While I’m still pontificating about Looper-As-Delay, I should toss in repeats – feedback – regeneration. As with all of the presets above, there will be no ‘loop aging’ with DECAY at 0. Down to one repeat with the DECAY at 100.
You’ll probably want dial it between 50 and 90+, to emulate a delay line with feedback. But that’s going to depend on how long your ‘delay time’ (MAX-LENGTH initial recording) is fixed at.
The DECAY parameter acts over the dubbing audio, not the initial [REC]. So, there’s a little setup involved to coax it into delay line territory. In the presets below, here are the general rules:
- Momentarily tap the left footswitch once [REC], to ‘establish’ the MAX-LENGTH delay time.
- The initial [REC] can be silent. Let it run the MAX-LENGTH time, or tap again quickly for a shorter delay time.
- At this point, change the RESOLUTION from the default OCTAVES, if desired.
- Tap twice on the left footswitch to get past [PLAY], and into [DUB]. The DECAY setting becomes active.
The advantages over a standard delay line lie in the controlled pitch shifts, changing delay times, reverse delays, … Or, it can be more pitch-y & glitch-y than anything you’ve ever plugged into.
Start out with a 1 second delay, some FILTER darkening, and about 4-5 DECAYing repeats. Establish the initial [REC] time, switch RESOLUTION to CHROMATIC, then double-tap when you’re ready for the delay line to kick in.
Expression Pedal Heel: REC-SPEED 1x (PLAYSPEED 100) DECAY 85
Expression Pedal Toe: REC-SPEED 1/4x (PLAY-SPEED 25) DECAY 100
Moving the expression pedal towards Toe will bend pitch down chromatically (and sometimes, back up again). Any static position downward effectively lengthens the delay time. Reversing the expression pedal bends pitch upward. All pitch changes are reflected in the repeated DECAY, which lands at a single repeat at the Toe.
