So i found myself slightly annoyed that Ableton Live’s Ping Pong Delay effect always starts the first echo repeat on the left side. Sure, you could flip the stereo field after applying it to reverse the direction—but that also reverses the stereo field of the source audio. What if i want the source audio to stay the same, but have the echo repeats reverse direction?

Well now, it’s easy..

The latest PerforModule pack for Ableton Live is Pingdemonium, which provides Ping Pong Delay presets which are souped up with additional functions, making them much more interesting.

Ableton’s Ping Pong Delay effect is a bit limited in its functionality, so by separating the delay line and the dry signal in their own individual chains, we apply different effects to the echoes, which can then be recombined with the pristine original signal.

Adding saturation, modulation, or other effects to the delay line can really help them to blend in a more natural, analog-style manner than by using typical unprocessed repeats.

Normally, such a thing is accomplished by using Sends and Return (aux) tracks, sending various bits of dry signal to Return tracks, which supply the modified wet delays… But what if you want to accomplish such a feat inside of audio tracks, placed anywhere in the effects chain you desire?

If you have Live 10, at this point you’re probably thinking “Echo, duh!”. Yes, Ableton’s new Echo effect is indeed dope and definitely expands on basic delay in some really cool ways. Even with Echo in-hand, the Pingdemonium racks are not redundant, however, each aiming for and providing a different certain unique result.

We also provide more control over the stereo placement of the delay repeat lines, adding the ability to modify their width, or even place the “even” and “odd” repeats exactly where we want them in the stereo field. This is a super useful feature and can be invaluable for technical sound design purposes.

For Live 9 users who don’t have access to Echo yet: Pingdemonium can help satiate that craving in your life for more expressive modulated echoes.

For Live 10 users: Pingdemonium can help resuscitate the somewhat obsolete Ping Pong Delay effect into a more practical and usable device which stands on its own, worthy of placement among the ranks of your current audio production toolkit.

Pingdemonium comes with a dozen Ping Pong delay racks, each provided in both “Sync” and “Unsync” versions. For mixing I usually like using the Unsync versions, to allow the echoes to be slightly out-of-time with the grid, which can sound less rigid and linear — appropriate for the organic styles of music I tend to more often mix. For improvisatory live performance, on the other hand, the Sync versions can be a ton of fun, because they stay rhythmic no matter how the tempo modulates.

Read more about and acquire Pingdemonium (self-installing pack for Ableton Live 9 or 10) via Isotonik Studios.