What delay unit for doing Chet stuff

[MitchC]

What do you guys like / use for doing Chet electric playing ? Would love my old Echoplex back from days gone by. Can't afford them nowdays

[Norm]

You should take your guitar down to your local guitar store and check out the delay pedals. They all pretty much do the same thing and the price may or may not have a bearing on how good they are. Chet, for the most part, just used light delay unless he wanted to flaunt it (Mister Guitar album, Snowbird, Blue Echo and suchlike) so it seems to me any quiet running echo pedal should make the hobby guitarist happy.

Maybe Richard Hudson will weigh in here. His recordings are top notch which means whatever he uses is quiet running.

[emjaybee94]

The Echo unit I like to use is the Marshall EH-1 Echohead Delay. The casing is metal so it's very durable. I think I paid about £65 for mine (don't know what they would cost in the states). They also make a companion reverb unit, the RF-1 Reflector; I sometimes use both on my CGP.
Regards
Mike

[Randy Finney]

I recently bought a couple new pedals and did a fair amount research and comparing as I am not an experienced pedal user.

I ended up choosing Wampler's Faux Spring Reverb and Faux Tape Echo because I thought they sounded the most transparent. Certainly not the least expensive.

http://www.wamplerpedals.com/faux/index.html

Randy

[Richard Hudson]

Chet and Paul used the Lexicon PCM42 for the last several years of Chet's career. They are no longer in production but still available on the used market. Some of the guys here on the CB have the 42 and will probably attest to how good they sound, although a bit pricey. Guitar effects are kinda like a good drug, because it is so easy to overdo it. If you listen to Chet's recordings, or Paul's either for that matter, there is just a hint of delay that you hear sometimes. It is not the over riding factor. As Norm mentioned, Chet used overwhelming delay at the right time with the right song(s), such as Snowbird, Blue Echo, Unchained Melody, et al. I also liked the long delay he used in Knucklebuster. BTW, Norm, thank you for the mention. That's very nice of you.

The thing I like least about pedals is that they are noisy. I hate noise. The only thing I add on in my live playing is a low end Lexicon, the mpx200. It has a plate reverb effect that I really like, with just barely some delay in with it, and very little extra added noise. I also use the slow rotating leslie effect on You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To. I think Chet used a flange effect on that one, but the slow leslie has a bit of a flange sound to it with just a bit of outer space mixed in.

If you want to hear the ultimate in electric nylon string tone, listen to Paul Yandell's Going Home album. The most beautiful tone I have ever heard, and I told Paul that very thing several years ago. Paul was kind enough to burn a CD for me from his copy, since they are no longer available. And, it is one of my most treasured recordings.

The quest for tone is a never ending journey. But, as a beautiful woman shows just enough to make you want to see more, so it is with guitar effects. Don't overdo it.

If I could borrow from my hero, "That's my opinion, and it ought to be yours." Happy picking, everyone.

Thanks,

[David Elliott]

Chet and Paul used the Lexicon PCM42 for the last several years of Chet's career. They are no longer in production but still available on the used market. Some of the guys here on the CB have the 42 and will probably attest to how good they sound, although a bit pricey.

Hi Richard,
I have the Lexicon PCM-42, and I totally agree! There is simply no delay/processor available today (that I have heard), that compares with them. Before buying this one I shopped around and test drove a number of the most popular delays, but was never able to find one that didn't become either "noisy" (to use your term), or "tinny" sounding when cranked up, but the Lexicon is able to remain almost silent in the background, and has a completely different "clarity" of sound (for want of a better word.) Paul (Yandell) told me that he and Chet never used anything but the delay effects of the unit when performing, but I have a friend in the recording business over in Hollywood who told me the PCM-42 is still considered to be an "essential" ingredient, in many big recording studio operations (even though it hasn't been made since the 1980's I believe!)

David

[Richard Hudson]

Hi David, thanks for your input. I remembered you as one of the members that own the 42, but I am reluctant to name names. Thank you for sharing your personal experience. You have some nice equipment and I am happy for you.

[RandeDager]

Since there's such a high regard in the industry for the PCM42, I'm surprised that someone hasn't stepped in to "reverse engineer" and manufacture an equivalent.

[Norm]

Has to have someting to do with cost effectiveness and demand otherwise it would still be being made and sold

[David Elliott]

Since there's such a high regard in the industry for the PCM42, I'm surprised that someone hasn't stepped in to "reverse engineer" and manufacture an equivalent.

Hi Rande,

Yeah, I've wondered about that too. All my acquaintance in the recording industry said about that, was that everybody is "going digital" nowdays, but that recording studios still know the difference! He has two PCM-42's, and wanted to buy mine a couple years ago! I'm no electronics or recording engineer, but as I said there is something "different" about the sound coming out of the Lexicon, as compared with other delays I've heard. The only way I can describe it, is to say it has a "mellow", or a clean/clear sound to it. I'm sorry I didn't have it set-up or inline when you were here a couple months ago Rande, as I think you'd have noticed the difference right away!

David