Time Pattern Description
Categories: Feature Descriptions, Time Patterns
Written By: TimeBender
The TimeBender includes several ready-made delay patterns you can choose with the Pattern knob. They’re described here and in the table that follows, but you may find it easier to sit down and listen to each one while using the TimeBender. Each pattern has one or more “taps” where the delays occur, represented in the pattern symbols by a vertical line. Each tap happens at a certain “chronological distance” from the original note, described in the table below as a percentage of the total pattern’s length of time. Each tap is also panned (left, center, or right), and each tap has a voice assigned to it.
There are five types of delay time patterns: Simple Delays, Dual Delays, Multi-tap Pattern Delays, Root-Based Pattern Delays and musIQ SmartStrum Pattern Delays. Each type is described below. With all these delay patterns, the TimeBender can be used as a traditional delay, where the input is delayed and played back unshifted, or in combination with pitch shifting (using the Voicing knob), where the input signal is shifted before being delayed.
Simple Delay (Pattern 1)
The Simple Delay has one tap and just repeats whatever you’re playing. As the Repeats knob is turned up, you’ll hear more and more repeats until the signal dies out.
Dual Delay (Pattern 2-4)
A Dual Delay is really just two simple delay lines that can be independently configured. So you can have different repeat rates for each line. When using a stereo setup, these lines are hard panned to the left and right channels. The TimeBender includes three dual delay configurations in which the left channel repeat rate can be 1/2, 3/4, or 1/3 of the right channel delay which is controlled by the Delay Time knob.
Root-Based Pattern Delay (Pattern 5-8)
The Root-Based Pattern delay is a new concept that, when combined with the TimeBender’s pitch shifting abilities, can create a wide variety of new sounds. Unlike Multi-tap Pattern delays, every repetition in a root-based pattern begins with the original unshifted note that you played. You always hear this unshifted note repeat at the specified delay time, followed by the rest of the notes in the pattern. The pattern gets its name from the fact that it is commonly used for arpeggiation. For example, with 3H and 5H voicings, playing a note with a root-based pattern will result in a musically intelligent arpeggio starting with the note you played. As you turn up the Repeats knob, the arpeggiation will repeat over a longer time. And because of the root-based nature of the pattern, you’ll hear the root of the arpeggio during each repetition.
Multi-tap Pattern Delay (Pattern 9-10)
A Multi-tap Pattern Delay is a delay line with more than one tap, resulting in a more complex delay effect. The TimeBender includes two different multi-tap patterns: three-tap and six-tap.
musIQ SmartStrum Pattern Delay (Pattern 11)
See musIQ SmartStrum Description for more information on creating your own patterns.
The individual time patterns on the knob can be described as follows:
June 14th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
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July 27th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
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July 28th, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive!
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July 30th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Very interesting site. Hope it will always be alive!
July 31st, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Can you strum dif delay times while the repeats are on hold so its like an LFO
August 20th, 2009 at 5:41 am
AWSOMENESS!!!!!
thank for helping a brotha out dude!
October 5th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Hi, I noticed the picture went bad....I just see the red X icon.
Thanks
October 5th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Hi PawPaw - not sure what picture went bad for you. I just looked at this page and there is not supposed to be a picture on it??
February 4th, 2010 at 4:51 am
Hi folks!
Having had the TimeBender for quite some time now, I've started to play around with the HOLD function that was omitted on all delay pedals for a while, but have now seemed to come back as an option again, on the TimeBender too, thank god.
The problem I have with HOLD is that after a minute or so, it starts to drift in sync, i e it looses sync. The "delay groove" which I froze starts to slowly drift out of sync just as if the loop points are changing ever so slowly. I have NO modulation going on, it is in Digital delay mode, no pitch shift, and no pedal connected to expression jack. This is most evident in where I have set the strum or pattern button to different pattern than one single repeat. Especially at DUAL DELAYs (pattern 2-4).
I do know that I don't have to press the HOLD pedal at a certain point, because it seems to track the loop points automatically and repeat it at that indefinitely. I mean, if I should press it and hold it, if something was "pressed" at a wrong timing, the wrong timing should be present from the start on, and not creep in after a minute or two...
Have anyone of you encountered the same problem?
Just set the pattern button to the second or third one, with long repeats (feedbacks) and then play a note and let it bounce for a while and press HOLD pedal and let it lock. Wait a minute or two and start to listen closely again...
weird isn't it?
Is there some workaround to this, or have I forgot to turn off something else in the line?
/Honch
February 4th, 2010 at 9:08 am
Hi Honch. I have not noticed this myself, but I'll ask around to see if anyone else has. But then again I have not used the HOLD on the order of minutes. I'll try your experiment tonight. What exactly happens? That is, what makes you think that it is drifting in sync? Are you measuring the tempo, or does it just start to sound funny?
TB
February 4th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Test for yourself. In single repeat mode, just set the delay to say 500 ms or 600 ms so you can fit in a one single simple note blues rhythm "dut dudut dudut" and let it repeat, then press HOLD. It works ok then. You can groove to it and play on top of it, while on hold. For ages.
