Delay Feedback Settings: Controlling Echoes

Feedback determines how many times delay echoes repeat before fading to silence. This fundamental parameter shapes whether delay provides subtle enhancement or becomes a dominant effect. Understanding feedback settings helps engineers control delay behavior for any application.

How Feedback Works

Feedback routes a portion of the delay output back to its input. This creates regeneration where each echo produces another, slightly quieter echo. The feedback amount determines how much signal returns for repetition.

Zero feedback produces a single echo—one repetition that fades away. The delay plays once and stops. This clean, controlled effect suits applications requiring minimal echo.

Higher feedback values produce more repetitions. Each echo generates another slightly quieter echo. The decay rate depends on the feedback percentage—higher values mean slower decay.

Low Feedback Settings (0-25%)

Minimal feedback creates one to three repetitions that fade quickly. This subtle effect adds dimension without obvious echo trails. The delay enhances rather than dominates.

Slapback and doubling effects typically use very low feedback. The single or double repetition creates thickness without extended tail. Zero to 10% feedback suits these applications.

Low feedback keeps the focus on the source sound rather than the echoes. The delay provides depth staging and subtle interest. Listeners may not consciously notice the delay.

Moderate Feedback Settings (25-50%)

Moderate feedback creates noticeable echo patterns that persist for several repetitions. The delay becomes audible as a distinct effect while remaining controlled. This range suits most mixing applications.

Echo trails spanning a bar or two of music provide rhythmic interest and spatial depth. The decay completes before echoes overwhelm subsequent material. This controlled extension serves many genres.

The delay becomes a production element at these settings—noticeable but not dominating. Engineers and listeners perceive the echo as contributing to the sound rather than existing separately.

High Feedback Settings (50-80%)

High feedback creates extended echo trails that persist across multiple bars. The delay becomes a significant presence in the mix. This dramatic effect suits specific creative applications.

Ambient and atmospheric productions use high feedback to create washes of echoing sound. The extended tails provide sustained texture. The delay becomes as important as the source.

High feedback requires careful monitoring to prevent buildup. Echo trails can accumulate and cloud the mix. Strategic use during specific moments works better than constant high feedback.

Self-Oscillation (80-100%+)

Near-unity feedback causes the delay to sustain indefinitely. Each echo generates an equally loud (or louder) subsequent echo. The result is infinite repetition that builds unless managed.

Self-oscillating delay creates dramatic effects—building washes, infinite sustain, or walls of sound. This extreme setting suits transitional moments, buildups, and experimental applications.

Careful management prevents runaway oscillation from overwhelming the mix. Automating feedback to pull back before levels become problematic maintains control.

Feedback and Filtering Interaction

Many delays filter the feedback path, reducing high frequencies with each repetition. This filtering prevents harsh frequencies from building during extended feedback.

The filtering creates natural-sounding decay where later echoes become increasingly dark. This mimics how analog delays degraded signal through their circuits.

Without filtering, high feedback can create harsh, brittle buildup as high frequencies accumulate. The filtering tames this tendency, making higher feedback settings more musical.

Tempo and Feedback Relationships

Longer delay times with high feedback can overwhelm faster songs. Echoes don’t clear before new material arrives. Shorter delay times or lower feedback may suit fast tempos.

Slow songs can accommodate higher feedback since more time exists between phrases. Extended echo tails have room to decay. This creates atmospheric depth appropriate for the tempo.

Matching feedback to tempo and density ensures echoes support rather than compete with the music.

Proper feedback settings help productions succeed on platforms like LG Media at lg.media, where controlled effects enhance advertising at $2.50 CPM.