Silos Multi Generational Time Reflection Device Instruction Manual
- August 19, 2024
- Silos
Table of Contents
Silos Multi Generational Time Reflection Device
Operating Instructions
Hey there, fellow Time Travelers! Were you tired of trying to fit all of your favorite delays onto your already overflowing pedalboard? Did you constantly have trouble choosing just one pedal to serve as the catalyst of your echo- centric musings? Had you wished that a pedal company would give you more bang for your buck by merging multiple classic delay effects into one simple little box? Well hold on to your whammy bar, because your problems are solved now that you’ve acquired the new Silos™ Tri-Voice Time Navigator!
That’s right, we’ve taken a digital delay, an analog delay, and a tape delay and merged them all together as one pedal with six presets, a tap-tempo, and user assignable expression control. Take a moment to compose yourself, we totally understand. Let us give you a little backstory: it all started when EQD founder Jamie Stillman was admiring his three favorite delay pedals from his personal collection and began ruminating on their vast differences. This sparked an ambitious foray into uncharted territory in finding a way to assemble them all together as one uncomplicated unit. After months of tinkering, his mission was accomplished and the Silos™ was born. With just four knobs, one three-way switch, one Save/Recall button, and two footswitches, he made the impossible possible and now your guitar playing shall reap the rewards!
Each of the three modes offers up to one second of delay time which allows it to be a longer delay than our other delay pedals. From noon and back is 500 milliseconds to zero, which has its own character. From 500 milliseconds to one second of delay time, it’s an entirely different beast. Dial them in for shorter delay times where they really excel and add loads of atmosphere and vibes. Push them further for rhythmic delays that are perfect for strumming and adding extra ambiance for your riffs. And the tap tempo is truly precise and responsive so you can lock in your rate quickly within the first revolutions.
Now we don’t want to insult you by gear-splaining delays or anything, but we’d be remiss to not dish on some unique differences of each mode.
Mode D: Digital Delay
The Digital mode offers bright repeats that decay nicely while staying strong as it degrades and diminishes in high end. The shorter settings are where you can get the real deal stutter staccato sound. Try setting this around 9 o’clock at the 200-300 millisecond range with the repeat set really high for a supremely stuttery sound.
Mode A: Analog Delay
The Analog mode is more mid-focused. The repeats degrade faster and are still dark and murky when it builds up, but without all the low-end throb that can muddy up the signal. This mode rolls off the top end and sounds particularly killer with a clean guitar signal. With distortion it cuts out overly high frequencies and sits perfectly in the mid range with a big presence.
Mode T: Tape Delay
Now this setting gets really dark and murky really fast. It builds a dark cloud underneath it where you’ll get one or two sets of repeats that are discernible, but after that, you’re in some atmospheric terrain. Reminiscent of an oil can delay, it pairs beautifully with distortion and is highly responsive to your attack. Hit it hard and it will degrade quickly or finesse it and let the murk flow.
Once you’ve found your favorite settings, easily store them with the six available preset slots. Just select your desired location and simply hold the Preset Save/Recall switch until the LED flashes, and voila! And because we like you, here’s a little pro tip: the preset circuit in this works by quickly turning all of the internal controls instead of jumping to whatever you had them set, so you can cop some tripped out ramping sounds by switching between presets. Try this out by shifting between short and long delay presets and get really weird! You’ll thank us later
You can also enhance your experience by connecting an Expression Pedal, which works in addition to the tap tempo so you can control the time with your foot. This also allows you to control the mix and repeats in a highly customizable way. Ramp it up into self-oscillation and then back it off. Or have no delay on at all, run it through the buffer and bring it in as you please. You can assign the expression control to any of the knobs and save the assignments in the presets.
So now that your delay selection dilemma is solved and your pedalboard is more
spacious than ever, go forth and boldly riff as you have never riffed before!
Each Silos™ pedal is triple distilled, triple tested, and triple handcrafted
in Akron, Ohio, USA.
**Silos is a tri-voice delay with tap tempo, user-assignable expression control and the ability to save and recall six presets.
EarthQuaker Devices**
Mode D: Digital Delay
Controls
- Time: Sets the delay time from 0-1 second.
- Repeats: Controls the regeneration of the delay signal. This mode does not self-oscillate.
- Mix: Adjusts the level of the delay signal.
Mode A: Analog Delay
Controls
- Time: Sets the delay time from 0-1 second.
- Repeats: Controls the regeneration of the delay signal. This mode will start to self oscillate around 3 o’clock.
- Mix: Adjusts the level of the delay signal.
Mode T: Tape Delay
Controls
- Time: Sets the delay time from 0-1 second.
- Repeats: Controls the regeneration of the delay signal. This mode will start to self oscillate around 3 o’clock.
- Mix: Adjusts the level of the delay signal.
Footswitches
Activate: This turns the delay on/off. Silos is buffered bypass, the
delay trails will naturally decay when the pedal is turned off.
Tap: Tap twice (or more) to set the tempo of the delay. The tap tempo is
fixed at a 1:1 ratio.
Note: Silos will be set to the delay time indicated by the Time control
on each power up. The Tap switch will override the Time control when tapped 2
or more times and the Time control will override the tapped tempo when turned.
