Flex Waves FW-DLC User Manual

FlexWaves di Alessandro Belletti - sede legale Vicolo dei Rampini 13, 40026 Imola(BO)

Website: www.flexwaves.com E-mail: [e-mail]

FW-DLC
FLEX DELAY

User Manual

Rev 1.3

INTRODUCTION

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Thank you, and congratulations on your choice of the FW­DLC FLEX DELAY Programmable Digital Delay Pedal.

Before using this effect, carefully read the section
entitled: “IMPORTANT NOTES”.

These sections provide important information concerning the
proper operation of the pedal. Additionally, in order to feel
assured that you have gained a good grasp of every feature
provided by your new unit, this manual should be read in its
entirety. The manual should be saved and kept on hand as a
convenient reference.

Flex Delay is a digital delay pedal with pro studio quality: 192
KHz Sample Rate and 24 Bit Resolution.
It brings you very analog, natural sound and warm tube
sounding without adding the artifacts typical of DSP and the
option to STORE up to 8 PRESETS, ORGANIZE them in
BANKS and RECALLING on the fly.
Up to 2800 ms delay time can be set with Delay knob or using
your most important asset: your foot to Tap the Tempo on Tap
button.
Three different types of modulation can be applied to the
delay repetitions and other features include Reverse, Chorus
and 11 seconds LOOPER.

FLEX WAVES Guitar Pedals are DESIGNED and MADE in
Italy.

A power supply is provided with the unit. Use the
power supply provided in the product box or a power
supply with similar specifications.

MAIN FEATURES

 192 KHz (Sample Rate), 24 Bit
 Achieves delay times of up to 2800 ms
 8 Custom Presets
 6 Banks
 Modulated Delay
 Chorus
 11 Seconds Looper
 Reverse Delay
 True Bypass
 Compact Die Cast Aluminium Box
 FW Balanced Cable Link Mode to “smart” connect

multiple Flex Waves pedals

PANEL DESCRIPTION

3

Connections

1- IN

1/4” mono jack connections for signal input.
Flex-Delay require 1/4” stereo jack connections for Link Mode
operations.

2- OUT

1/4” mono jack connections for signal output.
Flex-Delay require 1/4” stereo jack connections for Link Mode
operations.

3- DRY

1/4” mono jack connections for dry (uneffected)signal output.

4- Power

The Flex-Delay require 12V DC 300 mA. Use thepower supply
provided in the product box.

Important Note: FW-DLC Flex Delay input stage is set up to work
with signals coming from guitar pickups, but it can happens that you
have to connect the pedal to keyboards or before signal boosters
like equalizer, distortion or booster effects. If the signal coming out
from the effect is distorted, it means that the input stage has
saturated and  will appear frequently on the display.

If it happens be sure to lower the output level of any devices
being connected or place the Flex Delay BEFORE signal
booster units.

PANEL DESCRIPTION

4

Switches

5 - On/Bypass

This footswitch has three functions.

- Press and release immediately for standard on/off function in
Free Set Mode (Manual).

- Hold and release to switch between the presets in Preset
Mode.

- Hold to store a sound into a Preset number (Preset Mode) or
to confirm the bank selection/bank position (Bank Mode).

When the pedal works as a Looper (Loop Mode), hold the
footswitch to delete the recorded loop.

6 - Tap Tempo / Loop

You can easily set the delay time to match the tempo of the
song being played by pressing the pedal in time with the

song‟s tempo, this can be done in both “off” and “on” mode.

The subdivision options relate to the tapped tempo.
Tap the tempo in quarter notes and then select the
subdivision of your choice.

When the pedal works as a Looper (Loop Mode), press the
footswitch to start the recording and press again to stop it.

12- Sel

Press the “Sel” selection switch to select Subdivision,

Modulation Type, Chorus, Reverse or Looper function.
Subdivision q ie3 s

The subdivision options relate to the tapped tempo.Tap the
tempo in quarter notes and then select the subdivision of your
choice.

 Quarter note q - Delay repeats play quarter notes

according to the tapped tempo. E.g. tap quarter notes
at tempo 120 BPM. The delay time of the repeats is
now 120 BPM or 500 ms.

 Dotted eight note i – A subdivision type often used

when the delay repeats add to the actual guitar rhythm.
Try playing quarter notes with the delay level set
relatively high.

 Eight note triplets e3 - Excellent for fifties style rhythm

in 6/8 where you play only on the fourth beat

 Sixteen note s - A subdivision type often used for fast

tempos, excellent for country or heavy metal.

