delay a guitar to tape, or after?

[endserenading81]

i was just wondering, when bands have a delayed guitar on their songs, is it better to use your delay pedal and record it right into the mic, to tape? or is it better to delay it after, using a plug in. i wonder what the indie bands do.
thanks,
rob

[bennychico11]

either or. just remember, if you screw it up during recording...you have to retrack it or just live with it. i'm always partial to doing effects afterwards 'cause i screw up a lot. and you don't necessarily need a plugin. you can reamp the guitar back through the pedal and play it back through a mic. definitely useful if you just DIed the guitar during the initial tracking. then you can spend all the time in the world tweaking it the way you want.

[Cloneboy Studio]

The big problem to recording with delay effects is that if you screw up you usually cannot punch in to fix the error.

It depends on the song whether I will do it during or post.

[glimmer_doll]

i usually just record the delay to tape. I just like the way it sounds coming out of the amp, and it can affect the way i play certain parts...

[Cloneboy Studio]

You can always run the delay on a seperate buss/aux so that you can *hear* the delay but the dry audio is being recorded for further processing later.

Or you can just get it right the first time if the delay is integral to the sound like U2 will use.

Sometimes the sound of a delay pedal thru the amp is the sound you need to have, even if it is technically "wrong"...

[glimmer_doll]

yeah...when I use delay it's usually in that U2 "integral to the sound" way...

plus i am more a songwriter than a recordist, and don't usually have the patience to go over something again and again to make it "perfect"

[Farview]

If you need the delay to play the part you need to record with it. If not, do it later as it will sound better and offer more control.
Wah-Wah is another effect that has to be done to tape.

[Ronan]

I almost always print the guitar with effects for a few reasons:

1) It always seems to sound better.

2) The guitarist will play to the effect meaning he/she will play a certian way because of the effect.

3) The longer I make records the more I realize that being a sissy about recording and leaving all the choices till the end seems to make much less interesing records.

[Light]

Originally Posted by Ronan

3) The longer I make records the more I realize that being a sissy about recording and leaving all the choices till the end seems to make much less interesing records.

Damn straight!!!! Make desicions, god damn it!!!

Squash those overheads to tape like Momma Cass' throw cushion!

Record Delay to tape!!

Record at the level you want it in the mix!!! (well, maybe not that one, if you are recording digital, but it sounds great in analog).

If you know what it sould sound like, record it that way. Don't be a pussy, and don't ever be a producer. Be a musician. You know what you want, so do it that way!


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

[Fletcher]

If the player is playing to the delay, print it... if you're using delays to separate the guitars in a mix... do them later.

Whatever makes the player most comfortable and gives them the ability to give up the best performance is what should be done.

Fuck rules... in my sessions the only rule is to do whatever I can to make sure the performers are free to give up the best performances of their lives... everything else is secondary.

[endserenading81]

i want to hit on something that was mentioned above. if you want alittle stereo effect on the delayed guitar, but want to record direct to tape, how would you mic/wire that with a mono amp? aren't most amps mono? is it mic placement?
thanks,
rob

[gullfo]

I sometimes track with the effects so they're printed but most times I record the part clean while only monitoring with the effects. then if I really want to lock in, I can bounce to a track to print the effects. by keeping a clean copy though, you have the option to play with the effects a bit after you perform, the main exception for me is when using wah pedals since they depend on my playing and pedal action - not easily duplicated later.