Advice For Delay Tempo And Fbv Response

[julioborko]

I'm having trouble with my delay getting out of sync. Last week when I was playing live I noticed that the tap tempo on my FBV Express was slightly slow in its response between my tap and the amp. Later I sat down with the iPad and tried to tap the tempo directly on the delay pedal interface and found that the timing was all over the place. I was playing a song that was 75 bpm but even though I was tapping on each down beat the tempo on the pedal would constantly change - I got 72.4, 73.2, 73.7, etc. the closest I got was 74.6 bpm which is pretty good but later in the song I was off enough to notice. I cannot see that there is a way to just dial in the bpm so I guess I'm limited to tapping the tempo, then trying to readjust midsong. Is this the nature of delay in general? If it is, the response time between the tap and the effect should be tighter. It seems that with digital tech we should be able to nail this.

 

So I guess there are really two questions here:

 

1. Is anyone else experiencing sluggish response through the FBV? This is happening to me even when switching banks and tuning.

AND

2. How do I get the right tempo on my delay?

 

Any advice is appreciated!

[cruisinon2]

Even if you were playing along with a recording, its unlikely that the tempo remains dead on 75 bpm throughout. Even witht the best musicians in the world there will be some variation, unless the drummer is an android. Thats why drum machines often sound sterile...they're too perfect. Some of the better ones have a "humanize" function that will deliberately introduce slight tempo variations, or occasionally have hits land just ahead of, or behind the beat, so it sounds more organic. Point is, I don't think there's anything wrong with your gear.

[Rowbi]

In my experience, that's the case with any delay fx unless they are time synced with a midi clock to something else you're trying to keep in time with.

 

The solution would be to use delay set with ms not note length and a tempo.

In the amplifi app, edit the preset and press the word note within the delay fx block. This changes to a ms setting.

Then use something like this page to help work out what ms you need: http://web.forret.com/tools/bpm_tempo.asp

 

Hope this helps

 

Andy

[Charlie_Watt]

There is no way you can keep the delay in sync with recorded music.  Ain't going to happen.

[charlyg]

Maybe not, but Rowbi's tip is pretty cool!

[julioborko]

 

In my experience, that's the case with any delay fx unless they are time synced with a midi clock to something else you're trying to keep in time with.

The solution would be to use delay set with ms not note length and a tempo.

In the amplifi app, edit the preset and press the word note within the delay fx block. This changes to a ms setting.

Then use something like this page to help work out what ms you need: http://web.forret.com/tools/bpm_tempo.asp

Hope this helps

Andy

Sounds like a good idea. I'll try it. If I use ms timing, how do I sync it with the tempo of the music? Same way - tap tempo? Won't that have the same issue if I'm getting sluggish response from my FBV? Sorry for all the noob questions, but I'm coming from a spider iv 30 where everything was pretty much done for me.

 

There is no way you can keep the delay in sync with recorded music.  Ain't going to happen.

 

 

I get that but when I play live we use a click track so I still have to get as close as possible.

 

Thanks for the responses! Gonna try Rowbi's suggestion tomorrow.

[julioborko]

Using the ms feature instead of note works great! I may never go back to the tap tempo. The delay responds directly to your attack rather than to a preset tempo, but the feedback responds to the ms timing so there's no need to reset the tempo every so often during a song. Of course if you have a physical pedal it might not be practical to set the ms between each song in a live setting. However, with the Amplifi app I can save each one according to the song and just pull it up when it's time. Learn something new everyday!