PANEL DESCRIPTION

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Chorus:

The Chorus function transform the Flex Delay effect in a
chorus pedal.
Adjust the rate of the effect using the Modul./Rate knob,
adjust the depth of the chorus using the Delay/Depth knob.
The Level knob adjusts the volume of the processed sound
and the Feedback knob adjust the amount of the repetitions.
Note 1: usually for a chorus effect the feedback is one, so turn
the Feedback knob to the left. Feel free to experiment with
different number of feedbacks for unusual chorus sounds.
Note 2: pressing the Tap T./Loop footswitch and working with
Feedback knob, you will obtain a nice delay effect with
chorus on the repetitions. Turning the Delay/Depth knob,
the effect will return in normal chorus mode.

Reverse:

This creates a reverse playback effect. You can adjust the
Level knob setting mix the Direct Sound with the Effect
Sound.
Rotate the Level knob on the maximum to have the Reversed
sound1 only without the direct.
It is useful to create Jimi Hendrix style reverse effect sound or
„70s rock sounds.

1

Feature available from Rev.B

Loop:

The pedal works like a 11 seconds looper that enables
anyone to create loop phrases of exact lengths.

Press the On/Bypass footswitch to turn on the effect, press
once the Tap T./Loop footswitch to start the recording, the
blue led will turn on indicating recording is in progress and the
display will tell you how many seconds you still have for
recording the phrase.
Press once the Tap T./Loop footswitch to stop the recording,
playback of the recorded phrase begins simultaneously.
If you want to overdub onto the phrase, press again the Tap
T./Loop footswitch.
Hold on the ON/BYPASS footswitch to delete all the recorded
phrases.

Please note that during Loop mode feature, the Level and
Modul./Rate knobs are active, so they will have effect on the
recorded loop.

11- Mode/Esc

The Flex Delay has four mode of operation, selectable by
pressing the Mode/Esc switch , the modes are: FREE SET
Mode ( Manual ), PRESET Mode, BANK Mode and LINK
Mode.

The switch has also the function of aborting the current
operation like storing a Preset or a Bank.

PANEL DESCRIPTION

6

Knobs

7- Delay/Depth

Adjust the Delay Time. Turn clockwise to increase delay time
and turn counter-clockwise to reduce it.
The maximum delay time is 2800 ms.
It is possible to set the delay time also with the TAP TEMPO
footswitch.

When the pedal works as a Chorus, the knob adjust the
depth of the chorus effect.
Pressing the Tap T./Loop footswitch and working with
Feedback knob, you will obtain a nice delay effect with
chorus on the repetitions. Turning the Delay/Depth knob,
the effect will return in normal chorus mode.

8-Level

Rotate the Level knob to set the overall mix between the dry
signal and the delay repeats.
Rotate the Level knob on the maximum to have the wet sound
only2 (feature active on standard,fm, reverse and chorus
mode).

2

Feature available from Rev.B

When the pedal works as a Chorus, it adjusts the volume of
the processed sound. When it works as a Looper, it adjusts
the volume of the recorded phrase.

9-Feedback

This adjusts the feedback level. The number of times the
delay sound is repeated increases as the knob is turned to the
right.

When the pedal works as a Chorus, usually the feedback is
one, so turn the Feedback knob to the left. Feel free to
experiment with different number of feedbacks for unusual
chorus sounds.

10-Modul./Rate

Rotate the MOD knob to set the level of amplitude modulation
to the delay repeats. Two styles of modulation are available:
normal modulation and Fast Modulation (FM) selectable by
the SEL switch.
When the pedal is in Chorus mode, the Modul./Rate knob
adjust the rate of the modulation. The chorus effect is made
modulating the dry sound with a sine wave. You can control
the frequency of the sine wave with the Modul./Rate kno

CONNECTIONS

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SETUP MONO

This setup illustrates how to use the Flex-Delay pedal in a mono setup (one amp only) .

CONNECTIONS

8

SETUP STEREO

This setup illustrates how to use the Flex-Delay pedal in a stereo setup using two amps. Connect the Flex Delay
Output to the Amp1 Input and the Flex Delay DRY Output to the Amp2 Input to obtain stereo effects like “Direct
+ Effect”.

CONNECTIONS

9

SETUP SEND/RETURN

This example illustrates how to connect your Flex-Delay pedal as a send/return effect in an effects loop.