Rocktron Short Timer

Totally easy to use. Just 3 knobs...LEVEL, REGENERATION, and TIME. There's a button for Short or Shorter delays, but don't let the word fool you...you can get everything from 50's rockabilly slapback to David Gilmour mega-repeaters if you like. Manual is simple. It's really ready to go right out of the package.

I've read some of the other reviews of this pedal. I don't agree with the loud popping noise some have noticed when engaging the pedal. Perhaps Rocktron has eliminated that problem. The sound of this pedal is very transparent. I use it with a Les Paul, Tele and an Ibanez RG 550. When I first hooked it up, I just ran it in line with the guitar. Not good. Too much noize in the signal. However, when I ran it thru the effects loop of my amp (Peavey Ultra 60) MUCH BETTER. SUPER QUIET. If you're using your amps overdrive, you really need an effects loop. It makes all the difference. You can get old school Van Halen delay with no problem. Also, I can nail the delay Ronnie Montrose gets on Gamma's tune Voyager...just my personal pick for best delay sound. Check it out.

So far so good. Just bought it (7.15.05) and used it at home and haven't taken it out as of yet, but it's housed in a nice, sturdy steel box. Bright LED indicator. It's standing up to my 18 month old daughters abuse. It's like anything...don't abuse it and it'll last. As some have written, the pots/knobs do turn pretty easy. I'd probably mark my settings just in case I bumped them.

Haven't dealt with them.

I play mostly classic rock stuff...Robin Trower, Van Halen ,Aerosmith ,SRV, Stones, Black Crowes , throw in some Govt. Mule and Thin Lizzy and you get the idea. Been playing 25 years. I think anything you add to your sound will inspire ideas. I came up with some cool riffs as soon as I started using it. (in 25 years, this is my first delay pedal) For the $60 I paid for it, I could replace it or get something altogether different. It does the job. I've tried other delayss...boss, dod, danelectro...and this one seems to do what they did at a better price.

It's a pretty basic analog-style delay, not programmable. Generally easy to understand and use, but a point off for the two-range button with no indicator stating the current range, a somewhat oversensitive Repeats knob, and knobs that are too easily turned (meaning a stray shoe can change your settings).

This is one of the best, most natural sounding digital delays i've heard. Most non-loop digital delays fall into two categories... either cold, harsh-sounding, overly precise "digital" sound (Boss, most Digitech), or "tape emulation" which is no more than a fake-sounding lowpass filter. The Short Timer sounds like a particularly clean analog delay - high praise indeed! Think Wall-era David Gilmour delays. It's really hard to get a bad sound out of it.

As an added plus, it will do runaway echoes with a twist of the repeats knob - many digital delays prevent such abuse. It also changes pitch when you twist the delay time knob, rather than chattering like so many digital delays do. It's really an excellent analog simulation.

It's not true bypass, but with a 1 megaohm input impedance, it has no noticable effect on the sound when turned off.

It gets a 9 out of 10 only because it isn't actually true bypass, and it isn't actually a tube Echoplex, and there are a handful of (much more expensive) digital delays that sound even warmer and nicer. But my ears say it rules the sub-$100 category.

The case is solid extruded aluminum, and the footswitch seems plenty tough, so high marks there. I don't like that the knobs might get moved accidentally, but they're recessed so it could be worse. Also, the input/output jacks don't hang on to the cable as tightly as i'd like. Not an issue if you use a pedalboard, but if you leave pedals on the floor a good kick could unplug it. So mostly good, with some minor worries.

This is a good pedal by any standard. But for $55 new, it's a STEAL. If something happened to it, i'd mostly likely get another one, just because i don't know of anything that matches it for sound, reliability, size, and price. Heck, i might get a second one, just for an additional "preset".

It's currently playing with a Blackbox Oxygen compressor, Blackstone MOSFET Overdrive, Prescription Electronics Germ (clean buffer, always on), Keeley-modded Rat II, Danelectro wah (another cheap wonder), vintage MXR flanger, and some old DOD chorus. It's not keeping cheap company! Amp is an Ampeg VT-22 (the poor/wise man's Fender Twin!), main guitar is a Gibson Blueshawk.

Sonically, i'm using it for off-beat Edge/Gilmour-style timed echo, long lead echoes, and rockabilly slapback sounds. It's great for all those things.

One Level for the controlling the level of the delayed signal, Repeat and Time. It came with a manual but only a dumb ass will require a manual to use this product. Terrific Blue LED. It has two modes, short and shorter. Both are very usable and great. The only problem is this short / shorter button is some cheap plastic, which looks scary that it will wear out anytime. I wish it was like their ON / OFF switch, so that I could have two delay settings in the same pedal.

