TC Flashback vs Nova Delay vs Nova Repeater

Tawlks

New member
So, I've been looking into delays, and these grab my attention more than any others, features wise, good price and they sound less..harsh than the Boss delays.

Can anyone give me some insight/advice on which to go for, nowhere anywhere near me stocks TC Electronics, it's all Boss and sometimes £300 boutique pedals.

I know the Nova Delay has presets, but I don't know how much I'd use those so I'm not sure that feature warrents the extra price.

Any info/advice would be apreciated. I've already done the standard searches, found some info but it wasn't particuarly useful.

Thanks in advance,

Tawlks.
 
the biggest difference apart from price is really

size/power
separate tap tempo switch (the flashback you have to hold down and audio tap..)

so depending on if you set delay times mid song or so (the flashback tap tempo setting mutes the signal)

and power wise:

the flashback is the size of a polytune pedal or mxr pedal and takes a normal 9v like a boss pedal (it won't last long on batteries unfortunately tho)

however the nova repeater/delay needs 12vdc 3-400ma which can be a pain if you're using some kind of power supply, as well as taking up more space , the nova delay just offers presets over the repeater but otherwise it's essentially the same,

i use the flashback works like a treat
 
university81":3gow1o1u said:
the biggest difference apart from price is really

size/power
separate tap tempo switch (the flashback you have to hold down and audio tap..)

so depending on if you set delay times mid song or so (the flashback tap tempo setting mutes the signal)

and power wise:

the flashback is the size of a polytune pedal or mxr pedal and takes a normal 9v like a boss pedal (it won't last long on batteries unfortunately tho)

however the nova repeater/delay needs 12vdc 3-400ma which can be a pain if you're using some kind of power supply, as well as taking up more space , the nova delay just offers presets over the repeater but otherwise it's essentially the same,

i use the flashback works like a treat

How easy to use is the tap tempo function? For some reason I don't really trust myself using tap tempo. Probably because I only have when jamming, never with a band. Also I did notice that the Nova Delay has a screen that shows you the delay time in MS, and the Repeater gives a ballpark figure, that's quite a nice feature that the Flashback doesn't have. They all sound fantastic and look very cool. It's a shame that the Flashback doesn't have a tap tempo out like the Boss DD's have.

I like how small the Flashback is and I really like how it takes 9v, I don't want to buy a 12v 300ma power supply. Does it come with a power supply?

Thanks for the info man, it's very useful. Did you try all three before deciding on the Flashback?
 
Tawlks":2oei4j90 said:
How easy to use is the tap tempo function? For some reason I don't really trust myself using tap tempo. Probably because I only have when jamming, never with a band. Also I did notice that the Nova Delay has a screen that shows you the delay time in MS, and the Repeater gives a ballpark figure, that's quite a nice feature that the Flashback doesn't have. They all sound fantastic and look very cool. It's a shame that the Flashback doesn't have a tap tempo out like the Boss DD's have.

I like how small the Flashback is and I really like how it takes 9v, I don't want to buy a 12v 300ma power supply. Does it come with a power supply?

Thanks for the info man, it's very useful. Did you try all three before deciding on the Flashback?

the tap tempo on the flashback is easy to use, the official TC demo is vast, should give you a good idea, but nothing beats a separate footswitch for tap tempo, in the middle of a jam/song you can't necessarily mute your signal for 4-5 seconds..

the nova delay/repeater come with power supplies, the screen showing delay time is neat, but not something i need in any case

i've tried the nova delay, the repeater afaik are the same delays but less features

i picked the flashback as i only have space on my board for that, i use it for certain more spatial/sweeter sounding delays as i have a line6 m9 for most stuff and it also has a tap tempo switch, the flashback sounds better to my ears tho

tc delays are quality across the range, the price difference will only be in terms of features

for the price and if using an extra wall wart isn't an issue for you i think the nova repeater is a good deal, and buy used ;) save yourself a bunch of cash
 
I have the nova repeater. At the time I got it, the flashback had not been released. I went with the nova repeater since I didn't need the presets of the nova delay, the modulation was supposed to be better on the repeater, but I do wish the repeater had the display to show the exact delay time in ms. The repeater can run on 9V, but you will have less headroom, so I use the included 12VDC supply, but in a pinch 9V will work on the repeater if you don't want to be bothered with the included supply.

As for the flashback, it looks like a great delay. I like the true bypass, but wish it had a tap tempo button. With the audio tap you have to mute the pedal for about 2 seconds, this could be an issue playing live. The 2290 setting on the flashback and the tone print feature interest me the most.

I will say if you get the repeater, try both inputs, I was getting tone sucking and then tried the other input and that solved the issue.
 
Due to the price/versatility/quality of the delay I'd have to say the Flashback. It is one HELL of a delay for the money. I've never owned/played a nova repeater but, I'd choose my Flashback over my previous nova delay.
 
I have the Nova Repeater. I have a few issues with it.

1. It has a kill-dry button right next to the on/off button. It is not uncommon to press both at the same time leading to your sound dropping out. School boy error in it's design. If they had road tested this pedal for five minutes before they manufactured it, they would have spotted that short coming.

2. It takes an unusual 12v 300ma power supply which means if you fit it on a pedal board you will not be able to use it with a multi power supply.

It does on the other hand sound FANTASTIC.

I love the feature where you hold down the tap button and input the tempo by hitting the strings. I tend to forget this feature is there but it is very intuitive if you do discover it. Easier than tapping your foot

Like most TC stuff. I get the impression it is built by electronics engineers in isolation. Most TC stuff has some annoying issue or other (like the delay on the foot switches of the Nova). If only they road tested their designs before they went into manufacture, life would be so much better.

But they do sound great.
 
I have the Flashback x4. It's a great delay pedal with a separate button for tap tempo. Yes, it's a huge pedal, but it sounds stellar. The 2290 settings are out of this world good.
 
Welcome to the forum AndyDrudy. Kind of surprised you dug up a 2 plus year thread.

I agree with you on point 1, I often hit the kill dry when I turn on the nova repeater.

As for the voltage, the repeater will run on 9V, you just lose some headroom. I still would bet that on a daisy chained supply where the outputs are not isolated, it would create noise to run it with other pedals, but if you have an isolated supply with only 9V outputs you should be able to run it on that.

In addition to the nova repeater, I now have a Flashback X4, which I really like, even if it too is a bit quirky.
 
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