Hornet Audio has made its DeeLay plugin free again for Black Friday, and if you missed previous giveaways, this is a great chance to grab it.
This time, the offer on HoRNet Deelay lasts 48 hours, and getting it is as simple as adding it to your cart and completing checkout. There are no coupon codes or additional hoops to jump through. You get the full version, permanently.
I’ve used DeeLay on guitars a lot because I like how quickly you can dial in wide stereo delays. Its stereo sound reminds me a little bit of one of my old favorite delays, the ET-301 plugin (which is now discontinued).
The left and right channels can be adjusted independently, which makes it perfect when you want to create movement or asymmetry without loading multiple plugins.
It’s also a very straightforward delay. You get a clean interface, a dark color scheme with yellow accents, and there’s basically zero confusion about what controls do.
Under the hood, DeeLay is modeled after early ’90s digital dub delays, which is another reason I like it. The sound is imperfect and gritty, but full of character.
So, keep in mind that if you want pristine analog-style echoes, this isn’t it. Instead, you get a fair bit of digital grit and pitch shifting when the delay time changes, as well as those lo-fi artifacts that early digital units were known for.
There’s also a Vintage mode that adds saturation and low-resolution crunch, which is great if you’re going for dub, techno, or lo-fi textures.
One of the most interesting features is how DeeLay handles time modulation. Because it behaves like an old digital unit, adjusting the delay time doesn’t glide smoothly. It jumps, causing pitch bends and glitchy transitions.
If you combine that with the built-in LFO, you can get anything from subtle chorusing to unstable and super wobbly effects.
Set the feedback to 100%, and the plugin will loop indefinitely, so that you can build evolving textures and drone-like atmospheres. You can also perform with it live like an instrument by manipulating time and feedback.
And since the left and right feedback paths can be routed independently or linked, you can create some really interesting stereo patterns.
That said, even with all these creative options, DeeLay is easy to use. You get delay time controls (sync or free), feedback, modulation rate/depth, and the Vintage switch. It’s not at all overwhelming and it only gets complex if you need it to.
DeeLay is available in VST, VST3, AU, and AAX formats for macOS and Windows, and the latest version includes Apple Silicon support.
Download: HoRNet DeeLay (FREE for a limited time)
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