Apollo
Native
New
Cooper Time Cube Delay
- Organic Doubling. Thicken vocals, guitars, and keys with short delay effects and instant character.
- Instant Stereo Width. Add extra separation to tracks without cluttering the center of your mix.
- Dual Delay Lines. Dial in each line separately, and create rhythmic textures with tempo sync.
- Quintessential Tone Shaping. Sculpt your repeats with Treble, Bass, Color, and High Pass Filter controls.
- A Studio Cult Classic. Get the delay tones heard on hits like Rufus’s “Tell Me Something Good” and War’s “Low Rider.”*
Discover a Bizarre Beauty
What They Say
Joe Chiccarelli
(The Strokes, Beck, Morrissey)
Nic Hard
(Snarky Puppy, Becca Stevens, The Bravery)
Marco Polo
(Nas & DJ Premier, Masta Ace, Westside Gunn)
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, the Cooper Time Cube Delay is worth it if you want organic doubling, slapback, and stereo width with a character no electronic delay produces. It models the 1971 garden hose delay designed by Universal Audio founder Bill Putnam and Duane H. Cooper, a device built specifically for short delays. Now that it runs natively, you can use that cult-classic sound in any DAW on a supported Mac or PC.
The Cooper Time Cube Delay gets its sound from modeled acoustic physics, not an electronic or digital circuit. The original hardware sent audio through a coiled garden hose, so every repeat carries the coloration and movement of sound traveling through a real tube. Most delay plug-ins center on long, rhythmic echoes, while the Cooper Time Cube Delay excels at the short delay range where doubling and width happen. No other manufacturer offers an emulation of this device.
The original Cooper Time Cube hardware sent audio down lengths of coiled garden hose inside a plywood box. A mic capsule at one end of the hose worked as a speaker, and another at the far end picked the sound back up. The whole assembly was suspended on springs and buried in packing peanuts. Only 1,000 units were ever made, and its knack for sitting perfectly in a mix earned it a cult following in studios.
The Cooper Time Cube Delay runs natively on your computer's CPU, while the UAD-2 version of Cooper Time Cube runs on the DSP inside an Apollo interface or UAD Accelerator. Both are built on the same Cooper Time Cube emulation, so the controls and character carry over. Go native if you want it in any DAW on any supported Mac or PC, and use the DSP version if you want to track through it on Apollo with near-zero latency.
Choose the Cooper Time Cube Delay for short-delay doubling, slapback, and widening, and choose Galaxy Tape Echo for rhythmic, repeating tape echo. The Cooper Time Cube Delay excels in the 14 to 30 millisecond range, where a delayed copy reads as thickness and space rather than a distinct echo. Galaxy Tape Echo and UA's EP-34 Tape Echo are built for audible repeats, feedback, and tape character. Plenty of mix engineers keep both close at hand because they each have a unique sonic character.
The Cooper Time Cube Delay offers delay times from 5 milliseconds to 2.5 seconds on each of its two delay lines. The short window is the sweet spot for doubling and widening, because your ear hears the delayed signal as part of the original sound instead of a separate repeat, while longer delays are great for rhythmic sounds or dub delay textures. A switch also lets you choose the sound of the original hardware's single or double hose coil.
The Cooper Time Cube Delay sits well in a mix because its repeats carry the physical, real-world character of sound traveling through garden hose. That organic character thickens and widens a track while blending with the source, so your vocals and guitars sound bigger without sounding processed. It's the same quality that made the original hardware a studio favorite for five decades.
The Cooper Time Cube Delay shapes its repeats with a High Pass Filter, Treble and Bass controls, and a Color switch. The high pass filter rolls off low end so the delay stays clear of your kick and bass, while Treble and Bass brighten or darken the repeats. The Color switch flips between the original hardware's frequency response and a smoother, leveled tone.
No, the Cooper Time Cube Delay runs natively on your computer, so you don't need an Apollo interface or UAD Accelerator. It uses your Mac or PC's processor like any other plug-in. If you already own UAD hardware, the DSP version of Cooper Time Cube is still there for tracking through Apollo.
The Cooper Time Cube Delay works in major DAWs on macOS and Windows in AU, VST3, and AAX formats, and in LUNA on both Mac and Windows. It runs natively on Apple Silicon Macs.
To double a vocal with the Cooper Time Cube Delay, set a short delay time and blend the A and B delay lines with their Volume controls until the voice thickens without turning into an audible echo. Pan the two lines apart to turn that thickness into width. Then use the High Pass Filter and Treble controls to keep the double tucked behind the lead.
Yes, the Cooper Time Cube Delay adds stereo width by panning its two independent delay lines to different sides of the mix. If the delays are short, the result reads as a wider, more dimensional version of the source rather than a pair of echoes, and the center stays open for your lead tracks. It's a quick way to open up vocals, guitars, keys, and synth pads.
Yes, the Cooper Time Cube Delay lets you sync both delay line A and B to your session tempo separately, so you can build rhythmic textures. Each line has its own Decay, Pan, and Volume controls, and every knob is automatable. That makes it easy to move the effect from section to section as a song builds or craft creative effects in realtime.
The Cooper Time Cube Delay works best on vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, keys, and synths, anywhere you want thickness or space without a distinct echo. It's also a classic choice for vintage slapback on drums, guitars, and vocals. Try it on anything in your mix that sounds a little thin or a little too dry.
Yes, the Cooper Time Cube Delay's classic tone and unique doubling effects fit modern hip-hop, R&B, pop, and acoustic productions as naturally as it fit records in 1971. Thick, wide vocals and guitars are central to how today's records sound, and the Cooper Time Cube Delay gets you there with organic character instead of an obvious digitally processed effect. Five decades of records have used its doubling and slapback, and now it fits in any home studio.