Zen Delay Guildfordia's Mod
An unofficial, open-source firmware mod for the Erica Synths Zen Delay (firmware 1.1.0): tap tempo with musical divisions, MIDI CC control, MIDI clock sync, input send for dub throws, freeze, and a TAP LED that shows what the delay is doing.
Get it on GitHubUnofficial, at your own risk. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Erica Synths or Ninja Tune. No Erica Synths code is distributed: you download the official update file from Erica Synths and a small Python script patches it on your computer. The Zen's bootloader is never touched, so you can always go back to the official firmware.
Features
- Three time modes on the TAP button: free time, tapped tempo, MIDI clock sync (tap / hold 1.5 s / hold 3 s).
- 13 symmetric divisions in tap and sync mode, x1 at 12 o'clock:
/8 /4 /3 /2 /1.5 /1.33 | x1 | x1.33 x1.5 x2 x3 x4 x8— dotted eighth, triplets, dotted quarter… - MIDI CC on channel 16: feedback, delay time, delay mode, tap, time mode.
- Input send (CC 21) for dub throws: close the input, the repeats keep ringing.
- Freeze: double tap or CC 22 — the delay content loops forever.
- TAP LED: off in free mode, flashes on the beat in tap mode, on with a blackout on each received clock beat in sync mode, fast blink when frozen.
MIDI CC chart (channel 16)
| CC | Function | Values |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | Feedback | 0–127 |
| 21 | Input send (dub throws) | 0 closed … 127 open (default) |
| 22 | Freeze | 0–63 off, 64–127 on |
| 23 | Delay time | 0–127 (free: time, tap/sync: division) |
| 24 | Delay mode | off, tape, tape ping-pong, digital ping-pong, digital |
| 25 | Tap | any value > 0 = one tap |
| 26 | Time mode | 0–42 free, 43–85 tap, 86–127 sync |
Install
- Download the official
ZenDelay_V1.1.0.wavfrom Erica Synths. - Patch it (Python 3 + numpy):
python zen_patch.py ZenDelay_V1.1.0.wav zen_delay_guildfordia_mod.wav
- Flash it like an official update: hold TAP while powering on, IN LEVEL at 12 o'clock, play the file into L IN (a computer headphone output works best).
Full guide, troubleshooting and sources: github.com/guildfordia/zen-delay-mod. Ideas and bug reports are welcome in the GitHub issues.