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

Mod Delay

Bitwig Platform

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

A stereo delay with multiplicative time modulation and a built-in filtered, hard- or soft-clipped feedback loop.

What it does

Mod Delay combines a modulated delay line with its own feedback network. The delayed signal is returned as the output, while a scaled input and a low-passed, clipped copy of the delayed output are written back into the buffer.

Controls and ports

Signal In and Mod In feed the processor. Delay Time and its modulation amount define the read position; Drive scales new input entering the buffer; Feedback, low-pass Cutoff, and hard/soft Clipping shape the internal loop; Signal Out returns the delayed result.

Practical uses

  • Apply a slow bipolar modulation signal for chorus, flanging, tape-like drift, or animated echoes.
  • Use short delays and controlled Feedback for resonant comb tones, then lower Cutoff to damp successive cycles.
  • Switch between hard and soft clipping to choose a sharper bounded loop or a smoother saturation buildup.

Things to know

  • The recovered time law is multiplicative: baseTime * (1 + amount * Mod In), plus an internal one-frame offset.
  • Drive scales fresh input written into the delay, not the already delayed output.
  • Clipping acts on the feedback signal before the one-pole low-pass stage.
  • The output is the delayed read rather than a built-in dry/wet blend.
  • Fast time modulation changes read speed and therefore creates pitch movement as well as delay movement.

Technical details

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

The exact grid/delay/grid_mod_delay body uses separate left/right delay lines and calculates frames = delayTime * (1 + delayTimeModulation * modIn) + 1. A channel outputs zero until that history exists, otherwise it reads linearly. It then writes drive*input + LP(clip(read*feedback)). Hard mode clamps feedback to [-1,1]; Soft mode uses tanhApprox7. Cutoff arrives in MIDI-note pitch and becomes 440*2^((cutoff-69)/12) before a topology-preserving one-pole coefficient calculation in the 4x domain. Delay history and filter state reset on start/reset.

Nitro port Type
in InputAudioPortType
modIn InputAudioPortType
delayTime InputAudioPortType
delayTimeModulation InputAudioPortType
drive InputAudioPortType
feedback InputAudioPortType
cutoff InputAudioPortType
clipMode InputValuePortType
out OutputAudioPortType

Open questions

  • Map every visible time/unit control to the frame-domain delayTime input and measure the modulation range and clamping rules.
  • Measure hard/soft loop transfer, Cutoff response, maximum delay, self-oscillation, stereo coupling, and startup behavior.
  • Characterize clicks, pitch slew, interpolation artifacts, and parameter smoothing during fast modulation and mode changes.

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 Mod Delay module, Bitwig Grid Mod Delay, Mod Delay Grid module