Glitch delay uses a series of sequenced, clock-divided delays to produce rhythmic, stuttery delay sequences that chew up your signal and spit it out in chunks. Joined by a pitch shifter, filter, and pan, the patch can create disorienting, unholy cacophony or really actually quite lush rhythms.

Sequence length can be determined (up to four steps) and frozen at will, individual steps can be turned on and off, and clock multiples go up to 32x the base tap tempo, producing everything from rhythmic repeats to almost formant-like sounds when used in conjunction with the filter.

The effected signal path is pitch shifter –> low-pass filter –> delay sequencer –> pan. It is summed to mono from both inputs and remains mono until it reaches the pan, but the dry signal in the mix is preserved as true stereo.

Controls:

Footswitches:

Left — tap tempo

Middle — freeze the delay sequencer

Right — advance the delay sequencer (this can be done while the sequencer is active, but it is especially useful while the sequencer is frozen–use a two step pattern to switch back and forth between two rhythms for instance)

Front page:

Configured in color-coded rows on the left side are controls per step:

On — turns the step “on,” although audio passes regardless; when “off” the delay sequencer is bypassed and the audio for that step proceeds directly to the pan (when all steps are off, the patch can be used as a pitch shifter + filter + pan or any combination, if you would like)

Multiplier — this is a value control; I tried to get it to scale as well as I could such that 1/100ths were equival to multiple increements: e.g. a value of .030 = equals a 3x multiple for that step; .100 = a 10x multiple, etc. Select from 1x multiple (synced to tap) to 32x. The scaling is not perfect, but it is fairly accurate.

Pixel — when on, indicates step is active

Blinking pixel — visual feedback on the rate of the delay for that step

Count buttons — three pushbuttons; each corresponds to length of the sequence. When the first is on, the sequence is limited to the first step, when the second is on, two steps; etc.; when none are on, the sequence runs through all four steps

Beneath these is a stompswitch that will light up when the middle stompswitch is latched and the delay sequencer is frozen.

Along the right-hand side are global controls:

Mix — mix!

Pitch mix — the mix of pitch shifted signal; at 0% the signal is not pitch shifted, at 100% it is entirely pitch shifted

Filter max — the maximum frequency of the filter; 100% is entirely open; 0% is entirely closed; when the filter depth (see below) is at 0, this can be used as a tone control

Filter depth — determines the depth of the filter’s LFO as it sweeps from the maximum frequency down

Feedback — feedback for the delay lines; commonly for the glitchy, stuttery effect, this is quite high or at 1, but other feedback amounts can be interesting as well; I generally keep it at ~.95-.99 so that if I freeze the sequencer, I can layer sounds that (eventually) decay.

Second page “pitch and filter”:

The pitch shifter is on this page, at the top. You would change its semitone here.

Below this are the clock divider and LFO for the filter. Change the clock divider to adjust how the filter moves in relation to the sequence; edit the LFO to change the filter shape (default is triangle).

Third page “pan sequencer”:

The pan is sequenced with a sequencer of up to 16 steps. If you would like to use fewer than 16 steps, place a gate on the second track of the sequencer, and it will restart at that step. If you would like to “disable” the pan, place the gate on the 1st step and, on the first track of the sequencer, set the cv value to .5.

Beneath the pan sequencer is a CV filter, which can be used to smooth the pan’s transitions, making it more LFO-like.

Four page “ins and outs and clock”:

The ins and outs of the patch are here, along with the master clock.

Sound clip:

0:00-0:57 — I begin with a glitchy delay sequence, then begin to add the other elements of the signal path: first, the pitch shifter, then the filter, finally the pan.
0:58-1:54 — I changed the filter LFO’s shape to random, then… just messed around, really. I like this patch; it’s easy to get lost in. I did want to show off some of the higher multiple rates.
1:55-5:39 — I haven’t used a drum machine for a while. So I did. I… adjust all the things. Just, like, so many things. It begins with the delay sequencer frozen.