Manual
Ah the misunderstood delay/echo…..rather than go into the
technical description of this effect, let’s keep it simple. The Red
Repeat is designed to take your guitar signal and repeat it after
a given amount of time. The simplest description comes from
the Echoplexes and Space Echoes of years ago. If you envision
a tape recorder with the recording head and the playback head
in line with each other, and the tape (usually a loop of some sort)
running….you play a note on your guitar which is recorded onto
the tape by the recording head and is then played back by the
playback head immediately after. The delay time is determined
by how far apart the recording and playback heads are, and by
simply adding more playback heads, that original note is played
back as often (or repeated) as you have playback heads. Ok,
that is oversimplifying the whole thing, but you get the idea.
The Red Repeat takes this old technology and brings it up to
modern standards. The Echo control basically determines the
amount of this effect, from barely noticeable, to sounding like
two guitars playing at once (slap-back). The Tone control chan-
ges the presence (EQ) of the echoed signal, leaving your
original signal EQ the way you set it up. The Time control
adjusts the space between your original signal and the echoed
signal from 0 to 600 milliseconds, and finally, the Repeat control
determines how many echoes there are from each signal. So
again for guitar-players who need it super-simple….the Echo
and Time controls tell you how much echo and how much space
between echoes….and the Tone and Repeat controls determine
the actual presence of the echo and how many echoes there
are.
The Red Repeat can be used to fatten up your sound, as an
alternative to reverb, to give a very percussive flavor to your
playing, all the way to the longest delays which you can play
over top of, like a short loop. This type of effect has been used
since the 50’s, and has helped shape the signature sounds of
Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Gene Vincent, Brian Setzer, David
Gilmour and countless others, and once you understand the
effect, is usually pretty easy to spot in recordings. Remember,
Delays can come before or after your distortion pedals, but
usually after amplitude (volume) effects.
ECHO
TIME
REPEAT
TONE
50'S SLAPBACK
To get that percussive 50’s slap-back sound, turn
up the Echo to somewhere around 1 o’clock,
Tone at 11 o’clock and maybe add just a touch of
Repeat. Great for 50’s rock&roll solos, rockabilly
and snappy country licks. Modulation Off
SAMPLE SETTINGS
DRAMATIC ECHO
Set your echo around 12-1 o’clock, brighten up the Tone
somewhat, increase the Time to about 3 o’clock and
increase the Repeat (again keeping in mind your tempo).
Dark and dramatic, switch on modulation with Depth at
10 o’clock, and Speed at 8 o’clock…..very Pink Floyd
For the new improved Red Repeat 2016, Carl has
added a couple features that various players have
asked about. To begin with, we have added a Tap
Tempo function. For those familiar with delay
pedals, the Tap Tempo allows the player to tap in the
tempo he choses to use with his playing. Simply flip
the switch that says Manual Time toward the name
Red Repeat and with your toe, tap the footswitch
marked Tap Tempo to the beat of the song. This
allows your echoes to be spaced precisely with the
tempo of the song, faster or slower, depending on
your style. When The Manual Time switch is flipped
away from the Red Repeat decal, the pedal goes
back to setting the space between echoes with the
Time knob. The second special feature is the Modu-
lation switch. By engaging this switch, and adjusting
the black mini-pots marked Depth and Speed....you
can modulate the echoes of your notes so that they
mimick the 'wow and flutter' of a vintage tape echo!
This subtle effect can bring a whole new dimension
to your solo's, especially if you want them to sound
'old'.
Manual Time
Modulation
Depth Speed
ECHO
TIME
REPEAT
TONE
Manual Time
Modulation
Depth Speed