Delay with your hands

Question

I recently watched a youtube video where John 5 was going over his rig. They turned to his pedal board and he talked about how he is not over reliant on pedals and that he likes to produce effects himself.

The interviewer asked him about not even having a delay pedal to which John 5 replied that if he needed a delay he would use his hands.

My question is how exactly is this possible to create a delay effect yourself?

Which part of the video is that? It's a 20 minute long video — Shevliaskovic, Mar 26 '15 at 17:39
Just a note - adding e.g. #t=3m08s to a YouTube link allows people to instantly find the relevant segment. — Tetsujin, Mar 27 '15 at 08:48

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 26 '15 at 16:26

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I'm assuming he's talking about playing the same note, chord, or phrase more than once, possibly playing the second and subsequent repeats more and more quietly. Some kinds of delay sound can't be replicated this way, but you can definitely sound like a ducker (where the delayed notes automatically are lowered in volume behind any new notes that are played). So you would only play "delay" notes when you're not busy playing anything else.

answered Mar 26 '15 at 16:26

Todd Wilcox

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That is very interesting. Is this an old technique? I have never heard a guitarist talk about it even. – Neil Meyer Mar 27 '15 at 07:02
I know my brother was doing it on keys ten years ago and I've seen famous singers do it. Usually guitarists don't eschew the pedals so this is the first time I've heard of a guitarist doing it too. – Todd Wilcox Mar 27 '15 at 10:47

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 26 '15 at 16:30

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Look at the Boss RC-505 - it's hand-driven, has to be given it's 5 consynchronous channels. You can add a foot pedal, if you're that old school.

The old picker trick for that one was Bob Marley's, using the fret hand while plucking ahead with the main driver hand.

answered Mar 26 '15 at 16:30

Rahere

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Sorry if my question was ambiguous I'm asking how it is possible to use some sort of picking technique to get a delay sound without the use of a pedal. – Neil Meyer Mar 27 '15 at 07:04

Delay with your hands

2 Answers2