Stereo delay is a very flexible type of delay that can mold itself into many different sounds. Stereo delay is found in all kinds of different music, and can be used to cause many different types of following echos. Stereo delays come in both hardware and software types and can be manipulated to form patterns that follow your track or instrument.
Using Stereo Delay in the Home Studio
Stereo delay in a affect is two different mono delay modules working together to make stereo echo of your sound. A stereo delay will have many of the same settings as a standard mono delay. Including but not exclusively, feedback (the amount of echos the delay will have), Delay time (the speed at which your sound echos), groove (some may have this, causing varying amounts of swing), High cut (low pass filter effecting only your delayed signal), Low cut (high pass effecting only the delay) and mix (how much or the original or effected signal is let through as output). The difference is a stereo delay will give you these options for both left and right.
Having all of these parameters for two separate delays is what makes a stereo delay so different from a mono delay. This is also what makes a stereo delay so much more versatile than her single mind sister. Stereo delays interact with each other and can cause rhythms of there own either in our out of time with you music. These delays are heard a lot in dub music with is long bouncing echos. If you are using a software plugin stereo delay you will likely have a sync option, this is an awesome thing about making your music to a set tempo in a DAW (digital audio workstation) as many of your effects can be synced to the tempo of you song. In this case you could set one side of your stereo delay to 8th notes while the other in repeating at a dotted 1/4 making an in time stereo effect which bounce back and forth between your speakers or headphones in a rhythm all its own.
Stereo delay is a great way to liven up you song especially with slightly more sparse arrangement’s. A few less instruments gives your delay a chance to be an instrument in its own right and this is definitely something a stereo delay can accomplish. So pull out your rack delay, pedal delay or start up your DAW and pull up a stereo delay plugin and mess with the parameters you will find that this effect can really make some crazy rhythms and echos!
