Re: (re)-discovering your gear that sits on your board (boss slicer)

[Dustbunnies <mech@m3ch.net>]

On 1/2/11 6:06 PM, "Rick Walker" <looppool@cruzio.com> wrote:
> On 7/22/64 11:59 AM, Dustbunnies wrote:
>>
>> Yep, like the DD-20, this one is a sleeper.  There are some very cool
>> things that you can get it to do, with a little advanced thought.
>
> Would you be into resinging those praises,  Duke.
> I've never used a dedicated digital delay stomp box pedal but
> I'm suddenly really hankering to learn how to do that.
> I've heard people talk about the coolness of the DD-20 but never really
> known what hip alternative things it can do.

Sure, although it's been a while since I've had easy access to mine 
(sitting
in a storage locker back in the US with most of my gear -- don't ask. :P ).
I'm sure that some of the others who play with theirs on a regular basis 
can
pop in to help too.

First, the basic modes.  The 'Sound On Sound' preset is crap.  I've rarely
been able to get a useable loop out of it, FWIW.  But all the other modes
are at least moderately interesting.  There's 'Tape', 'Analog', 'Standard',
'Pan (Ping Pong)', 'Dual', 'Smooth', 'Modulate', 'Reverse', 'Warp', and
'Twist'.  Some, like Twist (which emulates runaway feedback), are merely
special effects.  Most can be used in a variety of situations and sound
good.  Stir and season to taste.

Best thing about it is that you can save five basic presets -- you can save
your choice of basic settings (like delay time) and modes into any of these
-- as well as a 'manual' mode that merely reads the knobs.  These presets
cycle from first to last, so no random access, but the last preset selected
will continue playing after you select the next preset (sort of like 
'tails'
mode in Line6-speak).  So, for instance, you could set up a quarter-note
based loop with 100% feedback at one tempo on preset one, then have a
triplet-based mode at a different tempo on preset two.  Whatever you've
played into preset one will continue as you work and manipulate preset two.
When you switch to preset three, the data in preset one's buffer will
disappear, but whatever is still playing from preset two will continue, and
so on and so forth.

Now, the settings for each preset don't have to be related, so it's really
darn easy to set up loops which have different (or no) temporal
relationships to each other.  Makes it really good for setting up ambient
loops that beat against each other.

Next, you can use 'Pan', or Ping-Pong, mode and the 'null plug' trick to
double the DD-20's available time from 23 seconds to 46 seconds, if you're
willing to work in mono.  Just remember to push an unterminated plug into
output A.  The audio will first sound through that output (which goes
noplace) then through output B after an additional 23 seconds, thus 
doubling
the total available delay time.  (BTW, credit for that one goes to Coyote,
who first posted about it here.)

Additionally, the DD-20's have remarkably tiny build tolerances, meaning
that any two units are extremely similar to each other.  So similar that,
even though there's no means to actually sync two DD-20's, you can loop the
same note on two units using identical settings and they won't go out of
sync, at least not for hours.  Their clocks are amazingly stable, so it's
possible to use two units in tandem without worrying about true
synchronization -- thus allowing the possibility of four (or even more)
synchronized/unsynchronized loops.

And you can get some bizarre distortions out of the DD-20 by changing the
tempo/delay time of a running loop, then changing it back.  Experiment and
have some fun with that one.

Also, there's a jack in the back for another control pedal.  This pedal can
be set to accomplish a few different functions.  IIRC, I was able to have a
bit of fun by setting it to "Effect On/Off", then using an FS-5U
(unlatching) pedal.  Since turning it on & off really only determines
whether sound is being fed into the data buffer, you can use the FS-5U to
feed audio in only when depressed.  Thus, you can play a legato line, but
have a stuttered pattern of echoes looped from it.

That's a few I remember.  Perhaps Rainer or Ted or Sjaak (amongst others)
have more to add on the subject.

> and sorry for asking so much from you.   Your posts have just really lit
> a fire under
> me today on this first day of 2011.
> 
> Great way to start.  Thanks for your creativity.

No problem.  Thanks for the complement.  Glad I could make a little impact
at the very least.  :)

        --m.