Review: TC Electronic Nova Delay

I decided to write a review for the TC Electronic ND-1 Nova Delay.  I got one last January and have been really loving it ever since.  I have played through the Boss DD-3 and the Line 6 DL-4, and I think this one wins hands down.  I have also messed around with the Boss DD-20 Gigadelay, which is a really good unit, but I'd still pick the Nova.

Here are the features of the Nova that keep me sold on it:

1. Built in Tap Tempo switch

Some people might say they would rather have a delay pedal with an external tap jack, but I really like having it built into the Nova.  I think that people's gut reaction is that drives should be in the front row of a board, and modulations and delays in the back row.  I would totally disagree with that.  I think we have been trained to think that way because alot of floor processor units (ala Boss GT or Line 6 PodXT) tend to place drive switches in the most convenient position.  I would argue that one doesn't generally change his/her drive tone within a song.  Typically, the only things that are changed within a song are the delays, modulations, and perhaps the solo boost.  So, all in all, I'd rather have my tempo switch built in.

2. Great footprint

The TC Electronic Nova Delay has a great "footprint".  In other words, it's not big and clunky.  It's measurements are 5 inches by 5 inches... alot smaller than the most obvious competition: the Line 6 DL4.

3. Color any delay type

Some other delay pedals offer pretty good tape delay models, but often times, you can't get that tape delay sound with modulation or with rhythmic delay types.  The Nova allows you to add analog or tape delay color to the repeats using standard quarter note delays as well as dotted eighth note or triplet delays.  You can even add color to reverse delay.

4. Versatile Modulation

With the Nova delay, you can also add modulation to any delay type.  There are three modulation types to allow for light, medium, and heavy modulation.  There is also a knob to control the amount of modulation that is introduced into the mix.

5. Nine Presets

Other delay modelers allow for three presets.  The Nova has nine.  Need I say more?

6. Global or Preset Tempo

Each preset allows for the use of the global tempo (whatever was last tapped) or a preset tempo.  That way, if you know a song you want to do has a certain BPM (Beats Per Minute) then you can set it ahead of time.  This is extremely handy if the song kicks off with an electric guitar riff.

7. Three ways to input tempo

One can change tempo in three different ways on the Nova.  One is the Tap switch.  Another one is using the delay time knob.  The knob is a little different than you'd expect--it stays the same when it's at 12'0'clock.  The further you turn the know left or right, the faster it changes the delay time.  This allows for you to be very accurate at setting the delay time.

8. Digital Tempo Readout

The Nova sports a digital readout that tells you the delay time in milliseconds or in BPM.  This is a great feature.  If you want to know what temp a song is that you are listening to, just tap along with it and you will see what tempo you are tapping.

9. Stereo Delays

Most delay units sport stereo delays, and the Nova is no exception.  There is a ping pong delay that jumps each repeat back and forth between each amp.  There is also a pan delay that slowly pans the repeats between the amps over five repeats at a time.

10. TC Electronic

TC Electronic is one of the best known companies for delay, modulation, and reverb.  The TC Electronic 2290 rackmount delay unit has been one of the most popular units in history.  The Nova delay was based on this same unit, and sports some very good tone.  There is an input sensitivity program setting that allows the Nova to adjust to guitars and rigs with various outputs.  In my opinion, this unit sounds better than any unit I've heard, and for 250.00 dollars, you can't beat it.

In order to give an honest review, I will briefly share the cons to this unit.  One is that it only can do one delay line at a time.  There are some players who like to feed a delayed signal into another delay unit to create some spacier sounds.  The only solution to this is to get another delay unit.  In my opinion, I'd rather have a Nova and another delay unit that maybe is analog, although I do think the analog sounds on the Nova are really good.  Also, some delay units offer Auto Swell and looping... neither of which are easy to get with the Nova.  Again, I'd rather have a another unit that is made for looping... no delay unit is going to loop as well as a loop station.  As far as auto swell goes, all you need is a volume pedal, or a volume knob on your guitar.  That would also offer more flexibility than an Auto Swell option on a delay unit.  I'd much rather have a volume pedal and have the option to control the volume swell than to rely on a setting locked into a delay pedal's modeling software.

Here are some links to help you continue to research the Nova Delay pedal.

tc electronic website

buy the nova from guitar center

harmony central review

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Open for Business

It's official... The Firehouse is open.  We still have a good amount of work to do to be ready for the video venue element, but this week and next include live preaching from Tevis.  Yesterday's message was on properly using our time.  This has honestly been difficult for me the last few weeks, since we have had to put in so much time at the firehouse just to be ready in time for the firehouse launch, but that is the nature of opening a new site--there is alot to do and it is very difficult to know ahead of time how long it will take.

