Delay And Its Parameters - PRESONUS studiolive III series Owner's Manual

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11.8 Effect Types
11.8.2

Delay and its Parameters

Below are some of the most common reverb parameters for the reverb effects:
Decay. Decay is the time (in seconds) required for the reflections (reverberation) to
die away. In most modern music production, reverb decay times of between one and
three seconds are prevalent. A reverb setting with strong early reflections and a quick
decay are a great way to create a stereo effect from a mono source.
Predelay. Predelay is the time (in milliseconds) between the end of the initial sound
and the moment when the first reflections become audible. Imagine you're back on
that stage in a large music hall. This time you stand on the very edge of the stage and
shout "Hello world!" toward the center of the hall. There will be a brief pause before
you hear the first noticeable reflections of your voice, because the sound waves
can travel much further before encountering a surface and bouncing back. (There
are closer surfaces, of course—notably the floor and the ceiling just in front of the
stage—but only a small part of the direct sound will go there, so those reflections
will be much less noticeable.) Adjusting the predelay parameter on a reverb allows
you to change the apparent size of the room without having to change the overall
decay time. This will give your mix a little more transparency by leaving some space
between the original sound and its reverb.
Early Reflections. Early reflections are those that reach the listener a few
milliseconds after the direct signal arrives. Your brain uses them to identify the size of
the room you're in. If you are trying to simulate a specific type of room, this control
will be extremely important. This control allows you to set the level (in decibels) of
the early reflections. The louder the early reflections, the smaller the room will seem.
A delay essentially creates an echo, although you can often use delays to create more
complex time-based effects. The source signal is delayed so that it is heard later than
it actually occurred.
Below are some of the most common reverb parameters for the delay effects:
Time. This is the time (in milliseconds) between the source signal and its echo. The
simplest delay effect is a single repeat. A short delay between 30 and 100 ms can
be used to create slap-back echo, while longer delay times produce a more distant
echo. Delay times that are too short to hear as distinct echoes can be used to create
thickening effects. Whether these echoes are timed with the tempo is a matter of
stylistic choice.
This is the parameter that is controlled by the Tap Tempo button. Using the Tap
button on the StudioLive, you can speed up or slow down these repeats or, more
commonly, time the repeats to occur with the tempo of the music.
Power User Tip: While you have to select the Time parameter in order to use the Tap
button, you only have to do this the first time you use the Tap button for that effect. Once
the Tap button has been used to control the Time parameter, it will always control the
time of that particular delay, no matter what page you are currently viewing. To assign
the Tap button to control another delay, simply navigate to that delay's Time parameter
and use the button to enter the desired delay time.
Time X. Time X is the value of the beat you are using as a reference for the tempo.
The basic unit of measure is a quarter note, so for example, if the beats you are
tapping represent quarter notes in the music, you would set Time X to 1.00. If they
are eighth notes, you would set Time X to 0.50; half notes would be 2.00; and so on. In
this way, you can precisely synchronize or syncopate the delay echoes to the music in
real time.
StudioLive™ Series III
Owner's Manual
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