Electro-Harmonix Grand Canyon User manual

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CANYON
Multifunction Delay & Looper
Congratulations on your purchase of the Canyon, an extremely powerful yet easy-
to-use Delay and Looper pedal. Within the compact Canyon chassis there’s a vast
array of awe-inspiring tones including 10 different types of delays: from pristine
digital to warm tape and more. We’ve even included an exquisite Deluxe Memory
Man emulation plus otherworldly octave delay and shimmer effects. Add in a full-
featured looper, built-in or external tap tempo with tap divide, a selection of
secondary controls and you’re in for a truly grand delay experience.
- GETTING STARTED WITH THE CANYON -
1. Plug the supplied EHX9.6DC AC Adapter into the jack at the top of the
CANYON.
2. Plug your guitar into the INPUT jack and plug the OUTPUT jack into
your amplifier.
3. Turn the 11-position mode knob to the ECHO setting for a standard
digital delay.
4. Set the number of repeats with the FEEDBACK knob, the delay time
with the DELAY knob, and the delay volume with the FX LVL knob.
- TABLE OF CONTENTS -
Getting started with the CANYON 1
Controls 2
Connections 3
Description of modes 4
Using the CANYON’s Loop Mode 5
Tap Tempo with the CANYON 7
Secondary Knob Functionality 9
Secondary Controls Chart 12
Warranty Information and FCC Compliance 13

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- CONTROLS -
FX LVL Knob –Controls the output volume of the delay effect. When this
knob is at the minimum position, the output is only your dry signal. As the
knob is turned up, the delay output increases in volume. As the knob is
turned past 2 o’clock, the dry signal decreases in volume. When the knob
is at the maximum position, the output is only the delay output. Note: in
S/H and LOOP modes, the dry signal remains at unity volume even as FX
LVL is turned to maximum
DELAY Knob –Controls the delay time of the CANYON, from a minimum
position of 5 milliseconds to a maximum of 3 seconds.
FEEDBACK Knob –Controls the number of repeats of the delayed signal.
As this knob is turned clockwise, the number of repeats increases.
In S/H mode, this knob controls the pluck detection sensitivity. As the
knob is turned clockwise, the sensitivity increases.
In LOOP mode, this knob controls how much of the existing loop is
preserved when overdubbing. As the knob is rotated clockwise, more of
the existing loop is preserved. At the maximum position, the loop will stay
the same volume while overdubbing.
MODE Knob –This knob is an 11-position rotary switch that selects which
of the CANYON’s delay modes is active.
TAP/DIVIDE Switch and LED –This switch controls the Tap Divide
setting. When the delay time is set using tap tempo, this button controls
the division of the tapped tempo. Press the switch to cycle through the
Tap Divide options, which are indicated by the LED color. Red indicates
quarter notes, orange indicates dotted eighth notes, and green indicates
eighth notes. If the LED does not change color when pressing this switch,
internal Tap Tempo is disabled. See “Tap Tempo with the CANYON”on
page 7 for the details of tap tempo use.
Footswitch –Press this footswitch to switch the pedal between bypass
and effect modes. When the pedal is in effect mode, the LED will be lit.
The footswitch can also be used to set the delay time by tapping it at least
two times. This functionality is enabled from the factory, but can be
disabled. See “Tap Tempo with the CANYON” on page 7 for details.

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TAILS Switch –The CANYON allows you to choose whether delayed
echoes continue to repeat or stop immediately after the pedal is switched
to bypass. To control this, remove the CANYON’s bottom cover and locate
the small slide switch on the bottom of the board labeled “TAILS.”
When Tails are set to ON, the echoes will continue to repeat after the
pedal is switched to bypass, with the number of repeats set by the
FEEDBACK knob. Anything you play after entering bypass will not repeat.
If the pedal is set for infinite feedback (i.e. the FEEDBACK knob is set to
maximum) the repeats will continue until you turn the FEEDBACK knob
down or switch to a different mode.
Note: In Sample/Hold mode, repeats will not continue indefinitely when
Tails are ON. The repeats will fade out over half a second.
When Tails are set to OFF, all repeats will stop as soon as the bypass
switch is pressed, regardless of the FEEDBACK knob setting.
- CONNECTIONS -
INPUT Jack –This ¼” jack is the audio input of the CANYON. The input
impedance is 1M.
OUTPUT Jack –This ¼” jack is the audio output of the CANYON. The output
impedance is 680.
TAP IN Jack –Connect an external momentary footswitch to this ¼” jack
to control the delay time by tapping in a tempo. The external switch should
be normally open. Upon engaging the switch, it should create a short
circuit between the Tip and Sleeve of the plug. See “Tap Tempo with the
CANYON” on page 7 for details on using Tap Tempo.
9V Power Jack –Plug the output of the CANYON’s supplied EHX9.6DC
200mA AC adapter in the 9V power jack located at the top of the pedal.
The CANYON requires 150mA at 9VDC with a center-negative plug.
- DESCRIPTION OF MODES -
ECHO –This mode is a simple digital delay, in which each delayed repeat
sounds exactly like the previous one, and the repeats gradually decrease
in volume.
MOD –Modulated delay –This mode is the same as the ECHO mode, but
with added modulation to the delayed repeats to give the delayed tone
complexity and warmth.

