- After Effects 70's trace/echo effect; Highlighted. 70's trace/echo effect RobertSmoughton. New Here, Mar 02, 2017. Copy link to clipboard.
- As we've established now, a delay effect is a one-time replication of the original signal that is played back after a set amount of time, usually in hundreds of milliseconds. You'll often hear the uninitiated refer to an echo effect. They are more correct than the professional audio engineers who still refer to echoes as delay.
Being a great guitar player probably means you have invested in some guitar pedals to take your instrument to a whole other level. Pedals are amazing as they give us the ability to add color, tone, texture, space, and a little bit of madness to our playing.
However, knowing the right kind of pedal to use can be tricky, especially for new players of the acoustic or electric guitar. There are three that stand out as being very similar that we are going to explore here. This is the reverb, delay, and echo effect pedals.
The Echo effect combines frames from different times in a layer. The Echo effect has a variety of uses, from a simple visual echo to streaking and smearing effects. The results of this effect are visible only if the layer contains change across time, such as motion in a layer based on a video footage item. An echocardiogram uses ultrasound, or harmless sound waves, to quickly and efficiently obtain valuable information about your heart. Our doctors regularly use an echocardiogram, or echo, when they have questions about the size, shape, and performance of your heart and its valves. Echocardiography is a versatile tool to help identify heart disease.
All of these tools can have a huge impact on the overall sound of your instrument, so it’s important to know the differences.
Getting Confused
There is a lot of confusion among guitarists about what the differences between these three effects are. The thing that makes it so difficult to separate them is that each pedal can almost mimic the same effect as the other one. However, if you are using them correctly, they are completely different beasts, each with its own capabilities and attributes.
Below you will find an explanation of each effect and how you can tell the difference in the future.
The Classic Reverb
First of all, let’s look at reverb because it is probably the oldest effect for guitar out there. Reverb is short for reverberation. If essentially copies the effect of the guitar signal that is being played out in a physical space. It does this to add warmth, texture, and space to the sound.
Let’s look at an example of this. Imagine playing your guitar hooked up to an amp in the middle of a dark cave. Play a note or strum a chord, and you will find that the sound bounces back to you. It reverberates around the space, making it last longer. Any sound that you hear after playing a note like this is referred to as the tail. You’ll want to remember this term, as it’s very important when comparing the different types of reverb below.
Types of Reverb
There are a few types of reverb that you will more than likely come across time and time again. We’ve outlined these below.
- Spring reverb – Typically built into older amplifiers, this reverb plays a bit of signal through the back of the amp using a metal spring before it goes through to hit the speaker. In turn, this causes the spring to vibrate, which makes the sound’s tail extend out, giving it a characteristic close sound of reverberation.
- Plate reverb – This type of reverberation follows the same principle as the spring type except that the signal gets directed at a metal plate instead. The signal causes the plate to vibrate, giving it a longer tail depending on how large the plate is.
- Room reverb – With this one, you get pretty much what it says on the tin. Using room reverb means the effect copies the sound your guitar is making depending on the dimension and size of the room. No matter where you are playing – a church, the studio, or even a cave – the room reverb will reflect the sound you create back to you.
Delay Effects
A particularly famous effect in the guitar world is the delay. Trying to explain what a delay effect is to a non-musician can be tricky because essentially, you are playing a note and then having that note repeated back to you.
The simple reason delay effects are so common is that they sound amazing. Delays have been used in many hit songs over the years, with the main purpose being to add color and thicken up the sound. An example of a great song that uses delay techniques is ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’ by U2. Listen to the main guitar line, and you’ll soon find out what a delay effect is.
Most delay pedals will offer you a couple of mandatory settings. Typically these will be feedback and time. Time is the setting you use to dictate how long after you play a note or a chord that it repeats back to you. Feedback will tell the pedal how many times you want it to play.
Of course, there are plenty of other delay effects that come with more and more modern guitar pedals. Things like reverse delays and modulation all add in that extra creative potential every musician craves.
Echo Effects
Finally, we have the echo effects. To put it in the simplest way possible, an echo is a juxtaposition of the delay and reverb effects we’ve explored above. It gives you the space-expanding potential of the reverb and allows you to repeat notes like a delay. However, it can’t be classed as either of these effects and is one on its own.
With echo effects, you will generally be getting a thicker, darker, and shorter sound played back to you. This is because the echo effect is modeled on playing in old recording studios where this sound was achieved by repeating a section using tape.
Differences and Similarities Between Reverb and Echo
Differences
- Echo effects can mimic delays, but they are limited to lower repeat rates and tonal differences.
- Reverb effects can pass for echo sounds, but without the amount of control, you could get for a dedicated echo effect pedal.
Similarities
- All three of these effects can be used to mimic one another, showing just how similar they are.
- Reverb and echo effects can be used to create the same sound as a room reverb effect.
Reverb vs Delay Effect
For this concern, we’ve made a very detail comparison for reverb and delay effects. Also made sure you read this if you wonder about the position of reverb and delay in guitar effect chain.
In Summary
Each of the effects we’ve looked at here take their own place in the history of music. All of these can be valuable tools in the arsenal of any guitar player. You can do some research and look into the best pedals for creating these types of effects. Having a dedicated pedal to each effect gives you much more potential and tonal capabilities than using one to do the job of all three.
