Analog vs digital delay

[Revelation Sound]

I was wondering what are the advantages of analog delays over digital. I can only think mostly of advantages of digital delay.

Digital advantages:
1. Two input jacks and output jacks for stereo
2. Fuller sound
3. Ability to ping pong the delay
4. Cleaner delays
5. Longer delays
6. Tap pedal
7. Saved settings
8. Multiple types of delay to choose from including lo DI and analog.
9. Stereo delays fill a song better.

Analog advantage:
1. Their pedals are generally cheaper
2. They proved a warmer delay.

[PFDarkside]

Re: Analog vs digital delay

Sound/tone. Some prefer analog, some prefer pristine digital, some prefer grungy digital, some prefer digital that models/emulates tape or analog.

For example, most of the time I don't want cleaner delays. I like the degradation of repeats. But sometimes I want a pristine repeat. So just choose the tool for the job. And of course there are bright and dark digital delays and bright and dark analog delays.

[Mincer]

Re: Analog vs digital delay

Generally, most digital delays allow more real-time control over parameters when playing live. Like controlling feedback and volume at once. You can also build a lot more parameters into a digital delay. I love the fact I can get 20 seconds going as a loop.

[baritone]

Re: Analog vs digital delay

I always prefer digital: the flawless repeat sounds & longer delay times are things I need for my sound.

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

Re: Analog vs digital delay

I always prefer digital: the flawless repeat sounds & longer delay times are things I need for my sound.

Same here.

[some_dude]

Re: Analog vs digital delay

I tend to use digital because they usually have more headroom and thus work better in an effects loop.

[devastone]

Re: Analog vs digital delay

The Boss DDs have limited headroom and get angry when fed line levels in a hot loop. It doesn't hurt them, it's just ugly, signal limiting distortion, on or off.

But, yes, most other digital delays can handle line or instrument levels fine.

Analog is great when you need a warm delay, definitely works nicer in front of an amp.

[DinoTrousers]

Re: Analog vs digital delay

What it comes down to is sound. Neither is better than the other, but some people are looking for that specific sound. It's like if you were to list the advantages of a solid state modeling amplifier vs a tube amp, the modeling amp would have way more advantages (options, programmable, weight, cost, etc.), but some people really prefer the sound of a tube amp.

That said some things on your list are fairly subjective and/or depend on the specific pedals. For the most part I find digital less full sounding than analog. And some analog pedals have tap-tempo (such as the Ibanez Echo Shifter).

Different tools for different things. One of my boards has an analog delay because the sound is exactly what I'm looking for in that band. My more versatile board has a digital delay (Alter Ego x4, so it still sounds pretty analog in the settings I use, but that's what I like).

[Falloffthebonetone]

Re: Analog vs digital delay

Definitely easier to get an digital to sound like an analog than vice versa.

[Demanic]

Re: Analog vs digital delay

The Boss DDs have limited headroom and get angry when fed line levels in a hot loop. It doesn't hurt them, it's just ugly, signal limiting distortion, on or off.

But, yes, most other digital delays can handle line or instrument levels fine.

Analog is great when you need a warm delay, definitely works nicer in front of an amp.

Do they work any better in a loop that has a -6db pad available?

Sent from my MotoE2(4G-LTE) using Tapatalk

[devastone]

Re: Analog vs digital delay

That will help, depends on where the loop is in the circuit and how loud you are running it. A lot of loops are post MV.

From http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/linelevel.shtml

"+4 dBu is "professional" line level, common in modern pro recording gear, and it is about 1.25 V.
0 dBv is an average line level, typical output from rackmount guitar/bass preamps.
-10 dBv is "consumer" line level, common with older and cheaper recording gear.
-20 dBu is roughly in the neighborhood of a typical instrument's output.
-30 dBu is again in the neighborhood of a typical microphone or DI box's output.
However, instruments and microphones can have a very wide range of output levels in reality, so it is most practical to think of instrument-level and mic-level in/outputs as just "a lot lower than line level", rather than calculating specific dB amounts."

[Demanic]

Re: Analog vs digital delay

Just checked. My Carvin has a -10, 0, +10 switch on the loop.

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[Revelation Sound]

Re: Analog vs digital delay

My guitar style is like Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton. In doing some more research the analog bucket delay is what they have used and continue to use. So this Vapor Trails delay appears to be one of the best choices for me. It certainly sounds great

[Southbound Suarez]

Re: Analog vs digital delay

I believe that I would prefer any pedal to be analog as opposed to digital. Tom Scholz would say it's the "digital artifacts" that drive him nuts. YET, here I am using a Boss DD-2 in the effects loop of my THD Bivalve, and it works quite well. Many claim that the DD-2 provides a clear yet warm tone due to the custom IC chip that was originally utilized in the Roland SDE-3000 (favored by Steve Vai) and later used in the DD-2 pedal.

[Southbound Suarez]

Re: Analog vs digital delay

I like the feedback that you can get when using an analog delay with bucket brigade technology. My friend has an old Maxxon analog delay that does this.