LOCUS DELAY is a stereo spatial delay where echoes move through 3D headphone space. Listening with headphones is strongly recommended.

1. Overview

LOCUS DELAY is a stereo spatial delay plugin that lets you intuitively control echo positioning and movement using an interactive XY pad and tempo-synced orbital trajectories (LOCUS MOVE). It delivers an immersive three-dimensional listening experience where echoes move dynamically through headphone space.

• Echoes in 3D headphone space: Creates a three-dimensional spatial positioning effect where echoes move through space (headphones recommended).
• Intuitive XY Pad: Directly control horizontal panning (left/right) and front-to-back depth on the pad.
• LOCUS MOVE: Features a tempo-synchronized circular orbital trajectory (CIRCLE).
• Three Delay Types: Choose between clean DUAL, warm analog-style TAPE, and rhythmic MULTI.
• Tempo Sync & Flexible Timing: Supports host tempo synchronization (SYNC), left/right channel linking (LINK), and independent time settings.
• 20 Factory Presets: Includes a variety of production-ready spatial presets (featuring motion centered around CIRCLE).

Free vs Pro

LOCUS DELAY is available in two editions: the free edition and the advanced "LOCUS DELAY Pro". The main differences are shown below.

Feature	Free Edition	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, 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)	○

* In the free edition, Pro controls are visible with a lock badge ("PRO"). If you open a preset or session containing Pro settings in the free edition, RAND / SQUARE / EIGHT / DRAW will operate as CIRCLE, modulation is disabled, and the screen reflects these fallback settings. The STATUS display at the bottom right is also inactive in the free edition (Pro only).

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
Input / Output	Stereo (external sidechain input supported)
Screen size	1400 × 780 px (fixed)
Sample rate	Depends on the host (DAW)
Recommended	Headphones recommended (to fully experience the 3D spatial motion effect)

3. Installation

Installation (Windows)

1. Extract the downloaded ZIP file.
2. Copy the LOCUS DELAY.vst3 folder to the following location:
   C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
3. Launch your DAW and run a plugin rescan (if you copy the folder 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 to ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/ and LOCUS DELAY.component 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:

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

4. Launch your DAW and run a plugin rescan (if the AU does not appear in Logic Pro or other DAWs, please restart your Mac).

Uninstalling

[Windows] Delete the LOCUS DELAY.vst3 folder you copied. To also remove user presets, delete %APPDATA%\Tonecraft\LOCUS DELAY\Presets\.
[Mac] Delete the LOCUS DELAY.vst3 and LOCUS DELAY.component files you copied. 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 product version (v1.2.0 to the right of TONECRAFT TOKYO) at the top left of the window.
• PresetBar: Located at the top right. Use the "<" and ">" buttons to step through presets, or click the center name display to select from the list (* In the free edition, saving new presets with SAVE and deleting with DEL are Pro features).

InfoBar (top strip)

• Located directly below the PresetBar. Hover your mouse over any control or button to view an explanation of its function and tips. The text is displayed in Japanese if your OS display language is Japanese, and in English for all other languages.

XY Pad (left)

• The main control area for positioning echo pan and depth. Horizontal axis controls stereo placement (L / R) and vertical axis controls depth. Double-click to instantly snap the echo back to the center.

LOCUS MOVE Panel

• Configures automatic orbital movement for echoes. In the free edition, OFF and CIRCLE (circular orbit) are available. Features speed selection (1/8x to 2x), trajectory size (RADIUS), RESET to jump back to the starting point, and CLEAR to clear trajectory information.

TIME Panel

• Sets delay times. Includes host tempo sync (SYNC), left/right link (LINK), millisecond time adjustments when SYNC is OFF (TIME L / TIME R), note buttons when SYNC is ON (1/2 to 1/16T), and real-time delay time readouts.

DELAY TYPE Panel

• Selects delay character from DUAL, TAPE, or MULTI.

OUTPUT Panel

• Controls final output and mix balance. Includes repeat amount (FEEDBACK), echo level (MIX), output gain (GAIN), BYPASS switch, and stereo level meters.

STATUS Display (bottom right)

• The STATUS display at the bottom right (DUCK attenuation dB/meter and FREEZE lamp) is a Pro feature and remains inactive in the free edition (in Pro, you can check here to see if DUCK is attenuating the echo when repeats are not heard).

* In the free edition, the LOCUS MODULATION, TONE (LOW CUT / HIGH CUT filters), DUCK, and SPACE sections display a "PRO" lock badge and are disabled. The STATUS display at the bottom right is also inactive. These extended features are available in LOCUS DELAY Pro.

