(When) do you use any mono delay effects?

The Lounge General Discussion
#1

Hi,

I wonder whether mono delays have any application when it comes to synths and, naturally, beyond live situations.

For example, I sometimes like baking the delay effect with a recorded track, rather than add it later via plug-in - that’s because my delay pedal creates the sound I like. At the same time, I sometimes record a dry version of the track just in case the mixing engineer feels (s)he could do better. In this case, the baked version serves as an illustration.

However, baking the delay into a track is also a risk when it comes to stereo delay because it takes away some degrees of freedom as regards the stereo image. Would this be a potential use case for mono delays?

Another question. With analog bucket brigade delays, mono is often a consequence of budget, so why would you still want to use such a delay in your tracks, given its mono limitation, and for which type of synth sounds?

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#2

Delay is a time based effect. The primary function of delay is to repeat a sound which it has been tasked to process, a stereo delay does this within the scope of a L/R stereo image, allocating different amounts of “time” between left and right can add to the spacial feel, that is stereo delay, but it’s not 100% necessary to serve the purpose of time based repetition of sound.

Let’s just say, any time you don’t need a stereo delay, mono delay is perfectly applicable. You’re thinking about this in terms of mixing and mastering, not in terms of effects processing. While effects can be used in a mix to add width to a sound, there are other times when it’s just part of a sound. If you’re getting your tracks professionally mixed and mastered, it’s probably best not to bake effects into the sound but as you’ve stated - a reference can be the difference between getting back a mix you like and getting back a mix you aren’t satisfied with. That’s just a way of communicating your vision, the engineer mixing your track may very well have their own vision of how music should sound.

It’s an effect, there’s no rule that says synth A gets stereo delay, synth B gets mono delay. People will have their own opinions or uses, but this is like arguments people get into about the order of chorus delay and reverb in a pedal chain, technically there’s no wrong answer, there are predictable outcomes, but there’s no one correct use for delay (but please try and set your delay times to the bpm of your track if you like things to sound produced and not just the sound of effects).

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#3

If you’re creating a track in stereo, you need to manage the frequency and placement of synths accordingly. If you had a melody and a sizzling arpeggio for example, you may want the fast arpeggio spread out wide and the melody centered. If you delayed the melody wide, the delays would blend into the dense arpeggio and get lost. Instead you could delay in mono, keeping it centered with it’s own space.

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#4

@shigginpit and @Hlecktro dropping the FACTS.

I use the Korg monotron with Pocket Operators all the time.

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#5

Here are some other uses I have just found in my mixing notes.

According to the book Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio, “it’s with tonal and sustain processing of individual instruments where mono delays really come into their own, while blend and size delays tend to be most effective when you use a true stereo setup.”

So it appears that mono delays would be mainly used for creative purposes, including changing the color of the tone. With tonal purposes, I can imagine that baking in the delay would not matter so much. Another creative use of mono delay is to set unmatched / not-synced delay times.

Mono delay can also be used as a widening effect, by panning the dry track to one side and a single short enough echo (full wet) track to the other side. Ideally, one should “set as high a delay time as possible without the echo breaking away perceptually from the dry signal.”

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#6

I mostly use mono delays, that are “part” of mono tracks. Like leads or arpeggios. It’s easier to set on your stereo field too, instead of having every FX in stereo.

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#7

Any particular reason why?

#8

I love using mono delays.
I really like the sound of a mono delay into a stereo or dual delay, and I use that combination a lot.
Like @pumpkin_head said, I also use mono delay when I want the delay to be part of the sound instead of creating a space around it.

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#9

I think the moment you use it as part of your instrument instead of an effect (and your instrument is mono), mono is fine.
Take a look at those guitar riffs on early U2 albums (dunno what they do today), he uses a delay to generate notes that he cannot/does not want to play.
While you are able to sequence the notes and not use a delay, jamming with it directly can be really inspiring.

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#10

the edge usually uses 2 Korg SDD-3000 delay units with 2 amps which are positioned front to back at different distances from the same mic, he does the same thing on stage. On where the streets have no name he uses tc-2290’s with the same technique.

he also triggers it on and off within the same riffs to get that back and forth sound, it’s basically organic stereo delay that’s why it sounds crazy like that.

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#11

I would choose something like a beniDub or turn off “ping pong” to get a specific kind of delay as in lots of dub music.
Shooting for a specific vibe that gets lost when in stereo.

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#12

The form factor.

It crazy noisy, so it has loads of character.

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#13

I usually stick with mono but especially when using with bass sounds because I don’t want to muddy up the stereo field.
Lately it’s been the Minitaur through a Strymon Volante, which sounds epic.

In any case, never been a fan of the ping pong or other sorts of movement through the stereo field so I’m generally only using stereo delays for widening purposes.

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#14

Hmm bass and delay? I haven’t done that since the Amiga 500 Protracker days. Back then, you had to fake a delay by repeating notes with decaying volume. It worked pretty well given all the limitations.

Fully agree on the Strymon Volante, it’s a lovely and flexible delay with a great UI. I’ve never tried to use its mono sum mode though - maybe I should.

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#15

Retrigs are « Mono Delays », I use them a lot on Drums particularly.

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#16

I like the effect of ping pong with synths that have it baked in, like the Matriarch. Its just daring you to use it.

I agree though, it should be used with intention to maintain some semblance of stereo staging. But it can be lovely with an arp, dialed in so it really delays on itself in waves that cross over each other. I like to ramp it up to a break or a drop, where you then drop out everything but the kick and some really filtered bass i the next section.

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#17

Ping pong can be interesting and so can be polyrhythmic stereo delay. The only issue is that in a mix you have to use such ear candy sparingly.

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#18

Rather than mono-ising, I’ll often use a stereo delay so that something with a stereo component gets replicated on the delay. Most plug-ins seem to default to that behaviour anyhow, if you’re not selecting ping-pong. If the sound source is mono and not panned, effect is effectively the same anyhow.

E.g. a sound source with a stereo chorus applied - stereo delay rather than mono-ising.

Also - when using ping-pong, which I’ll often do with guitar, I’ll normally reduce the width so that it’s somewhere between a full stereo ping-pong and mono. Full hard panned ping-pong can be a bit too much at times.

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#19

So much! And Im at the stage of learning production, that Im starting to realize way less is so much more.

#20

It is indeed a wonderful combination, with the mono delay in the virtual center followed by a proper stereo delay anywhere in the stereo field. This combo works particularly well with one of the delays being slightly saturated. With a sequentially set-up delay chain you’ll also easily get to sonic territory for which you would have to tweak way more on a single effect, that is if you get there at all.

The only thing you’ll have to sacrifice with a mono delay is the voice panning of a true stereo synth.

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