Strymon TimeLine MX: what really changed from the TimeLine

If you already own a Strymon TimeLine, the useful question is not whether TimeLine MX has “more features.” It does. The real question is whether those additions change the way you build and recall sounds enough to justify the upgrade.

The short answer is: TimeLine MX is a substantial step forward mainly for players who use two effects together, stereo routing, MIDI and complex presets. If you use the original TimeLine as a great single delay, mostly in mono and with a small set of favourite presets, the older pedal still makes a lot of sense.

Strymon introduced TimeLine MX on July 7, 2026, but did not discontinue the original TimeLine. As of August 30, 2026, both are still listed on Strymon's US store. So this is not simply an old-versus-new comparison. It is a choice between two different architectures.

TimeLine MX vs original TimeLine: key differences

The first row matters most. More presets, a better display and a much longer looper are useful upgrades, but the generational change is the ability to combine two freely selected engines.

The original already had Dual Delay — but it was not the same concept

This distinction is easy to miss. The original TimeLine has a Dual Delay machine, so saying that the older pedal “cannot run two delays” would be inaccurate.

On the original pedal, Dual is one of twelve available delay machines. It contains two independent delay lines that can be configured in series, parallel or right/left split. It is already a powerful algorithm, but the two-line behaviour remains inside that specific machine.

On TimeLine MX, dual-delay operation becomes part of the pedal's architecture. You can select two different engines inside one preset: Digital + dTape, MultiTap + Filter, Spectral + Reverb or even two dBucket engines, for example. The two blocks can run in Series, Parallel or Split, with independent output panning.

That changes much more than the algorithm count. A preset is no longer just “one delay and its parameters”; it can become a compact effects chain.

DUAL footswitch mode can also assign A and B to the two engines in the current preset. In a programmed live rig, being able to engage or bypass each engine without loading a new patch is a genuinely practical feature.

The engine list was reorganised, not simply expanded

The original TimeLine provides twelve delay machines: Digital, Dual, Pattern, Reverse, Ice, Duck, Swell, Trem, Filter, Lo-Fi, dTape and dBucket.

TimeLine MX still has twelve engines in total, but the structure is different. Strymon adds Drum, Oil Can, MultiTap, Spectral and Reverb, while moving several older functions elsewhere in the architecture.

Specifically:

• Dual is no longer needed as a dedicated algorithm because any two delays can now form a dual configuration;
• Pattern is replaced by the far more flexible MultiTap engine;
• Duck and Swell become parameters that can be applied to other delay engines;
• Trem functionality moves into the Filter engine.

That is a sensible design change because it separates the voice of the delay from the behaviour applied to it. If you want ducking, for example, you no longer have to give up the character of dTape, Digital or dBucket just to select a separate Duck machine.

What Drum, Oil Can, MultiTap, Spectral and Reverb actually add

The new engines cover very different territory, and they are probably the second major reason — after dual-engine operation — to consider MX.

Drum recreates the behaviour of mechanical drum echoes. Individual play heads can be managed for spacing, level, feedback and stereo position, letting it move from recognisable vintage echo to much more involved patterns.

Oil Can is darker and less predictable. Its off-kilter repeats and shifting modulation deliberately embrace instability rather than precision.

MultiTap is the engine most clearly aimed at rhythmic programming. Strymon provides eight taps with individual control and even allows the engine to be configured as eight parallel delay lines. It goes substantially beyond the original Pattern machine.

Spectral is the experimental engine. It works with granular processing, slicing the input into fragments and applying pitch shifting, reverse, time stretching and filtering. It is more about movement and texture than conventional echo.

Reverb is a full engine rather than a token ambience effect. It can share a preset with a delay and includes Grit plus optional tremolo on the wet signal. That does not turn TimeLine MX into a dedicated reverb processor, but it can remove the need for a separate reverb pedal in a relatively simple delay-plus-ambience rig.

There is an important trade-off: Reverb occupies one of the two engine slots. A delay-and-reverb preset therefore leaves one delay engine available. The benefit is consolidation; the limitation is that more elaborate ambient chains still require additional processing.

Stereo users should know that not every engine processes stereo the same way

For a guitar plugged into the pedal in mono, this may not matter much. For synths, studio use, stereo loops or a pedal chain that is already stereo before TimeLine MX, it can matter a great deal.

According to Strymon's support documentation, dTape, Digital, Oil Can, MultiTap, Reverse, Lo-Fi, Filter and Ice process in true stereo, keeping the left and right inputs separate through processing.

dBucket, Drum, Spectral and Reverb sum the incoming signal to mono first and then create a stereo field from that summed signal.