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MULTI –Multi-tap delay –In this mode, each repeat of the delayed signal
occurs at exactly the same volume. The FEEDBACK knob sets the total
number of constant-volume repeats.
REVRS –Reverse delay –Echoes will play back in reverse. This is an
intelligent reverse echo: it studies your playing so that it can produce
reversed echoes that best suit your delay time setting. Tip: Use the
CANYON’s Secondary Knob Mode to adjust the sensitivity of the intelligent
pluck detection algorithm.
DMM –Deluxe Memory Man –This is a faithful emulation of the tone of
the EHX Deluxe Memory Man bucket brigade analog delay pedal. Organic
echoes transform as they repeat, and lush modulation is available using
the Secondary Knob Mode.
TAPE –Tape delay –This mode simulates the prized analog tape echo
units of the 1970s. Echoes degrade and distort as they repeat, as tape
Wow and Flutter provide true tape character.
VERB –Reverb plus delay –In this mode, each echo also has plate reverb
applied to it. Tip: Turn FEEDBACK all the way down to get a pure reverb
effect, where DELAY controls the pre-delay of the reverb.
OCT –Octave delay –In this mode, each repeat is progressively pitch
shifted up one octave. Tip: A sub-octave is also available by using the
CANYON’s Secondary Knob Mode.
SHIM –Shimmer –This mode creates a shimmer effect, generating a rich
octave-shifted wash of harmony with your guitar. The CANYON achieves
this by modeling a chain of four EHX pedals:
S/H –Sample and Hold –This mode senses guitar plucks, and repeats
them indefinitely until another pluck is sensed. In this mode, the
FEEDBACK knob controls the CANYON’s sensitivity to guitar plucks. At the

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minimum position, only the strongest plucks will trigger the S/H mode. As
FEEDBACK is turned up, the sensitivity of this mode increases.
LOOP –Looper mode –When the CANYON is in LOOP mode, it becomes
a looper pedal with a maximum loop length of 62 seconds. A recorded
loop is stored permanently, even when the CANYON is removed from
power. As a special feature, the FEEDBACK knob controls the level of the
existing loop that is preserved when overdubbing.
- USING THE CANYON’S LOOP MODE -
RECORDING A LOOP
1. To record a loop, press the footswitch once. The LED will light red and
recording begins immediately.
2. To stop recording the loop, press the footswitch again once. The LED
will light green, and the loop will begin playing immediately.
3. The FX LVL knob controls the output level of loop playback. Your dry
signal remains at unity signal level.
4. The loop plays indefinitely. Each time the loop repeats, the LED will
briefly turn off.
5. Note: If the full 62 seconds of loop recording time is reached,
recording will stop automatically.
STOPPING & STARTING LOOP PLAYBACK
1. To stop loop playback, press the footswitch two times quickly.
Note: the LED will turn orange during the first press.
2. The LED will light dim green to indicate the presence of recorded loop
memory. When powering on the CANYON in LOOP mode, or when
switching from an echo mode to LOOP mode, the LED will light bright
green for a half second to indicate the presence of loop memory, then
turn dim green until playback is started.
3. While playback is stopped, press and release the footswitch once to
start loop playback. The LED will light green to indicate that the loop
is playing.

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RECORDING AN OVERDUB
1. To record an overdub, first begin playing back a recorded loop by
pressing the footswitch once to begin playback. The LED will turn
green and the loop will begin playing immediately.
2. To start recording an overdub, press the footswitch once. The LED will
turn orange and new audio will be recorded on top of the original loop.
3. The level of previously recorded loop memory preserved after
overdubbing is set with the FEEDBACK knob. When this knob is at the
maximum position, no volume loss will occur to the previously
recorded portion of the loop. When the FEEDBACK knob is set lower,
the previous loop memory will be at a lower volume than the recorded
overdub.
4. To stop overdubbing the loop, press the footswitch again once. The
LED will turn green, and the loop will continue playing along with the
overdubbed audio.
5. Overdubbing will never change the length of the loop.
6. If the loop repeats during overdubbing, the LED will turn off briefly.
The CANYON can overdub indefinitely, allowing you to continuously
add new audio to your loop.
7. After finishing an overdub, the Undo/Redo function is enabled. You
may undo, then redo the last overdub as many times as you like.
UNDO-REDO FUNCTION
1. To undo an overdub (remove the last take) during loop playback,
press and hold the footswitch for 1 second. The LED will blink twice
and the previous overdub will be removed.
2. To redo an overdub (restore the last removed take) during loop
playback, press and hold the footswitch for 1 second. The LED will
blink twice and the previous overdub will be restored.
3. The Undo/Redo function can only be initiated while a loop is playing
back. Undo/Redo cannot be performed during overdub, record, or
stop modes.
4. Note: once Undo/Redo is enabled, this function is available until the
loop is erased. This is true even after power cycling the CANYON.
ERASING A LOOP
1. To erase a loop, playback must be stopped. If a loop is playing, press
the footswitch two times quickly to stop it.
2. Press and hold the footswitch for 2 seconds to erase the loop memory.
The LED will blink red six times then remain off, indicating that the
loop is erased.
3. Note: the ERASE function is only available when the loop has
recorded memory, as indicated by the dim green LED.

