LOCUS DELAY is a stereo spatial delay plugin where echoes move through 3D headphone space. Instead of static delays stuck on a flat stereo plane, it gives every echo an explicit position with horizontal panning and front-to-back depth, brought to life with tempo-synced orbital trajectories. Listening with headphones is strongly recommended to experience the full spatial effect.

It is available in two editions: the free LOCUS DELAY and the full-featured LOCUS DELAY Pro, which adds custom hand-drawn motion paths (DRAW), complex movement patterns, modulation via LFO and external sidechain, tone shaping filters (LOW CUT / HIGH CUT), automatic DUCK, and space tools (DIFFUSE and FREEZE). This manual covers both editions. Features exclusive to the Pro edition are marked “Pro only”.

Free vs Pro

Feature	LOCUS DELAY (free)	LOCUS DELAY Pro
XY Pad, TIME, SYNC, DELAY TYPE (DUAL / TAPE / MULTI), OUTPUT	○	○
LOCUS MOVE	OFF and CIRCLE	+ RAND / SQUARE / EIGHT / DRAW (hand-drawn trajectory)
LOCUS MODULATION (LFO, external sidechain)	—	○
TONE (LOW CUT / HIGH CUT)	—	○
DUCK	—	○
DIFFUSE / FREEZE	—	○
STATUS Display (DUCK meter / FREEZE lamp)	— (Display inactive)	○
Factory presets	20	100
Save user presets	— (can import exported presets)	○
Price / Availability	Free (Official website / Gumroad / itch.io)	$5 (Launch price: $3.25 until Nov 30, 2026) (Gumroad / itch.io)

In the free edition, Pro controls are visible with a lock badge (“PRO”) and cannot be adjusted. If you open a preset or session that contains Pro settings in the free edition, RAND / SQUARE / EIGHT / DRAW will play as CIRCLE, modulation is disabled, and the screen displays these active fallback settings. The STATUS display at the bottom right is also inactive in the free edition (Pro only).

1. Overview

• Echoes moving in 3D headphone space: Gives delay repeats precise spatial positioning with horizontal placement (left/right) and front-to-back depth (near/far). Headphone listening is recommended.
• Interactive XY Pad: Drag to position echoes anywhere in the sound field. Double-click to instantly return to center.
• LOCUS MOVE: Cycles echoes through space in sync with your project tempo. Choose from CIRCLE (free & Pro), or RAND, SQUARE, EIGHT, and DRAW (Pro only).
• Hand-drawn DRAW path (Pro only): Click DRAW and sketch any custom motion path directly onto the XY pad with your mouse. Echoes loop along your drawn trajectory, saved right inside your DAW session.
• Three DELAY TYPES: Pick DUAL (clean, transparent digital delay), TAPE (tape wobble with analog warmth), or MULTI (4-tap rhythmic echo bursts).
• Comprehensive TIME section: Tempo-sync with note divisions (1/2 to 1/16T), LINK left and right channels, or switch SYNC off for independent millisecond delay times. Displays actual time in milliseconds alongside musical notes, with a MAX warning when notes exceed 2000 ms.
• LOCUS MODULATION (Pro only): Modulate echo position with an internal LFO or react dynamically to kick drums and other instruments using the external sidechain input (EXT SC).
• DUCK (Pro only): Automatically ducks echoes while the dry input signal is active and lets repeats swell back up during vocal or instrumental pauses.
• TONE shaping (Pro only): Progressive LOW CUT (20 Hz to 2 kHz) and HIGH CUT (500 Hz to 20 kHz) filters with strengthened response that accumulates with each repeat.
• DIFFUSE & FREEZE (Pro only): DIFFUSE smears distinct delay taps into lush, reverb-like ambient washes. FREEZE locks the current echo tail into an endless loop without accepting new incoming audio.
• STATUS display (Pro only): Located at the bottom right, it shows how much DUCK is currently attenuating the echo (in dB and with a meter) and an active indicator lamp during FREEZE. If you can’t hear echoes, check here to see if DUCK is attenuating them (inactive in the free edition).
• Preset management: 20 factory presets in the free edition (centered on CIRCLE motion) and 100 in Pro (utilizing RAND / SQUARE / EIGHT, LFO, TONE, DUCK, and DIFFUSE). Saving and deleting user presets is available in Pro, which also preserves Pro settings (TONE, DUCK, DIFFUSE, FREEZE, and DRAW trajectories).