That does not mean those engines have a mono output. They can still generate a wide stereo result. It means the stereo information arriving before TimeLine MX is not preserved as two independent channels through those four engines. This is worth knowing if MX is going into the middle of an existing stereo system.

Looper, I/O and MIDI: MX is much more of a system pedal

The looper grows from 30 seconds stereo on the original TimeLine to five minutes stereo on TimeLine MX. It can sit before or after the effects, and 1 Button mode makes basic looping available without first switching into a dedicated Looper screen.

Five minutes does not make MX a specialist live looping station, but it changes the usefulness of the built-in feature. It becomes practical for building parts, testing presets, recording longer progressions and editing sounds without repeatedly playing the same phrase.

Connectivity has also expanded. All MX audio jacks are stereo TRS, with configurations for:

• normal mono or stereo operation;
• mono effects loop;
• stereo effects loop;
• wet/dry;
• wet/dry/wet.

MIDI is no longer limited to DIN connectors. TimeLine MX can send and receive MIDI over USB-C and through TRS when the EXP port is configured for MIDI, in addition to standard 5-pin DIN. USB-C is also used for firmware updates.

For players using a MIDI switcher, controller, wet/dry setup or fully stereo pedalboard, this is a strong reason to choose MX. In a simple guitar → delay → single amp mono chain, much of this flexibility will remain unused.

Power and footprint: check the pedalboard before upgrading

TimeLine MX requires an isolated 9VDC centre-negative supply providing at least 500mA. The power supply is not included.

The original TimeLine requires at least 300mA. That means an output that has powered the old TimeLine perfectly may not meet the MX requirement.

The footprint is very similar. Strymon lists the original at 17.15 × 12.95cm and MX at 17.2 × 12.7cm. The published height is lower on MX: 4.8cm versus 6.86cm.

In practice, board area is unlikely to be the main problem. Available current, TRS cabling and connection management are more likely to need attention.

Is the upgrade from TimeLine to TimeLine MX worth it?

For an existing TimeLine owner, MX makes the strongest case when at least one of these needs is real:

1. you want two different delays, or delay + reverb, inside one preset;
2. you work in stereo, wet/dry or wet/dry/wet;
3. MIDI is central to the rig and you want more connection options;
4. the new engines — particularly MultiTap and Spectral — cover sounds you genuinely need;
5. the five-minute looper fits the way you create, rehearse or edit presets.

If you mainly use dTape, dBucket, Digital or a few classic sounds with one effect at a time, the original TimeLine does not suddenly become obsolete. It still offers 200 presets, MIDI, stereo operation, a looper and twelve delay machines, and it is currently much cheaper on Strymon's US store.

The rational reason to buy MX is therefore not simply that it is newer. It is whether you will use the dual-engine architecture.

If you are also considering simpler pedals with a more traditional workflow, Muviber's guide to analog delays every guitarist should try provides a useful contrast.

What to check when buying a used TimeLine MX

TimeLine MX is a recent product, but a recent second-hand unit is not automatically covered by Strymon's manufacturer warranty.

Strymon lists a two-year limited warranty for the original purchaser of TimeLine MX from an authorised dealer. The original TimeLine is listed with one year. The same warranty terms explicitly state that coverage is non-transferable and does not cover used or second-hand products.

Before buying a used TimeLine MX, check:

• both engines operating inside the same preset;
• Series, Parallel and Split routing;
• all three footswitches, including DUAL mode;
• stereo inputs and outputs, not only a mono test;
• preset saving and recall;
• the looper with a sufficiently long recording;
• DIN MIDI and, if relevant, USB-C and TRS MIDI;
• the EXP port;
• stable power from an isolated output supplying at least 500mA;
• installed firmware and whether any update is available through Strymon Update;
• exactly what is included in the listing, since Strymon does not supply a power adapter with the pedal.

Any statutory rights or warranty offered by a professional seller are separate from Strymon's commercial warranty and depend on the sales channel and applicable law.

Bottom line

TimeLine MX is not merely an original TimeLine with more memory and a nicer display. The structural difference is that two engines become the basic building block of a preset.

That is what makes the expanded routing, independent panning, broader connectivity and deeper MIDI integration worthwhile. Spectral, MultiTap, Drum, Oil Can and Reverb add genuinely different sonic territory, while the five-minute looper turns the built-in looping function into a much more useful working tool.

For players who treat delay as the centre of a complex rig, MX is a substantial evolution. For players who simply want one excellent delay at a time, the original TimeLine remains a very capable and currently more affordable option.

Sources

Specifications and technical differences were checked against the official Strymon TimeLine MX page, the original TimeLine product page, the TimeLine MX support and FAQ section, Strymon's July 7, 2026 launch announcement and the Strymon warranty terms. Prices and availability mentioned above reflect the August 30, 2026 consultation and may change.