TF Maximum Feedback setting not really “self-oscillating”

[digitalzombie]

Hi all. I set up my Time Factor with an aux switch and an expression pedal because I wanted to do some self-oscillation tricks during songs, but through all the delay types with the feedback set to max (110) I can’t really get it to sound like more than infinite repeats. The closest I can get is using the Vintage setting, but even with a short delay (for example: 1/16th note repeats at 140bpm) the volume only gets so loud and never really sounds that crazy, and takes quite a while to get there as it is. Is this not something the pedal is capable of? Are there some settings that I should or shouldn’t have turned on?

[nickrose]

Sorry – we had to limit the feedback, otherwise some people would blow up their speakers and blame us. We hate those lawyer letters ..

 

[digitalzombie]

Is this a serious answer?

[gkellum]

digitalzombie wrote:

Is this a serious answer?

I think Nick might have answered your question with a somewhat flippant tone, but feedback is quite dangerous and can cause real monetary damage to people's equipment and ears.  It's tricky to push things to the limit but not cross it.

Incidentally, I experimented a while back with playing things on a keyboard out speakers, re-recording them with a mic, processing the signal with a plugin and sending the signal back out the speakers.  I fried two A/D converters that way…

[digitalzombie]

Perhaps I wasn’t clear, but I wasn’t referring to feedback like that (that sounds kind of like a feedback loop), but the “feedback” knob on the Time Factor, as in the number of repeats and getting it to run away into self-oscillation. That’s what I’m having trouble with. I know that it gets loud, but there are lots of delay options out there that do this and I would be shocked if they were getting sued left and right.

 

Is that what you were responding to? Because it sounds like you think I’m asking something else.

[wedelich]

digitalzombie wrote:

Hi all. I set up my Time Factor with an aux switch and an expression pedal because I wanted to do some self-oscillation tricks during songs, but through all the delay types with the feedback set to max (110) I can't really get it to sound like more than infinite repeats. The closest I can get is using the Vintage setting, but even with a short delay (for example: 1/16th note repeats at 140bpm) the volume only gets so loud and never really sounds that crazy, and takes quite a while to get there as it is. Is this not something the pedal is capable of? Are there some settings that I should or shouldn't have turned on?

It's totally possible to get self-oscillation.  All the filters / bit crushers (Vintage DDL) / modulation etc are usually in the feedback path, and these types of things generally cause a loss of energy. In fact, that's why we allow the feedback up to 110 to make up for that loss. BUT… in general you'll probably want to turn these things down (less filtering, less moduation, largest bit depth) to get to self-oscillation. 

Also, I think your delay times are a bit large for this trick. 1/16th notes are much too long (unless the BPM is like 500).  You'll need to put the box in non-tempo mode and get down to the sub 20 ms range.  A lot of delays have high-Q self oscillating filters (like Moog analog delays), so you get that pingy sound with longer delays, but that's the filter oscillating, not the delay.  We don't have oscillating filters in the TF (nor do we claim to, closest is in the FilterPong alg I believe).    

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