Free The Tone Flight Time

The Flight Time is a digital delay pedal from Japanese maker Free The Tone, best known for a feature no other pedal had when it appeared: a Realtime BPM Analyzer. You tap in a tempo, and the pedal analyzes your actual playing in real time within plus or minus 20 percent of that tapped BPM, automatically adjusting the delay time to match the real beat of the music¹. Premier Guitar's reviewer described it as correcting "less-than-perfect tap-tempo settings to the actual beat of the music as determined by an onboard mic, no MIDI required"².

The line ran through two main versions: the FT-1Y, introduced in 2014, and the FT-2Y, which replaced it in 2017 after the original went out of production in 2016³⁴⁵. Both carry 99 presets, 90 user and 9 factory, in a compact box⁶³.

The Realtime BPM Analyzer and how you control it

The BPM Analyzer is the pedal's signature feature. Free The Tone announced the FT-1Y in October 2014 as carrying "the world's first Realtime BPM Analyzer and Delay Time Offset"⁵. Tap in a tempo with a footswitch, and the pedal trims the BPM based on its realtime analysis of your playing, within plus or minus 20 percent of the tapped value, reflecting the corrected tempo in the delay time¹. One limit: if your tapped BPM differs by more than plus or minus 20 percent from what you are actually playing, the pedal cannot automatically adjust the delay time¹¹.

Pedal of the Day's reviewer found the feature practical in use, calling the pedal "one intuitive piece of equipment, and one that apparently even helps you correct mistakes while you play"⁸.

The control layout is unusual for a delay pedal. As Premier Guitar's reviewer put it, "There aren't any knobs on the Flight Time's faceplate, most controls use small pushbuttons instead"². The second row of controls handles preset banks, MIDI and delay time². The FT-1Y also has a tap input feature, and its delay engine runs on a 32-bit high-precision DSP⁸.

Mono, not stereo

Both versions are mono. Each has a single 1/4-inch output alongside the input and a HOLD jack⁶³, and there is no stereo option on either the FT-1Y or the FT-2Y. Reviewers noticed. Pedal of the Day wrote of the FT-1Y, "I just can't for the life of me figure out why they would exclude the Stereo option"⁸³, and of the FT-2Y, "Once again, we do wish that it had become a stereo pedal"¹⁰. Gearnews hoped in vain for the FT-2Y: "I would have loved to have seen the Flight Time FT-2Y finally become stereo"¹². MusicRadar's Trevor Curwen later noted that "its lack of stereo output will have deterred some potential users"¹³.

MIDI and firmware

MIDI is a core part of the design. The FT-1Y has two 5-pin DIN connectors, MIDI In and MIDI Thru⁶, and the FT-2Y adds a MIDI Out function alongside them¹⁰¹¹. In 2014, Molten Voltage reported that the Flight Time could sync to MIDI Clock via its SIXY device¹⁴. Firmware updates are done over MIDI, and Free The Tone recommends specific interfaces for the job: the Yamaha MIDI-USB UX16, Roland UM-ONE mk2 and M-Audio UNO¹¹. Firmware version 3.1 is available for download for both the FT-1Y and the FT-2Y⁶³.

History and versions

The FT-1Y launched with an MSRP of $430 in October 2014⁵. Free The Tone ended its production in 2016³, and the FT-2Y arrived as its successor, purchasable through North American dealers after June 23, 2017 at a suggested retail price of $420⁴. A Custom Shop FT-2Y-S variant also exists, running on a 9 to 12V AC adapter¹⁵.

Power

The two versions differ in power. The FT-1Y uses a dedicated 12V DC AC adapter, the FA-1220D-JA, and draws about 400mA⁶⁷. The FT-2Y's maker page lists a DC 9V AC adapter through a 9 to 12V input jack, also around 400mA³⁹. Pedal of the Day's FT-2Y review lists the power consumption as DC 12V, approximately 400mA maximum, with dedicated adapters for the USA, UK and Europe¹⁰. That 400mA draw is well above what a standard 9V pedal supply delivers, so plan a suitable adapter or isolated output.

What reviewers said

Reviews across both versions focused on sound quality. MusicRadar's Trevor Curwen found the FT-1Y simply "sounds great"¹⁶. Pedal of the Day wrote of the FT-2Y that it produces "some of the most gorgeous delay sounds we've ever come across," crediting the improvements over version one¹⁰.

Premier Guitar's 2023 review summed up the pedal's strengths as "Rackmount versatility and tone-shaping power in a compact pedal. Easy spillover on/off selection. Innovative BPM co[unter]"². The same reviewer successfully emulated tape warble, chorusing, ADT (Artificial Double Tracking) and more extreme effects, with many of the test sounds reminding them of the old MXR Delay System II². Free The Tone itself positions the pedal's sound quality as rivaling highly regarded rack-type delays rather than pedal-type units⁶.

On That Pedal Show, the presenters treated the Flight Time as "the do it all digital delay," one they would pair with an analog-voiced delay up front, adding that Free The Tone makes "lovely high-end pedals with unity gain bang on"¹⁷. The pedal was also used as demonstration gear in the show's delay basics episode.

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David Gilmour has been named as a Flight Time user¹⁸.

Videos

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Questions