TC Electronic FLASHBACK X4 User manual

FLASHBACK X4
DELAY & LOOPER
User Manual

a
Dynamic 8
2290 8
2290 w/mod 8
Slap 8
Lofi 8
Ping Pong 8
1 – Audio inputs and outputs 9
Audio inputs 9
Audio outputs 9
2 – Expression pedal input 10
Choosing an expression pedal 10
Assigning delay parameters and parameter ranges to an expres-
sion pedal 10
Resetting parameters and parameter ranges 11
3 – Power input 12
4 – USB jack 12
5 – MIDI IN / MIDI THRU jacks 12
MIDI IN jack 12
MIDI THRU jack 12
6 – Delay type selector 13
Table of contents
Introduction 1
Important safety instructions 2
Warning 2
Service 2
EMC / EMI 3
For customers in Canada 3
Unpacking and setting up 4
Ready… 4
Set… 4
Play! 4
Setup example: regular mono signal path 5
Setup example: amplifier effect loop 6
Delay types 7
Tape 7
Tube 7
Space 7
Analog 7
Analog w/mod 7
Reverse 7

b
14 – TAP footswitch 23
Using the Looper module 24
Using the delay in Looper mode 24
Recording a loop 25
Playing a loop continuously 25
Stopping loop playback immediately 25
Playing a loop once 25
Stopping loop playback at the end of the loop 25
Undoing a loop recording 26
Deleting a loop completely 26
Loops cannot be stored 26
Bypass modes 27
True Bypass mode 27
Buffered Bypass mode 27
Kill-Dry feature 28
The TonePrint concept 14
Transferring TonePrints to the pedal 15
Transferring TonePrints to the pedal via USB 15
Transferring TonePrints to the pedal by beaming 15
7 – DELAY TIME knob 16
8 – Subdivision selector switch 16
9 – FEEDBACK knob 17
10 – DELAY LEVEL knob 17
11 – LOOPER/DELAY switch 18
12 – LOOPER LEVEL knob 19
13 – Preset footswitches (A / B / C) 20
Recalling a preset 20
Factory presets 20
Preset off / Bypass mode 20
Storing presets 21
Delay spill-over 21
TonePrints and presets 22

1
Introduction
About this manual
This manual will provide you with a quick overview of how to get
rocking fast as well as an in-depth look at the pedal’s more ad-
vanced features. Happy reading!
Please note: TC Electronic reserves the rights to change the con-
tents of this manual at any time.
The latest revision of this manual can be downloaded from
http://www.tcelectronic.com/manuals.asp
This is version 1.0 of the Flashback X4 Delay & Looper manual.
If you still have questions after reading this manual, please use
TCElectronic Support:
http://support.tcelectronic.com/
Introduction
Congratulations on the purchase of your new Flashback
X4 Delay & Looper.
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.
Flashback X4 Delay & Looper is TonePrint-enabled, allowing you
to load up to four signature Flashback delay settings as created and
used by the biggest names in rock – from Steve Morse and Doug
Aldrich to Joe Perry, Steve Stevens and many, many more.
We believe that Flashback X4 Delay & Looper offers the best
sounding delay as well as enormous flexibility within a compact
delay pedal – and we are certain that you will feel the same.

2
Important safety instructions
Important safety instructions
– Read these instructions.
– Keep these instructions.
– Heed all warnings.
– Follow all instructions.
– Do not use this apparatus near water.
– Clean only with dry cloth.
– Do not block any ventilation openings. Install in accordance
with the manufacturer’s instructions.
– Do not install near heat sources such as radiators, heat reg-
isters, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that
produce heat.
– Only use attachments/accessories specified by the manufac-
turer.
– Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is
required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way,
such as power supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been
spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus
has been exposed to rain or moisture, does not operate nor-
mally, or has been dropped.
Warning
To reduce the risk of fire or electrical shock, do not expose this
equipment to dripping or splashing and ensure that no objects
filled with liquids, such as vases, are placed on or near the equip-
ment.
Do not install this product in a confined space.
Service
All service must be performed by qualified personnel.
Caution
You are cautioned that any change or modifications not expressly
approved in this manual could void your authority to operate this
equipment.
When replacing the battery follow the instructions on battery
handling in this manual carefully.

