Apple Logic Express 7 - Manual (Page 50)

50 Chapter 7 Delay
Tape Delay
The Tape Delay simulates a vintage tape echo device, although with some very useful
features that such old devices never offered. The first of these is that it’s delay settings
are variable in musical increments. It is equipped with a highpass and lowpass filter in
the feedback circuit, as well as a circuit that simulates tape saturation effects. This plug-
in is ideal for the dub delays invented by Jamaican toast masters, and used in many
styles of music today.
Switching the Sync button on forces the plug-in to use the internal tempo of the
sequencer. Tempo information is updated in the plug-in window when you open it,
and every time you subsequently execute a mouse operation. The plug-in can even
handle tempo changes. The Tempo parameter field serves solely to display the current
bpm value—you can’t use it to change the tempo of the sequencer.
When you want to create dotted note values, move the Groove slider all the way to the
right to 75%; for triplets, select the 33.33% setting. Note that all intermediate values are
possible. You can view the current delay value in the Delay parameter field.
Disengage Sync if you would like to adjust the delay time independently of the song
tempo (or change the song tempo without changing the delay time). In this mode, the
bpm or ms values can be altered freely by clicking in the Tempo parameter field, while
dragging up or down with the mouse. Note when changing the ms values using the
left portion of the Delay parameter field, the ms values will increment in large steps,
while using the right portion of the field will increment the ms values in small steps.
As you might expect, the Feedback slider determines feedback intensity; in other words,
the amount of delayed and filtered signal that is routed back to the input of the Tape
Delay. When you set it to the lowest possible value, the Tape Delay generates a single
echo. If Feedback is turned all the way up, the echoes are repeated ad infinitum. Keep
in mind that the levels of the original signal and its taps (echo repeats) tend to add up,
and may cause distortion. This is where the internal tape saturation circuit comes to the
rescue—it can be used to ensure that these overdriven signals sound good.
The Freeze parameter captures the current delay repeats and sustains them until the
Freeze parameter is released.