I’m starting today’s review with a spoiler alert, because I’m giving the verdict right up front: The Chase Bliss BIG TIME is the best delay pedal produced since the rack units of the 80s! It is my delay of the year 2026!
As noted in the foreword to the—once again—wonderful manual by John Snyder of Electronic Audio Experiments, the pedal’s development involved analyzing the interplay between the preamp and delay sections found in 80s rack units. And that shows through in every aspect!
In the BIG TIME, the preamp plays a crucial role in shaping that wonderful delay sound.
I had long been searching for that exact sound—the one 80s rack units always delivered. That full-bodied delay sound, driven just enough to reach saturation! Simply magnificent!
The dry signal is beautifully colored, too.
The pedal’s build quality is top-notch. Not only does it look stunning, but it is also expertly crafted and extremely rugged. The faders move with buttery smoothness.
The Preamp – The Star of the Circuit
The analog preamp in the Chase Bliss BIG TIME does exactly what it’s supposed to: it thickens the guitar tone and drives it into saturation. Your playing becomes more dynamic and—depending on your preference—takes on a bit of grit. Individual notes chime beautifully from the amp, and every nuance of your playing is perfectly conveyed.
Until now, I always used a distortion pedal and a compressor alongside my delays. Only my Big Box Deluxe Memory Man and my Fulltone TTE could provide that kind of sonic richness and a slight boost with that special character. The Chase Bliss BIG TIME matches my tonal ideal perfectly—and it saves me space for two other pedals on my board!
The Modes
In Digital Mode, it is of course possible to create completely clean delays. Compressed Mode allows for those wonderful ducking delays—reminiscent of 80s rack units—that were mentioned earlier.
Saturated Mode is particularly well-executed. True to its name, it introduces a touch of distortion.
In all these modes, you can fine-tune the gain using the Color and Texture controls.
Things get really intense in the #+?& mode. Here, the signal is heavily distorted—even mangled into a gated fuzz sound. The Texture fader lets you adjust the circuit’s bias. You can also boost the signal by 12 dB if the gain isn’t sufficient.
The Core Sound of the Chase Bliss BIG TIME
Thanks to the Voicing and Tilt EQ controls, the sound can range from a pristine Hi-Fi delay—which might even thin out slightly with each repetition—to a dark, analog-style delay. The voicing frequencies are well-chosen, and the EQ allows for further fine-tuning.
Modulation
The modulation can be set to either a sine or square wave. Speed and Depth controls allow for precise adjustment of the modulation intensity.
I also really appreciate the inclusion of envelope-controlled modulation; I love being able to control modulation based on picking dynamics.
Things get even wilder when you activate the Pitch option. This allows for chromatic pitches, octave intervals combined with fourths and fifths, or standard octave tones. This is where the character of the Chase Bliss Thermae really shines through.
Stereo
Oh yes, the BIG TIME delivers stereo sounds, too! The Spread and Diffusion controls let you widen the soundstage and add a reverb-like effect. You can achieve a wide range of spatial textures, from an expanded stereo field to ping-pong effects.
Multihead
Behind the “Cluster” control lies—drumroll, please—multihead delay functionality. These heads can be blended in, sitting slightly quieter than the primary delay signal. Turning up the Cluster control yields various multihead patterns. When combined with diffusion, this can create a veritable wall of sound. Fantastic!
BIG TIME – a different kind of delay
The BIG TIME is structured differently than other digital delays. While you usually encounter presets for tape, analog, and digital modes—which you might tweak slightly—the BIG TIME allows you to build your ideal sound entirely from scratch.
A touch of preamp saturation, three or four repeats, perhaps a second delay head, some diffusion, and a final EQ tweak? Oh yes—that’s fun, and there’s something here for everyone.
With storable presets (recallable via MIDI), MIDI sync, CV and expression pedal inputs, and—of course—stereo I/O, this pedal is a true workhorse that stands in a class of its own.
You can switch the delay time range between Mod, Short, and Long, ensuring you always have the perfect range for the job.
As if that weren’t enough, the BIG TIME also features a looper. You can shape the loop’s sound using the internal parameters. Plus, if you switch from “Long” mode to “Loop” mode, any previously played delays are preserved within the loop. Of course, you can also record a loop the traditional way; anything goes.
In short, this pedal offers plenty of sonic space—and a truly “big time”—for sound experimentation.
Conclusion
Despite the spoiler I dropped right at the start, I’d like to offer a more detailed conclusion:
The Chase Bliss BIG TIME has set a new benchmark by taking the core concept of early digital rack units and refining it to perfection.
Thanks to “Analog Dry Thru,” the response remains immediate, while the delays offer precise, individual customization. With its superb modulation and pitch options, you’ll constantly discover beautiful new sounds! A delay pedal that impresses!
This pedal is absolutely certain to find its way onto numerous pedalboards and into countless studios. In the process, it will likely kick a pedal or two off the board—and I’m not just thinking of delays here, but also distortion pedals, compressors…
Many thanks to the entire Chase Bliss team for this incredibly great delay!
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