Strymon Delays

[irmcdermott]

Hey guys,

So just wanted to ask some of you Strymon owners your thoughts on some stuff. I'm really torn between the El Capistan and the Brigadier... but then I look at the Timeline and I'm like "woah, that's awesome."

Reading about the Timeline though, don't you essentially have both the El Cap (dTape setting) and Brigadier (bBucket setting) in that one pedal? So essentially, you could spend $450 on the Timeline and save $150 than if you bought both the El Cap and Brigadier separately, correct? Or am I missing something?

[madbean]

I have the Timeline and it is something. Probably more options than one could ever need. Can't speak to the comparison to the other two. Feel free to hop over here and demo the T-line yourself, anytime!

[k.rock!]

I have a Timeline and I absolutely love it!! I have a friend who has El Capistan and it is amazing too!

The machines are the same in the Timeline but it doesn't include every feature that El Cap and the Brigadier offer. If you JUST want a tape delay and an analog delay, then yeah, get both as they truly are great delay pedals on their own. If you want more versatility, i.e. more delay machines, the obvious choice is the Timeline.

Now, you may be questioning yourself, would I use all of that crap? Well, in my case, yes. I play live almost every week, a couple of times a week and I currently use analog, tape, digital quarter notes, digital dotted, ice, tremolo, patterns and sometimes the lo-fi cause I can dial a leslie type sound...really cool!

Accessing presets live is super easy. I set my banks in a way that preset A is my rhythm delay and preset B is for leads. You can control if you want a global tap tempo or preset tap tempo which is really useful if you play with a band or an artist with sequences.

Honestly, you can't go wrong with Strymon. The question is what is more practical for you. They all sound amazing.

-Kaleb

[midwayfair]

The tape settings on the Timeline aren't quite as good as what's on the El Capistan, but we're talking about some pretty extreme usage. I'd say get the Timeline if you have space for it and the extra cash. But I honestly think that the discrete units are better for playing out. I like having lots of options on my pedals, but in a real life situation, I can get so many sounds out of the El Capistan (including one-second-plus half note echos, a 20-second loop [tied to my favorite switch], awesome chorus sounds, all the note divisions you could want, and a very usable tone knob in the tape age control, plus spring reverb!] that the real question I'd be asking myself with a Timeline is:

(a) Do I need the better looper, or just sound-on-sound?
(b) Will I use the Ice setting?

Everything else in a live setting you can get close enough with just the El Capistan.

Also, I think the El Cap is a wayyyy better choice than the Brig.

[k.rock!]

The tape settings on the Timeline aren't quite as good as what's on the El Capistan, but we're talking about some pretty extreme usage. I'd say get the Timeline if you have space for it and the extra cash. But I honestly think that the discrete units are better for playing out. I like having lots of options on my pedals, but in a real life situation, I can get so many sounds out of the El Capistan (including one-second-plus half note echos, a 20-second loop [tied to my favorite switch], awesome chorus sounds, all the note divisions you could want, and a very usable tone knob in the tape age control, plus spring reverb!] that the real question I'd be asking myself with a Timeline is:

(a) Do I need the better looper, or just sound-on-sound?
(b) Will I use the Ice setting?

Everything else in a live setting you can get close enough with just the El Capistan.

Also, I think the El Cap is a wayyyy better choice than the Brig.

Totally agree on all this...specially about the Capistan being way better than the Brig. They really got it right with El Cap.


-K

[irmcdermott]

Thanks guys. I've been leaning more towards the El Cap this whole time. And the bluesky.... and the lex... and the.... well, you get the picture.

Space isn't an issue. I decided to start from the ground up with my guitar rig. I've been primarily a bass player for the past 8 years, though guitar is my first instrument. Building some stuff for some friends to raise the funds. But I snagged a PT-Pro with the hardshell roadcase for $150 from a friend, and it's currently empty. I'm dreaming big with this one

[jkokura]

If you can, go for the timeline Ian. I have one, and an El Cap, and if I had to get just one I'd pick the Timeline.

El Cap > Brig I think.

Jacob

[nzCdog]

Funny, but going from the demos... I'd definitely choose the Brig over the El Cap.  Tap tempo divisions very usable, but more importantly the sound!  I just can't bring myself to 'get' the El Cap tape sound... meh as always a personal taste thing.  The Blue Sky is pretty good, I have it set to spring most of the time.

If it was me, I'd just get a Diamond Memory Lane or a EHX DMMwTT

[irmcdermott]

If you can, go for the timeline Ian. I have one, and an El Cap, and if I had to get just one I'd pick the Timeline.

El Cap > Brig I think.

Jacob

so, since you have both, let me as you this. How is the dTape setting compared to your El Cap?