We take a look at some of the features and qualities of the most popular and best delay plugins available right now.
Depending on your need, be it tonal emphasis, vintage character or modern performance and flexibility, the world of digital delay plugins and vsts have come a long way and have a lot to offer music producers.
We take a look at some of the features and qualities of the most popular and best delay plugins available right now.
Waves H-Delay
Waves, love them or hate them they plugins provide a lot of utility. And what is it about Waves plugins that just makes them 'work' right.
H-Delay is no different in this respect. H-Delay Hybrid Delay
From real old school PCM42-style effects like filtering, flanging, and phasing, to slap-back echo, ping-pong delay, and tempo-sync with modulation, H-Delay delivers the goods, controlled by a super intuitive interface that lets you get right down to business.
It sounds great, is SOO simple to use and is sublimely easy to dial in quick delay effects with. For simplicity vs sound quality vs utility there's nothing better.
Soundtoys Echoboy
Echoboy is packed with 30 different echo styles from what they call Echoplex, Space Echo, Memory Man, DM-2 and many more
- Warm up vocals with high-end tape sound modeled on the Ampex ATR-102
- Control saturation, tape flutter and diffusion for strikingly analog-sounding effects
- Create rich stereo delays with Dual and Ping-Pong modes
- Adjust shuffle, swing and accent. The only echo with true groove
- Design one-of-a-kind rhythmic delay effects using Rhythm Echo mode
It's sound? Fantastic. Whilst not as utilitarian for every day use as the H-Delay, the Echoboy absolutely shines in sound quality and that 'analogue style' characteristic. This combined with its multiple algorithms and delay types gives a lot of flexibility in use.
U-he Colour Copy
A virtual analog effect inspired by classic bucket-brigade delays (BBD), but extended with modern features. We called our new baby "Colour Copy" because it can deliver the kind of colouration people still love in classic BBD units, but with a wider variety of colours. Colour Copy started life as the little delay unit called "Lyrebird" we built into Repro-1, but the sound was too good not to be developed further and become an FX plug-in.
As with all things U-he it holds it's audio quality in high regard and has an organically sounding sparkle and magic to its sound that's unmatched by any other plugin.
It stands on the fulcrum of ease vs features getting the balance just right.
Unfiltered Audio Sandman Pro
Brimming with features, from beautiful to bizarre, Sandman Pro is the indisputable Swiss army knife of the delay world.
Complete with a plethora of unique features you won't find on other delay plugins, including a semi modular approach to its modulation lines. Other features include a soft clipper saturation on the output and like most things associated with Plugin Alliance its offers some useful Mid/Side processing.
The clean and refined tonal quality to anything it processes means it's great to sit on a BUS or two doing delay work for anything you send it. I think PA nailed it when they describe it as the Swiss army knife of the delay world.
Softube Tube Delay
Coming as two part plugins Softubes' slightly dark and distorted delay has a way of giving a great sense of space and size to a mix without really drawing attention to itself.
Tube Delay is a vintagey analog style echo box that allows you to create everything from clean doubling effects to endless dub delays with filthy feedback.
It's lean but packs a tonal punch. The beauty is in its simplicity. Drop it on a track and you start getting immediate results that just "sit right' in the mix. The tonal quality is pleasing and whilst providing less utility it provides much more character than other more featured plugins.
NI Replika
REPLIKA packs two professional quality delays and a powerful diffusion algorithm into a sleek, streamlined interface.
Simple to use with a resonant filter and classic phaser built in, REPLIKA is a versatile delay for suited to subtle slapback to warped tones.
It's complete with three distinct algorithms. Modern is a digital delay that delivers the crystal-clear repeats of high-end units whilst Vintage Digital delivers the charismatic grit of early studio delays. Diffusion mode delivers a fresh sound that rides the line between delay and reverb.
It's tonal quality is good and perhaps most pleasing is its price at around £44.