HOFA SYSTEM DelayPro

HOFA’s SYSTEM DelayPro, which supports VST3, AU, AAX, VST2 plug‑in formats for Mac and Windows, is an emulated analogue delay. Nothing unusual there, but this one incorporates an open feedback path, into which you can insert any of HOFA’s other SYSTEM plug‑ins when the plug‑in is opened inside HOFA’s SYSTEM environment. SYSTEM DelayPro also runs as a standalone plug‑in, outside of the SYSTEM environment, of course, but that way you forfeit the routing and combination options.

There’s a choice of four BBD (bucket brigade delay) voicings, available when the Bucket/Noise section is turned on: Neutral, Standard, Modern and Vintage. If this section is turned off, the delay comes over as clean and neutral. The resizeable GUI has straightforward controls, with settings for Time (DAW sync’able, of course), Feedback, Bucket/Noise and Wet/Dry Mix, plus a choice of delay types comprising Normal, Ping‑Pong Balanced, Pong‑Ping Balanced, Ping‑Pong Classic and Pong‑Ping Classic. In Balanced mode, each pair of alternating left/right delays is matched in level, whereas in Classic mode the first repeat is the loudest and successive repeats decay normally. A display showing the repeats illustrates this, and reflects changes as the controls are adjusted.

Directly above the display are two draggable roll‑off filters, for trimming the lows and highs. The maximum delay time is 5000ms, which is rather longer than typical analogue BBD hardware can manage, and this can be offset from the sync’ed beat by up to 200ms. With Bucket/Noise turned on, there’s also the option to dial in as much or as little BBD‑style noise as you wish, but the real superpower of this plug‑in is that when used within HOFA’s SYSTEM environment, any SYSTEM plug‑ins can be inserted into the feedback path, simply by dragging them from the sidebar menu to the dark area at the bottom of the DelayPro window.

What Is SYSTEM?

So what exactly is SYSTEM? Essentially it is a plug‑in that functions as a modular audio processing environment, and it comes free with any HOFA SYSTEM‑compatible plug‑in. It’s able to host multiple HOFA mixing and mastering plug‑ins, and these may then be routed in complex ways. SYSTEM can host any number of HOFA processing modules and, importantly, there’s an update in the works that will enable it to host third‑party plug‑ins.

In the meantime, SYSTEM comes complete with all of HOFA’s other SYSTEM plug‑ins, the free versions of which can run with some feature limitations, so there’s already a lot that you can do with it, even if you buy only DelayPro. The full feature sets of the individual plug‑in modules become available when you purchase a licence for them, of course. Users can construct their own signal chains inside the SYSTEM plug‑in, and it’s capable of series, multiband or parallel setups, putting processing modules within the feedback loops of delays and so on. SYSTEM includes Mid‑Sides and multi‑channel options too, and all the parameters can be automated. Setups can be saved as user presets, making it easy to recall your complex creations.

Looked at as a straightforward plug‑in, SYSTEM DelayPro captures the authentic essence of analogue BBD hardware.

Looked at as a straightforward plug‑in, SYSTEM DelayPro captures the authentic essence of analogue BBD hardware, producing delays that lose focus and melt into the background in a very natural way as they repeat and decay. Vintage mode produces the murkiest delays and Neutral the cleanest. If you wish to add some of the noise associated with the hardware originals, that can be adjusted to taste using the Bucket/Noise control — this section does need to be turned on for the four BBD emulations to become available. All the usual standard and triplet delay options are available, from 16th notes to a whole note, and there’s also a large Tap button if you need to enter your own timing for the delays. Times can also be dialled in directly.

If you don’t plan on using SYSTEM, the SYSTEM DelayPro plug‑in still provides an excellent BBD analogue delay emulation, though it’s up against lots of very capable competition (including HOFA’s own Colour Delay). But if you already own other HOFA plug‑ins or are attracted by the flexibility of SYSTEM, then SYSTEM DelayPro would make a very worthwhile addition to your collection. And when third‑party plug‑in support is added to SYSTEM, the potential will grow even further. All HOFA plug‑ins come with a 14‑day trial period, which should be plenty of time to evaluate them, and SYSTEM, for yourself.