Strymon Brigadier User Manual

USER MANUAL

dBucket Delay

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Brigadier - dBucket Delay User Manual

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Front Panel

TIME: Controls the delay
time according to the selected

delay mode. Delay clock
is continuously variable so
that turning it while repeats
are happening can produce
interesting pitch effects.

BUCKET LOSS:
Controls the

amount of bucket
loss at each stage
in the dBucket
algorithm, from no
loss at minimum,
to full noisy loss at
maximum. Set to
3:00 to get maximum
distortion loss with
just a hint of noise.
Increasing from 3:00
adds more noisy
loss. TIP: Hold TAP
and BYPASS while
turning the knob to
adjust the filter for
darker or brighter
repeats (see pg 5 for
more info).

REPEATS: Varies the
number of repeats from
one to runaway oscillation.
When set to 3:00, a
sustained infinite repeat is
achieved without runaway.

MODE SWITCH:
Controls the delay time range
by adjusting the number of

dBucket ‘chips’ in the delay.
Short mode ranges from
40ms to 400 ms, med from
100ms to 1000ms, and long
from 500ms to 5s

MODE

short

med
long

dBucket delay

TAP

REPEATS

TAP SWITCH:
Changes the tap
subdivision between
quarter notes,
dotted eighth notes,
and eighth note
triplets.

quarter

dot

triplet

MODBUCKET LOSS

BYPASSTAP

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MIX: Controls the balance of dry
signal and wet signal from 100%

dry at minimum to 100% wet
at maximum. The mix occurs
entirely in analog. Set to 3:00 to
get a 50/50 mix.

MIXTIME

MOD:

Adds LFO modulation
to the delay time.
Modulation is off at
minimum setting. The
modulation speed is
slow in the first half
of the knob, and fast
in the second half of
the knob, increasing in
intensity as the knob is
turned clockwise.

TAP FOOTSWITCH:
Tap quarter notes to set the delay time.

The TAP LED will flash to indicate the
tempo. TIP: Holding the tap footswitch will
result in infinite repeats.

TIP: Hold down BYPASS and TAP while turning the MIX knob to achieve a +/- 3dB
boost or cut when the pedal is engaged (12:00 on the Mix knob is unity gain).

BYPASS FOOTSWITCH:
Engages and disengages effect. Bypass mode is

true bypass by default. LED on indicates that the
effect is engaged. TIP: Hold the bypass footswitch
during power up to change the bypass mode to

analog bypass with trails (delay persist).

pg 2

Brigadier - dBucket Delay User Manual

Rear Panel

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INPUT

High impedance
mono input.

EXP

RIGHT OUTLEFT OUT

Stereo outputs.
Use LEFT OUT
for mono signal
output.

9VDC

+

-

Standard 9V DC center
negative power input.
250 mA available
current required.

Connect a standard TRS
expression pedal for continuous
control over any selectable knob
parameter. To select the knob
controlled by the expression
pedal, hold the TAP footswitch
during power up. The first knob
turned is then then assigned
to the expression pedal. The
maximum position the knob
is turned up to becomes the
expression pedal “toe down”
maximum value.

pg 3

Brigadier - dBucket Delay User Manual

MIXTIME

short

med
long

MODE

TAP

quarter

dot

triplet

In Depth: Delay Modes

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The 3 modes in Brigadier give you 3
different delay pedals in essence. Each
mode has a delay range that is determined
by the number of dBucket ‘chips’ in the
delay. The short mode has delay times
ranging from 40 to 400ms. The medium
mode adds another dBucket ‘chip’ for a
delay range between 100ms and 1000ms.
The long mode adds even more bucket
stages to achieve delays ranging from
500ms to 5 full seconds.

One thing you’ll notice as you turn the Delay Time knob to
around 3:00 or greater (in any mode) is the clock artifacts
that arise due to the slower clocks used to achieve the
longer delay times. This is independent of the Bucket loss.
In fact, it is more noticeable with zero bucket loss because
higher bucket loss can serve to overshadow some of
those clock artifacts. In the short mode, you’ll hear these
artifacts strongly at 400ms delay. If you want a cleaner
sounding 400ms delay, you can go to Med mode, where
you’ll hear the clock artifacts strongly at 1s. If you want a
cleaner 1 second delay, you can go to Long mode where
you’ll hear the clock artifacts strongly at 5 seconds.

The short mode recreates the
earliest single-chip analog
bucket brigade pedals that
are great for slap back, leads,
and runaway sci-fi sounds.
The medium mode achieves
the longest analog bucket
brigade delay times currently
available. And, long mode goes
far beyond what is physically
possible with analog bucket
brigade chips.

pg 4

Brigadier - dBucket Delay User Manual

MIXTIME

REPEATS

short

med

long

BYPASSTAP

MODBUCKET LOSS

MODE

TAP

quarter

dot

triplet

In Depth: Filter control

TAP

MODE

short
med
long

quarter

dot

triplet

MIXTIME

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darker brighter

( FILTER )

REPEATS

dBu cke t d ela y

MODBUCKET LOSS

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To adjust the Filter
control, hold the TAP
and BYPASS switches
while turning the
Bucket Loss knob.

