Tape delay
A delay produced by recording the signal onto a moving magnetic tape and playing it back a moment later with a separate head.
The spacing between the record head and the playback head sets the delay time, while the tape speed sets the pitch and character of the repeats. Because the tape mechanism is mechanical, the echoes drift slightly in pitch, high frequencies are lost with each pass and the repeats darken as they fade, which is exactly the warmth and imperfection that digital emulations spend their effort reproducing. The first delays were entirely mechanical units, and the sound became a defining element of rock guitar in the fifties and sixties.
Example: A solo whose repeats get progressively darker and slightly warped as they fade away is using tape delay.
See also
Related
- PageDelay
- PageAnalogue delay
- PageSlapback delay
- Page18-volt operation
- PageAuto-wah
- PageBarrel plug
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley