The Hierophant, aka "The Akashic Delay" is a mono-to-stereo delay patch that transcends genres. Designed with both beginners and experienced players in mind, it offers a clear and intuitive interface for crafting your sound. Its built-in overdrive adds warmth and grit to your delays, opening a world of creative possibilities.
Inspired by the concept of the Akashic Records, an energetic library said to hold the imprint of all existence, The Hierophant Akashic Delay is always listening and ready to echo your previously played sound.
This might look like just another delay pedal to you, but the Hierophant packs a hidden punch. Regular delays let you crank up the feedback for cool rhythmic effects, but then you gotta somehow bypass it with an external switch to add layers to your sound. Moreover you usually find yourself messing with the feedback knob in the middle of a song which be a real pain.
The Hierophant Fixes Those Annoyances!
It offers two features that solve these problems: The Confessional and the Recitation Boost. We'll break those down in a sec...
If you don’t want to go through the documentation and just wanna quickly try out the patch, I got you cover!
- It’s mono (L) to stereo
- You can find 95% on what you need on first page (parameters and status)
- Bottom pads are menus, (check the visual documentation)
- Second page will give you the 5% you may need (extra parameters)
- Switches and Parameters: look at the visual documentation
- Make sure to try The Confessional (left switch, long press) to bypass the delay
- Make sure to try The Recitation Boost to crank up the feedback (right switch, long press)
Let's delve into the features that make The Hierophant identity:
- Akashic Record: The Akashic Delay is permanently listening in the background and will have existing echoes when activated.
- High-resolution delay time: For precise adjustments, the delay time parameter becomes more responsive at slower settings, allowing for fine-tuning.
- The Confessional: Mute the incoming signal while allowing existing echoes to linger, ideal for creating atmospheric textures with the delay recitation. Note that it also disable the Akashic Record memory if you use it when the delay is off.
- Post-Filter: Sculpt the delay output with a versatile filter, offering low-pass, band-pass, and high-pass options with adjustable resonance and frequency. Use an innovative radio menu to change the filter, or an external footswitch.
- Smart Tap: Easily set the delay time with the tap tempo or take over using the dedicated parameter.
- Beat Sync Mode: Synchronize the delay using MIDI clock or tap tempo for tight rhythmic integration. Create "rewind/forward" tape effects or glitches by turning this mode on and off.
- Heretic Overdrive: Inject warmth and saturation into your delayed sounds with the pre-delay overdrive section.
- Recitation Boost: Temporary give the recitations (feedback) a kick!
- Smooth Transitions: Eliminate unwanted audio jumps with configurable fade times when switching the delay on or off.
- Intuitive User Interface: Access and adjust key settings on the front page for immediate sound exploration. Access an inovative radio menu for more control over parameters.
- Pre-defined MIDI Mapping: Effortlessly map The Hierophant's controls to external devices for hands-free tweaking.
- Comprehensive Control Center: Customize footswitch behavior and functions for a personalized playing experience with a dedicated configuration page.
- Signal Chain Enhancements: Fine-tune your sound with pre-overdrive boost, post-overdrive "Absolution" (compressor with added Make Up Gain) for level control and dynamic range management.
The patch is organized in 3 parts :
- Front Panel (Page 0): This is your command center, think of it as the pedal layout. Offering all the essential controls for immediate sound exploration.
- Customization (Pages 1-3): Dive deeper here to personalize footswitch behavior, configure additional MIDI connections (non CC), or adjust default extra settings.
- Internal Pages (Advanced): Reserved for experienced users who want to modify the patch's core architecture.
A straightforward guide ensures you're up and running quickly:
- Input/Output: Connect your instrument to the left channel and speakers to the stereo output (mono output results in poor sound quality).
- Operational Mode: The Hierophant operates in auxiliary mode. Press the middle and right footswitches together to activate if in bypass mode.
- Front Panel: Explore the essential parameters for sound sculpting, all visually represented with clear color-coding in the first page of the patch.
The Hierophant's front panel provides a wealth of real-time control over its various effects. It’s composed of:
- Indicators: Provide visual feedback on effect, filters and mode status. Think of a pedal’s leds.
- Parameters (red): Dedicated knobs and buttons for delay, overdrive, filter and in/out volume. Think of a pedal’s knobs.
It also features two innovatives radio menu (Think a pedal multi-switch):
- Beat Sync sub-division: allows you to select the clock divider or multiplier for Beat Sync Mode configuration.
- Filter type: allows you to select the filter type or disable it.
Let's delve into each section:
- Center of the left cross:
- Off: delay is off.
- Yellow: delay is on.
- Yellow, blinking: delay is synchronized to the tap tempo or midi clock, blinking in time with the BPM and choosen sub-division.
- Bottom of the left cross: (also act as a clock menu):
- Yellow: free time (sync off). The delay uses the given “Delay time” parameter.
- Aqua: using tap tempo for synchronization (Sync On, no MIDI clock found)
- Purple: receiving MIDI clock for synchronization (Sync On)
- **Center of the right cross:
- Off (no light): Overdrive is off.
- Yellow: Overdrive is on
- Bottom Of the right cross (also act as the filter menu):
- Yellow: No filter applied (Filter Type: None)
- Peach: Lowpass filter selected
- Green: Bandpass filter selected
- Blue: Highpass filter selected
Tips: to remember the colors order, think of earth color (low, peach), grass (middle, green), and sky (blue)
Additionaly, the “Confessional” and the "Recitation Boost" features will each display a blue pad, respectively on top left and right of the front panel.
Delay (Left Cross):
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Delay Time: This parameter controls the echo repetition rate. Its behavior depends on the chosen Beat Sync Mode (see section below).
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Recitation (feedback): Adjusts the number of times the delayed signal repeats itself. Higher values create more repetitions, but be cautious with extreme settings. Ensure your output volume remains under control.
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Dry/Wet: blends the original (dry) signal with the processed (wet) delayed signal. A setting of 0 gives only the dry signal, while 1 provides just the delayed sound. Experiment with different ratios to find your sweet spot.
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Modulation Rate: Controls the speed of the delay time modulation
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Modulation Depth: Sets the intensity of the modulation effect on the delay
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Sync division (last pad at the bottom): opens a menu to select the sync division type. On the left: if you want to divide the clock by 2 (bottom), 3 (middle), 4 (top). On the right if you want to multiply the clock by 2 (bottom), 3 (middle), 4 (top). Click on the menu button again to keep the beat sync to the clock (no division).
If Beat Sync Mode is on, the indicator will blink to the choosen division.
Overdrive (Right Cross, Left/Right):
- Heresy: controls the amount of overdrive applied to the signal. 0 bypasses the overdrive entirely, but the signal still passes through the circuit. Higher values introduce grit and saturation.
- Heresy output: If the overdrive is too loud when activated, you can lower it’s output gain with this parameter.
Filters (Right Cross, Bottom):
- Cutoff Frequency: This parameter determines the specific frequencies affected by the chosen filter type. The effect on the sound will vary depending on your filter selection.
- Resonance: Controls the emphasis of the filter's effect at the cutoff frequency. Higher resonance creates a more pronounced "peak" in the filtered sound.
- Filter type (last pad at the bottom): opens a menu to select the filter type. The menu will appear on the right. From top to bottom: LPF (peach), BPF (green), HPF (blue). Click on the menu again to disable the filter (yellow).
Absolution Control (Right Cross, Top):
- Make Up Gain (Boost In): This knob controls the Absolution Compressor make up gain.
Important Note: In ZOIA, the neutral position (100%) for these level controls translates to a value of 0.8334. Anything above this setting will boost the signal and potentially cause distortion. Experiment carefully to find the optimal balance for your needs.
The Hierophant offers two primary modes for tailoring your delay behavior: Beat Sync On and Off. The key difference lies in how the "Delay Time" parameter and the tap tempo will behave. Beat Sync Mode can be toggle with middle switch long press.
Sync Off (Independent Operation):
- Bottom Left Indicator: Yellow
- Behavior: Operates independently of all tempo sources
- Delay Time (top of left cross): This parameter directly sets the delay time, giving you full manual control.
- Tap Tempo: If received, the tap tempo (middle switch) will override any previously set “Delay Time” value. However, adjusting the “Delay Time” parameter after a tap will reset the tap tempo, ensuring your manual adjustments take priority. Note that the parameter actually keeps its given value position in the front panel. This allows you to play around with "time jumps" using the tap tempo and switching back to manual back and forth.
Sync On (Synchronized Operation):
- Bottom Left Indicator: Aqua (Tap Tempo), or Purple (MIDI clock is running)
- Behavior: Synchronizes the delay with an external tempo source (e.g., your DAW, synthi phone…) or the tap tempo if no clock is found.
- Delay Time: This parameter will be ignored and the clock divider menu will be used. If you turn off Beat Sync, the parameter will be use again, which may create a “tape rewind” effect (see Patches Ideas section).
By default, the delay will use the clock beat as “time” value. You can choose a different value using the radio menu, at the bottom of the left cross:
- click on the menu (might be yellow, aqua, or purple depending on status, see above):
- 6 new pads illuminate. Left side are the clock dividers and right side the multipliers.
- Click on the choosen divider or multiplier. Click on the menu again to use default (clock beat)
The values are from top to bottom: 4 (blue), 3 (green), 2 (peach)
Left switch:
- short press (latch): delay on/off
- long press: “Confessional” toggle. When on, he delay keeps playing but the input bypass the delay. This allows to keep the delay’s “recitation” as a background or even as a drum machine. A “C” appears in magenta in the front panel.
Middle switch:
- short press: tap tempo. Sets the delay tempo manually by tapping the switch in rhythm. See “Beat Sync Mode”.
- long press (latch): sync on/off. If the delay is on, the left cross indicator will start blinking if sync is on.
Right switch:
- Short press (latch): overdrive on/off
- Long press: Recitation Boost Toggle. Boost the recitation until disabled. A “F” appears in magenta in the front panel. The intensity will grow with the boost power. (See Boost Duration in settings)
External footswitch: cycle through different variable filters (Off, lowpass, bandpass, highpass). The right bottom indicator will change color accordingly (yellow, green, pink, blue). You can remap it to left or right foot switch (see customization - controls)
Pages 1, 2 and 3 allow you to personnalize The Hierophant. Don’t forget to save the patch!
This page lets you adjust settings to your liking:
- Smooth Delay: This controls the fade-out time for the delay effect when switching it off. Adjust this setting to achieve the desired transition smoothness. 0 means no transition, 1 means 20 seconds transition.
- Boost duration: how long the Recitation Boost takes to go to full level. 0 is instant, 1 is 20 seconds. (it uses a CV filter internally). The release will be progressive but is fixed.
- Output Volume/Boost: This knob adjusts the pre-output boost level, right before the signal leaves the ZOIA.
- Absolution: The audio input is send to a compressor with added "Make Up gain" (see page 0) (missing on the Zoia). You can control the threshold with this parameter. Value 0 means 0db, 1 is -48db. (It’s limited to -48db because higher values are too CPU intensive).
- Max Boost: Max boost in Recitation Boost Mode
- Absolution on/off (yellow button): turn on and off Absolution Compressor and Make Up Gain
The Hierophant lets you tailor its behavior to your playing style by remapping the functions of the left, middle, and right stomp switches.
Layout:
- The panel is divided into three columns, each representing a footswitch.
- Triggers (Top): These define when the action occurs.
- Actions (Bottom): Choose the desired function for each footswitch, with default color-coded options for easy pairing. Blue is for the external footswitch default.
This page give you quick access to some common MIDI additionnal triggers and external footswitch. Note that for control change (CC) parameters, it’s recommended to use the “starred” menu of the Zoia (shift + star icon). Useful parameters have been already added to the starred list. Common MIDI CC code are pre-mapped in the patch.
Default:
- External footswitch to “Next Filter”
- Expression pedal to modulation depth
- Pitch Bend: unmap, to avoid conflict with synthetizers. Suggestion: map to delay time
- Midi channel pressure: unmap to avoid conflict. Suggestion: modulation depth
Remember to save the patch!
Exemple:
- To use your expression pedal to modulate the dry/wet value, remove the connexion from the “Ext Switch” (right) and connect it to “Dry/wet” on page 0.
- You can add a “midi note” module with velocity output and map its output to “Modulation rate” or anything you’d like to control from you velocity sensitive MIDI controller.
You can customize incoming MIDI CC parameters by using the Zoia starred menu. See Zoia documentation on how to use it if needed.
These are the default values.
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CC 16 : Delay Time
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CC 17 : Recitation level
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CC 91 : Delay dry/wet level
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CC 18 : Delay modulation rate
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CC 11 : Delay modulation depth
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CC 7 : Output level/boost
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CC 12 : Heresy level
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CC 89 : Heresy output gain
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CC 74 : Cutoff Frequency
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CC 71 : Cutoff Resonance
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CC 5 : Delay fade duration
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CC 90 : Absolution level
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CC 87 : Input level/boost
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CC 87 : Make Up Gain
- CC 80 : Delay on/off
- CC 81 : Overdrive on/off
- CC 82 : Absolution compressor on/off
- CC 85 : Confessional on/off
- CC 86 : Beat Sync on/off
- CC 88 : Recitation Boost on/off
To configure pitch bend, expression pedal and external footswitch, see “connexions”.