2. Requirements

Item	Details
Supported OS	Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit), macOS 11 or later (Apple Silicon / Intel)
Plugin format	Windows: VST3 / Mac: VST3, AU
Supported hosts	DAWs supporting VST3 or AU (Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Cubase, Studio One, REAPER, FL Studio, etc.)
Input channels	Stereo (external sidechain input supported)
Output channels	Stereo
Screen size	1400 × 780 px (fixed, not resizable)
Screen language	English / Japanese (InfoBar follows OS display language)

3. Installation

Installation (Windows)

1. Extract the downloaded ZIP file.
2. Copy the LOCUS DELAY.vst3 folder (LOCUS DELAY Pro.vst3 for Pro) to the following location:
   C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
3. Launch your DAW and run a plugin rescan (if you copy the file while your DAW is open, the change may not take effect until restarted).

Installation (Mac)

1. Extract the downloaded ZIP file.
2. Copy LOCUS DELAY.vst3 (LOCUS DELAY Pro.vst3 for Pro) to ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/ and LOCUS DELAY.component (LOCUS DELAY Pro.component for Pro) to ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ (~ is your home folder. In Finder, choose Go → Go to Folder and paste the path to open it. Create the folder if it does not exist).
3. Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal), paste the following lines one at a time, and press Return after each.
   Free edition:

   cd ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins
   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "VST3/LOCUS DELAY.vst3"
   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "Components/LOCUS DELAY.component"

   Pro edition:

   cd ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins
   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine VST3/"LOCUS DELAY Pro.vst3"
   xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine Components/"LOCUS DELAY Pro.component"

4. Launch your DAW and run a plugin rescan (if you copy the files while your DAW is running, the change may not take effect. If the AU does not appear in Logic Pro or another DAW, restart your Mac).

Side-by-side installation

The free edition and Pro edition are recognized as separate plugins and can be installed side-by-side on the same computer without conflict.

Uninstalling

[Windows] Delete the LOCUS DELAY.vst3 folder (or LOCUS DELAY Pro.vst3) from C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\. To also delete user presets, remove %APPDATA%\Tonecraft\LOCUS DELAY\Presets\.
[Mac] Delete the .vst3 and .component files from your Audio Plug-Ins folders. To also remove user presets, delete ~/Library/Tonecraft/LOCUS DELAY/Presets/.

4. The screen

Header (top row)

• Logo & version: Shows the Tonecraft Tokyo logo and version (v1.2.0) at the top left.
• PresetBar: Located at the top right. Use the left/right arrows to step through presets, or click the preset name to open the full preset list. SAVE and DEL buttons for user presets are available in Pro.

InfoBar (top strip)

• Located directly below the header. Hover your mouse over any control or button to view an explanation of its function and tips on how to use it.

XY Pad (left)

• Echo positioning: Click and drag to place the echo anywhere in 3D headphone space. Horizontal axis controls stereo positioning (Left / Right) and vertical axis controls depth (Near / Far). Double-click anywhere on the pad to snap the echo back to the center.

LOCUS MOVE panel (center left)

• Motion modes: OFF, CIRCLE (Free & Pro), RAND, SQUARE, EIGHT, and DRAW (Pro only).
• Speed: Choose from 1/8x, 1/4x, 1/2x, 1x, or 2x speed (1x corresponds to one full cycle per bar).
• RADIUS: Sets the scale and width of the orbital trajectory.
• RESET: Returns the echo position to the beginning of the trajectory.
• CLEAR: Clears the custom hand-drawn trajectory in DRAW mode.
• DRAW mode (Pro only): Click DRAW and drag across the XY pad with your mouse to record a custom loop trajectory (before drawing, it plays with the current LOCUS MOVE). The echo will continuously cycle along your path in tempo-sync.

