Crazy Tube Circuits Replicates Earliest Digital Delays With TI:ME

June 29, 2021 · 6 sources

Crazy Tube Circuits announced the TI:ME, a retro-inspired delay pedal built to recreate the character of the first digital delay rack units, the machines introduced at the start of the "digital audio revolution" in the mid to late 1970s¹². Those early units had lower bit resolution and bandwidth than today's digital delays, and the TI:ME was designed around that vintage character rather than a clean modern repeat².

The maker positioned it against the ultra-clean digital delays most players know¹. As the product page put it:

Crazy Tube Circuits described the repeats as "really musical, reminiscent of worn tape echoes," and pointed to the MXR Model 113 rack unit as the reference¹. That lineage has a documented player behind it: David Gilmour used an MXR 113 Digital Delay in his live rig with Pink Floyd between 1977 and 1986³.

The circuit splits the job in two. The dry signal stays in an all-analog path, buffered by what the maker calls a high-quality op-amp for hi-fidelity reproduction, while the delayed signal is created by two filtered digital recorders placed in parallel with it⁴⁵. Key features announced at launch:

• Delay time of 130 to 720ms via the Time knob, up to 1 second with tap tempo²
• Tap Tempo footswitch that doubles as a momentary feedback trigger²
• A 3-way toggle for quarter note, dotted eighth and triplet subdivisions²
• Tone and Modulation knobs in the bottom row of the pedal²
• Selectable true bypass or buffered bypass with trails, via an internal switch⁶
• External 9 to 12 Volt DC power, center negative³
• Hand-lacquered enclosure with unique copper elements, each unit one of a kind¹

The pedal carried a $209 price tag at review⁶, with the maker's store listing it at €189.00¹. Crazy Tube Circuits said pedals would ship within 5 to 6 business days⁵¹.