TimeLine MX Multi Delay

Fourteen years after the original TimeLine, Strymon is back. The TimeLine MX is not just an update, it's a complete redesign of this iconic delay pedal. Twelve machines instead of twelve fixed modes: the classic dTape, dBucket, Digital, Reverse, Ice, Lo Fi, and Filter have all been reworked, and five entirely new engines make their appearance: Drum, Oil Can, MultiTap, Spectral, and a true Reverb inspired by the Flint. Add a Dual mode to stack two effects, a five-minute stereo looper, and 300 presets, and you get what Strymon presents unreservedly as its most powerful delay pedal to date and the most powerful delay on the market.

New features compared to the TimeLine

• Five new engines: Drum, Oil Can, MultiTap, Spectral, and a true Reverb inspired by the Flint. The seven historical machines have all been reworked.
• Generalized Dual Mode: two engines of your choice, including delay + reverb, in series, parallel, or split, with independent panning per engine. The original TimeLine was limited to two lines of the same delay.
• Swell and Duck on all engines: what occupied two dedicated machines on the original becomes an activatable option everywhere.
• Tenfold looper: 5 minutes in stereo versus 30 seconds, with the new 1 Button mode usable without leaving the current preset.
• 300 presets instead of 200, with OLED screen navigation.
• New hardware platform: tri-core ARM processor, 32-bit floating-point processing, 24-bit/96 kHz conversion.
• Assignable stereo effects loop: normal, wet/dry, or wet/dry/wet, where the original offered a simple mono feedback loop.
• USB-C: MIDI, firmware updates, and compatibility with the future Nixie 2 editor.
• Selectable input level instrument or line, for connecting guitar, synths, or console outputs without compromise.

Externally, we find the compact anodized aluminum chassis typical of the brand, with a perfectly legible OLED screen on stage. Nine potentiometers control the essentials: Type and Value for navigating machines and 300 presets, then Time, Repeats, Filter, Grit, Speed, Depth, and Mix, whose functions intelligently adapt to the selected engine (on dTape, Grit becomes Tape Bias, Speed becomes Tape Crinkle, and Depth becomes Wow & Flutter). Three footswitches manage presets by bank, tap tempo, infinite repeats, and looper access, including 1 Button mode usable without leaving the current preset. Inside, a tri-core ARM processor ensures 32-bit floating-point processing, with 24-bit/96 kHz conversion, discrete Class A JFET preamp, and 100% analog dry path with no latency. Connectivity is complete: stereo inputs and outputs, assignable stereo effects loop (normal, wet/dry, wet/dry/wet), MIDI DIN in/out, USB-C, and configurable EXP input for expression pedal, MultiSwitch, or MIDI TRS. True bypass relay or buffered bypass selectable.

On guitar, in stereo on two amps, the TimeLine MX first impresses on its historical territory: the tape echoes of dTape and the analog repetitions of dBucket remain absolute references of the genre. But it's by delving into the new engines, Spectral, MultiTap, Drum, or Oil Can, that one measures the leap forward, with textures ranging from surgical rhythmic to ultra-dense ambient clouds. Dual mode changes the game: a delay in series into the new Reverb, Swell activated, and you get a complete soundscape in a single preset. It must also be said clearly: this pedal largely exceeds the scope of a guitar pedalboard. With line input, connected to a synth, a stage keyboard, or the outputs of an Eurorack system, with its 24-bit/96 kHz conversion and 32-bit floating-point processing, it behaves like a full-fledged studio effects processor. The wet/dry/wet routing, complete MIDI control, and independent pan per engine make it a formidable sound design tool in production, just like a rack multi-effects.

The 12 machines in detail

• dTape: the legendary sound of moving-head tape echoes. Two voicings to choose from: MX, which allows tape saturation by pushing the Record Level, and Classic, which reproduces the grain of the original TimeLine with Tape Bias control. Low End, Wow & Flutter, and Tape Crinkle complete the picture.
• dBucket: the reference simulation of analog bucket brigade delays, with their warm repetitions and gradual signal degradation. Classic or MX algorithm, fully adjustable modulation.
• Digital: several voicings of rack delays from the 80s to today. 24/96 for a modern and clean delay, ADM for punchy repetitions like early 80s, 12 Bit for a darker and warmer rendering, and Classic which recreates the digital sound of the original TimeLine. The Repeat Dynamics option makes repetitions decay naturally.
• Drum: the mechanical inconsistencies of vintage drum echoes, including warble and soft-clip. Individual playheads are activated, and their spacing, level, feedback, and panning are adjusted for evolving patterns.
• Oil Can: the recreation of a vintage circuit with dark, fuzzy, and unpredictable repetitions. Its syrupy modulations drift over time and create sustained atmospheric textures.
• MultiTap: eight taps with individual control of panning, level, feedback, and filter. Integrated or custom patterns, rhythmic divisions, and even a configuration of eight parallel delay lines. From hypnotic rhythmic to dimensional ambient.
• Spectral: the new granular delay. It cuts the signal into fragments and applies pitch, reverse, time stretch, or filtering to create glitchy patterns or fascinating soundscapes. The Grain Shape control opens up an immense palette of textures.
• Reverse: play a phrase, it comes back reversed, with a process synchronized both with playing and tempo for a reproducible result.
• Ice: cuts the signal and re-plays fragments with an adjustable interval shift, from one octave below to two octaves above.
• Lo Fi: creative signal destruction through bit crushing and sample rate reduction, with filters like transistor radio or telephone, and the exclusive dVinyl algorithm for realistic vinyl effects.
• Filter: synchronized tremolo and dynamic filtering, with multiple LFO waveforms and controls for speed, depth, Q, and cutoff frequency.
• Reverb: the twelfth engine, inspired by the Flint. From small rooms to ambient pads with very long decay, with a Grit control to saturate before and after the tank, and an optional tremolo on the wet signal.

The stereo looper, the big new feature

This is the evolution everyone was waiting for: the stereo looper goes from 30 seconds on the original TimeLine to a full five minutes, ten times more. Two usage modes: the classic multi-mode, and especially the 1 Button mode, controllable on the fly from the Tap footswitch without ever leaving the current preset. The looper can be placed either before or after the delay effects, which changes everything: loop a dry signal and then sculpt the effects over it, or directly capture a processed soundscape. Reverse, redo, and half speed are accessible without entering Looper mode, via MIDI or a MultiSwitch connected to the EXP input. On stage as well as in the studio, it is a true instrument within the instrument.

The TimeLine MX is for those who want a single delay to do everything: the session player who needs 300 MIDI recallable presets, the ambient guitarist who stacks delay and reverb, but also the keyboardist, producer, or modular enthusiast looking for a studio-quality stereo effects processor in pedal format. Compared to a Boss DD-500, Eventide TimeFactor, or H90, it clearly plays in a higher category in terms of processing power and routing. And if you were still hesitant to replace your first-generation TimeLine, the question is no longer really an issue: it's the same spirit, with fifteen years of technological advancement.