It's pretty awesome. It creates a great reverb kind of effect. Sometime I just plug in my AMT Fatal Tube Distortion and this Delay and that's it, I have an almost pro sound with a simple and cheap guitar and amp. It's great value for money for it's price. It's not stale like Boss Delays.

It's looks sturdy. I usually handle with care even it's built like a tank. The best thing about Rocktron pedals are they are big and the switch is not placed too closed to the knobs like many others. The short / shorter switch looks scary that it might pop off any second.

Never Mailed Them. I wish I never have to.

I cover vintage Blues and Rock n Roll but played my way. Our band is an Improvisational, Hard Blues Rock Band. I take old Blues Stuffs, play it heavy like the 80s hard rock and also improvise and jam a lot on the solos. Sometimes my solos get as long as 20 minutes. This pedal suits my playing as well as my budget. I initially bought it because it was the cheapest in the market but now I dont regret. I guess I wont lose this. If it gets old and worn I will see what best in the market and what suits my budget at that point of time. I love this pedal but I dont go by what some people believe that they will buy it even after several years if it gets lost. I do believe lot of companies are working day and night to bring in better products. Dont take me wrong. This is a great pedal and if I have to replace it now, I'd replace it with the same pedal only.

straightforward, easy to use....

the delay heads are crisp and musical sounding...no digital coldness whatsoever....my main delay pedal is a digitech X delay...for the most part I use it for basic/ general delay applications....the Rocktron *short-timer" was purchased as a back-up for my Digitech....I'm so impressed with the little green box...I'm sure it will see action... and not necessarily in a back-up role...my unit works as advertised...no unusual pops, whistles or other annoying nuances...I'm a country tele player...normally I use a quick slap and/ or longer *ballad* type heads...this pedal covers my needs very well....and the price was down right charitable....a mere 55.00 from MF...this price ain't gonna last...if in need of a basic, great sounding delay unit, don't delay (pun intended)...pull the trigger on this one

I fully expect this pedal to be reliable given the metal casing etc...as with any reliability issue...time will ultimately tell..

I've been playing longer than I care to admit....have played with the greats and near greats...have a successful country finger picking tutorial to my credit...and have been published in GP magazine....that said, I don't consider myself the final word on anything musical....but I don't think you'll be disappointed with the *short-timer* delay unit from Rocktron...its functional, great sounding and inexpensive....

Easy.
It's kinda hard to tell what position the short/shorter switch is set to, but youe ears should help you with that.

I tried this pedal at a shop.

First - the sound is quite good. I was surprised how long the delays could get given the name. Very cool decay and smooth sound, despite being digital (btw it actually says "digital delay" on the casing). There's a surprisingly wide sweep of range in the controls, and it easily self-oscillates. I wish there was a knob for tone or resolution control over the delays. Also, there really should be a FOOT switch to switch between "short" and "shorter," instead of the push button it currently has. Those 2 (relatively) minor improvements would put this pedal in a very desirable class.

I have several delays, but was still very tempted to bring home the Short Timer because of its unique and inspiring sound.

HOWEVER: As mentioned it makes a loud pop when engaged, and the pop annoyingly repeats per the delay's settings. With the regen high it doesn't stop or fade (or, at least, I wasn't willing to sit there waiting it out). This is a ridiculous flaw, especially for a delay pedal. If it HAS to pop, it better be true bypass, and this is not. Since I leave delay on pretty much all the time, I could live with this, BUT the short/shorter button also "pops" occasionally when switched. It doesn't happen every time, but when it does it's a harsh crackle sound that unpleasantly repeats with the delay. That takes the pedal from imperfect to unacceptable.

It's also possible I demoed a bad unit. It was really noisy at first, but the guy at the shop said it was the power adapter, said it was the wrong one. He put a battery in it and it got better, but still hissy, especially as you increased the mix towards wetter settings. Could have been the store's set up, but I told him he should send it back to Rocktron, either way.

I have another Rocktron product that has had no problems.

I've emailed them in the past and they replied quickly. If I had bought this pedal through mail order and it sounded like this, they would definitely be hearing from me again!

All in all, it's a unique and potentially very cool pedal -- except for a few mechanical flaws! What's frustrating is that the tsunami chorus I have has none of these problems, so i KNOW they can fix it. I would keep an eye on Rocktron in the event that they make some improvements.

Rocktron I hope you're paying attention ...

