Arturia 3 Delays You'll Actually use review

What is it?

With 3 Delays You’ll Actually Use (VST, AAX, AU),  Arturia turns to releasing a trio of processors that balance analogue emulation with modern sound sculpting. The three plugins here are named Tape 201, Memory Brigade and Eternity. 

The first two are hardware emulations, based on Roland’s RE-201 Space Echo and Electro- Harmonix’s Memory Man stompbox. The third, however, is an outlier in Arturia’s effects range due to its fully original design.

Those familiar with the previous bundles will be at home here. As with past iterations, each plugin is built around a central UI with all its core parameters, which can be expanded with an ‘advanced’ dropdown that reveals a host of extra, modern tools that are broadly the same across the whole range. Other familiar features make a welcome return here too, including a well-designed welcome tutorial and a good range of presets.

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Performance and verdict

Both the emulated models sound impressive. There are a number of existing Space Echo clones out there, but Arturia’s is up with the best. 

Arturia adds to the traditional tape delay features with a fully stereo signal path and several handy modulation options, which makes the Tape 201 a good tool for adding stereo movement to pads and textures. 

As with all delays in the range, the additional dropdown lets users sculpt further with input EQ/ filtering, an envelope follower and LFO. The Memory Man is less common in the plugin realm, but equally desirable. Its crunchy delay sound works great on synths, drums and guitars alike, and once again additional controls allow for some fun stereo craziness.

Eternity is the most interesting plugin here though. It’s a dual delay with multiple modes and built-in effects for processing the feedback loop. Design-wise, it reminds us of the excellent recent ValhallaDelay, and Eternity is similarly capable of both modern, clean repeats and weirder, degraded effects. 

Arturia’s plugin lacks the weirder dispersion and pitch tools of Valhalla’s plugin, but carves out its own identity with bitcrushers, a resonant filter and expanded LFO section. In tests, we found Eternity particularly great for perc sounds, turning simple drum hits into rolling, modulating rhythms beefed up with extra grit. Another excellent package.

MusicRadar verdict: The original plugin, Eternity, is the pick of the bunch here, but this is another excellent bundle all round from Arturia.

The web says

“If you’ve never worked with third party delay plugins or crave for some of the analog delay pedals and hardware units of yesteryear, this collection from Arturia would be a great purchase.”
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Specifications

• 2 iconic hardware delays recreated as software effects with exclusive TAE® and Phi® technologies; Tape-201, Memory-Brigade
• 1 original Arturia creation delay unit with empowering features; Eternity
• High quality presets from award-winning sound designers
• Input EQ and LFO(s) for advanced sound design possibilities
• Arturia’s state-of-the-art TAE® and Phi® modelling technologies ensure that each modelled delay unit sounds and behaves exactly like the original
• Available as VST2, VST3, AU, and AAX
• Beautiful, incredibly detailed, high-res, resizable interfaces
• Integrated tutorials