Guitar players have a tendency to be somewhat sentimental.
Don't worry, we’re not going to talk about emotions here. But think about it — vintage tube amps, custom shop reissues, paying big bucks for discontinued pedals, etc. As technology keeps pumping out new ideas, there are certain things we just don’t want to give up.
Analog delay is one of them. Compared to digital delay, it’s darker, dirtier and a bit unpredictable. When you want to emulate guys like Andy Summers, David Gilmour or The Edge, analog delay is essential. Now our friend, technology, has made us hip with the tap/tempo feature. This means instead of pausing your big rock show to say, “Excuse me, folks, while I dial in 400ms," you can just tap the rhythm into your pedal.
GNI Music, a pedal company from Brazil, has combined the old with the new to give us the GNI PADT Analog Tap Tempo Delay. The pedal is simple to use. If you prefer to use it like an old-school analog delay, just switch it on and use the three knobs: Delay, Mix and Feedback. To engage the Tap/Tempo feature; click the pedal on, then hold your foot on the switch for a second until the red LED turns orange. Now you are in Tap/Tempo mode, and you can tap into your desired tempo.
Switching the pedal off from Tap/Tempo mode was a bit tricky. You have to hold the switch down until the LED turns from orange to red, then finally switch it off. It took me a couple tries, but you’ll get the hang of it. The pedal can run either on a 9v battery or a negative center 9v power supply. GNI recommends a 300ma power supply.
This pedal is definitely ready to gig! It is built around a thick metal case and a sturdy switch. Compared to a Boss it is a little shorter and just a hair wider. Delay times range from 50600 milliseconds ... and, well, there are 1000ms in a second, so 600ms equates to just over half a second.
I recorded a quick video to demo the Tap/Tempo feature. I start with the delay off, then click it on with a short slap back sound and finally tap in a longer delay.
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You can't believe everything you read on the Internet, but Billy Voight is a gear reviewer, bassist and guitarist from Pennsylvania. He has Hartke bass amps and Walden acoustic guitars to thank for supplying some of the finest gear on his musical journey. Need Billy's help in creating noise for your next project? Drop him a line at thisguyonbass@gmail.com.