TIME panel (top right)

• SYNC: Synchronizes delay time to the host DAW tempo.
• LINK: When ON, Left and Right channels share the same musical note value. When OFF, you can set independent note values for Left and Right.
• TIME L / TIME R: Sets independent delay time in milliseconds (1 to 2000 ms) when SYNC is OFF.
• Note buttons: Select musical note values (1/2, 1/4D, 1/4, 1/8D, 1/8, 1/8T, 1/16, 1/16T) when SYNC is ON.
• Time display: Displays the selected note and the calculated millisecond time (for example, “1/4 500ms”). If a note value exceeds 2000 ms, it plays capped at 2000 ms and displays “MAX”.

DELAY TYPE (right)

• DUAL: Transparent, high-clarity stereo digital delay.
• TAPE: Analog-style tape echo character with subtle tape wobble and high-frequency saturation/warmth.
• MULTI: Rhythmic 4-tap multi-delay pattern.

LOCUS MODULATION panel (center right, Pro only)

In the free edition, this section shows a “PRO” badge and is locked.

• LFO: Turns the internal low-frequency oscillator on and off.
• BI / UNI: BI oscillates bidirectionally across the center; UNI oscillates in one direction.
• EXT SC: Enables modulation driven by an external sidechain input.
• RATE: Sets the speed of the LFO.
• DEPTH X / DEPTH Y: Sets the modulation depth along the horizontal and vertical axes.
• ATTACK / RELEASE: Sets the envelope attack and release response times when driven by the sidechain signal. Echoes can jump across the stereo field on transient peaks like kick drums.

TONE panel (Pro only)

In the free edition, this section shows a “PRO” badge and is locked.

• LOW CUT: High-pass filter on the feedback loop. Turned fully counter-clockwise, it is OFF. As turned up, low frequencies are progressively rolled off with every repeat.
• HIGH CUT: Low-pass filter on the feedback loop. Turned fully clockwise, it is OFF. As turned down, high frequencies roll off progressively, softening repeats over time.

DUCK panel (Pro only)

In the free edition, this section shows a “PRO” badge and is locked.

• AMOUNT: Controls how much the echo level is ducked while the dry signal is playing.
• RELEASE: Sets how quickly the echo level swells back to normal once the dry input falls silent.

SPACE panel (Pro only)

In the free edition, this section shows a “PRO” badge and is locked.

• DIFFUSE: Smears discrete delay taps into a dense, smooth ambient wash similar to a spatial reverb.
• FREEZE: Locks the current delay buffer in an endless sustain loop. Incoming audio is bypassed so you can play dry over the frozen soundscape.

OUTPUT panel (bottom)

• FEEDBACK: Sets the repeat amount (up to 90%).
• MIX: Sets the wet echo balance. The dry input signal always passes through at unity gain.
• GAIN: Adjusts final output level by ±12 dB.
• BYPASS: Bypasses all delay processing.
• Meters: Stereo output level meter.

STATUS display (bottom right, Pro only)

• Located at the bottom right. Displays how much DUCK is currently attenuating the echo (in dB and with a meter) and an active indicator lamp during FREEZE. If you can’t hear echoes, check here to see if DUCK is attenuating them (inactive in the free edition).

