# Getting Petrucci's Delay Sound.



## GorillaSalsa (Jul 23, 2009)

I've always loved the way that John Petrucci's guitar has sounded, specifically the depth that his delays add to his sound. I know that he uses Eventide Timefactors, and he has one (two?) set to two different delay times, one being the half of the other (i.e. 600ms on one and 300ms on the other). I want to get that same delay sound, but I don't have $400-$800 to spend on delays alone, so I was thinking of getting two EHX #1 Echos and setting one to half the speed of the other. How well do you think this would fare for me?


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## Variant (Jul 23, 2009)

Yes, he's double-delayed for years. I believe he uses a 400-440 on one, and like a 680-720 on the other. You get the "cascade" effect and the "echo" effect that way. Criss Oliva did this as well for some of the best lead tones imaginable. Though, you _*don't*_ want exact doubled times as they just start to stack up and loose the overall effect of two delays. The trick with getting two EHX pedals is that you have to figure out on how to get them running in parallel. Set up in serial order, you get a different effect (cool in its own right, for atmospheric stuff especially) but not great for lead work.


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## GorillaSalsa (Jul 23, 2009)

Variant said:


> Yes, he's double-delayed for years. I believe he uses a 400-440 on one, and like a 680-720 on the other. You get the "cascade" effect and the "echo" effect that way. Criss Oliva did this as well for some of the best lead tones imaginable. Though, you _*don't*_ want exact doubled times as they just start to stack up and loose the overall effect of two delays. The trick with getting two EHX pedals is that you have to figure out on how to get them running in parallel. Set up in serial order, you get a different effect (cool in its own right, for atmospheric stuff especially) but not great for lead work.



I could just buy something like this, though, and it would work?


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## onefingersweep (Jul 23, 2009)

Boss Giga Delay, might work.


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## GorillaSalsa (Jul 23, 2009)

No. I like having a pedalboard.

When I posted this, the guy above me told me to get a G-Major.
vvvvvvvv


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## HighGain510 (Jul 23, 2009)

The Boss gigadelay *IS* a pedal...


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## distressed_romeo (Jul 23, 2009)

One option might be to use something like the Boss Line Selector, which lets you blend two different effects chains. Having said that, do you have two amps available, ideally with effects loops, as going stereo is a big part of this sound. There was an interview with Petrucci on the Boss website where he explains how he wires up his amps and delay pedal to get a big stereo sound when he can't bring his full rack. Here's the article...

http://www.bossus.com/boss_users_group/article.php?ArticleId=30


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## Variant (Jul 23, 2009)

^


You'll want something active, because with a Y-Cable, you'll load down you're signal. But it may be okay if you run a parallel loop and set your mix higher than usual to make up for the loss in gain. You don't generally run a reflection more than 50% anyway.


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## onefingersweep (Jul 24, 2009)

GorillaSalsa said:


> No. I like having a pedalboard.
> 
> When I posted this, the guy above me told me to get a G-Major.
> vvvvvvvv



I misunderstood your question so I changed my post 

Giga Delay however have a Tape Echo simulator which you can run two tape heads on with different times.


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