Modulation wheel (CC 1) is not map by default to avoid conflict with synthetizers. Suggestion: Recitation level.
Remember to save the patch after updating mappings!
Here are some patches ideas to get you started with the Hierophant! Your creations are appreciated, feel free to share in the comment section!
This is a popular delay type known for its short, single echo that sits just behind the original dry signal. It adds a subtle thickening and dimension to your sound, evoking a vintage rockabilly or surf music vibe.
+------------+-------+
| Delay Time | 0.35 |
| Dry/Wet | 0.65 |
| Recitation | 0.30 |
| Mod Depth | 0 |
+------------+-------+
| Filter | Off |
| Beat Sync | Off |
+------------+-------+
Unplug your instrument and unleash The Hierophant's potential! Feed it any sound source, then explore the evolving textures by tweaking the filter resonance and delay time with a high recitation. Turn the beat sync mode on and off for additional effects!
+------------+---------+
| Delay Time | 0.62 |
| Dry/Wet | 1.0 |
| Recitation | 0.97 |
| Mod. Rate | 150.00Hz|
| Mod. Depth | 0.10 |
| Frequency | 758.00Hz|
| Resonance | 0.1 |
+------------+---------+
| Filter | LPF |
| Beat Sync | On/Off |
+------------+---------+
Retro Lushness: Crank up the modulation depth for a thick, warbling chorus effect. It's perfect for adding a nostalgic touch to your chords and transporting you back in time.
+------------+---------+
| Delay Time | 0.23 |
| Dry/Wet | 0.6 |
| Recitation | 0.4 |
| Mod. Rate | 83.99Hz |
| Mod. Depth | 0.3 |
| Frequency | 758.00Hz|
| Resonance | 0.1 |
+------------+---------+
| Filter | Off |
+------------+---------+
My first patch before the release, so it deserve to be the Eponym, I guess? Just try it! Made for the guitar.
+------------+----------+
| Delay Time | 0.6490 |
| Dry/Wet | 0.2243 |
| Recitation | 0.6182 |
| Mod. Rate | 121.47Hz |
| Mod. Depth | 0.1099 |
| Frequency | 4928.00Hz|
| Resonance | 0.2808 |
+------------+----------+
| Filter | LPF |
+------------+----------+
The sync indicator might show the MIDI clock as 'running' even after unplugging the cable. This is a visual issue and doesn't affect how the delay syncs. Always stop the clock on your device before unplugging the MIDI cable. Simply reload the patch if you experience this issue. Sometimes it also doesn’t work with some devices.
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Fix an issue with the delay transition being to fast
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CPU optimizations
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Absolution Compressor is now placed in the start of the signal past and follow by the booster as Make Up Gain. It is now set up as a compressor instead of a limiter.
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Absolution can be turned off by a yellow switch on page 2
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Recitation Boost can now go up to 20 seconds
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Confessional and Recitation Boost are now latches
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Fix MIDI issues when using starred menu for on/off values
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Improved MIDI CC defaults
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Move some parameters to page 0 and 1 (see new picture manual)
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Improved default settings
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New parameter to set up the Recitation Boost limit
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Removes transition when turning the delay on
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Smooth transition for delay has been greatly improved as well as Recitation Boost transition
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Confessional and Recitation Boost are now latches switches.
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Confessional and Recitation Boost indicators are now single pads
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Removed the "hold" version of the switches for CPU optimization and simplification.
See github for technical guide. https://github.com/sheoak/zoia-the-hierophant/blob/main/GUIDE.md
I'm always looking for ways to improve my Zoia patches. Feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions on the patch comments section on Patchstorage or by sending me a private message on Discord. I appreciate your feedback, especially regarding the limiter and overdrive settings to optimize the sound quality
The Hierophant wouldn't be here without the incredible ZOIA community. I'd like to express my sincere gratitude to:
- Christopher H. M. Jacques: For his invaluable online resources and inspiring patch creations.
- Barbie Almalbis: Whose groovy patches ignited the spark for this creation.
- The Ever-Growing ZOIA Community: Thank you all for your contributions and fostering a space for creative exploration!