5. Knobs and buttons

• XY Pad: Sets echo position (horizontal = pan, vertical = depth). Double-click resets to center.
• LOCUS MOVE Mode (OFF / CIRCLE in Free; + RAND / SQUARE / EIGHT / DRAW in Pro, default: OFF)
  Chooses the trajectory pattern for automatic spatial movement.
• SPEED (1/8x, 1/4x, 1/2x, 1x, 2x, default: 1x)
  Sets the orbital speed relative to project tempo (1x = one full cycle per bar).
• RADIUS (0 .. 100 %, default: 50 %)
  Sets the size and spread of the movement trajectory.
• RESET: Snaps the moving echo back to the start of its trajectory.
• CLEAR: Clears the hand-drawn custom path in DRAW mode.
• SYNC (off / on, default: on)
  Synchronizes delay time to the project tempo.
• LINK (off / on, default: on)
  When ON, Left and Right delay lines share identical note divisions.
• TIME L / TIME R (1 .. 2000 ms, default: 250 ms)
  Adjusts delay time in milliseconds when SYNC is OFF.
• Note Buttons (1/2, 1/4D, 1/4, 1/8D, 1/8, 1/8T, 1/16, 1/16T, default: 1/4)
  Selects musical subdivisions when SYNC is ON. Notes exceeding 2000 ms play at 2000 ms with a MAX readout.
• DELAY TYPE (DUAL / TAPE / MULTI, default: DUAL)
  Selects delay core algorithm: DUAL for crisp digital stereo, TAPE for warm saturated tape flutter, and MULTI for a 4-tap rhythmic echo.
• FEEDBACK (0 .. 90 %, default: 40 %)
  Sets regeneration amount. Capped at 90% for stability.
• MIX (0 .. 100 %, default: 50 %)
  Sets echo level. The dry signal always remains at unity gain.
• GAIN (-12.0 .. +12.0 dB, default: 0.0 dB)
  Adjusts total output level.
• BYPASS (off / on, default: off)
  Bypasses the plugin processing.
• LOW CUT (Pro only) (20 .. 2000 Hz, default: 20 Hz (OFF))
  Progressively strips low end from repeats. Filter response is strengthened and accumulates with each repeat. Fully counter-clockwise disables filtering.
• HIGH CUT (Pro only) (500 .. 20000 Hz, default: 20000 Hz (OFF))
  Progressively rolls off high frequencies from repeats. Filter response is strengthened and accumulates with each repeat. Fully clockwise disables filtering.
• DUCK AMOUNT (Pro only) (0 .. 100 %, default: 0 %)
  Sets how much echoes are suppressed while the dry input is present.
• DUCK RELEASE (Pro only) (50 .. 2000 ms, default: 300 ms)
  Sets the return time for echo level after the input pauses.
• DIFFUSE (Pro only) (0 .. 100 %, default: 0 %)
  Diffuses echo reflections into a smooth, ambient spread.
• FREEZE (Pro only) (off / on, default: off)
  Locks the current echo content in an infinite sustain loop without accepting new input.
• LFO (Pro only) (off / on, default: off)
  Activates internal LFO modulation for echo positioning.
• BI (Pro only) (off / on, default: off)
  Sets the modulation to bidirectional (BI) or unidirectional (UNI).
• EXT SC (Pro only) (off / on, default: off)
  Enables external sidechain audio input as the modulation source.
• RATE (Pro only) (0.1 .. 10.0 Hz, default: 1.0 Hz)
  Sets the LFO cycle frequency.
• DEPTH X / DEPTH Y (Pro only) (0 .. 100 %, default: 0 %)
  Sets modulation depth along the horizontal and vertical spatial dimensions.
• ATTACK / RELEASE (Pro only) (Attack: 1 .. 100 ms, Release: 10 .. 1000 ms)
  Controls envelope responsiveness to incoming sidechain transients.
• STATUS Display (Pro only)
  Displays how much DUCK is currently attenuating the echo (in dB and with a meter) and an active indicator lamp during FREEZE. If you can’t hear echoes, check here to see if DUCK is attenuating them (inactive in the free edition).

6. Presets

The free edition includes 20 factory presets (featuring motion centered on CIRCLE). The Pro edition includes all 100 factory presets covering spatial atmospheres, rhythmic ping-pongs, tape repeats, and ambient washes (utilizing RAND / SQUARE / EIGHT, LFO, TONE, DUCK, and DIFFUSE).

User preset management

In LOCUS DELAY Pro, current settings can be saved as a user preset using the SAVE button or removed using DEL (factory presets are protected and cannot be deleted). All Pro settings (TONE, DUCK, DIFFUSE, FREEZE, and DRAW trajectories) are preserved.

The PresetBar menu offers Export / Import options, enabling users to share presets as files (.ldelay). In the free edition, saving, deleting, and exporting are disabled, but exported presets can be imported via the menu. Presets with Pro settings will play within the free feature set and display a PRO badge next to the name. Note that presets saved in v1.1.0 cannot be loaded.