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LOOP MEMORY
1. Any recorded audio is stored automatically to the CANYON’s internal
memory.
2. The recorded loop will remain in memory until it is erased. Power
cycling does not erase the saved loop unless power is cut while
recording the loop. Any loop or overdub that was being recorded at
the time of power loss will not be saved by the CANYON.
3. Switching from LOOP mode to any other delay mode on the CANYON
does not erase the loop unless the MODE knob is moved while
recording the loop.
4. If the CANYON has a loop saved in its memory and is turned on in
LOOP mode, or if the MODE knob is turned to LOOP mode, the LED
will light bright green for half a second, then turn dim green to indicate
that there is previously recorded loop memory. If there is no loop in
memory, the LED will stay off until a loop is recorded.
- TAP TEMPO WITH THE CANYON -
In all CANYON modes except for LOOP, the delay time can be set with tap
tempo. The CANYON offers two ways of tapping in a tempo: using the
built-in footswitch, or using an external tap tempo switch. With either
method, you can achieve different rhythms using the TAP DIVIDE button.
Pressing the TAP DIVIDE button cycles through three subdivision options,
each indicated by the LED color. If you tap in a quarter-note tempo, the
tap divide subdivisions will be:
•Red LED: quarter notes (no division)
•Orange LED: dotted eighth notes (3/4 of tapped delay time)
•Green LED: eighth notes (1/2 of tapped delay time)
USING THE INTERNAL FOOTSWITCH
Tap the CANYON’s internal footswitch at least two times at a steady
tempo. The delay time will be set to your tapping speed, divided by the
tap divide setting. The LED will blink at the rate of the delay. Tip: When
you tap the internal footswitch, the CANYON will enter/exit bypass. If you
don’t want echoes to stop while setting tap tempo, make sure the TAILS
switch is set to ON, or use an external footswitch.
You can also disable the internal footswitch’s tap tempo function. This is
useful when you want to turn the pedal on/off very quickly. To
disable/enable internal tap tempo, unplug power from the CANYON, press
and hold the footswitch, then plug power back in while holding the
footswitch. The LED will slowly blink five times if tap tempo is turned off,
and will blink twice if tap tempo is turned on. The CANYON saves your tap

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tempo enable/disable setting until it is changed again, even if the pedal is
removed from power. Tip: If you set the Tails switch to ON and disable
internal tap tempo, you can quickly switch the CANYON in and out of effect
mode to “grab” individual notes or phrases to repeat, or to keep high
FEEDBACK settings from becoming too busy.
You can also reset the internal footswitch’s tap tempo to the factory setting
of enabled by holding the footswitch when resetting secondary knob
settings. See step 11 in “Using Secondary Knob Mode” below.
USING AN EXTERNAL FOOTSWITCH
Connect an external momentary footswitch to the TAP IN jack to control
the delay time by tapping in a tempo. The external switch should be
normally open. Upon engaging the switch, it should create a short circuit
between the Tip and Sleeve of the plug. Tap the external footswitch at
least two times at a steady tempo. The delay time will be set to your
tapping speed, divided by the tap divide setting. The LED will blink at the
rate of the delay.
Plugging in an external tap switch always disables the internal footswitch’s
tap tempo functionality.
- SECONDARY KNOB FUNCTIONALITY -
The CANYON allows you to take even more control over the tone of each
delay mode by accessing “hidden” parameters through Secondary Knob
Mode. Use the secondary knob functions to fine tune the exact tone you
want, or push the CANYON into wild, unexpected sonic territory.
USING SECONDARY KNOB MODE
1. Turn the MODE knob to the mode you would like to edit. Secondary
knob functions are available in every mode except for ECHO and
LOOP.
2. Press and hold the TAP/DIVIDE switch for 1 second. The LED will blink
in an on-on-off pattern to indicate that the CANYON is now in
Secondary Knob Mode.
3. Turn the DELAY or FEEDBACK knobs to edit the secondary knob
function for that delay mode.
4. To exit Secondary Knob Mode, press and release the TAP/DIVIDE
switch. The LED will stop blinking. The delay time and feedback
amount set by the DELAY and FEEDBACK knobs before entering
Secondary Knob Mode is preserved until those knobs are moved.

