The pedal covers a wide range of delay territory. Its HiFi, Focus, Warm and Analog voicings cover chorus, flanger, vibrato, slapback, double tracking, and Short and Long delays, with a Loop mode as well1. On That Pedal Show, presenter Mick framed the central question of the demo as: "We know it does bonkers… but can it do normal delay pedal stuff too?"2
Analog, digital, or both?
The Big Time is mostly a digital device. The analog parts are the stereo analog preamp and the stereo analog compressor/limiter, with the limiter sitting inside the delay's feedback loop13. That Pedal Show billed it as the "Chase Bliss / EAE Big Time Digital Analogue Delay"2, and Pedal of the Day listed it as an Analog/Digital Echo with a stereo analog limiter in the feedback loop3.
Guitar Pedal X's Stefan Karlsson offered one caution on the naming: the "Hybrid Echo" sub-header might be construed as somewhat misleading by some, since from a delay perspective it is entirely a digital delay1. The delay engine itself also offers a choice of 32-bit and 12-bit modes, which That Pedal Show covered in its demo2.
Controls and connections
The Automatone format puts motorized sliders on the pedal itself, and the Big Time's control set breaks down as follows1:
| Control | Function |
|---|---|
| Color [Texture] | Texture of the delay repeats |
| Time [Rate] | Delay time and rate |
| Cluster [Depth] | Depth of the modulation and clustering |
| Tilt EQ [Crossover] | Tilt EQ with a crossover point |
| State Limiter Mode [+12dB] | Digital / Compressed / Saturated / #!&% |
| Scale button | Deals with pitch shifts2 |
The State Limiter is the analog compressor/limiter section, with four character modes and up to +12dB of gain2. The Scale button handles pitch shifts within the delay1.
On the connection side, the pedal carries stereo I/O with L Out and R Out, MIDI In and MIDI Out/Thru, an AUX connection, an EXP input for an expression pedal, and 9V DC power at 1000mA1.
The 1000mA current draw at 9V DC rules out a standard 9V battery and means the pedal needs its own adequate power supply rather than a shared daisy chain1.
Looper, presets and MIDI
The pedal includes a Looper among its features. On That Pedal Show, Mick singled it out: "The first is the Looper - I don't go near that."2 The Loop mode sits alongside the delay voicings in the pedal's mode set1.
Presets are a core part of the package. The Big Time ships with 10 internal presets, and user presets can be made and saved to different slots; That Pedal Show's demo included saving a preset to a new slot, with examples such as a Dual Head preset and a Slapback preset23. Over MIDI, up to 127 presets can be stored3. That Pedal Show also gave the MIDI functionality its own segment in the demo2.
Stereo operation
The Big Time runs in true stereo, with L Out and R Out jacks, and it produces stereo sounds in a wet-dry rig as well213. Pedal of the Day's reviewer summed up the pedal's reach: "true stereo…there's not a lot this thing can't do"3.
What reviewers said
Pedal of the Day's reviewer was emphatic about the pedal overall:
"I think the [Big Time Automatone™ Analog/Digital Echo] will go down as one of the greatest delay pedals ever created"3
The same review described what is inside: "Inside you will find misbiased modulations, dissolving loops, sequenced echoes, and all of the space stuff you could ever want."3
That Pedal Show's demo took a different angle, asking why a player would choose something so capable and expensive, and testing whether it can do normal delay pedal work as well as its more out-there sounds2. The presenter also noted the pedal's 32-bit and 12-bit modes and its MIDI functionality as highlights of the walkthrough2.
Videos
Pedal of the Day
Pedal of the Day
Questions
Is the Chase Bliss Big Time Automatone analog or digital?
It is mostly a digital delay. The analog parts are a stereo analog preamp and a stereo analog compressor/limiter, the latter sitting inside the delay's feedback loop. Chase Bliss and EAE's John Snyder describe it as an Analog/Digital Echo, and one reviewer noted the hybrid naming could be read as misleading since the delay itself is digital.
Does the Big Time Automatone have a looper?
Yes. The pedal includes a Looper alongside its delay voicings, which cover chorus, flanger, vibrato, slapback, double tracking, and Short and Long delays. On That Pedal Show, presenter Mick called out the Looper as one of the features, though he said he does not go near it himself.
Can the Big Time Automatone be used in stereo?
Yes. It has true stereo operation with L Out and R Out jacks, and it works in stereo in a wet-dry rig. Pedal of the Day's reviewer called it true stereo and said there is not a lot this thing cannot do.
Does the Big Time Automatone have MIDI?
Yes. It has MIDI In and MIDI Out/Thru connections, and MIDI can be used to store up to 127 presets. That Pedal Show devoted a segment of its demo to the MIDI functionality.
Can the Big Time Automatone save presets?
Yes. It ships with 10 internal presets, and user presets can be made and saved to different slots. That Pedal Show's demo included saving a preset to a new slot, with examples like a Dual Head preset and a Slapback preset. Via MIDI, up to 127 presets can be stored.
Sources (3)
- Guitar Pedal X, Guitar Pedal X, 2026-04-30
- The Chase Bliss Big Time Delay Pedal Video For Normal Humans Well, Almost Normal Humans…, That Pedal Show, 2026-09-04
- Chase Bliss Big Time Automatone™ Analog/Digital Echo, Pedal of the Day, 2026-08-31
