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Sonitus fx:delay
by Michael Nickolas
We sure have it easy these days. The first uses of delay effects required tape machines
and were done by mixing a tape delayed version of the original signal back into the song
(and you had to walk five miles uphill both ways in the snow to do it!). Shortly after this,
stand alone tape delay effect units came into existence. These were simply a box containing a
looping tape reel. Delay times were set by increasing or decreasing the distance between the
record and play back heads.
In the 1970’s analog delay was introduced, no tape involved. How this worked was the
incoming signal was split in two. One was sent directly to the output and one was held back by
passing it through a series of electronics. Unfortunately, this technique not only created a delayed
signal but added a lot of noise. Still, they became popular being much smaller and easier to maintain
than their tape predecessors.
Fast forward to the 1980’s when the first hardware digital delay
units were introduced. Digital delays use computer chips to accomplish
the delay. Essentially storing a copy of the original signal in memory
and releasing it after an interval of time.
So as I was saying, we have it easy these days. We simply can incorporate
the Sonitus Delay on an aux bus or as a track insert, and voila, instant
delay!
The Sonitus Delay sports an orderly user interface incorporating distinctive
features. It is a stereo delay with a range of 0.1 to 4000 ms. Settings
for the left and right can be totally independent of each other. The
Sonitus Delay can automatically calculate it’s delay times based
on the tempo of your song! No more breaking out a calculator or running
a separate program to figure out how many milliseconds equal an eighth
note! There are even low/high filters available so you can do some basic
EQing on the repeats right from within the plug-in!
Here is an example of how to use the Sonitus Delay on a SONAR track
insert, have it automatically figure musical delay times and manually
EQ the repeats.
- Insert the Sonitus Delay onto the desired tracks effect bin.
- Click the reset button.
- Change the Tempo sync button from “Man” (manual) to “Host”.
- Press play in SONAR and let the song run for a second. The Sonitus Delay will put the proper
tempo in to the BPM box and the left and right delay times will be set to equal a quarter note repeat
(meaning the original signal will be delayed exactly the length of a quarter note before being repeated).
- Set the left and right delay times as you wish by changing the Factor
for each. For example changing from a factor of 1 to a factor of ½ will
change the signal from repeating every quarter note to every eighth
note. The left and right delay factors can be set independently. Factors
ending in 3, 6 and 12 will generate triplet figures.
- Adjust the Feedback percentage to your liking. This is the setting that controls the amount of repeats
that happen before they fade out. If the Link button is enabled, dragging one channels feedback slider moves
the others simultaneously. The Feedback percentages can be adjusted independently by un-selecting link.
- Adjust the Mix percentage to your liking. This setting controls the volume of the repeats in comparison to
the original signal. Remember a little bit goes a long way when adding effects to a signal. I usually set the mix
of an effect (like delay or reverb) to where I think it sounds really good, then I back it off just a bit to be
sure I am not overdoing it.
Next, you may want to apply some EQ to the repeats. For example, a
popular production technique is to delay a vocal signal and thin out
the repeats a bit. This can be done using the Sonitus Delay’s low and high
filters. Drag the low frequency slider to the right and you will see
the Hz reading change in response. As you drag it, frequencies below the number being
display will be attenuated. The same is true for the high filter except
in reverse. As you drag left, frequencies above the number being displayed
will be attenuated. Changing the “Listen” setting from
Mix to Delay removes the original signal from the output allowing you
to concentrate on the sound of the repeats only. Figure 1 shows a setting
that gives a thin or “telephone” sounding type of EQ. Also
note the independent left and right delay times. The factor of ½ on
the left is giving eighth note repeats. The factor of ¼ on the
right is giving sixteenth note repeats.
Figure 1
Often times it is desirable to have a repeat happen only at certain
times, for example on a single word of a vocal performance instead of
on the entire performance. This can be accomplished in SONAR using the
Sonitus Delay and automation.
- In the tracks effect bin, right click on the Sonitus Delay and choose “Arm
Parameter”.
- Put a check mark next to “Mix L” and “Mix R”.
- Open the Sonitus Delay plug-in.
- Begin play back of the song by clicking on SONAR’s Transport “record automation” button.
- Adjust the Mix settings in real time, with 0% meaning no delayed signal present at the output.
When you’re done, you’ll see an automation envelope has
been created for the track. Fine tune this envelope to achieve exactly
the results you are looking for.
So don’t delay! (sorry, couldn’t help myself). Jump in and take advantage of all the great features this powerful plug-in has to offer!
Michael Nickolas is a guitarist and composer in Marlborough MA. Recent compositions have been used on CBS's "JAG" and ShowTime's "Soul Food". Visit him at www.studionineproductions.com. Email to michael@studionineproductions.com
Michael Nickolas is a guitarist and composer in Marlborough MA. Recent compositions have been used on ABC's "One Life to Live ". Visit him at www.studionineproductions.com. Email to michael@studionineproductions.com
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