• SAVE (Pro only): Saves current plugin settings as a named user preset.
• DEL (Pro only): Removes the active user preset. Factory presets cannot be deleted.
• Preset directory:
  [Windows] %APPDATA%\Tonecraft\LOCUS DELAY\Presets\
  [Mac] ~/Library/Tonecraft/LOCUS DELAY/Presets/

7. Tips

• Keeping lead vocals intelligible with DUCK (Pro only):
  When high feedback echoes clash with vocal lines, turn up DUCK AMOUNT. Echoes are pushed down while the vocalist sings, keeping lyrics clear and upfront, and then bloom automatically into the phrase gaps.
• Animating static mixes with LOCUS MOVE & DRAW:
  Static delay repeats often sound flat on headphones. Turn on CIRCLE, RAND, SQUARE, or EIGHT to continuously orbit the sound around the listener. In Pro, use DRAW to trace a personalized path that matches the musical contour of your arrangement.
• Focusing repeats in busy mixes with TONE (Pro only):
  Turn up LOW CUT to eliminate muddy build-up in the bass and kick territory. Turn down HIGH CUT to simulate tape warmth or sit repeats discreetly behind the primary instruments.
• Ambient textures with DIFFUSE & FREEZE (Pro only):
  Raise DIFFUSE to blur distinct rhythmic taps into smooth, cinematic reverbs. When an interesting harmonic phrase plays, engage FREEZE to capture a continuous ambient pad that you can play over.
• Rhythmic spatial jumps with sidechain (Pro only):
  Route your kick or snare track to the external sidechain input (EXT SC) and dial in DEPTH X. Each drum hit will fling the echo outward across the stereo field, snapping back according to the RELEASE setting.
• Always check on headphones:
  While LOCUS DELAY outputs a standard stereo signal that sounds great on studio monitors, its 3D depth and spatial movement are designed specifically to shine on headphones.

8. Changelog

• v1.2.0 (2026-11-04): Added Pro edition and completely redesigned the UI (metal hardware panel style, 1400 × 780 px). Added STATUS display at bottom right (shows echo attenuation by DUCK in dB and with a meter, and an indicator lamp during FREEZE; Pro only). Strengthened TONE filter response (LOW CUT: 20 Hz to 2 kHz, HIGH CUT: 500 Hz to 20 kHz; effect accumulates with each repeat). Added motion to factory presets (free: 20 centered on CIRCLE; Pro: 100 utilizing RAND / SQUARE / EIGHT, LFO, TONE, DUCK, and DIFFUSE). User presets now save Pro settings as well (TONE, DUCK, DIFFUSE, FREEZE, and DRAW trajectories). Default delay time on initial insert changed to 1/4 (was 1/16T in v1.1.0); switching SYNC no longer causes time jumps. Sessions saved in v1.1.0 open as before (SYNC note subdivisions are preserved), while presets saved in v1.1.0 cannot be loaded due to the updated preset format. Fixed an issue where audio stopped when host tempo was 0. In the free edition, advanced motion modes (RAND / SQUARE / EIGHT), modulation, and 80 presets transitioned to Pro.

9. Notes

LOCUS DELAY (free edition)

• Distributed free of charge (freeware) “AS IS”, without individual support.
• Proprietary closed-source software. All copyrights belong to Tonecraft Tokyo.
• Modification, reverse engineering, redistribution, and resale are prohibited. Please download only from the official Tonecraft Tokyo website.
• Free for both commercial and non-commercial productions.

LOCUS DELAY Pro

• Provided “AS IS” without individual support. No refunds.
• Proprietary closed-source software. All copyrights belong to Tonecraft Tokyo.
• Redistribution, resale, modification, and reverse engineering are strictly prohibited.
• Licensed for use by the purchaser only. Sharing or transferring to third parties is prohibited.

10. Disclaimer

• This product is provided “AS IS”, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement of third-party rights.
• Tonecraft Tokyo is not liable for any damages arising from the use of, or inability to use, this product, including loss or corruption of project files, audio data, hardware malfunction, or lost profits.
• Operation is not guaranteed for every combination of DAW, operating system, and hardware.
• Specifications may change without notice. Use at your own risk. Always back up important projects.

11. Licenses

• VST is a trademark of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.
• This product is built using JUCE.
• Noto Sans JP / JetBrains Mono — SIL Open Font License 1.1.