Carbon Copy -- Thoughts of a Delay Newbie

I've played a lot of pedals over the years, but never was a delay guy. Tonight I bought an MXR Carbon Copy, just because I thought it might be fun to play around with.

I have to say, this pedal has a very sweet tone to it. It obviously adds to your sound, but in a way that isn't obnoxiously effect-y.

Before now, I had no idea how versatile a delay could be. I just thought: REPEATS. Instead, I'm finding it can be very subtle, adding layers and textures.

A cool feature on this box is a "mod" button, for modulation. Disengaged, you get clean (but not brittle) tones. Turn it on, and the sound starts to glisten.

I suppose you could use it to sound like U2. But I'm enjoying the pleasant surprise of finding that it's an effective way of just making pretty sounds.

Delay can be a very fun effect. Like you've already noticed, it doesn't have to just be something that produces slap back repeats. It can be used for atmosphere and texture.

Now, do yourself a favor and DON'T play a tape delay. You'll never be the same again!:mrgreen:

those carbon delays are on clearance right now at mf

I just checked and they are in stock at $149, which I think is the regular MF price.

John

There is a revision to this pedal to bump up the strength of the mod button after a lot of complaints that it was too subtle. Perhaps MF was closing out the last of the pre-revision stock.

John

Now, do yourself a favor and DON'T play a tape delay. You'll never be the same again!:mrgreen:

Not only that, but it's a major bite whenever there's a mechanical issue. To make them mechanically bomb proof usually attaches a price tag of a grand or higher to the pedal:shock:

If you dig analog delay, jump on it. The components used in them are dwindling in supply. To get longer repeats with analog, they have to chain more of the chips together...

The CC seems to be a slam dunk winner, even if it isn't perfect. When you consider that you can buy 2 of them and have some bucks left over versus the Maxon analog delay, the deal just gets sweeter.

I have just finished the backings for a more acoustic based album. When I have used electric in this project it is more atmospheric so the Carbon Copy is ideal as it never seems to get in the way of the guitar.

Funny thing is, I am recording songs which I wrote over 20 years ago with a friend of mine when the only delay I had was an Boss DM-2.