Eventide TimeFactor Reviews

4.9/5.0 based on 11 customer reviews

Sweetwater Advice

Ron Daniel

Hands down, this is the most studio-quality stomp box I've ever heard. The TimeFactor sounds VERY clean - but it's in no way digitally sterile. The analog-type effects sound analog. The program changes are instantaneous, and the knobs feel great - responding with a very natural, organic feel.
Some highlights:
- The tape delay is gorgeous. Hearkening back to the early days of the '60s tape echo, I was stunned by how genuine it sounded. Very analog, and very practical.
- The chorus' understated beauty is captivating. It's just plain dreamy!
- Band delay allows only certain frequencies to be repeated, in a fully-customizable pattern, creating an effect much like a wah pedal, but far more complex. Great for unique special effects!
- The multi-tap delay makes for a great reverb sound. It's very much like the old spring reverbs we used to have in guitar amps years ago. A perfect emulation of that "Wipe Out" surf tone, and not digital-sounding at all.
- The looper function features a sound quality that can't be touched. There's no discernible "degenerated and recorded" sound like other loopers tend to have.
Pardon the pun, but the TimeFactor has been worth the delay!

Carson McClain

Guitar Pedals are not just for guitar players anymore. In the world of live electronic and computer music, musicians like to effect their drum beats, synths, and master output from their computers. The TimeFactor is an amzing piece that will give you very tweaky effects. You can make your glitchy beats sound similar to the style of Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Autechre and other abstract electronic musicians with the TimeFactor.

Sort By Date Sort By Rating

Customer Reviews

albert sewell
from Walls ms.
November 21, 2012Music Background:
pro.

The best delay for the money

This thing sounds great....right out of the box---but make sure you study the manuel--you shall be rewarded !!! nothing you can't do with this baby !!.....can be tweaked to your setup....I use it in the effects loop, but did not sound bad plugged right into the amp....well built, and I think for the price range a steal !!!

from
November 12, 2012

Brilliant

This is a masterpiece of pedal technology. It is just flat out brilliantly engineered with sound that will match or exceed the quality of anything you put up next to it. Yes, the price of this unit is pretty intimidating, but I don't think I've ever had a greater sense of "getting what I paid for" with any piece of gear, ever. Once you open the TimeFactor up and see what it's actually capable of, the stellar sound quality and unbelievable versatility actually make it seem like a fairly reasonable value. All that being said, I'd definitely caution people to consider what they really want before buying this pedal. If delay is a central part of your sound and you need a staggering amount of versatility in any setting, there's arguably nothing better on the market. However, if you just want something simple that's going to sound great, or if you're just starting out, this pedal could be too much too soon. Eventide did an incredible job of making the interface as simple and user friendly as possible, but this isn't the pedal that you buy in a pinch and use at the gig that night. Getting "your" sounds requires a substantial amount of time reading the manual, learning the interface, and then dialing in your settings. Furthermore, you'll be much more satisfied with this pedal (and much less overwhelmed) if you've played long enough to hear the difference between things like Tape Echo and Digital and know the general function of things like low-pass filters and mod functions. But make no mistake; if you're at the point where you need the absolute best in sound and versatility from a delay pedal, I can pretty much guarantee the TimeFactor will be at the top of your list.

Chuck
from Austin, TX, USA
September 18, 2012Music Background:
musician, Home Recording Engineer

A monster!

Simply the best multi function delay pedal I have ever used! I have a rather large (ok its ridiculous) pedal board and collection of both very old and classic pedals and tend to shy away from many of the newer products. Not here. This is classic eventide! It can get you anywhere you want to go when it comes to delay and echo, both with digital and a phenomenal analog emulation... you can dial in exact times and tones. Take your time with this product and read the manual (several times)! Nice functions and connects easily to the internet for updates. This and an original memory man takes care of all my needs, just keep that manual nearby!

from Vail, CO
July 10, 2010

A fine pedal indeed

This is a rich and true sounding delay pedal. Very pleasant response and useful control parameters too. A quality component!

from Austin
March 25, 2010Music Background:
Electro, Indie, Rock, Alt, Folk, Avant, Experimental

Good God This Pedal is Good

I never write reviews because I'm lazy and don't think it's generally worth my time, but I had to share how impressed I am by this pedal. I've owned so many pedals over the years I can't count (Line 6 DL4, Boss DD-6, etc..), and this one is on a whole other level (I think it's called professional). That's what separates this pedal from everyone other one, it's professional sounding. The cleanest, neatest, delays and reverbs I've ever ever heard (at least in my studio), that's including signal processor effects too. I've started using this for everything (vocals, keys, guitars, synths, drum machines). Eventide didn't scimp, you get eventide goodness for $400 bucks, ridiculous. Please God Eventide please make a dedicated Reverb pedal as well.

