Michael Nielson agrees with me: the FTT Flight Time is the best delay pedal ever created

[jabps]

I'm a delay junkie, it's my number one effect.

However I've never used ducking delay. Sure I've messed with it but ultimately I just don't see the point if you find the right delay product along with delay time, tone, and settings you like. I get what Nielsen means with the delay sitting correctly because you should be able to dial it in to stay out of the way without ducking. At least I have.


Flight time is one of the few I haven't given a shot yet.

 

[DanTravis62]

I'm a delay junkie, it's my number one effect.

However I've never used ducking delay. Sure I've messed with it but ultimately I just don't see the point if you find the right delay product along with delay time, tone, and settings you like. I get what Nielsen means with the delay sitting correctly because you should be able to dial it in to stay out of the way without ducking. At least I have.


Flight time is one of the few I haven't given a shot yet.

It's the best man, my favorite digital delay of all time

If you enjoy the 2290 type tones, it's well worth giving a try - I didn't realize how much the ducking style (as it's not technically real ducking it just emulates it) really helps in a live situation for leads

 

[Shask]

I'm a delay junkie, it's my number one effect.

However I've never used ducking delay. Sure I've messed with it but ultimately I just don't see the point if you find the right delay product along with delay time, tone, and settings you like. I get what Nielsen means with the delay sitting correctly because you should be able to dial it in to stay out of the way without ducking. At least I have.


Flight time is one of the few I haven't given a shot yet.

That is what I was saying earlier in this thread. I noticed I was struggling to get my Boss to sit well behind high gain, but TC seems to work better for that.

 

[TheBiggestJerk]

Is it expensive? Yes.
Top Gun 1 or 2?
Is it complicated? Yes.

Does it sound like god? Ohhhh yes.

Does it look like the cockpit of a jet fighter from top gun? Also yes.

Michael Nielson joins me, @itsgoodnow , and a few others in the chad FTT Flight Time enjoyer club

 

[Shask]

It's the best man, my favorite digital delay of all time

If you enjoy the 2290 type tones, it's well worth giving a try - I didn't realize how much the ducking style (as it's not technically real ducking it just emulates it) really helps in a live situation for leads

The ducking always seems weird to me by the way it fades in, but I will have to play with it more. On paper, it seems like the perfect solution.

 

[thegame]

There's just not much rack gear available that's still being made. Basically, the Eventide H9000, Lexicon PCM96, and the Bricasti Model 7.

The Eclipse does have harmonizer effects, but it's processing power is spent on whatever algorithm you select, which could be just delays. It's plenty powerful enough and can do 2290-like delays. Just doesn't sound like a TC, pretty close, though. Was discontinued a couple of years ago, unfortunately.

The D-Two is nice, too, but long discontinued. It gets in the ballpark.

FWIW, the Flight Time is the closest I've heard to the tone of the 2290. The Future Factory has a better feature set, IMHO, but I wouldn't use a 2290 in mono, either even though it really is a mono delay with panning and phase inversion. If FTT would combine the two, they'd really have something.

Great answer, thanks. I’m probably better off going with Dan’s FT recommendation as it’s getting a bit risky buying 20-30 year old rack processors by now. I also considered an old Rocktron Intellifex as those are known to be on the rich and warm side of digital. But the thing that’s most steering me toward the FT is that it’s obviously been tailored to excel in mono usage as I’d integrate this into a W/D setup.

 

[Shask]

Great answer, thanks. I’m probably better off going with Dan’s FT recommendation as it’s getting a bit risky buying 20-30 year old rack processors by now. I also considered an old Rocktron Intellifex as those are known to be on the rich and warm side of digital. But the thing that’s most steering me toward the FT is that it’s obviously been tailored to excel in mono usage as I’d integrate this into a W/D setup.

I really like the Intellifex also, although I am not sure I would call it warm. I would say transparent. The Replifex is probably warmer. The best thing about the old Rocktron units is the built in analog dry through so you don't need a mixer, but the downfall is the are quite limited compared to more modern units.

 

[jabps]

That is what I was saying earlier in this thread. I noticed I was struggling to get my Boss to sit well behind high gain, but TC seems to work better for that.

Yep, Boss delays sit on top. It's why I've never gotten along with them.

 

[DanTravis62]

The ducking always seems weird to me by the way it fades in, but I will have to play with it more. On paper, it seems like the perfect solution.

With the flight time it's not "true" ducking like you would have on the rack unit, but it functions basically the same

 

[jabps]

It's the best man, my favorite digital delay of all time

If you enjoy the 2290 type tones, it's well worth giving a try - I didn't realize how much the ducking style (as it's not technically real ducking it just emulates it) really helps in a live situation for leads

I might give it a shot. I keep meaning to finish my non midi board, I went with the Timeline since the onboard presets are somewhat easy to step through. I need 4. However I've since gotten interested in the idea of the Fractal VP4. Lack of footswitchable presets has kept me so far from checking out Flight Time. I know you have two you can switch, wish they'd make it like the Tri-Avatar with 4 and I'd snap it up quickly.

My midi board I have the Nemesis which I really love so presets isn't an issue but I'm kinda midi'ed out at this point in my life.

 

[Shask]

With the flight time it's not "true" ducking like you would have on the rack unit, but it functions basically the same

Yeah, I saw that. I have been messing with it on the 2290p.

 

[Shask]

Yep, Boss delays sit on top. It's why I've never gotten along with them.

Weird. I guess I have never noticed, but I only tried to use delay in a more subtle way recently.

 

[Shask]

I might give it a shot. I keep meaning to finish my non midi board, I went with the Timeline since the onboard presets are somewhat easy to step through. I need 4. However I've since gotten interested in the idea of the Fractal VP4. Lack of footswitchable presets has kept me so far from checking it out Flight Time. I know you have two you can switch, wish they'd make it like the Tri-Avatar with 4 and I'd snap it up quickly.

My midi board I have the Nemesis which I really love so presets isn't an issue but I'm kinda midi'ed out at this point in my life.

I have also been messing with my SA Collider. It also seems better at sitting behind the high gain tone in a subtle way.

 

[ChurchHill]

I'm a delay junkie, it's my number one effect.

However I've never used ducking delay. Sure I've messed with it but ultimately I just don't see the point if you find the right delay product along with delay time, tone, and settings you like. I get what Nielsen means with the delay sitting correctly because you should be able to dial it in to stay out of the way without ducking. At least I have.


Flight time is one of the few I haven't given a shot yet.

When I use ducking on a delay, it's not so much about getting it to sit correctly when I'm playing than it is about getting it to jump out when I'm not. Obviously not the only way to use it, but it works for me.

 

[ChurchHill]

I've since gotten interested in the idea of the Fractal VP4.

FWIW, the VP4 is a great little pedal. It'll get pretty close to the 2290, but the sonics aren't quite the same. By that, I mean the sound of the un-effected signal is sweetened by the 2290 in a distinct way that the VP4 doesn't do and the Flight Time is the closest to. But the VP4 more than makes up for that in versatility and can do a lot more than just delays.

 

[DanTravis62]

I might give it a shot. I keep meaning to finish my non midi board, I went with the Timeline since the onboard presets are somewhat easy to step through. I need 4. However I've since gotten interested in the idea of the Fractal VP4. Lack of footswitchable presets has kept me so far from checking it out Flight Time. I know you have two you can switch, wish they'd make it like the Tri-Avatar with 4 and I'd snap it up quickly.

My midi board I have the Nemesis which I really love so presets isn't an issue but I'm kinda midi'ed out at this point in my life.

I totally get it. I used the Strymon Volante with a boss ES5 for my midi touring board for a few years and it was great, but troubleshooting if something went wrong was..... let's be diplomatic and say "time consuming."

With the 2 presets and tap tempo I'm totally good for 99% of delay I need to cover, and if something goes haywire on my board now it's a quick simple process to get it straightened out

 

[DanTravis62]

FWIW, the VP4 is a great little pedal. It'll get pretty close to the 2290, but the sonics aren't quite the same. By that, I mean the sound of the un-effected signal is sweetened by the 2290 in a distinct way that the VP4 doesn't do and the Flight Time is the closest to. But the VP4 more than makes up for that in versatility and can do a lot more than just delays.

That "sweetening" is really hard to nail down, but it's exactly why the flight time is my favorite for this sort of tone - I get compliments on my live lead tone all the time from other guitarists and people in the crowd, and I would bet quite a bit of money what they're talking about is that sweetening effect that the 2290/FT do

 

[Speeddemon]

When it comes to ducking, I owned 2 delays that did that pretty darn good;
The Korg 301dl and the Line6 Echo Park.

Only downside of the Korg was the fact it was a bit of a tone-sucker IIRC and not really well made.
But it was really versatile; the 4 knobs each had 2 functions (accessible by toggle switch). If they release this mofo with Boss-like durability and true bypass, I'd be...quite interested indeed.

Interestingly enough, while I still own the TC Alter Ego v2, which does a bunch of really nice analog emulations (and I have my fair share of real analog delays around too), the 2290 setting on it is modulated...too darn modulated if you ask me. The 2290 setting on the Flashback (& Mini) was way better and THAT (non-modulated) patch cannot be loaded as a TonePrint in the Alter Ego...

I really like the 2290 tone, but not enough to give up so much pedalboard real estate for it; I use quite a compact pedalboard for live situations.
An old pic; Boss PS-6 is now a TC Harmonizer, MXR Analog Chorus-->Mooer Ensemble King and the MXR Carbon Copy broke, so now I'm making due with a Boss DD-7's analog setting.

When it comes to digital delays that do an emulated analog tone, the only two actually worth something when it comes to self-oscillation IMO were the Ibanez DE7 and Donner Yellow Fall (cheap Chinese small PT2399 delay...)
All my TC digital delays (having owned the Nova Repeater, Flashback 1, Mini and Alter Ego v2) never FULLY managed to do a good self-oscillation like those two.

MXR Carbon Copy (=analog) sits well with high gain, but mostly because it's so dark sounding, so it never interferes with the direct signal.

 

[DanTravis62]

Great answer, thanks. I’m probably better off going with Dan’s FT recommendation as it’s getting a bit risky buying 20-30 year old rack processors by now. I also considered an old Rocktron Intellifex as those are known to be on the rich and warm side of digital. But the thing that’s most steering me toward the FT is that it’s obviously been tailored to excel in mono usage as I’d integrate this into a W/D setup.

I bought a used D-two from guitar center a couple years ago for this exact reason but it arrived DOA

Which is the exact reason I went on a scavenger hunt for something like the flight time

I don't have the back to cart around a giant rack anymore, nor do I have the disposable cash to gig with a legit 2290, so this was the perfect solution for me

 

[DanTravis62]

When it comes to ducking, I owned 2 delays that did that pretty darn good;
The Korg 301dl and the Line6 Echo Park.

Only downside of the Korg was the fact it was a bit of a tone-sucker IIRC and not really well made.
But it was really versatile; the 4 knobs each had 2 functions (accessible by toggle switch). If they release this mofo with Boss-like durability and true bypass, I'd be...quite interested indeed.
View attachment 447147

Interestingly enough, while I still own the TC Alter Ego v2, which does a bunch of really nice analog emulations (and I have my fair share of real analog delays around too), the 2290 setting on it is modulated...too darn modulated if you ask me. The 2290 setting on the Flashback (& Mini) was way better and THAT (non-modulated) patch cannot be loaded as a TonePrint in the Alter Ego...

I really like the 2290 tone, but not enough to give up so much pedalboard real estate for it; I use quite a compact pedalboard for live situations.
An old pic; Boss PS-6 is now a TC Harmonizer, MXR Analog Chorus-->Mooer Ensemble King and the MXR Carbon Copy broke, so now I'm making due with a Boss DD-7's analog setting.
View attachment 447152

When it comes to digital delays that do an emulated analog tone, the only two actually worth something when it comes to self-oscillation IMO were the Ibanez DE7 and Donner Yellow Fall (cheap Chinese small PT2399 delay...)
All my TC digital delays (having owned the Nova Repeater, Flashback 1, Mini and Alter Ego v2) never FULLY managed to do a good self-oscillation like those two.

MXR Carbon Copy (=analog) sits well with high gain, but mostly because it's so dark sounding, so it never interferes with the direct signal.

If you like the 2290 tone, but it's not something you use all the time I don't know if I would go whole hog on a 300$ pedal

but man I had about a dozen delays at one point and the flight time is the one that ended up on my board and all my punk bands records

We have similar taste - I love the alter ego for what it is, and the dd3, dd7, carbon copy etc are classics for a reason, but for sheer sound quality there's a reason the flight time was the last man standing

The 2290 setting on the flashback is very good for what it is, but it pales in comparison im not gonna lie