BYPASSTAP

Filter Control: The filter control on the
Brigadier allows the delay repeats to be
either darker or brighter depending on
preferece. 12:00 is a neutral filter setting.
Turning the filter counterclockwise makes the
repeats darker and they will get progressively
darker with each repeat. Increasing the
bucket loss will darken the repeats even
further. Turning the filter clockwise makes
the repeats brighter by applying a ‘post’ high
shelf EQ to the wet signal.

pg 5

Brigadier - dBucket Delay User Manual

Sample Settings

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MODE TAP

short
med

long

quarter

dot

tripl et

short
med

long

MIXTIME

REPEATS

MODBUCKET LOSS

Rockabilly Vintage

MODE TAP

short
med

long

REPEATS

Ambient Clean

quarter

dot

tripl et

MIXTIME

MODBUCKET LOSS

short
med

long

Lead Enhancer

MODE TAP

quarter

dot

tripl et

MIXTIME

REPEATS

MODBUCKET LOSS

MODE TAP

quarter

dot

tripl et

MIXTIME

REPEATS

MODBUCKET LOSS

MODE TAP

short
med

long

quarter

dot

tripl et

MIXTIME

REPEATS

MODBUCKET LOSS

1 Second Vibrato 5 Second Fun

MODE TAP

short
med

long

quarter

dot

tripl et

MIXTIME

REPEATS

MODBUCKET LOSS

June Echo Triplets

( Tap in quarter notes and you will hear repeats as dotted eighth notes. )

MODE TAP

short
med

long

quarter

dot

tripl et

MIXTIME

REPEATS

MODBUCKET LOSS

MODE TAP

short
med

long

quarter

dot

tripl et

MIXTIME

REPEATS

MODBUCKET LOSS

( Tap in quarter notes and you will hear repeats as eighth note triplets. )

pg 6

Brigadier - dBucket Delay User Manual

Features

• Hand Crafted dBucket Algorithm

• Super Low Noise, high performance A/D and D/A Converters

• Premium analog front end and output section

• Analog dry path for a zero latency dry signal that is never converted to digital

• High Performance DSP

• Bucket Loss control to control the amount of loss that occurs at each stage of the dBucket

• 3 delay time modes (short: 40-400ms, medium: 100-1000ms, long: 500ms-5s)

• 3 Tap Tempo modes (quarter, dotted eighth, and eighth note triplets)

• Stereo Output

• Expression pedal input with selectable control over any knob parameter

• +/- 3dB adjustable analog boost or cut when effect is engaged

• Tap Tempo footswitch

• Rugged & Lightweight Anodized Aluminum Chassis

• No-Nonsense User Interface

• Bypass selectable between True Bypass or Analog Bypass with “trails”

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Specifications

Input Impedance 1Meg Ohm
Output Impedance 100 Ohm
Signal to Noise 115 dB typical
A/D & D/A 24-bit 96kHz
Frequency Response 20Hz to 20kHz
Max Input Level +8dBu
DSP performance 1596 MegaFLOPS
Bypass Switching True Bypass (electromechanical relay switching)
or Analog “trails” Bypass (selectable)
Dimensions 4.5” deep x 4” wide x 1.75” tall

Power Supply

Input Voltage 9VDC Center Negative
Required Current 250mA

pg 7

Brigadier - dBucket Delay User Manual

Strymon Non-Transferrable Limited Warranty

Warranty

Strymon warrants the product to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of one (1) year
from the original date of purchase. If the product fails within the warranty period, Strymon will repair or, at our
discretion, replace the product at no cost to the original purchaser.

Exclusions

This warranty covers defects in manufacturing discovered while using this product as recommended by
Strymon. This warranty does not cover loss or theft, nor does the coverage extend to damage caused by
misuse, abuse, unauthorized modification, improper storage, lightning, or natural disasters.

Limits of Liability

In the case of malfunction, the purchaser’s sole recourse shall be repair or replacement, as described in the
preceding paragraphs. Strymon will not be held liable to any party for damages that result from the failure of
this product. Damages excluded include, but are not limited to, the following: lost profits, lost savings, damage
to other equipment, and incidental or consequential damages arising from the use, or inability to use this
product. In no event will Strymon be liable for more than the amount of the purchase price, not to exceed the
current retail price of the product. Strymon disclaims any other warranties, express or implied. By using the
product, the user accepts all terms herein.

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How to Obtain Service Under this Warranty

For North American customers: Contact Strymon through our website at http://www.strymon.net/support for
Return Authorization and information. Proof of original ownership may be required in the form of a purchase
receipt.
For International Customers: Contact the Strymon dealer from which the product was purchased from in order
to arrange warranty repair service.

Strymon® is a division of Damage Control®, LLC.

REV B

pg 8