Modes
Digital Delay: Clean delay with nearly infinite repeats that are bright for the initial build up but will gradually darken with each regeneration.
Analog Delay: Designed to mimic the sound of my vintage bucket brigade based KMD analog delay. This is a darker delay with repeats that will gradually lose fidelity with each regeneration. This mode will start to self- oscillate around 3 o’clock.
Tape Delay: Based on the sound of my vintage Echoplex. This mode is a dark and dirty delay with repeats that will build up quickly and become more distorted with each cycle. The distortion level depends on the level of the input signal – pick strings harder for more distortion. This mode will start to self- oscillate around 3 o’clock.
Global Features
Silos has two operating modes which are indicated by the color of the Preset Save/Recall switch.
-
Green: Live Mode
The pedal will operate exactly where the controls are set, and any changes will have no effect on the presets unless saved. The Preset Save/Recall switch LED will stay static green. -
Red: Preset Mode
Silos will operate in a stored preset mode which is selected by the Preset switch and the physical settings of the control will be ignored. The Preset Save/Recall LED switch will stay static red.
Silos comes factory set to start up in Live Mode.
Presets
Silos has six available preset slots for you to save and recall your favorite settings. The settings for each of the three controls, the mode switch and the expression jack assignment can be saved and recalled in any of the slots.
Saving a preset:
- Turn the Preset rotary switch to the desired location you wish to save your preset.
- Dial in the settings you want to save. Remember; Expression pedal assignment and Modes can also be saved!
- Hold the Preset Save/Recall switch down until the switch LED flashes between green and red, then release.
- Your preset is now saved!
Recall a preset:
Select the desired preset you wish to use with the Preset selector switch and do one of the two following actions:
- When the pedal is activated and the effect is in use, hold down the foot switch for at least 0.75 seconds, and it will switch from Live Mode to Preset Mode. You can switch between Live and Preset mode on the fly!
- Tap the lighted Preset Save/Recall switch. The switch LED will turn from green to red, indicating you are now in preset mode. Tap again and the switch will turn from red to green indicating you are in live mode.
Edit/Overwrite a preset:
- Once in Preset Mode (the Preset Save/Recall switch LED will be red), make the desired changes to any of the controls in the selected preset. The Preset Save/Recall switch LED will begin to flash red; indicating a change has been made to the stored preset. Any controls that are not changed will remain as previously saved.
- Hold the Preset Save/Recall switch down until the switch LED flashes between green and red, then release.
- The Preset Save/Recall switch LED will return to static red and the previous preset has been overwritten.
Helpful Preset tips
- Different EXP assignments can be saved in each preset!
- Presets can be stored and overwritten when Silos is in Live or Preset Mode.
- To make changes to an existing preset, you must first be in Preset Mode before making the desired changes.
- There is no undo for preset saving, so make sure you are not overwriting your favorite sound, especially when you are saving presets from Live Mode!
Expression Control
Use any TRS expression pedal to take control over the Time, Repeats or Mix controls! Silos ships with the EXP jack mapped to the Mix control. Follow these steps to reassign the EXP functionality:
- Insert the expression pedal TRS plug into the EXP jack.
- Place the expression pedal in the toe down position.
- Turn the panel control on the Silos that you wish to put under control of the expression pedal. It doesn’t matter how far or which direction you turn the control.
- Put the expression pedal in the heel down position.
- This control is now assigned to the EXP jack and can be used with an expression pedal!
Helpful Expression assignment tips:
- If you turn the panel control that is assigned to the EXP jack while the expression pedal is plugged in, the panel control will override the expression pedal setting. The expression pedal will reassume control the next time it is used.
- Different EXP assignments can be saved in each preset!
- You can also use Control Voltage with the EXP Jack! The CV range is 0 to 3.3v.
TRS expression pedal wiring:
- Tip: Wiper
- Ring: +3.3V
- Sleeve: Ground
Flexi-Switch® Technology
This device features Flexi-Switch® Technology!
- For standard latching operation: Tap the footswitch once to activate the effect and then tap again to bypass.
- For momentary operation: With the effect off, hold the footswitch down for as long as you’d like to use the effect. Once you release the switch, the effect will be bypassed.
Note that holding the bypass switch down while Silos is activated will switch into the selected Preset Mode!
Silos is buffered bypass with tails. Power is required to pass signal.
Power Requirements
- Current Draw: 75mA
This device takes a standard 9 volt DC power supply with a 2.1mm negative center barrel. We recommend using a pedal-specific, transformer-isolated, wall-wart power supply or a power supply with multiple isolated-outputs. Pedals will make extra noise if there is ripple or unclean power. Switching- type power supplies, daisy chains and non-pedal specific power supplies do not always filter dirty power and may result in unwanted noise. DO NOT RUN AT HIGHER VOLTAGES!
Tech Specs
- Input Impedance: 500 kΩ
- Output Impedance: 100 Ω
Warranty
This device has a limited lifetime warranty. If it breaks, we will fix it. Should you encounter any issues, please visit www.earthquakerdevices.com/support.
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Read User Manual Online (PDF format) >>