Help with a delay and gate! How do I...

[octoruss]

Hello friends, I'm hoping someone can help a relative FX newbie set up a unique FX involving a delay and gate.

I want to play a guitar chord in a song with a tempo of 140BPM. I'd like the delay to resonate on each 1/8 beat after the strum, but with a gate cutoff happening quickly, so that it sounds kind of staccato...somewhat like what U2 does.

I'm fairly new though with FX and routing, so any advice on how to set that up would be much appreciated!

[Emcha_audio]

Are you using single effex plugins Like Mod delay 3 and Gate/expander, or are you using plugins from the eleven rack? The prior you will be able to set the timing of the delay inside the plugins as long as your tempo is set into the session. Then you only have to adjust the gate to taste to get the sound you wish.

[bashville]

Hello friends, I'm hoping someone can help a relative FX newbie set up a unique FX involving a delay and gate.

I want to play a guitar chord in a song with a tempo of 140BPM. I'd like the delay to resonate on each 1/8 beat after the strum, but with a gate cutoff happening quickly, so that it sounds kind of staccato...somewhat like what U2 does.

I'm fairly new though with FX and routing, so any advice on how to set that up would be much appreciated!

It sounds from this description like a gate might not be necessary. I'm curious which plug you're using to get the delay. Just turn the "feedback" control all the way down, then you'll get just one "bounce back" and no more. If you keep the channel fairly dry besides that, it should give you a sort of cut-off feeling. I'm asking which plug, because most of them have a way to set the delay time automatically according to the musical value figured against the session tempo. If your session was recorded without click, you'll have to guess at the millisecond amount and fiddle from there. So at 60 BPM--1000 milliseconds, 120--500, 1/8th notes at 120--250, and so on.

Sorry if this is too rudimentary; I'm not sure what tools you've already tried. (Edited here to remove not-very-thought-out suggestion!)

Quick google result for millisecond timing calculator:
http://www.dvfugit.com/beats-per-minute-millisecond-delay-calculator.php

[octoruss]

Thanks everyone!

I haven't actually used any effect yet. I don't have Eleven Rack (except the free one that comes with PT), so I assume I should just use the delay that comes with PT, then adjust the gate as necessary?

If so, would those be used as inserts with the delay first and the gate second?

[albee1952]

I also would skip the gate completely. No need as you can set the feedback to none.

[Emcha_audio]

As other have mentionned the gate is not necessary unless you wish to modify the sustain of the notes you are playing in the delay.

And yes they would be set as inserts in this case. The mod Delay 3 has a mix/dry fader that you can adjust to taste.

There's a way to get the tempo for your song if you don't have it from the get go using beat detective

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdCZZaZMPLA

[albee1952]

Some of the cooler U2 guitar delays are based on triplets too(Streets Have No Names is one):o

[elicious]

dotted eighths, actually. (3/16ths if you're counting)
it's the bo diddley rhythm…

(thanx to mr evans, my sde3000's have gone way up in value…!)
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