BUT, kill the hold, set the pattern to anything between the 2-4 positions, were it - sort of - creates a rhythm of itself just by hitting one note once, and then have a lots of repeat going on (feedback) and then press hold. You'll hear the grooving rhythm for a while that you had to get you going and play on top of , but after a while it seems to chop it off, and slide or slice the loop points because it plays out of sync, beat and tempo after a while. The loop time may be the same but it throws the repeating notes AROUND inside that time frame. Note, just ever so slightly! Slightly you can hear the starting and ending points are not the same. Just as if it tries to quantizise it inside it. It is the same on all other "patterns" although not as evident. NOTE, it takes a while, a minute or two. It takes longer to show the longer delay time you got, so 500-600 ms seems the best testing area.
It is as simple as this: It changes after a while. What you hear at the start of the loop (HOLD) isn't the same for say after 2 minutes. It throws the whole beat off.
February 5th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Thanks for the clarification. So it works fine with single tap, but not with multitap... I'll have to give that a try.
February 6th, 2010 at 1:37 am
OK thanks a lot!
Please return what your experiences are of this. Is there anything I forgot to turn off or check out, or do I have to "press" the hold button differently in that mode?
Otherwise, this site is one of the best I've seen regarding a speciality pedal of any kind. Keep the good work up!
/Honch
February 15th, 2010 at 9:27 am
Hi Honch - Thanks for the complement! I wish we had more time to work on it and more content, but we have been swamped with real work lately
I finally got a chance to try your multitap HOLD issue. On my first attempt, it seemed to work fine. But then i went back and read your post again. I had to leave it running in this hold mode for quite a while to hear the effect. But once I did, I could hear something happening with the rhythm, but to be honest I don't know what it is. In the couple of cases I tried it, the changes were kind of interesting. I wonder if this was intentional or not. I'll ask around to a few other people to see if they know more. One other thing I figured out from this experiment is that you can change the pattern while in HOLD mode. This can create some really interesting effects.
Thanks for posting!
TB
March 28th, 2012 at 6:15 pm
HELLO, I recently acquired a Timebender and am MOST pleased with it. What a great delay. So I am wondering how the pattern knob interacts with the subdivision knob? Can you explain, from what I can see it almost takes the whole pattern and squeezes it into whatever subdivision you have chosen.
Also I am trying to figure out what subdivisions and pattern to set to get an 8th and dotted eitght. I know it must be in there I with all the options pairing the patterns and subdivisions. Anyone know?
April 9th, 2012 at 10:58 pm
Guy.
Pattern knob, is "tap" on stereo left right. Whatever put in, the subdivision takes and "scales" it accordingly. I found one thing, experimenting with this. As you can hold down the STRUM pedal, and strum a pattern of 6 different dynamic jolts (spikes) into it, I thought that I can't register SOME fast strums and let it record that. Said and done, I put it into a computer/sound card outlet, and in a Sound editing program, created some spikes to mimick "early reflections". And played up that file into the TimeBender and let it register. Now, when turning the Time Knob or subdivision, one of my two recorded repeats, did fall UNDER the 10 ms limit, so the TimeBender didn't play back properly when doing the first two short things. I e this works the same if you should have a initial Time Setting at 3.000 ms and multiply it instead (pressing it to go double) then it exceeds 5.000 ms and will NOT produce anything near or "fake" it, it just stays at 3.000 ms. I e the same works backwards should any subdivision fall below 10 ms. Say, you have an initial setting of 30 or 40 ms, and subdivide it downwards.
April 9th, 2012 at 11:02 pm
Guy. Also, 8th and dotted eight is maybe best done by using the strum pattern, and set the "rhythm" of the delay for yourself. You can take your time and record long slow strums, and, when done, turn the time knob to faster settings. I for one, would've love to see MULTIPLY by 1 1/3. Doubel and a third dotted. Because, almost always, those kinds of repeats, provided you play it to a set tempo, will sound like a predelayed reverb the most.
May 12th, 2012 at 7:47 am
So. By now. Hav e anyone tried powering the timebender with a multi power supply yet? I am saking if Digitech Timebender SCALES the voltage input down to 9v. I e is it possible to plug something in with just slightly greater voltage provided the mA is the same.
May 28th, 2012 at 12:11 am
Anyone discovered the hidden secrets behind Timebender yet? When browsing through all examples and presets listed here, I don't find anything about how to get a proper FLANGER sound. Chorus is possible since the delay thing is 10 ms. BUT! Most people thinks that the delay milliseconds stops there, but here's what I've found out. And going to let it out to you all now:
1. Set the digital delay milliseconds to 10 ms, at the bottom so to speak.
2. Can't get it shorter?
3. Press the sudivide button, once, (it doubles to 20 ms) and once more... and voila! You get 3 ms, and you can after that TURN THE BUTTON TO ANYTHING between 3 ms and 10 ms (and above).
4. Now, increase the repeats and - especially - MODULATION button to slow, medium or fast.
5. Interesting is, that it turns better if you choose anything BUT the digital delay type, ie you should choose analog, tape, and all the rest. The best thing are the dynamic repeats, when it is clear (uneffected) in the attack, but as you let the chords ring out, the flanging comes creeping in. You can get self oscillations too.
6. Play!
June 6th, 2012 at 1:26 pm
OMG! I must be talking to myself. 6 posts in a row. Better keep silent for a moment.