In this free excerpt from “Start to Finish: Jacquire King - Episode 23 - Mixing Part 5,” Jacquire shows an example of using a delay to widen and add extra rhythmic action to a staccato single-note guitar part in the song "Keep the Light On" by Oak and Ash.

Why Delay?

Delay is an effect that offers countless creative options. In this example Jaquire is adding interest and space to a stacatto guitar part. Reverb might be an obvious choice but reverb tends to push sounds back in the mix. While a mono delay would introduce the required “wetness” there is the possibility that adding rhythmic delays on top of the dry signal can clutter and confuse the part, this is one of the reasons filters are popular on delays, either across the output or in the feedback loop. A low pass filter can darken the delayed sound making the dry signal brighter and more prominent, conversely a high pass filter can be used to thin out the delayed signals, removing the weight from the echoes, allowing the dry signal to contrast in a different, but equally useful way.

Use Stereo Delay For Added Complexity

Stereo delays are a great solution when you want to add delays without them getting in the way of the dry part. A ping-pong effect where echoes alternate between left and right is a very attractive sound (and rather addictive) but to add complexity and density to a sound a stereo delay, where two individual and discrete delays exist, one for the left and one for the right outputs respectively with individual control over the delay time and feedback, is often a better choice.

In this video Jacquire uses Primal Tap from Soundtoys to create a suitable effect. This is a particularly suitable delay as as well as having separate delay time and feedback controls it also has individual level and filter controls for each channel of the delay. By setting one channel’s delay short and the other long, and by setting the feedback for the short delay higher, the effect combines a discrete echo with more of a reverb effect and blended to taste the effect works extremely well. Watch the free extract to hear the effect explained and demonstrated both in context with the track and on its own.

See how Jacquire King:

• Works on the verse guitars

• Explains his preference for Toms in the mix

• Adds dimension to the main verse guitar with a slap delay

• Adds a Primal Tap delay to the lead verse guitar for color, stereo width, and to help it sit perfectly in the mix

• Explains how adding a tiny amount of top-end eq boost on a guitar can change the focus and accentuate a guitar part

• Explains how he finds the perfect level for the lead vocal

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