SfC Home > Physics > Wave Motion > Sound Waves >
by Ron Kurtus (revised 16 February 2020)
An echo is the sound you hear when you make a noise and the sound wave reflects off a distant object.
Besides the novelty of hearing your words repeated, echoes can be used to estimate the distance of an object, its size, shape and velocity, as well as the velocity of sound itself.
Special effects can be created with echoes reflecting off certain types of surfaces.
Questions you may have include:
- How can we hear an echo?
- How are things estimated with echoes?
- What sort of special effects can echoes cause?
This lesson will answer those questions. Useful tool: Units Conversion
Hearing echoes
Sound is a waveform made from vibrating matter. The sound wave travels through matter—especially air—in a straight line. When the wave hits a different material, some of it is reflected, absorbed and transmitted through the material. In the case of a sound wave in air hitting a solid wall, most of the sound is reflected.
If the wall is relatively flat, perpendicular to the source of the sound, and far enough away (but not too far), then you can hear the reflected waveform or echo. If the sound comes back in about 0.1 second or longer, you can readily distinguish the echo.
Since sound travels at approximately 1000 feet per second (or about 300 meters per second) and if the wall was 50 feet (or 15 meters away), the sound would return in 0.1 second. This can be seen from the relationship:
d = v*t or t = d/v
where
- d = the distance the sound wave traveled back and forth,
- v = velocity of sound, and
- t = the time it takes the sound to go back and forth.
t = 30 m / 300 m/s = 0.1 sec.
(Note that the distance was doubled to show the back and forth motion of the sound.)
That is enough time to be able to distinguish between the noises you made and the reflected sound.
Using echoes
Echoes can be used to tell how far away an object is, how fast the object is moving, and even its shape.
Measuring distance
By knowing the speed of sound and measuring the time it takes to hear the echo, you can calculate the distance of the object.
A sonar device sends out a sound and automatically calculates the distance of an object. Submarines use sonar to find objects under the water, including other submarines. The 'ping' sound heard in a submarine comes from the sonar device sending out a sound wave under water.
Fishermen also use sonar to find schools of fish. Since this is an electronic device, the time it takes for the wave to return can be much less than the 0.1 second required to hear an echo. For example, if the speed of sound in water is 1500 meters per second and the fisherman's sonar device detects an echo in 0.02 seconds, the distance of the object under water will be d = v*t = 1500 meters per second * 0.02 seconds = 30 meters (back and forth).
That may mean a school of fish are 15 meters away.
Sonar and radar work on the same principle. Sonar uses sound waves, while radar uses electromagnetic waves.
Velocity
When a wave bounces off a moving object, the frequency of the sound changes, according to the relative velocity of the object. (Velocity is the measurement of speed and direction.)
If the object is moving toward you, the frequency or pitch of the sound gets higher. When it is moving away, the pitch gets lower. The faster the object is moving, the greater the change in frequency or pitch. This is called the Doppler Effect.
You have probably experienced the Doppler Effect when you heard how the sound of an ambulance siren changes pitch as it passes by.
The Doppler Effect can be used to measure the velocity of an object by comparing the frequency of the sound sent out to the frequency of the sound reflected by in the echo. A sonar device is usually used to calculate the velocity of the object.
Note: Doppler radar works on a similar principle to measure the speed of storms in weather prediction, except that it uses echoes from electromagnetic waves.
Bats can find moths
Bats use echoes to find good tasting moths, while flying around at night. The bat sends a sharp click or chirping sound and then hears and processes any echoes off other objects in the area. Bats have large ears that are very sensitive to sounds in certain wavelengths.
Their brains are also able to process the sound of the echo coming off a flying moth to determine how far away it is, which direction and how fast it is flying, and the size of the moth. It continues to send out sound and receive echoes until it zeroes in on the moth and has a good meal.
Special echo effects
When sound reflects off a stepped grating, the echo can have interesting effects. The most common is a 'chirping' or 'pinging' sound.
Ancient people used these effects
Echoes from the great Mayan pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico sound like the quetzal bird that is found in the Mayan area. The shape of each riser on the pyramid's staircase measures over 10 inches, which is too steep for easy climbing but a perfect dimension to create the chirp.
Cc Wide Time
Rock paintings from ancient Native Americans in Utah's Horseshow Canyon and Arizona's Hieroglyphic Canyon are mainly found at sites with good echoes. The placement of rocks in the areas also affects the quality of the echoes.
Some rock paintings in the French Caves of Font-de-Gaume and Lascaux have special echoes. Clap in front of a painting of horses and the echo sounds like thundering hoof-beats. But if you clap in front of a painting of a cat, almost no echo returns.
Walk by picket fence
If you walk by a picket fence that is near the sidewalk, you can hear the pinging echo of the noise you make. You can also sometimes hear this unusual effect near a flight of stairs.
Summary
Echoes are the reflection of sound from relatively flat object that is far enough away that you can discern the time difference. Echoes are used to measure distance, velocity, and the shape of objects. Echoes off gratings result in an unusual pinging sound.
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