DigiTech TimeBender

The DigiTech TimeBender is a digital delay pedal with a built-in looper, made by DigiTech. It sets delay time by tap tempo or by strumming, stores four presets, shifts the pitch of its repeats, and records up to 20 seconds of looping. Pedal of the Day's reviewer wrote that DigiTech "has been immersed in the delay world for years now, and the TimeBender Digital Delay might just be their most c"¹, and Premier Guitar's reviewer called it "a serious contender for the top of any delay lover's list"².

A delay with a built-in looper

The TimeBender's headline trick is combining a delay with a 20-second looper in one box. The left footswitch is labeled Rec/Play/Overdub and runs the loop, and holding it sustains a repeated note or chord for any length of time¹. That puts it in the same territory as dedicated delay-plus-loop pedals like the Digitech Jam Man, though the TimeBender's looping is shorter and simpler.

Premier Guitar's reviewer compared it directly with the Line 6 DL4, finding that "the TimeBender matches most of the DL4 effects (check out the DigiTech site for a full list) while offering many additio"². The same review noted the looper lacks the DL4's half-speed and reverse loop options and ready access to three memory switches, so the comparison cuts both ways. A DIY Fever review of the Boss DD-20 placed the TimeBender in the same class, describing it as having a "similar feature set and layout" that "offers a bit more effects for folks who like that," with delays in this class costing about the same as the DD-20³².

The controls

Setting delay time is unusually flexible. Premier Guitar's reviewer found: "I could set the delay time by tapping the right footswitch, or set it by holding that switch down, damping the guitar's " strings and strumming the tune's tempo². Pedal of the Day adds that it "comes with a very accurate tap tempo so you can set delay times with a knob or with the footswitch"⁴.

The Voicing knob is the feature that sets the TimeBender apart from a plain delay: instead of a simple repeating note, the pedal can shift each repeat through pitch intervals⁴. Premier Guitar also highlighted an Envelope setting: "The Envelope setting let me create stuttering slicer effects"².

An optional expression pedal opens up another layer. Per Premier Guitar, it lets you "set two completely different parameter settings, heel and toe, for each memory s" lot within the same delay type², so one preset can sweep between two sounds as you rock the pedal. A Footswitch Input accepts DigiTech's FS3X to scroll through the saved Memory settings¹.

Power, connections and specs

The TimeBender is not a standard 9V DC pedal. It ships with its own 9VAC 1300mA PS0913B-120 power supply and draws 7 Watts¹, so it needs the included adapter rather than a typical pedalboard supply. It has stereo inputs and outputs for running a dual amp setup, all on 1/4-inch unbalanced jacks¹. Internally it uses 24-bit processing at a 44.1 kHz sampling rate¹. The unit measures 9.75" x 7.9" x 3.4" and weighs 4 lbs.¹

What reviewers said

Premier Guitar's verdict was that "the TimeBender enters the field as a serious contender for the top of any delay lover's list"², with the reviewer's advice being to buy it if delay is a major part of your musical expression and skip it if all you need is a rockabilly slapback². Pedal of the Day's earlier review praised its ducking modes, analog simulation and strum mode while noting its analog tone is tidier than classic analog pedals⁴. DigiTech later went in a different direction with compact delays like the Obscura Altered Delay, but the TimeBender remains the company's feature-heavy take on the delay-plus-looper format. For where it sits among delay pedals generally, see Delay Pedals.

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