Matt McQueen
from Jellico, TN
February 18, 2009Music Background:
Worship Musician

In the end there can be only one

I have tried and owned just about every major delay pedal on the market. They were all good, but never found the complete package. I always liked the sonic quality of the Boss DD series pedals.

The Line 6 DL-4 is great for those ambient type delays and its powerful looper. The Nova Delay is great because is has a plethora of banks for you to save patches. Giga Delay is super easy to use and has many of the combined features of the above mentioned pedals. But what is you wanted the strengths of all of the above pedals in one package.

Furthermore, what if you wanted all to have 2 delay pedals stacked together and a ton of great sounding modulation on top of the delay. You would have to buy at least 2 of the pedals above and a versatile chorus pedal on top of it to pull it all off. Or, you could by the Timefactor.

Once you get the free software upgrade you double the power of this pedal by adding 20 more locations to save presets. The looper is great. The modulation is out of this world. This pedal also includes an awesome infinite hold feature that when coupled with a volume pedal lets you create some very convincing PAD sounds.

Lastly, you can add an expression pedal to this unit and control 1 or all of the knobs in real time with the pedal. It is truly amazing. This is the be all end all delay pedal.

Mason
from San Francisco, CA
February 10, 2009Music Background:
Pro Musician, Recording Engineer, Maker of Noise

Probably the best delay pedal in existence

I'm not sure how many delay pedals I have -- at least five plus this one, including the Line6 Delay Modeler, which is very respectable. None of them even comes close to this one. The available sounds and the flexibility of each one is remarkable, and the sound quality is uniformly fantastic. The analog and tape delay sounds are just right, and I have an old Space Echo with which to compare it. The programmability takes time to learn, but it's terrific. I'd say the only thing on my wish list is to be able to use the loop sampler to loop the delayed sound (that is, get a delay going and then capture it). But that would be beyond the call of duty. As it is, this is certainly the best delay pedal I've found yet.

James P. mcTamaney
from Richmond, VA
May 11, 2008Music Background:
Semi-pro musician, amateur recording engineer.

The Real Deal

Want studio quality live sound without the hassle of a tape echo unit? This is a truly great module, musician friendly, multiple control options, 20 presets, midi capable, great support. All that...and it's the best sounding echo unit I've used to date (actively gigging for 42 years). Just buy it.

Warren Shenesky
from Orlando FL
January 18, 2008Music Background:
Pro Musician - Rock

Finally a greatstomp box for echo

Great stompbox for echo effects.
Simple to use out of the box, though you can really get a lot of different things going on with it if you want - and I do.
Great support from the Eventide web site.
I cannot stop tinkering with this device!
It is really great!
Worth the cost!
I really recommend!

Tom
from Charlotte NC
December 29, 2011Music Background:
Guitar Player 25 yrs

Eventide Timefactor

Outstanding studio quality effects. You can dial in any combonation of delay and modulation. The only downfall is that you wont have enough time to play with this thing. It will provide years of fun.. and it should for the price.
You wont be disapointed... I wasn't.

Mike
from Aberdeen, MD
June 18, 2011Music Background:
Hobbyist

Awesome unit that Does NOT suck tone

4.5 rating instead of 5 because changing presets takes just under 1 second to load. You will notice the delay sounds drop out and then come back with the new preset.

The delay algorithms are extraordinary on this unit. Seriously awesome stuff. You can get a great chorus when the modulation delay is set to zero seconds. There are many options for chorus wave form.

I've tried out several effects processors with the Diezel VH4, Diezel Herbert, and Mesa Mark V. When in the effects loop of these amps, the Eventide TimeFactor sucks less tone than the AxeFx, G System, and G Major 2. I used to be a die hard fan of running reverbs and delays in "Kill Dry" with a parallel loop because of the TC and Fractal Audio stuff degrading the original signal. The Eventide TimeFactor is so good with the A/D conversion (and back) that I now run the Serial Loop in ALL my amps... no bull.

Another big plus that Eventide has over the AxeFx and G System is that I needed an Ebtech HumEliminator to resolve ground loops with the TC and Fractal Audio stuff. Eventide TimeFactor has ZERO hum. I no longer need to use the Ebtech HumEliminator.

Don't get me wrong --> AxeFx and G System are great units and do many things the TimeFactor doesn't. But the TimeFactor has advantages over those units. Eventide has really impressed me with the TimeFactor.