Cusack Music Tap-A-Delay Deluxe

The Cusack Music Tap-A-Delay Deluxe is a tap tempo digital delay pedal in a compact die-cast metal enclosure, measuring 4.7" x 3.69" x 1.37"¹. It is a 750mS digital delay that mixes the original analog signal with the delayed signal, and Cusack describes its character as gritty and analog flavored rather than a clean studio quality delay with perfect repeats². Premier Guitar's reviewer found the repeats "appealingly warm, granular, and decidedly analog sounding, but not gnarly to the point of losing clarity or definition"¹.

The Deluxe is the expanded version of the Cusack Music Tap-A-Delay, which was released in early 2017³. The Deluxe debuted at Summer NAMM 2017, adding a Float switch and a Float Input toggle to the original design³. Cusack Music now lists the Tap-A-Delay Deluxe as discontinued².

What it does: digital delay with analog-voiced repeats

The Tap-A-Delay Deluxe is built around a delay line that runs from 50mS to 750mS⁴. Cusack's own description of the sound is blunt about what it is and is not: "It is gritty, a bit noisy, and very analog sounding. This isn't your clean studio quality digital delay with perfect repeats"⁵. In other words, the repeats degrade and color the signal the way an analog or tape-based delay does, rather than reproducing it exactly.

Premier Guitar's 2023 review put it in similar terms, noting that "the Deluxe is voiced for slightly dirty and gritty repeats that sound studiously analog," and that with a little modulation added "the Deluxe ranks alongside any of the better digital tape-delay emulators on the market"¹.

The pedal's performance features are where it goes beyond a basic delay:

• Tap tempo: press the Tap Speed switch twice to set the delay time; the Divide toggle then selects 1/8, dotted 1/8, or 1/4 note divisions².
• Brake: holding the Tap Speed switch triggers a braking effect, and the Mode switch selects how the delay reacts, with positions labeled Stay, Snap, and Drift⁴.
• Float: a momentary feedback loop on a second footswitch, detailed below².
• External tap jack: an RCA jack on the back that works as a tap input for a remote momentary switch, or as a tap output to sync another pedal's tempo from the Tap-A-Delay's internal switch⁴.
• Direction setting: holding both footswitches changes a stored default direction, saved in EEPROM even with power and battery removed⁴.

The manual also suggests combining features: engaging Float and Brake together produces what Cusack calls "warping washes of echo," and tapping a new tempo while floating shifts the effect⁴.

The controls

The Deluxe carries four knobs, two footswitches, and several toggles. The maker's manual and product page describe each control's function⁴.

The Float switch

The Float footswitch is the Deluxe's headline addition over the standard Tap-A-Delay. With a press, it "effectively raises the FEEDBACK, and the knob position determines the intensity of the effect," according to the manual: the left half of the Feedback knob range turns into a pad-like wash, and turning clockwise makes the effect build up quicker and louder⁴. Delicious Audio described it more simply as a switch "that momentarily raises your feedback" to freeze the delay³.

The Float Input toggle, on the back left corner, decides what happens to notes you play while floating. To the left, feedback continuously evolves with your playing, which the manual suggests for build-ups and extended outros; to the right, the delay line latches, creating a droning pad or momentary bursts of glitch⁴.

Power, connections and size

The Deluxe uses a standard pedal supply pin-out: tip ground, sleeve 9VDC, with a power consumption of approximately 30mA⁴. A 9V battery is also supported, though not included, and the input jack disconnects power when unplugged, so the manual advises unplugging the pedal when not in use⁴. When the battery is dying, the status light blinks green in bypass and red when the effect is on⁴.

The single output is mono⁴. The back panel also carries the external RCA tap jack described above⁴.

Where it came from

The original Tap-A-Delay was announced by Cusack Effects, with Vintage Guitar reporting in December 2010 on a delay pedal that mixes the analog signal with the delayed signal, with delay time up to 750mS and Level, Mix, Feedback, and Delay controls⁶. Cusack Music released the Tap-A-Delay in early 2017³, and the Deluxe version, with its Float switch and Float Input toggle, debuted at Summer NAMM 2017³. By June 2022, Delicious Audio described the Tap-A-Delay as Cusack's current flagship delay, with the Prototype Delay teased at NAMM '22 as its planned replacement⁷⁶.

What reviewers said

Premier Guitar reviewed the Deluxe in June 2023. The reviewer's verdict on its core sound was positive, listing "excellent analog-voiced delay sounds" as "the foundation for creativity-sparking features," and finding that "the functions all perform logically and intuitively once you understand where to find them"¹. On value, the reviewer called the $269 street price "quite reasonable" given the bonus features and on-the-fly controllability¹.

The criticism in the same review concerned the enclosure: "Diminutive dimensions make switch selection challenging, especially on a dark stage"¹.

Premier Guitar's reviewer found the Tap-A-Delay Deluxe's repeats appealingly warm, granular, and decidedly analog sounding, but not gnarly to the point of losing clarity or definition¹. The same reviewer judged the $269 price tag quite reasonable given the bonus features and on-the-fly controllability, though the diminutive dimensions were noted as making switch selection challenging, especially on a dark stage¹.

Premier Guitar had also reviewed the original Tap-A-Delay in 2021, calling it "well engineered, interactive, and player friendly" and recommending it for players seeking a vintage-sounding delay with a wealth of interactive performance controls⁸.

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