Its near impossible to make this pedal sound bad. The delay sounds almost rhythmic. That was a big consideration in me picking this up. Other delays I have had always sounded very sterile. Not this one. Very musical. And half the price of some others I have had.

heres the chain. Gibson Les Paul, or Explorer, or ES-335 into the pedals. boss tu-2 -> boss super shifter -> digitech space station -> Morley deluxe flanger -> short timer -> boss noise gate. All wired to an morley a/b box to take then completely out of the loop. And an mxr micro amp running straight. Then into a JMP100 2203 Marshall. With a 1960 cab. 75 watt celestions. Boring eh? Anyway... Its not noisy at all except sometimes when you turn in on with a ton of regen it clicks its way in before you play anything. More annoying then a downfall though. Does a great impression of a solid state echoplex.

I'm a little worried about the flimsy pots on this thing. But the casing is fine. No problems as of yet.

no idea.

sounds nice, but not as important as all my other pedals. But I am glad that even if it did get lost, that they are still in production, and even when they stop making them. They were cheap new, they'll be cheaper used. I'd buy it again.

Damn easy, it's just a few knobs, and a "Short/Shorter" delay button.

Sounds way too surfy to me. I was hoping to delay out some Metal/Jazz notes, but this turned it into "Surfin USA" in my Megadeth riffs that had delay in the original songs. I tweaked it for a while, but still couldn't get that damn sound out. The "Shorter" setting sounded pretty nice though, but it's over too damn fast!

Sure, it's reliable enough. Built like a fuggin tank. I'd just watch the ole boot goin down on it, those knobs turn with the wind...

Never Dealt with Rocktron.

Not a bad pedal really, just couldn't get the sound I was hoping for out of it...

Any delay pedal is easy to use, and this one is no different. There are three knobs - one for delay time, one for number of repeats, and one for the volume of the effect. There is also a switch for 'short' or 'shorter' delay times although I see no use for the 'shorter' delay settings.

Using this pedal in my amp's fx loop, the delays sound very good - better than the Boss DD-3, Boss DD-6, Boss RV-3, and Ibanez DE-7 I have owned in the past. Unfortunately on high gain settings (which I use a fair amount of the time) the delay is audible when the effect pedal is supposedly off. This can be gotten around be turning the switch from 'short' to 'shorter' (the switch's only good use in my opinion). Which brings up a point - they should have made it so there are two footswitches like the one to turn the effect on and off. Even without the problem of hearing the 'short' delays on high gain, why have this switch at all if it is not a footswitch? I have tried to use my foot to turn it on and off but it is not easy.

As reviewers below have noted, the casing is of metal and appears to be strong. The knobs are plastic and turn very easily and may not be so strong.

I don't know why Rocktron couldn't (1) make this pedal true bypass, thus avoiding the problem with the effect being audible in some situations when it is supposed to be off, and (2) make the switch for 'short' and 'shorter' delay times a footswitch just like the one for turning the effect on and off. The only other issue with this pedal is the blue light that comes on when the pedal is on. It is so ridiculously bright, you need a welding mask to look at it. Who knows what they were thinking. It's way too bright. This pedal will do the job for now, and for the price it's a good deal. However, I will eventually be replacing this with a better pedal when I can afford to do so.

Typical delay pedal. Knobs for level, repeats, and delay time. Nothing more or less is needed.

I do not experience a pop, hiss, or tone change when using this pedal in my amp's fx loop. Just very pretty delays unlike I have ever heard in the other three digital delays I have owned in the past. I don't ever use long delays so this pedal is perfect for me.

The knobs turn very easily and often get turned and I have to put them back where I want them. The case is metal and appears to be very strong. I have no worries about this pedal. I have owned it for a few months now and have had no problems.

Better than Boss digital delays and less than half the price. I don't see how a guitarist can justify not buying this pedal.

Pretty easy to use, with all the standard controls for a delay unit. The most interesting feature is the "short/shorter" button, which takes you from the shorter delays to the longer ones on the fly with the tap of a carefully placed toe.

This unit sounds bright. It does not have true bypass, and there is a very slight change in tone when running through the unit when it is off, mostly a loss of attack. The "short/shorter" button had a tendency to create a funky digital sound when engaged and disengaged, rendering it useless in a live setting. Also, each time you turn the unit on, the first tap of the footswitch yeilds a loud pop.

The case feels sturdy, but the knobs feel very cheap and light. They are probably mounted directly to the circuit board, which would be bad news.

This is an entry-level pedal. For it's price of $60 bucks, it's not too bad. If you're looking for something pro quality, keep looking.