- Product: Vintage Delay
- Developer: PAA Audio
- Type: BBD Delay
- Version: 1.0.3
- Format: VST3
- Requirements: Windows 10 or later
BBD-modeled analog echo, sampled from real hardware.
Most vintage-delay plugins start from a wishlist of features. This one started with a screwdriver. We measured a real bucket-brigade (BBD) hardware delay, the same chip family and circuit topology that defined analog echo from the early 80s onward: companded input, BBD clock-tied bandwidth, soft-clipped feedback path, self-oscillation through saturation. Dirac impulses, log sweeps, sustained sines, saturation curves at a dozen feedback levels.
The plugin is built from those measurements, not from a marketing brief. The coefficient that decides how dark a 300 ms repeat sounds (820 Hz cutoff at minimum repeat rate, 1037 Hz at maximum) came straight from the sweep deconvolution. The 11.5 % THD at self-oscillation came from a 1 kHz spectrum of the actual oscillating loop. None of it was tuned by ear until it “sounded vintage”.
On top of the faithful model we added a few things the original could never do, chiefly a three-band frequency tilt that delays bass and treble at different times. As far as we can tell, no other delay plugin does this. Roll the knob right and your highs float behind, basses come back fast. Roll it left and the bass tail is the longest thing in the mix while the highs are tight and short.
What makes it different
- Frequency-tilt time per band: unique, nothing else like it.
- Asymmetric saturation that matches the measured even/odd harmonic ratio of the hardware.
- Multi-LFO drift instead of a single sine: capstan + pulley + bearing-friction noise.
- Compander-pumping built into the delay line, not faked with a separate VCA.
- Cross-feedback ping-pong per band: three rhythms running at once when tilt is active.
- Sidechain ducking with internal fallback so it works even without a side-chain bus routed.
Where it shines
- Vocals: sidechain duck keeps the echo out of the way of consonants. Tilt right for an “air” trail of consonants only.
- Drum bus: tilt left to hold the kick echo and let the hi-hat slap come back fast. Multiband keeps the low end clean.
- Synths and pads: three-band ping-pong gives a built-in stereo width that no single-band delay can produce.
- Ambient and texture: freeze a moment, layer on top, clear when the next section comes in.
Standard controls: time, feedback, mix, drift, drift rate, tone (±12 dB high-shelf at 2.5 kHz), duck amount, frequency tilt, kill-dry, freeze, clear and tap. Sync per channel with link, A/B snapshots with copy, six factory presets and unlimited user presets via .xml save/load.
Features
Multiband Frequency Tilt
Three frequency bands with separate delay times. One knob shifts bass and treble apart in time, short bass / long highs, or vice versa. Not in any other delay plugin we know of.
Sampled BBD Hardware
Built from impulse responses, sweeps and saturation curves measured on a real bucket-brigade unit. Every coefficient comes from the box, not a guess.
Asymmetric Saturation
Even and odd harmonics in the feedback path, matching the THD curve we measured at self-oscillation (~11.5 % at MAX intensity).
Multi-LFO Drift
Slow capstan LFO + fast pulley LFO + filtered random walk. Real wow & flutter is not a single sine, and neither is ours.
Companding (NE570-style)
2:1 compress before the delay line, 1:2 expand after. Gives you the typical “atmen” / pumping feel of vintage BBD hardware.
Cross-Band Ping-Pong
Each band ping-pongs independently. Tilt the time and the bass and treble bounces are no longer in sync. Polyrhythmic stereo without effort.
Sidechain Ducking
External sidechain or internal (uses the main signal as trigger). Drop the wet signal under vocals automatically, no extra ducker plugin.
Freeze & Clear
Freeze locks the current echo into an infinite loop. Clear stops all repeats instantly without bypassing the dry signal.
Tap Tempo & Sync
Tap a tempo or sync to the host. Per-channel sync (1/4, 1/8 dotted, 1/16 triplet, etc.) with optional link.
A/B Compare + Snapshots
Two parameter snapshots, instant switch, COPY between them. Standard pro-plugin workflow.
v1.0.3 Changelog
- UI zoom (75 / 100 / 125 / 150 %) now persists across plugin reopens and project save/load. Reported by Eric K Brown: thanks!
- Earlier: v1.0.2 lowered minimum macOS to 11.0 (Big Sur), Universal Binary. v1.0.1 quieter demo noise burst. v1.0.0 initial release, sampled from real BBD hardware.