A reader’s question to the Dude:
“I am looking for a percussive delay with trails option, for I really like dotted delays of U2 and likewise. Should be analog.
Supa Puss, Memory Man or the Chase Bliss Tonal Recall? Or something completely different?”
DelayDude:
This is a really interesting question. Regarding your sonic ideas, I actually would not recommend any analog delay for they are mostly too dark and less percussive.
In my opinion, even the Tonal Recall is not percussive enough to create US-delays and its washy sound blends into the sonic image instead of offering rhythmical “answers”. The Blue Knob version might be a little more percussive, while the Red Knob version is almost too blurred.
Analog delays
If you are looking for an analog delay anyway, I would recommend the EHX Deluxe Memory Man.
It provides really clear and percussive repeats and has been used by The Edge for the recording of the first U2-albums.
The Supa Puss can be pretty bright as well, but soon, it loses its low end and starts to sound thin.
Apart from that, the MXR Carbon Copy Deluxe might be an option. It has a really nice frequency image and is also quite percussive (also in the dark mode).
Most of the digital delays also provide trails. The Deluxe Memory Man and many other analog delays too do not provide a trails function. But if I were in your place, I would choose a delay, that sonically fits perfectly and maybe add a bypass switcher to mute the incoming signal and only let the trails pass.
Digital delays
If you can at least accustom to a digital delay, the Eventide Rose, the Boss DD-500, the Strymon DIG or, of course, the Korg SDD-3000 might be suitable for your needs.
The Eventide Rose produces the delay signal digitally, the remaining signal path, including the filter, is analog.
In an episode of That Pedal Show, Mick and Dan show how to emulate the sound of an analog delay by using a digital delay with analog modulation and EQ.
The idea behind this is, that analog delays and digital delays both create the actual repeat in an almost similar way. And only the further signal path shapes the sonic character by modulation, filter and maybe some overdrive.
The Rose hybrid delay would in this case offer clear digital delay repeats as well as analog sounding sounds with analog modulation by reducing the filter.
The DD-500 is completely digital, but it has the legendary vintage delay algorithm. This algorithm emulated the Roland SDE-3000 rack delay of the 1980s.
Similar sounds can be created by the Strymon DIG in the 12bit setting.
The secret of the lofi delay sounds of these two devices and the 80s is the percussive delay sound that gets pretty close to the sonic structure of an analog delay. The advantage of the DD-500 and the Strymon DIG would be, that you could combinate both in the style of how US is combining two delays.
Another example would be the old Boss DD-2. Unfortunately, this pedal is only available on the second hand market, but its construction is pretty similar to those of the old rack devices.
The Korg SDD-300 is of course oriented to the rack device that has been used by The Edge while recording the more recent albums. Although the sound of the pedal is a bit different, it also offers the bit-reduced sounds of the 80s rack.
And in general, one can say: a booster before the delay is always a good idea.
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