Analog delay vs digital delay is redundant because...

[expanoncolin]

I thought I'd share some insight.

Analog delay is basically produced in a "bucket brigade" way.  First, your signal goes into the bucket brigade device.  Then, it gets literally sampled into the device into little "buckets".  The signal then gets passed bucket-brigade style (you know, fire men passing a bucket of water to the house in the old days) to another "bucket".  By the time your signal comes out, it's delayed by x amount, set by the clock frequency, AKA delay time knob.  Understaning this isn't that important-what's important is that your guitar is being sampled into segments.

With a digital delay (at least simpler digital delays like the guyatone, the EM5, danecho, eetc), you literally have exactly the same thing-except that this time we're storing 0's and 1's instead of voltages.  

So, if we have basically the exact same thing going-sampling and delay of an audio signal-then clearly the only difference is that the digital one get's put through AD/DA conversion before it gets to the chip.  Consider that most delays are 8 bit, which is about as low as you can get in quality.  But, also consider that using so many analog components (there are at least 20,000 in a longer delay time device) you lose a ton of quality.  Also, when was the last time you heard an MP3 and said "Damn, that sounds DIGITAL!"  The point is, both effects are very lo-fi ways of doing it-and they both function in nearly the same way.

A little experiment for you hands on DIYers-take a chorus or flanger pedal that uses an MN3102.  Solder a 2000pf or so capacitor in between pins 5 and 7 (this is lowering the clock frequency significantly because you're placing a capacitor in parallel with the one that was already there, thus adding capacitance and delay time).  Then, play through the thing.  You should get a very grainy, lo-fi echo sound (with a lot of clock frequency bleedthrough-yes, that screeching noise is normal).  Tell me that that DOESNT sound like a very lo-fi digital system and I'll call you a liar.

Thanks for your time, comments and corrections are appreciated...

-Colin

[Greek Acorbat]

Cool post.

I get a very bad, bitty, ye olde sinclair spectrum kinda sound from my fx90 if I whack the delay time trim pot all the way up. Don't know if that's the kind of thing you're talking about but it certainly sounds like bad digital sampling.

[expanoncolin]

Cool post.

I get a very bad, bitty, ye olde sinclair spectrum kinda sound from my fx90 if I whack the delay time trim pot all the way up. Don't know if that's the kind of thing you're talking about but it certainly sounds like bad digital sampling.

All the way up meaning super long delay times?

-Colin

[Greek Acorbat]

Yes.

[expanoncolin]

Yes.

Yep, so you clearly get what I'm talking about then...

-Colin