Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="Shamiso, post: 92443, member: 160"] PSP BBDelay lets both its ducking and gate hold timing run in milliseconds, synchronized note values, or relative to the current delay time. The third option is the interesting one. It means the dynamics can follow the echo setting instead of sitting on one fixed timing value while you change the delay around it. A normal ducking setup is easy to understand. The dry performance stays in front while the delayed signal backs off, then the echoes return when the source gives them room. BBDelay folds that behavior into [B][URL='https://goldmidi.com/community/threads/pspaudioware-brings-analog-grit-to-psp-bbdelay.75680/']PSP BBDelay dynamics controls[/URL][/B] alongside a gate that can turn the wet path into something much more rhythmic. The useful distinction is not simply clean versus creative. Both processors have timing controls that can be tied to the song or the delay itself, which changes how they behave when you automate delay time, switch subdivisions, or move between short slapback and long repeats. [HEADING=2]Ducking and gating solve opposite timing problems[/HEADING] Ducking is mostly about getting the repeats out of the way while the source is active. On vocals, lead guitar, or a busy synth line, a loud delay can mask the very phrase creating it. Pulling the wet signal down during the performance lets you keep a bigger echo without making every syllable or note feel smeared. A gate works from the other direction. Instead of making an active wet signal retreat gracefully, it decides when the processed signal is allowed through and when it gets shut down. BBDelay gives the gate its own hold behavior plus a Close control, so the end of the effect can become part of the groove rather than a tail you merely tolerate. Timing is what keeps either processor from sounding twitchy. A useful [B][URL='https://patents.google.com/patent/US9575715B2/en']audio gate timing patent[/URL][/B] describes hold time as a period that keeps a gate open before closure, with separate timing used for the gain transition itself. BBDelay applies the same practical idea musically by letting hold duration follow absolute time, the beat grid, or the delay setting. [HEADING=2]Hold can follow the delay instead of the clock[/HEADING] Time mode is the straightforward choice. Set a direct duration, and the hold behavior stays there regardless of tempo or delay subdivision. This makes sense when you want the effect to react in roughly the same number of milliseconds every time, especially on short material where the envelope matters more than the song grid. Note mode locks the hold value to a synchronized musical division. A gate can therefore stay open for a defined rhythmic span, or a ducker can wait in a repeatable musical relationship before its transition. Change the session tempo and the timing still belongs to the beat rather than an old millisecond value. Relative mode is stranger and more useful. BBDelay calculates hold timing in relation to the delay time you have set, so changing the echo length also moves the dynamics timing. Shorten the delay and the hold relationship contracts with it. Stretch the delay and the control follows instead of leaving you with a dynamics envelope designed for a completely different echo length. This is especially handy when automating delay time. A fixed 120 ms hold may feel fine at one setting and absurd after the delay jumps to a much longer value. Relative timing keeps the dynamics attached to the effect that created the problem in the first place. [HEADING=2]Open and close controls shape the return differently[/HEADING] BBDelay does not give the ducker and gate identical transition knobs. The ducker exposes an Open control, while the gate exposes Close. Those names matter because you are shaping different edges of the wet signal. With ducking, the interesting moment is often when the suppressed delay comes back after the dry phrase clears. Open controls how that return behaves. A faster setting can make the echo reappear with obvious punctuation, while a slower opening can let it rise behind the source more gently. The gate has the opposite practical concern. Close decides how the allowed wet signal disappears after its hold period. Fast closure can chop repeats into hard rhythmic blocks. Slower closure can keep the pattern controlled without making every cutoff sound like somebody yanked a cable. Try both sections on one simple quarter-note delay before adding modulation or heavy feedback. Use the same source, keep the wet level obvious, and switch Hold between Time, Note, and Relative while changing the delay length. The difference becomes clear quickly because one setup stays fixed, one follows the song, and one follows the echo itself. [/QUOTE]

Name