coming along pretty quickly regardless of a song's tempo -- otherwise things turn into a mess pretty quickly with really late repeats.
Mix - 10:00 as a starting point. This is basically your volume knob, and this setting makes the 1st repeat about half as loud as the original note. This will be fine tuned constantly for the song or band you're in. Note that whatever setting that sounds good when you're playing home alone will need to be turned waaay up when you get onstage and play with other instruments!
Tape Crinkle - 7:00 (off). On steel, I like the repeats degraded a little so they sound natural, but not to the extent that tape crinkle adds. This is set (invisibly) in 'secondary functions': hold down both buttons, and grab the 'Wow and Flutter' knob and turn it all the way to the left. Then release the buttons.
A couple of other thoughts on delay:
I usually add a little reverb with delay to 'connect' the repeats and make it sound more like natural reverberations bouncing around a big hall. But the more delay that's added, the less reverb that's needed because they're both trying to achieve the same goal of fattening up the sound.
On speed-picking things or really percussive parts, the delay should be off or it will interfere and undercut that perfect timing you're trying to lay down. |
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