# delay setting - slapback



## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...i usually use relative long delays but have recently (re)discovered the fun of slapback delays.

what are some of the more tradtional or standard settings?

i'm also curious to know if there is such a thing as a beats per minute/millisecond conversion chart.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Here ya go, bro.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...wow! thank you!!


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Thank Line 6, who provided it as part of the documentation of something I got from them.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...i'm still curious to know some typical slapback settings.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

nah, I'll thank you, Mark! I wouldn't have found this without you! That'll come in super-handy for recording!

@ David - I find for slap, exact #s don't always help. Slap doesn't really need to be as precise as something like a multi-tap ping-pong delay, or the kind of stuff that Edge or Brian May use. I kind just set the delay value at about 1/4 of the way up (for analog pedals with short delay times) and usually lower it from there till I reach a setting I like.


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

david henman said:


> ...i'm still curious to know some typical slapback settings.


What specific pedal are you asking about?

For my EHX DMM, the slap setting I use has the delay knob just slightly past 6 o'clock, but the DMM's knobs are weird.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...i use delays that have numeric values with led readouts. currently i have a tc electronics nova delay, and have it set for bpm, rather than milliseconds.

the reason i ask is because some settings will actually get in the way.

it could also be that i have the repeat coming back too loud.




hollowbody said:


> What specific pedal are you asking about?
> 
> For my EHX DMM, the slap setting I use has the delay knob just slightly past 6 o'clock, but the DMM's knobs are weird.


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

...does anyone know how to convert millisecond values into bpm?


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

david henman said:


> ...i use delays that have numeric values with led readouts. currently i have a tc electronics nova delay, and have it set for bpm, rather than milliseconds.


Ok, that makes sense. I should have figured.



david henman said:


> the reason i ask is because some settings will actually get in the way.
> 
> it could also be that i have the repeat coming back too loud.


Could be, but for slap, I prefer a repeat pretty much as loud as the original signal, or just slightly less loud. People generally quote 70-120ms or so for slap settings, though I find 70-80ms waaaay too quick to get an audible, thick slap. At that setting, it's more like a doubler. I guess it depends if you want a subtle doubling just to thicken up the sound or a distinct country/rockabilly slap. I usually go for the country/rockabilly option and I find right around 110ms or so is where I like mine for pretty much all songs.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

The blend, and optimal time, of a slapback delay will depend at least partly on the bandwidth of the technology one is using to generate the delay. We tend to set tape-delay as the benchmark for this sort of thing, forgetting that tape imposes certain tonal properties that allow for the slap-echo to be mixed in differently because of the manner in which the ear easily distinguishes it from the dry signal.


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## gtone (Nov 1, 2009)

David - you might find this article on delay interesting. While it's obviously specifically examining on how Edge uses delays in U2, it's a pretty good primer for understanding some basic principles of using a delay. There's a formula for calculating delay times, etc on there also. Hope it helps...

A Study of The Edge&rsquo;s Guitar Delay (U2)


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## david henman (Feb 3, 2006)

gtone said:


> David - you might find this article on delay interesting. While it's obviously specifically examining on how Edge uses delays in U2, it's a pretty good primer for understanding some basic principles of using a delay. There's a formula for calculating delay times, etc on there also. Hope it helps...A Study of The Edge&rsquo;s Guitar Delay (U2)



...yep, and huge thanks! i printed this off to study at home. tons of settings, ideas and bpm-ms (and vice versa) conversions.


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