Topics / Bitwig Studio / Bitwig Grid / Bitwig Grid Modules / Grid Delay and FX Modules / Long Delay

Long Delay

Bitwig Platform

Long Delay module panel in Bitwig Grid
Long Delay in Bitwig Grid 6.0.6.

A tempo-aware delay line that is specially scheduled so its output can be patched back into an upstream Grid path.

What it does

Long Delay provides time- or beat-based delay and, unlike an ordinary Grid path, deliberately breaks the instantaneous dependency graph. That makes an external cable from its output back toward its input legal, so you can design the feedback gain, filtering, saturation, and routing yourself.

Controls and ports

Signal In enters the delay. Unit chooses seconds or a rhythmic base, Steps selects the beat count, Offset scales the rhythmic duration around straight/triplet/dotted relationships, and Signal Out provides the delayed value through a feedback-safe boundary.

Practical uses

  • Feed the output through an attenuator and back to the input mixer to build a custom echo loop.
  • Insert filters, pitch shifting, saturation, or stereo routing in the external feedback cable for evolving repeats.
  • Use very short times in a controlled loop for comb resonances, Karplus-Strong-like tones, or diffuser networks.

Things to know

  • Its defining feature is permission to close a feedback cable; the module does not make an unstable loop safe by itself.
  • A feedback magnitude at or above unity can grow indefinitely unless another stage limits or dissipates energy.
  • Tempo-synced duration is converted to seconds before the delay core reads its buffer.
  • Changing time inside a feedback loop can create pitch glides, clicks, or sudden energy changes.
  • The exact visible wrapper is only partially recovered: the time converter and matching Grid delay core are visible, while scheduling and external-loop integration live outside those bodies.

Technical details

A medium-confidence Nitro implementation candidate supports the technical summary, but the visible-module mapping remains inferred.

The exact-name helper grid/delay/grid_long_delay_time passes timeInSeconds directly in Seconds mode. In rhythmic modes it chooses a step length of 1, 0.5, or 0.25 for quarter-, eighth-, or sixteenth-note bases, computes seconds = stepLength * steps / (beatsPerFrame * sampleRate), and applies 1 + offset. The matching grid/delay/grid_delay body then performs a linearly interpolated buffered read. Nitro does not expose the complete graph-scheduling wrapper that authorizes the visible feedback connection, so this is a high-confidence component pairing but only a medium-confidence complete mapping.

Nitro port Type
unit InputValuePortType
timeInSeconds InputAudioPortType
steps InputValuePortType
offset InputAudioPortType
beatsPerFrame InputAudioPortType
out OutputAudioPortType

Open questions

  • Confirm the complete visible wrapper and whether it uses grid_delay unchanged after grid_long_delay_time.
  • Measure minimum/maximum duration, every Unit and Offset detent, tempo-change behavior, and modulation smoothing.
  • Test loop latency, zero-delay safeguards, stereo independence, startup/reset, and stability with positive and negative feedback.

Version and sources

Checked against Bitwig Studio 6.0.6. This page combines Bitwig's module metadata, the existing Grid course and guides, and Nitro analysis where the mapping is strong enough to support a technical statement.

Return to Bitwig Grid Modules or the Grid Modules course lesson.

Also matches: Bitwig Long Delay module, Bitwig Grid Long Delay, Long Delay Grid module