Adding to AIR’s portfolio of well-regarded instruments and effects is Delay Pro. With dual engines, plus unique features to set it apart from the rest, we check out some familiar flavours as well as some more radical echoic flavours in our first look video…
In Summary
Serving up familiar echoic favourites as well as completely new sounds, AIR Delay Pro has some different features to set it apart from the crowd. Alongside options for diffusion and envelope following, it also features Auto-Clear which promises dense delays that won’t overwhelm the source.
Going Deeper
On paper, the humble delay’s function is simple, but despite that it is often cited as one of those effects with the magic ingredient for the engineer: Fun. As well as forming the basis for many other time-based flavours such as flanging and chorus, the adventures that can be had (and hours lost) by playing around with delay can be pretty bottomless without setting a reminder to go to sleep or go to that important meeting…
With early hardware effects based around tape-loops or other methods of record-then-replay, the technology eventually went digital before morphing into the DAW effects now available. More recently, both hardware and software recreations of classic delay effects have landed to re-live the soundscapes heard on stages and in studios everywhere.
AIR Delay Pro
While engineers and producers aren’t exactly stuck for choice when it comes to delay, there always seems to be room for new features they didn’t know they needed! Making their name partly as the creative force behind many of Pro Tools’ most successful audio plugins and instruments, the AIR team’s work is well-known. AIR Delay Pro is their latest offering, bringing delay functionality to match the best, with its own take on some features less seen.
In the video we take AIR Delay Pro for a spin on drums, keys, and guitar to call up some complex trails and more. We then finish up with a more-than-healthy dose of chorus on guitar before sitting back to hear once again Delay Pro in context. Concentrating on three of its key features:
We check out its Diffusion, which lets the engineer smear the edges of repeats for a more reverb-like sound.
We use Auto-clear, to dial in dense delays that don’t overwhelm the source. This can be used with Delay Pro’s Limiter to further control repeats’ presence.
We also try Envelope Follow. This latter feature brings subtle delay design or freakish spiralling textures for some completely original sounds.
Key Features
Up to 4 seconds of tempo syncable delay.
Auto-Clear
Diffusion for variation between hard edges or subtle echoic washes.
Envelope Follower assignable to Time, Feedback, and Mix parameters for dynamic effects over time.
Modulation with 3 modes: Wobble, Stereo, and Chorus.
3 stereo modes including with control over width and more.
Analogue and digital behaviours.
Feedback section with high and low pass filters, plus bandpass with resonance and LFO.
Distortion and limiting.
Final Thoughts
Like any tool, engineers can form a good working relationship with the ones that do one thing: make the music better. Delay is definitely such a tool, mainly down to its inherently musical effects, so anything that invites a great artistic result deserves a seat at the top table. Many will have their favourites. Up until now, for me my go-to’s fiddly GUI had never quite matched its addictive sound (in its defence though it was released quite a while back). Delay Pro instead brings a clean, ‘wire-fame’ look that gets the job done and lets its superb sounds do the talking.
Interestingly, the whole team found entirely different things to like about Delay Pro. Whether scattering subtle shadows in behind sounds, or dialling up total delay junky-ism, AIR Delay Pro has those plus everything in between.
I thought I was happy with my old delay until I tried Delay Pro. Its super clean design doesn’t rely on fancy graphics to raise your expectation of what it can do. Simply put, it just does it all and sounds great.
AIR Delay Pro is $89, and has an introduction promo price of $39 until 23rd of May 2023. A 14 day demo is also available.
A Word About This Article
As the Experts team considered how we could better help the community we thought that some of you are time poor and don’t have the time to read a long article or a watch a long video. In 2023 we are going to be trying out articles that have the fast takeaway right at the start and then an opportunity to go deeper if you wish. Let us know if you like this idea in the comments.