The Visual Sound Time Bandit is a utility pedal with one job: it converts a standard click track signal from a metronome, drum machine or DAW into the tap tempo pulse that delay and tremolo pedals with an external tap input understand1. Instead of a player tapping a switch in time with a backing track, the pedal listens to the click and keeps the effect locked to the tempo. Visual Sound announced it on November 30, 2012, as "a new pedal tool that converts click track signals into a tap tempo signal that can be used with time-based effects"2.
It can also work the other way round: a large dial sets the desired beats per minute, shown in a bright LED window, so the Time Bandit can generate a tempo by hand or foot when there is no click track to follow23.
What it does and how it is used
The Time Bandit sits between your timekeeping source and your delay or tremolo pedal. The signal chain is simple2:
- A metronome, drum machine or DAW sends a standard click track signal into the pedal's 1/4" input12.
- The Time Bandit converts that signal into a tap tempo pulse1.
- The pulse leaves through a 1/4" output that connects to the effect's Tap Tempo input2.
Where there is no click track, the pedal's large knob dials in the beats per minute by hand or foot, with the BPM shown on the LED display23. Delicious Audio described it as a pedal that "controls your tap tempo delay pedal with a click track" via that BPM generator3.
Compatibility
Visual Sound built the Time Bandit as a companion to its own Dual Tap Delay, and the company said it also works with pedals such as the Boss DD-5 and "one of many other delay pedals with that feature," meaning an external tap tempo input3. The company named delays and tremolos as the kinds of time-based effects it is made for2. It was also announced as an optional external click track converter for the Dual Tap Delay in Guitar World's review of that pedal3.
The Time Bandit only drives pedals that accept an external tap tempo input. A delay without that feature cannot follow the click.
Design and background
Visual Sound credited the design to "the legendary R.G. Keen with Bob Weil"2. The same pair were behind the company's V3 Tap Delay, a compact single pedal version of the Dual Tap Delay's main delay channel, released earlier in 2012. The Time Bandit was announced at a $99.95 street price alongside the V3 Tap Delay and the Pure Tone buffer, and Guitar World later listed it at the same $99.95 street price42.
Questions
What is a click track to tap tempo converter?
It is a utility pedal that sits between your timekeeping source and your effects. A metronome, drum machine or DAW sends a standard click track signal into the converter, which turns that signal into the tap tempo pulse that delay and tremolo pedals with an external tap input understand. The result is that your time-based effects follow the tempo of the track automatically, without anyone tapping a switch in time.
Who designed the Visual Sound Time Bandit?
Visual Sound announced the Time Bandit in November 2012 as invented by R.G. Keen with Bob Weil. Keen is described by the company as legendary, and the pair also worked together on Visual Sound's V3 Tap Delay released the same year.
Does the Time Bandit work with the Visual Sound Dual Tap Delay?
Yes. Visual Sound positioned the Time Bandit as a companion to its own Dual Tap Delay, and the company noted it also works with pedals like the Boss DD-5 and many other delay pedals that have an external tap tempo feature. It connects to the effect's tap tempo input through a 1/4 inch jack.
How much did the Time Bandit cost?
Guitar World listed the Time Bandit at a street price of $99.95 in July 2013. Visual Sound had announced the same $99.95 street price when the pedal was introduced alongside the V3 Tap Delay and Pure Tone buffer in January 2012.
Can the Time Bandit be used with tremolo pedals?
Yes. Visual Sound described the Time Bandit as converting a click track signal into a tap tempo signal for use with time-based effects, naming delays and tremolos. Any tremolo pedal with an external tap tempo input can be driven from its 1/4 inch tap tempo output.
Sources (4)
- Time Bandit, Truetone, 2026
- Visual Sound Releases The Time Bandit, Premier Guitar, 2012-11-30
- Pedal News: Visual Sound Time Bandit, Delicious Audio, 2012-12-03
- Stomping Ground: 30 of the Coolest New Stomp Boxes and Tried-and-True Favorites, Guitar World, 2013-07-23
