Overview

Anyone who is familiar with Unfiltered Audio can probably guess that even a simple delay from these guys is going to be a little different. Drop Instant Delay into your standard delay returns, and it will dutifully perform all the everyday tasks you’d expect – anything from stereo echoes on a sultry vocal track to ambient delay tails on an undulating synth pad. But it’s Unfiltered’s unique creative touches that make this a must-have plugin, even if you already have a dozen different delay options at your fingertips.

For its deceptively simple interface, Instant Delay offers a huge amount of control and sonic possibility. The innovative layout of the Delay Time setting not only offers tempo syncing for stereo channels together or separately, but also the option to offset one channel’s delay time relative to the other, thus widening the stereo field for shorter offset times, or creating mesmerizing syncopated rhythms for longer ones. Create a simple flange effect on a mono lead track with a short, linked delay; then try upmixing it to stereo with a small offset. Then increase the offset and crank up the feedback to whip delay tails around your head, and finally dial in some natural character with the Jitter knob, which introduces an element of randomness to your selected delay time.

Perhaps Instant Delay’s biggest attraction is its artifact-free delay buffer, which made its first appearance in Unfiltered Audio’s flagship delay plugin, Sandman Pro. Anyone who has ever adjusted a delay setting in real-time is all too familiar with the sometimes unwanted glitches and effects that can clutter up the mix. Tape delay emulations can cause pitch fluctuations, and pure digital delays can add crackling and other digital noise as they try to truncate or add time to the delay buffer. Not so with Instant Delay, which uses a unique algorithm that enables the buffer to seamlessly make the jump from one delay time to another. Create beautiful time-stretching effects by modulating the delay time slowly from short to long, or automate the rhythm on your echoes without having to bypass Instant Delay in between settings.

The perfect complement to its endlessly elastic delay buffer is Instant Delay’s unique patchable modulation system – a signature of all Unfiltered plugins. It features several envelopes and modulators that link together with virtual patch cables to control virtually every parameter on the user interface. Choose from four different kinds of time- or tempo-based LFOs and apply them to nearly any parameter in the plugin, or even to other LFOs! Apply a fast square wave to the Mix knob to add a Leslie effect, and then apply a slow LFO to the first LFO to make the Leslie effect occur intermittently. And if you want to apply rhythmic patterns to the plugin’s parameters rather than linear cycles, Instant Delay sports a full-featured step sequencer – just like the kind you would find in a vintage synthesizer – which can be used instead of, or in conjunction with, the sine-based LFO’s. Once all the pieces are in place, you can sit back and let Instant Delay do its thing, or you can join in the fun by using Macro Controls to make real-time adjustments to several parameters at once, making Instant Delay perfectly suited for live performance.

In a first for delay plugins, Instant Delay’s modulation system also includes seamless integration with ROLI’s latest controller, the Lightpad Block. Use four different modes to control different aspects of Instant Delay via simple patching from the ROLI modulator into parameters, or other modulators. Whether using virtual sliders, pressure-sensitive pads, or toggle switches, Instant Delay’s integration with BLOCKS means it’s ready to throw down in any performance situation– in the studio or on the go.

Instant Delay packs a powerhouse of echo and filtering effects in a compact interface, and provides a taste of the innovation and power behind Unfiltered Audio’s processors. Activate the 14-day fully functional trial with your Plugin Alliance account to try it out for yourself!

Features

  • Fully-featured delay line with Linked, Independent, and Offset modes for total stereo control over buffer settings
  • Analog-style LP/HP/BP filter, with adjustable resonance, is applied to the feedback loop
  • Built-in soft clipper with Drive control can generate subtle saturation, overdriven aggression, and everything in between
  • Jitter control adds an organic nuance that results in subtle syncopations with slower delay times, and a natural “blurring” effect with faster ones
  • Unfiltered Audio's flagship modulation system provides eight freely assignable and fully automatable modulators, including a Step Sequencer, and integration with ROLI BLOCKS 5D Lightpad control surface
  • A simple interface that offers a wide range of tones and applications, from simple vocal doubling to elaborate echo effects
  • Unfiltered Audio’s unique delay buffer algorithm lets users expand or contract the delay buffer in real time without pitch fluctuations or digital noise