5. Knobs and Buttons

• XY Pad
  Drag directly to control echo position. The horizontal axis controls stereo panning and the vertical axis controls front-to-back depth. Double-click anywhere on the pad to reset to center.
• LOCUS MOVE (Mode Selection)
  Selects the trajectory mode for automatic orbital movement. In the free edition, OFF (static) and CIRCLE (smooth circular orbit) are available.
• Speed Buttons (1/8x to 2x)
  Changes the orbital speed of LOCUS MOVE. 1x completes one full trajectory cycle per bar of the host tempo.
• RADIUS
  Adjusts the size and spread of the LOCUS MOVE trajectory.
• RESET
  Instantly snaps the echo back to the starting position of the trajectory.
• CLEAR
  Clears recorded trajectory information.
• SYNC (OFF / ON, default: ON)
  Toggles synchronization to host tempo (BPM). When ON, delay time is set using the note buttons.
• LINK (OFF / ON, default: ON)
  When SYNC is ON, links Left and Right channels to the same musical note value.
• TIME L / TIME R
  When SYNC is OFF, adjusts the delay time for each channel independently in milliseconds (ms).
• Note Buttons (1/2 to 1/16T)
  When SYNC is ON, selects note subdivisions from 1/2 to 1/16T (triplet).
• Delay Time Display
  Displays the active delay time along with the calculated milliseconds (e.g. 1/4 500ms). If a tempo causes a note division to exceed 2000 ms, it plays capped at 2000 ms and displays MAX.
• DELAY TYPE
  Selects the sonic character from three types:
  • DUAL: Crisp, clear, transparent digital delay sound.
  • TAPE: Warm sound with subtle tape flutter and saturation.
  • MULTI: Rhythmic multi-tap delay with 4 echo taps.
• FEEDBACK (0 to 90 %, default: 40 %)
  Adjusts the amount of echo repeats. Capped at 90% to prevent runaway feedback.
• MIX (0 to 100 %, default: 50 %)
  Adjusts the balance of the echo signal relative to the dry signal. The dry signal always passes through at unity gain while the wet echo volume changes.
• GAIN (-12 to +12 dB, default: 0 dB)
  Adjusts total output level.
• BYPASS (OFF / ON, default: OFF)
  Bypasses all plugin processing.

6. Presets

LOCUS DELAY includes 20 factory presets. In 12 of the 20 the echo circles around you with LOCUS MOVE CIRCLE, so you can hear the spatial motion right away; the rest are for sounds where a still echo works better.

Click the center of the PresetBar in the header to display the preset list, and click any preset to load it instantly. You can also use the "<" and ">" buttons to step through presets sequentially.

You can import exported preset files (.ldelay) via "Import" in the PresetBar menu. Presets containing Pro settings will play within the feature set of the free edition, with a PRO badge next to the preset name.

7. Changes from v1.1.0

2026-11-04 v1.2.0 — Added Pro edition and redesigned UI

• Added Pro edition (advanced edition featuring multiple trajectory patterns, hand-drawn DRAW trajectories, LOCUS MODULATION, TONE, DUCK, SPACE, STATUS display, 100 presets, and saving Pro settings to user presets).
• Completely redesigned UI (brushed metal hardware style, 1400 × 780 px).
• Added motion to factory presets (the 20 presets in the free edition focus on CIRCLE).
• Default delay time on initial insert changed to 1/4 (was 1/16T in v1.1.0). Switching SYNC on/off no longer resets delay times unexpectedly.
• Sessions saved in v1.1.0 open as before (SYNC note subdivisions are preserved).
• 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), LOCUS MODULATION, and 80 presets transitioned to Pro. Existing v1.1.0 installations can continue to be used as is.

8. Notes

• This product is distributed free of charge (freeware) "AS IS", without individual support.
• The source code is proprietary and not public.
• All copyrights to this product belong to Tonecraft Tokyo.
• Modification, reverse engineering, redistribution, and resale of this product are prohibited (please download from the official website).
• Free for both commercial and non-commercial use.
• Send feedback and comments to info@tonecraft.blue-x.tokyo (individual support cannot be guaranteed).

9. 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 but not limited to loss or corruption of project files or audio data, equipment malfunction, lost working time, or lost profits).
• Operation is not guaranteed for every combination of DAW, operating system, and hardware.
• Specifications may change, and the product may be discontinued, without notice.
• Use this product at your own risk. Back up your projects before important work.

10. Licenses

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