Made in collaboration with John Snyder at Electronic Audio Experiments, Big Time is a new stereo hybrid delay unit that blends the best of those analog input/output stages in old-school digital delay units with a highly controllable digital delay effect. Chase Bliss describes its sound as "the anything-is-possible of digital; the everything-sounds-good of analog." After spending some time with it, I enthusiastically agree.
Big Time is a handsome, chunky, desktop-friendly unit in Chase Bliss' "Automatone" format, with six motorized, automatable faders dominating the front face. The form factor of the Automatone pedals resembles classic desktop remote for effects units like the Lexicon 224 or 480L. The controls here are clear, the interface is intuitive, and the faders beg to be "performed." While there are shift-button functions and under-the-hood customizations available, Big Time doesn't offer the dipswitch options found on the smaller pedals in Chase Bliss' range. That makes sense considering the range of expression available on the front face – everything is pretty much right at your fingertips.
The analog preamps on this device are really special, and they interact with an analog limiter within the delay's feedback loop in a very musical way. The I/O is 32-bit, 48 kHz and can be toggled to a special 12-bit mode for an extra early-'80s vibe. There are options for balanced or unbalanced I/O, as well as mono-in, stereo-out configs. There are full-size MIDI DIN connectors, as well as expression/CV and aux switch inputs for external control. You can set up to ten presets via the footswitches or up to 127 via MIDI.