Looping vs delay effects

[Neil Goldstein <ngold@teleport.com>]

This may have been discussed before, but I hear people mentioning things
like "if it had more delay, I wouldn't need a JamMan". IMHO, there is no
comparison between the delay you get on an effects unit, no matter how much
delay, and a dedicated looping device like JamMan or EchoPlex wherein the
player controls the loop start and stop point and *the material* that is
looped. There may be looping  occuring in the delay effect but it doesn't
have the flexibility for defining the *exact* loop one wants, esp regards
what should be recorded and what should pass the delay line. This can be
set up in patches or using real time control, but at some cost to
spontaneity, as each tempo or phrase length would demand a different tweak.

Though with that said, I love the happy "accidents" that happen playing
with crossfading delays in the Vortex and using midi controllers to change
feedback and delay time etc. in (my case) the Quadraverb 2.

This is said to hear what others have to say on this, more than my having a
strong opinion on the matter :-)





Neil
ngold@teleport.com
Portland, OR USA