delay

Delay is a guitar effect that records a copy of your signal and repeats it back after a set amount of time, with fading repeats that simulate an echo¹². The term is used when the time-lapse between the initial sound and the reflected sound is sufficient for both to be heard separately and distinctly³. Players often refer to the sound simply as echo⁴. Digital delays generally have cleaner echoes, analog delays sound richer and darker, and tape delays degrade with each repeat⁵. In a signal chain, delay is typically placed before reverb and after modulation and overdrive, towards the end⁶.