Where to put the digital delay??

AmazinAzian12 · #1 05-30-2008, 11:42 PM

Hey guys. just got a DD-3. its a great pedal but i dont know where to put it in my chain.

its a simple chain. just DS-1 to a BAd horsie 2 to my amp. where should i put the delay?? first, in the middle or after the wah??

one extra thing. how does steve vai get that hold effect in I know you're here from the G3 in denver dvd. i cant seem to figure out how to use the hold switch. i thought you hold down the pedal, play ur bit, and then once you lift your foot, it would play it over and over till you pressed the pedal again.

well i hold the switch down, play, let go and then silence??! am i doing it wrong??

thanks guys

Wild_Child · #2 05-30-2008, 11:51 PM

In the FX loop. It never, ever sounds good straight into the amp. Or at least I've never got good results that way.

For the hold function you just have to set it to hold, play a short phrase then hold the pedal down. It's practically useless unless you have the time dial somewhere near the maximum, but can be useful for DIY modulation effects by holding down the pedal then twisting the time dial at the same time. Hours of fun.

axemanrio · #3 05-31-2008, 05:45 AM

Wrong post

waylay00 · #4 05-31-2008, 02:19 PM

There are no rules to pedal arrangement, as all arrangements sound different. HOWEVER, most people put the delay last in the chain, or in the effects loop.

I disagree with Wild_Child about delays not sounding good before the amp. They can sound just as good in front as they do in the effects loop. Once again, it's a different sound. If you want a very clear, digital, precise sounding delay, stick it in the effects loop. If you want a bit more "dirtier" sounding delay (as in, affected by preamp gain), stick it before the amp.

Also, if I were you, I would place the DS-1 AFTER the Bad Horsie wah. Most people (including Vai, whose sound I assume you're trying to get close to) don't put distortions/overdrives before wahs. Has it been done before? Sure. But 90% of players stick them after wahs.

EDIT: This would be a good read for you:

http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/fx-order.htm

AmazinAzian12 · #5 05-31-2008, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waylay00

There are no rules to pedal arrangement, as all arrangements sound different. HOWEVER, most people put the delay last in the chain, or in the effects loop.

I disagree with Wild_Child about delays not sounding good before the amp. They can sound just as good in front as they do in the effects loop. Once again, it's a different sound. If you want a very clear, digital, precise sounding delay, stick it in the effects loop. If you want a bit more "dirtier" sounding delay (as in, affected by preamp gain), stick it before the amp.

Also, if I were you, I would place the DS-1 AFTER the Bad Horsie wah. Most people (including Vai, whose sound I assume you're trying to get close to) don't put distortions/overdrives before wahs. Has it been done before? Sure. But 90% of players stick them after wahs.

EDIT: This would be a good read for you:

http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~gmarts/fx-order.htm

thanks dude. im gonna try that now.

AmazinAzian12 · #6 06-02-2008, 07:35 PM

ok, well i put the delay at the end of my chain. the delay sounds pretty good but my wah sounds horrible. so i put my delay in the middle and that seems to be the best spot for it as of now.

then later today i tried the effects loop thing. i put just the delay on the effects loops since the last time i tried all my effects through the loop, it sounded like total crud. so i connect the send and return to the right inputs and outputs, then play a lick, and im like WOOWWEE!!!!!. it sounds really effin good. like steve vai good.

but there is one thing with the effects look solution. i get a buzz sound, almost sounds like if you take a 1/4" and touch it to a piece of metal. like when one ends connected to the amp and the other is just free. its not too loud. like once i play, its completely drowned out. but i shouldnt be experiencing any of this. should I??

any help would be much appreciated.

Edit: im thinking of upgrading to a dd-7 since its only like 20$ more. and i just had my birthday so i have that much to upgrade. should i? whats the difference other than that it has a reverse delay??

AmazinAzian12 · #7 06-02-2008, 10:58 PM

anybody?? not tryin to sound desperate. but cmon guys. be helpful to me for once.

axemanrio · #8 06-03-2008, 04:50 AM

The buzz/hum could be originating from any drive or compressor pedal too. I'm guessing you don't have a noise gate/suppressor in your signal chain. If you do, try placing it before or after your drive pedals to see where it works best (you can also experiment with it in your effects loop).

Re the DD-7, it is a brilliant pedal... if I was ever buying a Boss Delay, it would have been the DD-7. It's got a 40-second loop feature which I find helpful for practicing, and it's got a new modulated delay feature, which the DD-6 was missing. Reverse delay was already built into the DD-6, but the DD-7 has a new analog feature which sounds pretty nice!

AmazinAzian12 · #9 06-03-2008, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by axemanrio

The buzz/hum could be originating from any drive or compressor pedal too. I'm guessing you don't have a noise gate/suppressor in your signal chain. If you do, try placing it before or after your drive pedals to see where it works best (you can also experiment with it in your effects loop).

Re the DD-7, it is a brilliant pedal... if I was ever buying a Boss Delay, it would have been the DD-7. It's got a 40-second loop feature which I find helpful for practicing, and it's got a new modulated delay feature, which the DD-6 was missing. Reverse delay was already built into the DD-6, but the DD-7 has a new analog feature which sounds pretty nice!

thanks. i see. yea, im probably going to get the dd-7 then. i need that loop feature. it would complete my need for effects.

axemanrio · #10 06-03-2008, 06:50 PM

You can't use the loop feature and delay simultaneously though, but I guess you know that. You might want to check out the RC-2 if you need serious looping.

AmazinAzian12 · #11 06-03-2008, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by axemanrio

You can't use the loop feature and delay simultaneously though, but I guess you know that. You might want to check out the RC-2 if you need serious looping.

yea, i thought that the dd-3 had that. but i guess the hold feature on the dd-3 was just basically playing something and then immediatly pressing down. and what really sucks is that once you take ur foot off, it stops. thats not what i was looking for. so im gonna go today and exchange for a dd-7. i just watched a video on it and i really want it.

AmazinAzian12 · #12 06-03-2008, 10:17 PM

ok i got the dd-7 and i have to say. it is awesome. but i have the same problem(not mentioned before becuase i can live with it but it still bugs me). i wanted that effect to play the echo song by paul gilbert. like when i put the delay in my chain to go direct to the amp, i can get the echo sound effect. a clean delay. but when i go through the send return of my fx loop, the delay gets very muddy and it picks up everything. like not just notes, it pickes up picking and makes it sound so bad. it was real clean when it was direct, now its muddy. i can learn to live with it, but i dont want to have to keep going back and forth to play that one song.