Strymon TimeLine Settings Guide
The professional-grade flagship delay pedal with 12 delay types, MIDI control, stereo operation, and expression pedal input. The benchmark for studio-quality delay processing.
Used by: The Edge, David Gilmour, John Mayer
The best Strymon TimeLine settings start with: Time at 400/10, Repeats at 3/10, Mix at 35/10, Machine at 2/10. Adjust from there based on your amp, guitar, and room volume. For Classic Rock (Dotted 8th): Time 450/10, Repeats 4/10, Mix 35/10.
⚡ Start Here — Recommended Settings
| Control | Starting Position | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Time | 400/10 | Short → Long |
| Repeats | 3/10 | Single → Infinite |
| Mix | 35/10 | Dry → Wet |
| Machine | 2/10 | Digi → Plate |
These are universal starting points. Adjust based on your amp, guitar, and room. Scroll down for genre-specific settings and artist-documented positions.
What Each Control Does
Recommended Starting Settings
Safe starting positions for any style. Adjust from here based on your amp and room.
All values on a 0–10 scale. These are starting points — fine-tune by ear.
Settings by Genre
Tape machine, dotted-eighth time synced to BPM. The Edge approach: Time = 45000/BPM ms. Repeats at 4 for trailing echoes that don't overpower the dry signal. Mix at 35% keeps delay supportive.
Tape machine, short time, single repeat, moderate mix. The classic rockabilly and Nashville slapback sound — the repeat is a warm shadow of the attack, not a distinct echo. Grit at 3 for the subtle warmth of tape machines.
Plate or Swell machine, long time, high Repeats approaching self-oscillation. High Mix for atmospheric wash. The Swell machine on the TimeLine is particularly effective for ambient guitar work — it builds volume on the repeats for a swelling, evolving texture.
Digital or DMM machine, moderate time, few repeats, low mix — delay as a subtle sustain enhancer. The repeat should feel like an extension of the note's natural decay rather than an obvious echo. Low Mix (25%) prevents clutter on faster blues runs.
Artist Settings
Documented settings used by professional guitarists on this unit.
The Edge uses the TimeLine (among others) for his signature dotted-eighth delay. Machine: Tape for the slight warmth and Grit at low values. Mix higher than most players — the delay is an audible, essential part of his texture. Time synced precisely to BPM every song.
Gilmour uses multiple delay times simultaneously. The TimeLine's Dual machine mode allows two delay times in parallel — his typical approach. Primary repeat around 380ms (dotted eighth at ~95bpm). Tape machine with low Grit for the warm, analogue-adjacent character his digital rigs aim for.
Mayer uses delay subtly — low Mix, few Repeats, moderate Time. The TimeLine's expression pedal input allows him to sweep the Mix from dry to wet in real time during a song, which he uses to bring delay in and out for slow blues passages without an additional footswitch.
Also in Our Rig Database
Guitarists who feature this gear in their documented rig — explore their full setup.
Tips & Common Mistakes
- MIDI sync via TRS cable locks the TimeLine's tap tempo to a DAW or MIDI clock — essential for precise delay in recording contexts where the tap tempo might drift.
- The Preset system holds 200 presets — save named presets per song before a gig rather than dialling on stage.
- The expression pedal input can be assigned to any parameter — assign Mix to an expression pedal for real-time wet/dry control without changing other settings.
- Run the TimeLine in stereo for the most impactful delay wash — the ping-pong (Pattern) machine in stereo with different times left/right creates enormous apparent width.
- The Swell machine adds a reverse-attack bloom — it reduces pick attack and builds the note's level, creating a violin-like envelope. Used with long Time and high Repeats for ambient lead passages.
FAQ
Strymon TimeLine — Common Questions
Best starting settings for Strymon TimeLine: Time at 400/10, Repeats at 3/10, Mix at 35/10, Machine at 2/10. Adjust from there based on your guitar, room, and playing style.
For Classic Rock (Dotted 8th): Time 450/10, Repeats 4/10, Mix 35/10. Tape machine, dotted-eighth time synced to BPM. The Edge approach: Time = 45000/BPM ms. Repeats at 4 for trailing echoes that don't overpower the dry signal. Mix at 35% keeps delay supportive.
For Country Slapback: Time 130/10, Repeats 1/10, Mix 30/10. Tape machine, short time, single repeat, moderate mix. The classic rockabilly and Nashville slapback sound — the repeat is a warm shadow of the attack, not a distinct echo. Grit at 3 for the subtle warmth of tape machines.
Time: Delay time. Ranges from sub-millisecond to 10 seconds depending on machine type. Tap tempo available via footswitch. (Short to Long). Repeats: Feedback — number of repeats before fading. Above 8: self-oscillation territory on most machine types. (Single to Infinite). Mix: Wet/dry balance. Most applications: 25–40% wet. Full wet for ambient loop/texture work. (Dry to Wet). Machine: Delay type: Digital, Tape, Bucket Brigade (analog), DMM (EHX analog), Pattern, Dual, Ice, Reverse, Filter, Lo-Fi, Swell, Plate. (Digi to Plate). Grit: Available on Tape/BBD machines — adds the signal degradation of actual tape or bucket-brigade circuitry. (Clean to Dirty)
MIDI sync via TRS cable locks the TimeLine's tap tempo to a DAW or MIDI clock — essential for precise delay in recording contexts where the tap tempo might drift. The Preset system holds 200 presets — save named presets per song before a gig rather than dialling on stage. The expression pedal input can be assigned to any parameter — assign Mix to an expression pedal for real-time wet/dry control without changing other settings. Run the TimeLine in stereo for the most impactful delay wash — the ping-pong (Pattern) machine in stereo with different times left/right creates enormous apparent width. The Swell machine adds a reverse-attack bloom — it reduces pick attack and builds the note's level, creating a violin-like envelope. Used with long Time and high Repeats for ambient lead passages.
The Edge settings: Time 450/10, Repeats 4/10, Mix 50/10. The Edge uses the TimeLine (among others) for his signature dotted-eighth delay. Machine: Tape for the slight warmth and Grit at low values. Mix higher than most players — the delay is an audible, essential part of his texture. Time synced precisely to BPM every song.
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