Analogue delay

A delay built from a bucket-brigade circuit rather than digital memory, producing warm, softly degrading repeats.

A bucket-brigade device passes the signal down a chain of tiny capacitors, one step per clock cycle, and the imperfection of that process is what shapes the sound: each repeat loses a little high end and gains a little noise, so long delays sound fuzzy and short ones sound almost clean. Delay time is set by the clock, and changing it while the effect is running bends the pitch of the repeats, which players exploit for a warping, tape-like swell. The circuits are inexpensive and characterful, which keeps them in demand.

Example: A delay whose repeats get noticeably murkier and noisier each time round is analogue rather than digital.

Analogue delay

See also