How do you use the Timeline?

Ah, yes.... The Strymon Timeline. Arguably the most sought after pedal for most worship applications out there today. One could argue that this pedal is the greatest invention for the ever growing need to get the creative juices flowing, all while keeping things automated over a spider-web of MIDI cables.

-Or, you could say that this pedal is just complete over-kill. A tip of the hat to decadence, a status symbol when all you really need is a good dotted eighth and quarter note delay. What would you use those other 99 banks of presets for, right?

Well, speaking as a Timeline owner and a former "peasant" delay owner, I can say that there are some things about the mysterious pedal I love, and some things I wish were better. The Timeline is a great multi-use pedal, and should definitely not be limited to your pedalboard. Let's dive in and explore some other uses that justify the $400 price tag.

1.) FOH delay bus insert.
You may have already thought this, but if not, your life will be changed once you use the Timeline as a Bus insert at FOH. The Timeline's delays are FAR superior to most built-in delay patches that come standard on most desks for FOH. The ability to navigate quickly through presets, adjust tempo and adjust settings from the encoders on the front panel not only makes this a more ergonomic solution for your FOH engineer, but it can encourage higher amounts of creativity in a mix, rather than focusing on the technicality of working the ins and outs of the board. If your show/church runs a MIDI solution such as QLab or Ableton, you can also send MIDI cues to the Timeline to seamlessly change patches and tempos.

2.) Think past the pedalboard.
While the Timeline is arguable the fan favorite for most six-stringed slingers on stages today, the Timeline can be used for a number of applications beyond the board. Try slapping the Timeline in between your Keyboard and your DI to add a little extra depth and movement for single-note melodic lines. Have an electronic drum pad like an SPD-SX? Insert a Timeline into the FX loop to give your repeats and echoes a more pristine quality than what comes standard in the box. Heck! Try even mixing it up and have a vocal microphone with a Timeline on it. Some modulated delay can really add depth to your performances.

3.) Take the Timeline "out of line".
This solution is a little less creative, but if your amp has an effects loop, try experimenting by putting the wet effects into the effects loop of your amplifier. What I've done before is run all of my gain-based effects, compression, drive, pitch and volume into the front of the amp. This goes directly to the pre-amp stage of your amplifier and will effect the volume and dynamics of your amplifier differently than if you ran everything into the effects loop, which is post the pre-amp stage. Having the wet-effects before the pre-amp stage in a traditional setup usually results in delay and reverb trails that can be overly distorted, for lack of a better term. Throwing them into the effects loop cleans up the repeats and gives you a cleaner pick-attack as well. Give it a shot!

Whether you're just now getting a Timeline, or you've had one for a while, experimenting with the uses of your pedals in general can really open up some creative doors in your musicality. You could find sounds that you never knew existed in a traditional setup! In my personal opinion, there is no "right way" to set up your signal chain. Just experiment and find what sounds good!