Dub delay/filter technique question.

Garikai Munashe

Garikai Munashe

New member
Hey Everyone! Alright, I searched for this here and in other places (i.e. google) but then again I'm not even sure exactly what it's called so I wasn't sure even what to search for, haha, but I'll do my best to describe this effect I'm looking to create, if anyone would know I'm sure it's you guys.


This effect I usually hear put sparsely on snare drum hits (and vocals and sometimes guitars), usuallly only a couple of times per song but it really stands out to me and I've been trying to find out exactly how to get this sound.

Snare hits, then a delay (usually at an 8th note triplet count) repeats slightly filtered, then more, then very filtered. Reminds me of analog delay but a) i'm not sure if that is how it's done and b)I'm all digital!


One fairly recent song that I've heard it on that a lot of people have heard is 311's "Amber". It's in a lot of Reggae and Dub tracks though.

So that is my question. If you know what I'm referring to, how do you achieve this effect?

Thanks in advance.

Garikai Munashe
 
with a springverb i think. hard to make digital.

a springverb is a verb that use a spring to reverberate on the audio you send in. I sometimes fake it with an delay, but it's hard to explain in a few words. (experiment with it)

Real springverbs are not so expensive. The classic Dane Electro Spring King cost about 150 €. The real hi end models like the Demeter RV-1 is about 800$. Nothing in software can beat that at this moment.

sometimes in dub and reggae, they put a phaser over it, or a chorus, but the bass is a springverb.
 
I don't think it's a springverb. I have one of those in my old 70's Peavy Classic amp. They are in a lot of Fenders etc as well and not uncommon. This effect is definetly some kind of delay effect. Analog or some kind of filtered delay. Like I said in the first post the repeats usually happen in 1/8th triplet intervals.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6sDHlXn5dk

That's is 311's "Amber". You can hear it on the snare right around 1:27 and then again on the last snare at the very end of the track.

I suppose I'm just wanting to know if this effect is possible to get with filter and delay because I'm starting to think it's an analog delay. Thanks again all.
 
Homemade tape delays were common back in the early days of dub so that could be what you were hearing. Some hardware and software plugs can easily recreate that sound if oyu know what you are doing..

- KB
 
It's just reverb and delay and you can find it all over dub music. Pioneers like King Tubby, Scientist, Prince Jammy, Lee Perry, & Mad Professor all used em and even threw phasers, flangers, eq filter sweeps, & panning at little things like snare hits, guitar chord strums, and rim shots.

What software/hardware you using? Native or outboard effects? Sequencer?

You gotta be able to automate ur effects so that they fade in/out on that one snare hit and you don't hear them on other snare hits throughout the song.

U're right about it being a sync'd 1/8th note delay. Delay "time" settings are related to your tempo (60sec/tempo=1beat in ms) unless u can "sync" in a virtual effect. Play with the "feedback" control to set how long u want the effect to last. It can be anywhere from a beat or two to several bars in some heavier dubz (that's when u would add filter sweeps or phasers to mix things up!). Then just play with your "level" (wet/dry mix) setting on ur delay to bring the effect in/out when u want!

You can screw around with reverb too, bringing that in/out also. Set a "room-size" and "time" that you like and use the "level" to control it also.

These are pretty basic directions. "Dubbing" is an artform in itself. I hope u have a soft-sequencer which allows you to write/read all these effects. Otherwise u're hands'll be pretty busy.
 
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JLiRD808 said:
What software/hardware you using? Native or outboard effects? Sequencer?

You gotta be able to automate ur effects so that they fade in/out on that one snare hit and you don't hear them on other snare hits throughout the song.
Click to expand...
As far as hardware goes I only use a few components like a mic pre, some guitar/bass boxes, and a PC, pretty minimalist. Just enough to get sounds into the computer if I'm using external instruments on a song.

Most of the instruments in my songs come from software synths/samplers though. I use Reason mostly for midi, rewired into Cubase if I have any [.wav] tracks or if I need to use a VSTi, which is rare and I almost avoid using these because I can't stand the sequencer in Cubase [I've been sequencing for 9 years and they haven't improved it in that regard very much in that time, lol] and I haven't used any of those I can't live without when I write. The only other piece of software that I use regularly is Wavelab.

Another idea I have tried tinkering with a little bit when trying to achieve this sound is setting up 3-4 delays the first 3 with very low feedback, each filtered differently. Even with adjusting the mix levels on the delays I wasn't able to get a good wet/dry mix and I could always hear the last delay in the chain much more (louder) than the first 3 and the chain so I never went very far with that. I'm not sure why this is, but I've never "stacked" delays like that. Perhaps I should split the original signal at the source and then set the delays up to fall one after another.

I want to say thanks to everyone that has posted so far. I'm honestly surprised there isn't a plug in with a preset dedicated to this sound (OhmBoyz, I'm looking at you!). Take care, keep jammin' ;)
 
since u are using reason, check out mad professor's reason song called viking dub: http://www.propellerheads.se/replacehardware/viking.htm

Listen to it and check out his automation tracks; they should give you some ideas. If you really want to dub out a track, I think you should invest in a midi controller of some sort that you will use to controller your parameters...that's if you don't already have one.
 
modizel said:
since u are using reason, check out mad professor's reason song called viking dub: http://www.propellerheads.se/replacehardware/viking.htm

Listen to it and check out his automation tracks; they should give you some ideas. If you really want to dub out a track, I think you should invest in a midi controller of some sort that you will use to controller your parameters...that's if you don't already have one.
Click to expand...


Alright, thanks man. Yeah I use the Korg MicroKontrol. So far I've only used the A channel (keys) but have had problems getting the B channel (knobs, sliders, pads) to work with Reason, even though it is a "official" Reason supported midi controller.
 
Yeah getting thse sliders and pads to work would be of great benefit. I wish I had some of those sometimes but for dub its almost crucial.

I don't really understand u're stacked delays idea. I listened to that 311 song but it shouldn't really be that complicated. U just gotta automate ur delay and maybe a filter sweep like u mentioned. Also, try playing with a chorus effect and its parameters. Crazy stuff!

Try listen to the reggae version of "Ain't No Sunshine" by Horace Andy. Listen for the crazy dub effect on the snare hit in that track. Mean sound!!!
 
the effect is a delay that passes the audio thru a filter with each iteration of the delay. obviously with zero feedback there is only one iteration; what youre speaking of involves having the feedback turned up.

this was basically automatic in many analog delay units (like tape delays) but you couldnt change the filter. king tubby rewired lots of his equipment and was great at inserting capacitors or inductors to introduce a highpass or lowpass filter (respectively; inductor=hp, capacitor=lp) into the signal chain. im guessing he would do this to change the filter in the delay as he saw fit.

for software: izotope trash has this sort of thing in its delay section. theres a filter combination that you can morph however you want and each iteration of the delay passes through that.
 
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