Flashback X4 Delay Manual – 2014-06-24 Flashback X4 Delay – Manual (2014-06-24) 1
Table of contents Important safety instructions Caution Service Warning EMC / EMI Explanation of graphic symbols 3 4 4 4 4 5 Before you begin About this manual Getting support 6 7 7 About this pedal Flashback X4 Delay & Looper True Bypass 8 9 9 TonePrint What are TonePrints? Transferring TonePrints to your pedal using the TonePrint app Editing TonePrints with TonePrint Editor 10 11 Setup Ready… Set… Play! 13 14 14 14 11 12 Inputs, outputs and controls Power / Switching the effect on and off
Important safety instructions Important safety instructions Flashback X4 Delay – Manual (2014-06-24) 3
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Read these instructions. Keep these instructions. Heed all warnings. Follow all instructions. Do not use this apparatus near water. Clean only with a dry cloth. Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.
For customers in Canada Important safety instructions Explanation of graphic symbols This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003. Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada. The lightning bolt triangle is used to alert the user to the presence of uninsulated “dangerous voltages” within the unit’s chassis that may be of sufficient magnitude to constitute a risk of electric shock to humans.
Before you begin Before you begin Flashback X4 Delay – Manual (2014-06-24) 6
About this manual Getting support This manual will help you learn understanding and operating your TC product. If you still have questions about the product after reading this manual, please get in touch with TC Support: To get the most from this manual, please read it from start to finish, or you may miss important information. This manual is only available as a PDF download from the TC Electronic website. Before you begin tcelectronic.
About this pedal About this pedal Flashback X4 Delay – Manual (2014-06-24) 8
Thank you for spending your hard-earned money on this TC Electronic product! We have done our best to ensure that it will serve you for many years to come, and we hope that you will enjoy using it. About this pedal Flashback X4 Delay & Looper True Bypass Flashback X4 Delay & Looper builds on the success of TC’s popular Flashback pedal. It provides 12 delay types in pristine TC Electronic quality, tap tempo and three preset slots for an instant classic.
TonePrint TonePrint Flashback X4 Delay – Manual (2014-06-24) 10
TonePrint This TC Electronic product supports TonePrints. To learn more about TonePrints, go to tcelectronic.com/toneprint/ But wouldn’t it be cool to have world-famous guitar players – guys like Paul Gilbert, Guthrie Govan, John Petrucci or Steve Vai – virtually rewire your reverb pedal, defining what should happen “behind the scenes”? What are TonePrints? And how about doing this yourself? When you look at your TC Electronic effect pedal, you’ll only see a few knobs.
TonePrint Transferring TonePrints to your pedal – step by step Editing TonePrints with TonePrint Editor – Launch the TonePrint app on your smartphone. – Find the TonePrint you want to use. You can browse TonePrints by Artist or Product (i.e., pedal type). You will also find Featured TonePrints. – Plug your guitar or bass into your TonePrint pedal. – Turn your TonePrint pedal on. – Turn up the volume on your instrument and set the pickup selector to one pickup.
Setup Setup Flashback X4 Delay – Manual (2014-06-24) 13
Setup Ready… Set… Your TC Electronic effect pedal box should contain the following items: – Connect a 9 V power supply with the following symbol to the DC input socket of your TC Electronic effect pedal. – – – – Your TC Electronic effect pedal a power supply a USB cable 2 rubber feet for “non-velcro” pedalboard mounting – 1 TC Electronic sticker – 1 leaflet about TC’s guitar FX product range Inspect all items for signs of transit damage.
Inputs, outputs and controls Inputs, outputs and controls Flashback X4 Delay – Manual (2014-06-24) 15
Inputs, outputs and controls Flashback X4 Delay & Looper – rear Click/tap on user interface elements to jump to the respective sections of the manual.
Inputs, outputs and controls Flashback X4 Delay & Looper – top Click/tap on user interface elements to jump to the respective sections of the manual.
Power / Switching the effect on and off Audio in and out Power input The audio inputs of this pedal are standard ¼” jacks (mono/TS). To power up your pedal, connect a power supply to its power input socket. The power input socket of your TC Electronic effect pedal is a standard 5.5 / 2.1 mm DC plug (centre = negative). Your TC Electronic effect pedal requires a 9 V power supply providing 300 mA or more (supplied).
Assigning delay parameters and parameter ranges to an expression pedal You can control any combination of the Delay Time, Feedback Level and Delay Level parameters with an external expression pedal. – To set up parameters and parameter ranges, proceed as follows: – Connect an expression pedal to the Exp Pedal jack. – Switch on the Flashback X4 Delay & Looper. – Choose a preset (A, B or C). – The LED of the selected preset will light up. – Set the expression pedal to the maximum position.
MIDI IN / MIDI THRU jacks MIDI Thru jack These are standard MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) connectors. To forward the incoming MIDI signal to another MIDI-equipped device, connect the MIDI THRU jack of the Flashback X4 Delay & Looper to the MIDI Input of another MIDI device. MIDI In jack Inputs, outputs and controls Connect a computer/DAW (or another device generating a MIDI Clock signal) to the MIDI IN jack to control the pedal’s delay tempo.
