Comments on Slap Back: Don't Delay

NICE-nice POST-post. Kevin is the MAN-man.

KEVIN-kevin,

If i can ask, which delays do you prefer? What types gear? I want to try this, do I have to have Pro-tools or some expensive plug in?

In my experience, slap Back echo works best when the delay or echo device you are using takes a bit of the top end off the repeats so as not to get too intermixed with the original signal, making it muddy. Tape echoes, like the echoplex or the space echo, are great for this because the tape will give the echo repeat tone a slightly duller sound in the treble response, and its certainly what they were using back in the day, as Kevin says. Analog, bucket-brigade delays work well too...the electro harmonix memory man is perfect for those John Lennon style vocals. You can make this work with a digital delay too in the studio, just make sure whatever aux channel send the delay is going into you've eq'ed that channel to take some of the high end off...it's not perfect but it's close...

Boy oh boy... Kevin and yourself offer a plethora of techniques and approaches to this. I have done much experimenting and application of delays over the years, and I had not really thought of taking the high-end out of the delay channel... very interesting that he considers that mentionable. I am going to record in Manhattan in two weeks with the sound guy at BB King's club, where I will try a mellow (not sharp)_slap delay.

1 & 2, I think the slap back would be more like KEVIN-n. We're talking milli here.

Milli Vanilli?

No, Milli Vanilli-i.

My own personal definition of "slapback" delay extends up to as much as 250-300ms, but Kevin is right on the money- it all depends on the tempo and style of the material you're using it on.
My fave for many years has been an old Lexicon PCM41 digital delay. About 185ms & 2 repeats and that's what put the Elvis in all of those amateur Elvis contests that we did at the Crocodile.