Imagine standing on the edge of a canyon and shouting “ECHO!” But instead of your voice bouncing back clean and clear, it passes through a factory of meat grinders and returns to you in a gooey, garbled, glitchy mess. That’s the kind of experience the Befaco Crush Delay brings to your modular setup. It’s not your typical delay module, it’s a absurd and deeply satisfying effect for shaping everything from clean echoes to gritty textures.
I picked up the Crush Delay while searching for a way to mangle drum sounds, and it quickly became a crucial part of my setup. I was tired unhappy with results from other effects designed to be “glitchy”. I figured, with the right modulation a delay could handle that job. This one, though, brought a whole new level of texture and character to my patches. In this review, I’ll share what makes the Crush Delay stand out, how it performs in practice, and whether it’s worth the 11hp in your rack.
What Does It Do?
The front panel of the Befaco Crush Delay looks like any other delay/echo module with all of the familiar parameters, feedback, time, and dry/wet. What begins to set it apart is the Crush section. The CV inputs here expect gates and when gated or switched on one of three types of degradation occurs. Befaco doesn’t tell us much about the behavior each Crush parameter, I’m guessing intentionally, leaving it up to the user to explore for various results. I think another aspect that really goes a long way toward making it unique are the CV controls over input level, dry/wet mix and even the return. Using those three smartly you can restrain the resulting chaos from unusually heavy modulation. I am truly happy about this attention to detail.
It’s pretty widely available, measures 11hp, you save 1 extra hp for free!! Has reasonable power requirements at +12V: 115mA, -12V: 65mA. It sports a dual PCB design so it is not super shallow, but it should comfortably fit in pretty much any case.
Can It Take a Beating?
The Crush Delay is built like a tank, with a solid metal panel and sturdy potentiometers with Davie’s knobs. It’s designed to withstand the rigors of live performance and heavy tweaking. I’ve been pretty rough with mine, playing live with it for a few years, twisting knobs to extremes and patching it into all sorts of untamed and out of control configs, and it’s held up perfectly. The build quality is top-notch, giving you confidence that it will survive countless sessions of creative abuse.
What Does It Sound Like?
The Crush Delay can sound very clear and clean at shorter delay times up to around 400ms. In this example the first bar is clean and the next two have the clean delay effect.
You can dial in a really nice chorus effect with the right modulation. Same as before, 1 bar clean then the chorus for two bars.
But, this module isn’t for those looking for clean, pristine echoes. A monster inside is revealed as you increase the delay time past noon. Pay attentoin to the snare after the first bar. I’ts a long recording so you can here the different types of sounds coming from the crush delay.
Pushing it to extreme lengths creates an army of gurgling frogs, that, to my ears, sounds really organic with spectral characteristics. The Crush Delay excels at delivering dirty, chaotic, and sometimes downright harsh sounds.
What Makes It Special?
- CV over more than you expect: I’ll say it again and again, and input level control with CV is and incredibly useful parameter on effects. Sure, you drop a VCA before the input for the same effect, but having it built in is sweet.
- Crush gate inputs: Maybe you can’t clock the delay, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be rhythmic. These gate inputs allow you to to precisely control when shit goes off the rails.
- Send/Return with level control: I’ve never seen return level control on an effect module(Maybe there are others out there, let me know in the comments, wait… Time Sefari?). It is super useful to send the effect out to other effects like a filter, reverb or distortion. The cool part is being able to control the return amount with modulation. Again, offering another way to tame the glitchy mess.
The Crush Delay is a module that is circuit bent by design with the PT2399 integrated circuit at it’s core. A famous, or rather infamous delay chip known for being used in Karaoke devices. There’s some confusion as to whether it is analog or digital, to clarify, it is both. Essentially everything on the PT2399 is analog, filters, mixers and converters. However, the delay portion is digital. If you want to go deeper read the Electrosmash PT2399 Analysis.
Sidebar for a sec here; Hey manufacturers! Take a hint from Befaco and Make Noise, add an input level control with CV to every effect module. Dry/wet is only useful if the effect is end of chain. If you use an effect in a send/return chain, typically, you’ll want the effect fully wet because your dry signal is split, 1 going to a mixer the other to the effect (i.e.SEND). Now guess what happens if I do not have input level control? I’m forced to use the mostly useless dry/wet, sending a copy of the dry signal to the mixer, which is already going to the mixer. In other words, shit gets too loud. IMHO, control over input level is actually more important than dry/wet.
Is It Fun and Easy to Use?
Hell yeah! The Crush Delay is definitely fun to use, adding wonderfully pleasing textures to your sounds. The interface is straightforward, with no hidden features. It is all one knob per function. The controls are comfortably sized and well spaced making it a pleasure to tweak. In practice, I’ve found it to be especially effective when modulated to its extreme then taming it using envelopes into the the multitude of level controls.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Excellent build quality, durable for live use.
- Highly interactive and fun to tweak.
- Great interface
- input & output level control
- CV over everything
Cons:
- Not suitable for clean, precise delays.
- Cannot be clocked
- 11hp might annoy some folks.
Is It Worth the Cost?
Like most Befaco modules Crush Delay is reasonably priced for what it offers, especially considering its unique capabilities. If you’re looking for a delay module that can do more than just standard echoes, this is definitely worth considering. It’s a bit of a niche product, but for those who enjoy sound design and experimental music, it’s a valuable addition to your rack.
How Does It Rate?
For most impressively disgusting effect:
In a world filled with clean, precise digital modules, the Befaco Crush Delay brings something refreshingly different to the table. It’s gritty, unpredictable, and a ton of fun to use. While it might not be for everyone, it’s perfect for those who want to explore the wilder side of sound manipulation. If you’re looking to add some chaos to your patches, the Crush Delay is definitely worth checking out.
Have you used the Befaco Crush Delay? Share your experiences in the comments, I’d love to hear how you’re incorporating it into your setup.
