Guitar Sound Effects

MXR Carbon Copy Analog Delay

Value for Money
Sound Quality
Features
Ease of Use

Apr 22, 2010 Delay & Reverb Effects, Pedals and Stompboxes, Recommended Guitar Equipment
Posted by Fila

Unlike digital delay units which produce accurate repeats and add no colour to basic guitar sound, analog delays produce some colouring in overall sound. It acts like the main signal is recorded and played back several times, each at lower volume so that it makes the impression there are small shifting in the tone of each repeated note as they decay which makes each note balance between a brighter and a darker tone. Of course, those shiftings are very fast and therefor produce warmth in the overall tone. MXR Carbon Copy is one of those units. A very basic and straightforward guitar sound effect. No bells and whistles, no various sounds, not many options, no million buttons. Just a straight, warm, luscious and somewhat unique sounding analog delay.

I found Carbon Copy very useful for adding both ambience and colour to the guitar sound. The colour it adds is unique, not similar to other analog delays. It is hard to rate it and say is it a good sound or not, is it better than other delays or worse. It has its own distinctive sound and it is just whether you like it or not. It is my impression that it MXR actually tried to offer an effect which is a crossover between analog delay and old tape echo units, and stepped into that vintage area in a very elegant way. The unit adds some bass to the clean sound, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

But where Carbon Copy works best IMO is with distorted solos. Combined with a distorsion or a higher gain overdrive suddenly makes the sound much more rounded, full, creamier and sweet. It will not give you instant David Gilmour, U2 or Ozric Tentacles sound. It has its own voicing. But whatever music you use it for (namely aforementioned bands and their guitarists) it is going to sound nice.

This pedal can go up to 600 ms of delay time which is pretty much enough for standard delay use (perhaps not enough if you want to go into the experimental territory). As for the features, it has basic controls of a delay unit, namely Regeneration (amount of feedback or number of times the basic note is repeated), Mix (how loud the repeted sounds are) and Delay Time. There is also a small push button on the top of the pedal that engages modulation of all but basic note. This is very nice and useful feature and produces chorus like effect. So you get an analog delay and a subtile chorus in one pedal.

Mind that this is a one trick pony and if you like the ride jump on it. If not, look elsewhere. No versatility (except for the modulation button), not many options and no endless delays. Just a unique sounding delay that you might embrace or find that it is not up to your taste. No multitap option either, so if you want a U2 type of sound you will have to keep your right hand busy (or hook this pedal to another delay unit). If you re after simplicity and distinct sound you might like it. If you prefer versatility look elsewhere.

This is a true analog signal path, not a digital emulation found in many other boxes, which is undeniably a big plus. Another plus is the small size of the pedal so it doesnt steal the precious area on a pedalboard.

The bottom line, it is good for adding ambience and some colour to the clean sound, it is very good for distorted riffs and solos, it is not very good for experimental and ambiental music where you might occasionaly need longer delays.

A littly pricey for such a narrow scope, but some people will love the straighforwardness and and quality of tone it offers.

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Tags: Analog Delay, David Gilmour, Edge, MXR Carbon Copy, U2