Among the many Chinese brands manufacturing guitar pedals, NuX (aka Nu>X) emerged in the early 2020s as one of the most reliable and innovative, with a varied roster of affordable stereo products in compact and even mini cases. The Time Core Deluxe MkII is their compact, stereo, multi-algorithm delay priced at just $99 USD.
This little device offers the following 7 delay and a 40s looper mode, with a maximum length for the repeats of 1500ms. The algorithms are slightly different from the ones found in MkI
- Phi: a no-brainer 80ms~1000ms delay using the “golden ratio” on the 2nd repeat
- Analog: a shortish 40ms~403ms delay that simulates the revered sound of analog Bucket Brigade Devices, with every repeat of the sound reusing the previous repeat, and slight degradation the longer the repeats.
- Mod D: a 20ms~1500ms echoFed into a lush and rich-sounding chorus, this delay is based on the Ibanez DML modulation delay. Holding the footswitch enters Alt mode (the LED indicator will flash ORANGE.), allowing you to edit the modulation settings. Short-press the footswitch again to quit Alt mode.
- Tape: A 55ms~552ms delay algorithm based on the Space Echo machine, delivering slightly a modulated tone with high-frequency saturation and low-end decay of magnetic tape. Quickly moving the Time knob from max to min quickly will trigger infinite feedback.
- Pan: In this 80ms~1000ms delay, repeats move a mono delay in different places in the stereo field, with a controllable panning width.
- Verb: This is an 80ms~1000ms delay fed into a Plate Reverb algorithm, great for ambient tones. Hold the footswitch to adjust the Verb parameter through the Repeat knob; short press the footswitch to quit Alt mode.
- Reverse: 320ms~1240ms repeats played backward.
- Sound On Sound: a 40 seconds loop station that can keep playing a look while you use the pedal’s other modes on your live signal.
The single footswitch does both On/Off duties and Tap Tempo when pressed twice and, when held, gives access to Alt settings for the Verb and Mod D algorithms.
A useful 3-way toggle sets the bypass mode and Tone Lock. Tail enables Buffer-Bypass mode, which allows the delay’s trails to continue after you turn the pedal off, while TB stands for True Bypass, which cuts them off. T.Lock (Tone Lock) locks the pedal to avoid accidental changes.
There’s also a Kill Dry option and a USB 3 connection for firmware updates.
We added the Time Core Deluxe to our in-depth article to the best multi-algorithm pedals.
