When we talk about echo, it might make you think of vintage effects, which may be dirty, distorted and lo-fi in character. In contrast, ‘delay’ started becoming the standard term when digital technology made it possible to manufacture cleaner and quieter-sounding effects with a full frequency range and longer delay times. Whatever the nature of the effect, delay mimics something you might experience in a large empty building or a canyon. The time interval between a sound being generated and the sound that bounces back is long enough for the ‘echo’ to be heard as clear and distinct repeats.
Reverb is related, but these multiple repeats occur so quickly that the reflected sound is perceived as continuous, rather than something separate. Studio designers could build dedicated reverb chambers because the space required isn’t actually that great. But tacking an echo canyon onto the back of a live room has never been a viable proposition… Consequently, echo effects didn’t become commonplace until technological solutions presented themselves.
Reel Time
Looking back demonstrates how he was pushing the creative use of echo further than anybody.
