STRYMON TIMELINE &
BIGSKY
Remember that one time when
you played pickup basketball, and
a guy you didn’t know showed up
and schooled everyone with his
sick handles, killer jumper, and soft
touch around the rim? That’s what
you call a baller. Strymon has been
a baller from day one, creating such
masterpieces as the El Capistan and
Flint (which I previously praised in
my first perfect pedal pairs article),
along with amazing multi-pedals
such as the Mobius, TimeLine, and
BigSky. The TimeLine is an incredible
delay machine with 12 delay types,
the ability to adjust every possible
parameter, and should you need
them, a whopping 200 presets. If
there’s a delay sound you can’t find
in the TimeLine, keep looking—it’s in
there. The BigSky is the TimeLine’s
reverb brother, and it has everything
from subtle room reflections to
luscious infinite ambience. If you
score films, you may be able to
create an entire soundtrack just by
turning both pedals on in stereo and
striking a single chord. Be warned,
you will get lost in space. In fact,
when you use this tandem in stereo,
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TONE TALK
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you may become that guy, the one
who insists on lugging two amps to
every gig and argues with the sound
guy so he can get a proper setup to
convey his stereo aural imaging live.
These pedals are especially useful if
you need to use multiple delay and
reverb sounds in the same song, as
the onboard presets make that a
breeze. The tap and hold function
on the TimeLine gives you infinite,
oscillating feedback while the same
function on the TimeLine produces
reverb tails that last forever. Using
the two together is perfect for
dramatic intros and outros that grab
the audience’s attention. If you love
ambient sounds, tweaking knobs,
and spending money, these pedals
are for you. On top of all that,
Strymon pedals hold their value
incredibly well, so if you decide
you’re not a musical astronaut, you
should be able to get most of your
money back.
Perfect Pedal Pairs: 3 Killer Stompbox Combos Part II