Luckily, we are up and running.  There's a lot to do still do be functioning 100% but it feels really good to have the majority of it done.  I feel like I haven't been a worship leader for a few months now, so I'm excited to be back into leading worship regularly.

Molly is getting really big... she took a few steps forward today... completely on her own.  It's exciting and scary at the same time.  I put together a video today with some video we have of Molly.  I'll try to get it posted soon.

Today is a good day.

It feels very good to be a part of a large project and see it get off the ground, especially when you work very hard at it and maybe even experience some stress over it.  The day after is great, especially when there is no alarm clock and the eight month old in the other room doesn't start to cry until almost 9am.

So, yesterday was the first worship celebration at the Firehouse.  It was a soft opening, so it only included those families that will be serving in ministries at the Firehouse.  Overall, I thought it went pretty well.  I must give props to Adam Deiner for all the time he put in.  He was there later than I was every night and spent every one of his past three or four days off there.  The sound was very good, and I know it will get better as we tweak it and get the drive rack programmed.  (For those of you who don't know what that is, think of it as a brain to the sound system that compensates for any weaknesses in the acoustics of the room)

I'm really excited for the creative potential for the music at the Firehouse.  It has been made very clear that we are a venue that is to be unique from the typical contemporary church band (which is done incredibly well at the Williams Street location).  Yesterday's band consisted of an Acoustic Guitar, a D`jembe, and an Electric guitar.  I'm trying to use the electric guitar more like a keyboard would be, but it is going to take some getting used to.  I'm not looking for alot of melodic leads or chunky powerchords, but for more chimey chords and some rhythmic or bluesy leads.  After playing acoustic for the past four years, I have to retrain myself to not chunk away at chords all the time.

Once I feel like we have that kind of band down, I'll start to introduce Reason software that will run MIDI tracks.  Try not to think about MIDI as an old school cell phone ringer playing dixie, but more like the kinds of synth sounds that are most prominent in hip hop or much of today's top40 pop.  We will try to marry that produced MIDI feel with a coffee shop acoustic groove and will hopefully find a great deal of variety in a small setting with a small number of bend members.

As far as family goes, Molly is doing great, although she is being a bit more fussy today than normal.  She is in the 50th percentile for the circumference of her head--I thought about buying her a plaque to let her know how proud I am of her--but she is in the 10th percentile for her height and weight...

In other words, if you lined up 100 eight month old heads by size, she'd be dead center, but when they all stood up, she'd disappear.

Molly

I thought I'd post some pictures from when Molly was first born. This was when she was about a minute old--the first picture ever taken of her.

This was the next day in the hopsital room.

She wasn't happy about this picture.

And even less happy about this one.

Firehouse Pictures

Here are some pictures of the firehouse. This is the cafe area and the outside. I'm sure I'll try to post more soon.

Coming Soon: The Firehouse

Well, we are getting pretty close to the Firehouse launch.  The past few weeks have been relaxing not having the responsibility to lead worship every week, but they have also remained pretty busy.  So far, I have ordered about half of what we will need to get going, but I'm about done doing all the research.   My goal is to have everything ordered by the end of this week.

For those of you interested in gear talk, here's what the Firehouse look like:

Instruments:

Percussion--Remo Klong Yao, Zildjian Splash, LP Soft Shaker, and LP Tambourine

Bass--Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI (we have some killer subs)

MIDI--M-Audio Keystation Pro 88 running Reason 4.0 on a 2.4 GHz Macbook sending audio out of an M-Audio Firewire 410 Interface.  Also, a YounFX aBility footcontroller

We will rely on whoever plays to bring a Bass, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, although I will probably have my gear there all the time.

Here's my gear:

Fender American Standard Stratocaster>TIM Overdrive>tc electronic Nova Delay>Limited Edition Tweed Blues Jr.

Martin 000C-16GTE

I'm still using a stock Ibanez TS9 for now, but my TIM should be ready soon.

The sound system looks like this:

Soundraft GB4 mixer>DBX DriveRack 480 Signal Processor>Crown XTi 2000 power Amps>EV QRX 115/75 speakers with EV QRX 218s Subwoofer.

So, if you know sound, you know this is a good sound system.  I'm so thankful for the resources to do quality worship ministry.  God has blessed our church with the ability to do things well, which in the end will lead more people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ.  I'm humbled that they have trusted me to lead this area of ministry, and also very excited to get started.