|
Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Delay or not ... delay?
Delay or not ... delay?
Page:
1
Martin
1517 posts
Dec 28, 2018
4:28 PM
|
A couple of years back I bought a TC Electronic HOF reverb. With that, for me a somewhat pricey item, and a simpler Mooer delay, I thought my need for exploring the spacier sounds department would be satisfied: the TCE has several interesting and more "extreme" options; the Mooer was simply for some fattening up of the tone when I play blues and such.
No I see that TCE also has a "Flashback" delay with lots of potentially nice sounds; and I´ve also discovered that my Mooer pedal is a bit of a bother when you´re making adjustments on the fly ..., so despite the wreck that is my economy I´m tempted.
Here I see the fateful acronym that we all know raising its ugly head, and I´m thinking, "Maybe I should cut this in its infancy, before I´ve fallen?"
Still, I remember when I had a Boss delay (don´t know why I sold it) and how fun it was to tweak those knobs into Pink Floyd-land and elsewhere.
Anyone been in my situation (moderate GAS) and seen the need for extended delay options, outside of what I´ve already got -- and any familiarity with the TCE pedal in particular?
It should be said that I am not a blues player exclusively, and rather keen on fixing with sounds.
|
Thievin' Heathen
1095 posts
Dec 28, 2018
8:12 PM
|
So far, I have actually been able to resist the temptation of crystal elements and a pedal board. I've got a couple of each but I'm trying to save myself the heartache of dropping a $400 mic and the shock of looking down at my feet and seeing $1100 in pedals. Nothing from TC Electronics.
|
Littoral
1655 posts
Dec 28, 2018
8:22 PM
|
I use a Lone Wolf and a Carbon Copy - which does a heap of what you're talking about. Sparkling long delay and fun repeats. I'm doing a lot of Dead and other 60's stuff including Pink Floyd. Channeling Gilmore is hard to believe but the diatonic has it all.
But you do have to have a band that is pretty decent and listens.
|
indigo
540 posts
Dec 28, 2018
9:30 PM
|
@Thievin'Funny and too true.
Last Edited by indigo on Dec 28, 2018 9:38 PM
|
SuperBee
5695 posts
Dec 29, 2018
3:25 AM
|
This is probably not very relevant I’m sorry, Martin. I am playing almost exclusively blues from 50s/60s. About 10 years ago I bought a LW delay (v1) and LW harp octave; at that time I was playing in a loud folk/punk band and the octave pedal gave me some feedback protection as well as a paper-tearing attack which seemed good to me at the time.
I stuck with those 2 pedals a long time, still have them. Along the way I acquired a LW Harp Break and Harp Shield, neither of which I kept more than a month. Then a MXR uni vibe with which I persisted a little longer. I liked it in practice situations and garage jams but whenever I tried to use it in a gig I’d end up switching it off in disgust. Sold on.
I acquired a LW Reverb pedal. I always preferred real springs but I held onto the pedal and eventually found times to use it.
Then last year I picked up a Harp Attack and a Harp Tone plus.
The Attack is in my opinion a pedal worth having. I’ll keep it. The HT+ is not something I’d ever want to use with a good harp amp, but I’m keeping it for emergencies.
5 pedals is a lot of clutter and separate power supplies were a drag, so I got a multi-outlet PS and mounted the lot on a little Pedal board.
Now I have a board and bag ($160), power supply ($170-ish) 5 LW pedals at whatever the cost of those is (delay $245, octave $240, tone plus $240, Reverb $250, Attack $260) so a total of over $1500 to replace it all...I should point out those are Australian dollars and last I heard they are trading at 70 US cents, so around $1050 USD
Once I had put all that together in a fairly tidy and convenient package I was able to observe just how little call I have for any of those pedals beyond the 2 I started with.
|
6SN7
820 posts
Dec 29, 2018
5:39 AM
|
@ Martin, those HoF pedals are a pretty nice piece of kit and you should keep it and give it a try. I have seen that Steve West Wesson uses one, so its worth a try. The only pedal I have is a Boss DD2 from the early 80's. I enjoy using it, I set it a low level, nothing spacey, just add a little deminsion to my tone. good luck
|
Martin
1518 posts
Dec 29, 2018
8:04 AM
|
Thanks for advice!
@Thievin: My biggest fear is if I, or some other drunkard, should step brutally on my EHX Pog2, which -- although it´s something of a stomp box -- has a rather delicate appearance. Then the flags will be flown at half-staff here in Gothenburg ´cause that one was pretty expensive.
@Littoral: Th MRX things are costly, but I hope they´re worth it. Have never tried. The TCE Flashback is something ´round half the price -- but that is already a bit steep for me.
@Superbee: Thanks for having the audacity to indicate that some things, even if they are from LW, might not be worth having. As for me I sold my HA, didn´t like it for various reasons, but the HO they will have to wring out of my cold, dead hands! Still, like you I can make a lot of noise with just a feedback eliminator, my cheapo delay and small tube amp. But then we´re talking "blues noise". (Money-wise I´m still a bit of cheapskate compared to you: don´t think I´m even crossin the $700 line ...)
@6SN7: Oh, the HOF is staying, no doubt there. Excellent piece of gear. The question I´m deliberating is if I should resist the temptation of a more advanced delay. Like Littoral says above here, I´m also somewhat into the Gilmour sound ... -- which made me purchase a Boss RT20. But that´s another story.
My pedal set up is, if I´m really getting down to it: Boss RT, Pog2, LW HO, TCE HoF, Mooer Anaecho, Mooer Chorus + feedback eliminator and a "fuel tank". (Hm, perhaps I must check myself ...)
|
hvyj
3673 posts
Dec 29, 2018
8:19 AM
|
The HOF is an excellent reverb pedal.
Flashback is a very good delay, harp friendly and versatile. If you are using both the Flashback and the HOF, put the HOF AFTER the FB. Both are true bypass, which I like.The FB does not “saturate” the signal/tone, like an MXR Carbon Copy does. This can be good or bad, depending on your taste. BUT, it does mean that the FB is less prone to feed back. Very good delay pedal for harp. It does not have tap tempo, although you might be able to configure for tap tempo via tone print.
Last Edited by hvyj on Dec 29, 2018 8:51 AM
|
Martin
1519 posts
Dec 29, 2018
10:23 AM
|
Thanks hvyj. I think I might go down to the store and give it a shot. (First step in the process of surrendering to GAS.)
"Tap tempo", that was new to me. Still not sure I get it. Or is it what makes a guitar player like "The
Edge" (the guy who did *not* remove his ski cap at the recent Nobel dinner -- bad form!) musically possible? Or more advanced than so? (I´m an un-proud technophobe, remember.)
Nevertheless, the Flashback might still have it:
https://youtu.be/2xQPSotkIbY
|
hvyj
3674 posts
Dec 29, 2018
1:14 PM
|
Personally, tap tempo is irrelevant to how I use delay. If you set up for multiple repeats, some musicians place great importance upon having those repeats in time with the tempo of the tune they are playing. Like, The Edge, for example. A delay pedal that has a tap tempo control allows you to set the delay rate by tapping your foot on the foot switch button. BFD. Not important to me.
Last Edited by hvyj on Dec 29, 2018 1:17 PM
|
Post a Message
|