Audio Examples

Industry Reviews

  • David Arnold

    David Arnold

    Composer (Casino Royale, Independence Day, Sherlock)

    Instant Delay achieves complex and unexpected delay effects in one plugin. Effects that would have taken me hours to construct with audio manipulation and editing are easily produced. Easy to use… Read More

  • Richard Devine

    Richard Devine

    Sound Designer and Artist (Hollywood Edge, Sound Delux, Sony Creative Software)

    Unfiltered Audio’s new Instant Delay plugin packs a lot of functionality into a small package. Driving the multi-mode filter creates some very interesting self-resonating textures. I’ve been… Read More

  • Jody Wisternoff

    Jody Wisternoff

    DJ, Producer (Way Out West)

    Sandman Pro is my go-to creative delay at the moment and Indent is one of my favourite filters, so the combo of these is a thing of beauty! Will be putting this to use LOTS :)

  • Nick Warren

    Nick Warren

    Producer/DJ (Way Out West, The Soundgarden)

    Another dope plugin from Unfiltered Audio, this Instant Delay is just what it says on the tin, and is instantly in my new track doing its thing!

  • D. Ramirez

    D. Ramirez

    Producer/DJ (Toolroom)

    I’ve been playing with Instant Delay from Unfiltered Audio and it’s quickly become my favourite spaced out, modulated, dirty, crunchy, clean, swiss army knife delay and I’ll be using it for… Read More

Customer Reviews

  • A BEST BEAST delay unit

    ★★★★★
    by Little Cloud
    I mix a lot of variety and this BEAST of a delay unit has become my GO TO ONE STOP SHOP Delay plug-in for almost every delay purpose I am confronted with DO NOT OBJECT TO MY LOVE OF THIS PLUGIN..try… Read More
  • Great product

    ★★★★★
    by MS
    Clean sound, and as it says on the tin very fast to set up. The filter is great and the modulation is fantastic and easy to use.
  • I call this 'Silky delay' because it sounds amazing!

    ★★★★★
    by Overdrive Music
    Been using this for 3 or 4 months for vocal delay throws on every mix. I own other really amazing delays such as EckoBuoy and H-Deelay from Whaves. But this sounds the cleanest to my ears!
    I've… Read More
  • Nice

    ★★★★☆
    by JackBale
    It is a inspiring tool to do anything you set your mind to in the mix
  • Weird Delay

    ★★★★★
    by Mike
    This will not work on everything but when it works....IT WORKS!!!

Specifications

Supported Plugin Formats
AAX Native, AU, AAX AudioSuite, VST2, VST3

Supported Operating Systems
macOS 14 down to macOS 11
Windows 11 down to Windows 10

Mac
Intel or Apple Silicon architecture

PC
x64-compatible CPU

System Requirements
Display resolution: 1440 × 900px or 1280 × 960px or higher
Memory: 2 GB RAM

 

 

Downloads

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ChangeLog

Instant Delay

Unfiltered Audio Instant Delay - Changelog

Version 1.3.1 (Mar 16, 2023)
- Added AAX ARM support for Apple Silicon.

Version 1.3.0 (Mar 30, 2022)
- added Apple Silicon support

Version 1.2 (02/18/2020)
- Full Catalina support and notarization
- HiDPI support improvement
- OpenGL Removed

Version 1.1 (May 24, 2019)
- General Codebase update
- Fixed an issue with overwritten Factory Presets in Reaper on Mac

Version 1.0.1 (Feb 5, 2018)
- Fixed factory presets get overwritten by using Save Preset
- Fixed no audio processing when transport is stopped and input monitoring is active
- Fixed old feedback buffer carrying on after playback
- Fixed Bypass button does not appear in VST3 version in Cubase
- Fixed Tooltips only shown after clicking on a control

Version 1.0 (May 15, 2017)
- Release version