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USING OTHER CONTROLS IN SECONDARY KNOB MODE
1. The FX LVL and MODE knobs always function normally in Secondary
Knob Mode. The FEEDBACK knob functions normally if there is no
secondary knob function for that knob (in MULTI, REVRS, and S/H
delay modes). Turning the MODE knob to ECHO or LOOP will exit
Secondary Knob Mode.
2. When using the DELAY or FEEDBACK knob to set a secondary knob
function, the delay time and feedback amount that was set by those
knobs before entering Secondary Knob Mode is preserved.
3. The footswitch functions normally in Secondary Knob Mode. If the
footswitch is used to put the CANYON in bypass mode, Secondary
Knob Mode will remain active, and moving the knobs will change their
secondary knob functions. The LED will blink in a shorter version of
the Secondary Knob Mode pattern. If tap tempo mode is enabled, you
can use the footswitch to tap in a new delay time.
4. Secondary knob settings are preserved when switching away from a
particular delay mode, and are preserved when power cycling the
CANYON. When secondary knob functions are set in one delay mode,
they do not affect the secondary knob functions of another mode
(example: changing the modulation depth of MOD mode does not
change the modulation depth of DMM mode).
ERASING SECONDARY KNOB SETTINGS
1. To erase the secondary knob settings of a particular mode, press and
hold the TAP/DIVIDE switch. Then, while holding TAP/DIVIDE, press
and hold the footswitch for 2 seconds. The LED will blink quickly
indicating that the secondary knob settings of the current mode have
been reset to the default factory settings.
2. To erase the secondary knob settings of every mode and restore them
all to factory defaults, first unplug the CANYON from power. Press and
hold the TAP/DIVIDE switch. Then, while holding TAP/DIVIDE, plug
power back in to the CANYON. The LED will blink quickly, indicating
that all secondary knob functions have been restored to the factory
default.
3. To erase the secondary knob settings of every mode and reset the
internal footswitch’s tap tempo to the factory default, first unplug the
CANYON from power. Press and hold both the TAP/DIVIDE switch and
the footswitch. Then, while holding both switches, plug power back in
to the CANYON. The LED will cycle through red, orange and green to
indicate that the CANYON has been restored to factory default
secondary knob settings and tap tempo settings.

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SECONDARY KNOB FUNCTIONS BY DELAY MODE
ECHO –No secondary knob functions.
MOD –The DELAY knob controls modulation rate. Factory default is
0.15Hz, at the 8 o’clock position of the knob. This can be adjusted from
0.01Hz to 328Hz. The FEEDBACK knob controls modulation depth. Default
is at the 12 o’clock position of the knob.
MULTI –The DELAY knob controls volume decay/swell. Factory default is
at 12 o’clock, with no decay or swell. As the knob is turned up, the first
delayed echoes will become quieter. At maximum position, the echoes will
increase in volume from silence. As the knob is turned down, the last
delayed echoes will become quieter. At minimum position, the echoes will
decay to silence, which will sound identical to ECHO mode.
REVRS –The DELAY knob controls pluck sensitivity. Turn the knob up to
make the CANYON more sensitive to your pluck attack, turn it down to
reduce sensitivity. Factory default is maximum sensitivity with the knob
fully clockwise.
DMM –The CANYON can emulate the lush analog modulation of the EHX
Deluxe Memory Man. It is disabled as a factory default, but can be turned
on using the FEEDBACK knob in secondary knob mode. FEEDBACK
controls modulation depth, and factory default is zero, with the knob fully
counterclockwise. Turn the knob up to increase modulation. The DELAY
knob controls modulation rate. Factory default is 0.75Hz, at the 10 o’clock
position of the knob, which corresponds to the Deluxe Memory Man’s
Chorus setting. Set this knob to the noon position to reach the DMM’s
Vibrato setting.
TAPE –The DELAY knob controls the amount of tape distortion, emulating
an aging tape. Factory default is 10 o’clock. The FEEDBACK knob controls
Tape Flutter modulation depth. Factory default is 9 o’clock. Turn both
knobs to the minimum position for a clean, fresh tape tone.
VERB –The DELAY knob controls the reverb time. Factory default is 11
o’clock. Turn this knob up for longer reverb tails, turn it down for shorter.
The FEEDBACK knob controls a low pass filter on the reverb. Factory
default is set to maximum. Turn this knob down to get a darker reverb
sound.