Effect controls Please note that the knob assignments on your TC Electronic effect pedal are the default assignments. Using the TonePrint Editor, you can rewire all knobs so they control one or several parameters of your choice. For more information, see the TonePrint Editor manual. DELAY TIME knob – Delay time control Use the DELAY knob to control the delay time. Almost all delay types have a delay range of 20 ms to 7000 ms (that’s seven seconds). Slapback (“SLP”) has a range from 20 ms to 300 ms.
Preset off / Bypass mode When none of the three footswitch LEDs are lit, the pedal is in bypass mode, and you will only hear the dry, unprocessed signal. If you have set the internal Kill-Dry dip switch to the “On” position (see“Kill-dry on/off”), and none of the three footswitch LEDs are lit, no signal will be present at the output. Storing presets When you have selected a preset and you have changed parameters (e.g. the delay time), you may want to store your edited version of the preset.
Flashback X4 Delay & Looper delay types Use the Delay Type Selector to choose the type of delay you want to work with. The Flashback X4 Delay & Looper offers a wide range of delays – from classic tape delays to the pristine sound of a TC 2290. Tape Who doesn’t love the smooth sound of an old tape echo machine? The “Tape” setting makes for an overall great starting point with its mellow and “warbling” sound.
From punk to rock – play around with the knobs, but no matter what you do: It ain’t gonna sound pretty. Ping Pong Like the ball in the eponymous game, the delay repeats jump from left to right (provided you’re using both outputs for a stereo signal). The effect is really wide. Inputs, outputs and controls Using and editing TonePrints is explained in the “TonePrint” section.
Using the Looper Using the Looper Flashback X4 Delay – Manual (2014-06-24) 25
The Flashback X4 Delay & Looper is actually two products in one: – a delay pedal and – a looper that allows you to build audio loops by stacking several recordings of what you are playing. To operate the looper module, set the Looper/ Delay switch to the “Looper” position. Using the Looper Using the delay in Looper mode Recording a loop You can still use the delay when working with the looper module. This means that you can record loops with delay effects. Set the Looper Delay switch to “Looper”.
Playing a loop continuously To start playback of a previously recorded loop from the start, press the Play/Pause footswitch (the footswitch with the Play/Pause symbol). Stopping loop playback immediately To stop playback immediately, press the Play/ Pause footswitch (the footswitch with the Play/ Pause symbol) again. Using the Looper Playing a loop once To play back a previously recorded loop just once, press the Once footswitch. Playback will continue until you stop it.
Stopping loop playback at the end of the loop To stop the playback of the loop at the end of the loop cycle, press the Playback Once footswitch. The Playback Once footswitch will blink until the end of the loop cycle is reached. At this point, playback is stopped. This is very helpful if you want to end a performance “gracefully” (i.e. right at the end of a loop cycle) without having to worry about hitting the footswitch at just the right moment.
Using the Looper Loops cannot be stored Please note that while you can store the delay module’s settings as presets, you cannot store loops. When you switch off the pedal, the current loop is erased.
Maintenance Maintenance Flashback X4 Delay – Manual (2014-06-24) 30
Maintenance Updating the firmware Applying the firmware update TC may provide updates for the built-in software of your pedal, the firmware. Updating your TC pedal’s firmware requires… – Quit all MIDI-related applications (e.g. your DAW) on your computer and launch the firmware updater you have downloaded in step 1. – In the firmware updater app, select your TC pedal from the drop-down list under the “STEP 1” heading. – When the “Update” button under the “STEP 2” heading turns green, click it.
Maintenance To set the bypass mode, proceed as follows: True bypass – Disconnect the pedal and turn it on its back. – Unscrew the back plate of the pedal and look for the two small dip-switches in the upper left corner. – The upper DIP switch (the one closer to the power in jack), switches between True Bypass mode (default) and Buffered Bypass mode. – Set the DIP switch to the desired position. – Remount the back-plate.
Frequently asked questions Frequently asked questions Flashback X4 Delay – Manual (2014-06-24) 33
Frequently asked questions Frequently asked questions about TonePrint pedals “Are TonePrint pedals analog or digital?” The dry signal of your guitar passes straight through this effect pedal and is in no way digitized. The “wet” signal is just added. “Do the TonePrint pedals have balanced or unbalanced inputs/outputs?” TonePrint pedals have unbalanced inputs and outputs. Use cables with TS jacks (i.e., standard instrument cables).
Links Links Flashback X4 Delay – Manual (2014-06-24) 35
Links TonePrint resources Support resources TC Electronic on… – TonePrint: tcelectronic.com/toneprint/ – TC Electronic service and warranty: tcelectronic.com/support/service-warranty/ – the web: tcelectronic.com/ – TonePrint products: tcelectronic.com/toneprint/toneprint-products/ – TC Electronic Support: tcelectronic.com/support/ – Facebook: facebook.com/tcelectronic – TC Electronic – product software: tcelectronic.com/support/software/ – Google Plus: plus.google.
Technical specifications Technical specifications Flashback X4 Delay – Manual (2014-06-24) 37
Technical specifications Please note that due to continuous development, the following specifications are subject to change without further notice.
Technical specifications Flashback X4 Delay – Manual (2014-06-24) 39
