Reverb or delay?

[Alexander Stepanenko]

Interestingly, the more you like while playing at a concert, Reverb or delay?
I know there are supporters of only the reverb unit and as soon as the delay.
Although many people use the one and the other.
It seems to me that with the delay steel sounds more modern, more voluminous,
juicy. And to play at a concert easier with delay - a more comfortable sound on the stage.
Although probably the Hawaiian songs sounded better on reverb.But I think the delay they will be more accessible for not prepared modern listener)

sorry for machine translation

[James Hartman]

The answer to this question will depend on your goal. Are you trying to recreate the recorded sound of a particular style, era, or player? Are you trying to compensate for an acoustically “dead” room with a touch of natural sounding echo? Are you seeking an “unnatural” special effect?

I use both, individually or together; or neither. Depends on the particular music I’m playing, the venue, the size of the band.

Which leads to another question: which reverb or delay unit to choose? There’s a big difference between a cheap digital pedal and a tube-driven spring reverb or tape echo. For that matter, there’s a big difference between cheap and high-end digital fx. The best of the current generation of digital reverb and delay fx sound quite good.

[Rob Anderlik]

I like to use both...

I find that a mix of both usually gives me the best results.

[chris ivey]

alexander...i usually just use delay. it sounds cleaner, prettier and less washed-out than using lots of reverb also.
i discovered this when my amp reverbs stopped working. i don't bother to fix the reverbs now cause it's not necessary. and it's been that way for many years and many gigs now.
the delay i use is an older stomp box ibanez DML10...it just sounds right to my ear.

[Alexander Stepanenko]

[quote="chris ivey"]alexander...i usually just use delay. it sounds cleaner, prettier and less washed-out than using lots of reverb also.

I also think that a delay of more than understandable. But there is one not convenience-this rate of speed delay. Each song is a different pace.

[Mike Neer]

I don't care for delay on steel unless it is for an effect. In my opinion, a little dab of reverb goes a long way.

[Clete Ritta]

I use both sparingly but I prefer delay for the reason chris mentions. Enclosed rooms have their own reverb anyway, so adding to it isnt always necessary. On outdoor stages however, where there are no audible reflections, adding reverb is much more useful.

Clete

[Alexander Stepanenko]

Enclosed rooms have their own reverb anyway, so adding to it isnt always necessary. On outdoor stages however, where there are no audible reflections, adding reverb is much more useful.

Thanks Сlete.

[David Matzenik]

At first I wanted to say I don't like delay, but maybe that is because I have not found a use for it yet.

[Twayn Williams]

I use a bit of amp reverb if the room is really dead, but otherwise, I kept it off. Delay is an effect and I only use it as such.

[Karl Fehrenbach]

There sure are a lot of differing opinions on this. It really is more as to what suits your taste and style of music. For just solo playing, I prefer a bit of reverb, just enough to fatten the tone. However, I play in a band that does some rockabilly numbers, and so for those songs delay is much more appropriate for the genre, and delay, (slapback), works nicely with the steel guitar, especially while chord comping for backup.

[Erv Niehaus]

I like to play with both reverb and delay.
On the delay, I set it with just one short repeat.

[Mike Neer]

Don Rooke sent me an mp3 of a new guitar he's been
playing, and he has one of the new Eventide Space pedals
and the reverb was absolutely luscious on it,
like nothing I've heard before.
Again, it depends on the context of the music.
I agree slapback can be cool and also, I've
been using that dotted eighth note delay
thing like Albert Lee and Buddy Emmons since around 1980,
so I'm also a fan of that. But I don't enjoy always hearing delay repeats as part of a sound.

[Jon A. Ross]

A little amp reverb is just part of so many great player's sound, and generally part of mine, too. Delay (echo) can be an interesting effect, judiciously applied, but I cannot stand listening to a player who does not know enough to turn it off. So many folks seem to like their sound processed to death. If the player is good and they know how to produce "good tone", all of that extra crap is just "extra crap". More often than not, excessive processing seems to be a crutch for many. Anytime I encounter a player who deems it necessary to "step on all their pedals" every time they play, I run fast, in the opposite direction.

[James Hartman]

... I agree slapback can be cool and also, I've
been using that dotted eighth note delay
thing like Albert Lee and Buddy Emmons since around 1980, so I'm also a fan of that. But I don't enjoy always hearing delay repeats as part of a sound.

A little amp reverb is just part of so many great player's sound, and generally part of mine, too. Delay (echo) can be an interesting effect, judiciously applied, but I cannot stand listening to a player who does not know enough to turn it off. So many folks seem to like their sound processed to death. If the player is good and they know how to produce "good tone", all of that extra crap is just "extra crap". More often than not, excessive processing seems to be a crutch for many. Anytime I encounter a player who deems it necessary to "step on all their pedals" every time they play, I run fast, in the opposite direction.

Good points here. While a touch of reverb as a constant in some players' sound is fine, many overuse this, or delay, or other effects. Brings to mind all those '80s jazz guitarists who'd never turn off the damned chorus pedal - some great players I can hardly stand to listen to simply because the chorus sound becomes fatiguing.

Use a bit of discretion.

[Clete Ritta]

Many focus on the differences but not the similarities of reverbs and delays. A very short multiple slap back delay is in essence very similar to a small room reverb. This is prevalent in many older records on vocals and guitars for that rockabilly sound. A reverb capable of adjusting pre-delay time can also be used effectively as a short delay.

A long Reverb "tail" is really many delays (near infinite echos if you will), that blend into what amounts to a decaying tone of whatever frequencies are present in the area.

Echos (a report of a sound off a distant reflector) can be found outdoors (canyon) and indoors (large hall) naturally. The difference is that in the canyon, you hear a lot of the delay, little reverb, in the hall you hear a lot of reverb and little delay.

The short echo is where reverb and delay meet. In a very small highly reflective enclosure they are essentially the same.

Clete