3
EMC / EMI
EMC / EMI
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the
limits for a Class B Digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC
rules.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against
harmful interference in residential installations. This equipment
generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause
harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is
no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular instal-
lation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio
or television reception, which can be determined by turning the
equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the
interference by one or more of the following measures:
– Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
– Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
– Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from
that to which the receiver is connected.
– Consultthedealeroranexperiencedradio/TVtechnicianforhelp.
For customers in Canada
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.

4
Unpacking and setting up
Set…
– Attach the plug applicable to your region to the power supply.
Connect the power supply to the 9V jack on the back of the
Flashback X4 Delay & Looper and plug the power supply into
a power outlet.
– Make sure the LOOPER/DELAY switch is set to “Delay”.
– Connect your instrument to the INPUT MONO jack on the back
of the pedal (see page 5).
– Connect the OUTPUT MONO jack on the back of the pedal to
your amplifier.
Play!
Unpacking and setting up
Ready…
The Flashback X4 Delay & Looper box should contain the follow-
ing items:
– 1 Flashback X4 Delay & Looper pedal
– 1 TC 9V DC power supply with interchangeable plugs
– 2 rubber feet for “non-velcro” pedal board mounting
– 1 USB cable for transferring TonePrints from the computer to
the pedal and updating the pedal firmware
– 1 TC Electronic sticker
– 1 leaflet about TC’s guitar FX product range.
Inspect all items for signs of transit damage. In the un-
likely event of transit damage, inform the carrier and
supplier.
If damage has occurred, keep all packaging as it can be used as
evidence of excessive handling force.

5
Setup examples
Setup example: regular mono signal path
Modulation
Pedals
Drive
Pedals
Input
FX Loop Return
FX Loop Send
Modulation
Pedals
Drive
Pedals
Input

6
Setup examples continued
Setup example: amplifier effect loop
Modulation
Pedals
Drive
Pedals
Input
FX Loop Return
FX Loop Send
Modulation
Pedals
Drive
Pedals
Input

7
Delay types
Delay types
“OK… So what does this thing do?”
“Glad you asked. First and foremost, the Flashback X4 Delay &
Looper is a top-notch delay unit – so let’s talk delays!”
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.
TUBE
This delay type has been tweaked to sound like an old tube tape
echo – much like the “Tape” setting, but with a bit more warmth.
Use this setting if you want your fans to check the stage for hidden
vintage gear…
SPACE
It’s hard not to like the luscious tape sound of the original Roland®
Space Echo*. The “Space” setting instantly gives you rich echo
sounds with a bit of Space Echo*mojo.
ANALOG
This is as close as you can get to the charming nature of an old
analog transistor bucket-brigade delay without buying the real
thing! With every repeat you get more of that old-school “fade to
grey” vibe.
ANALOG W/MOD
Take a trip down Memory Lane with this rich and larger-than-life
sounding delay. “Analog w/mod” will definitely spice up your sound.
REVERSE
If you’ve been around for some time, you know the drill: Record a
guitar part on tape. Flip the tape over. Play it back. This is a classic
effect made famous by guitar legends such as Jimi Hendrix – and
although it’s kind of “old school”, the reverse effect still seems to
inspire people to try out new things.
Try this:
Turn the FEEDBACK knob all the way down to hear only the re-
versed signal.

8
Delay types continued
DYNAMIC
Imagine you had someone turn up the volume of your delay pedal
as soon as you stop playing for a second… and turn it down again
when you resume playing.
Why not let the Flashback X4 Delay & Looper be that someone?
That’s what the “Dynamic” delay type does. It’s especially useful
for fast solo parts where you don’t want the delay repetitions in-
terfering with your playing.
2290
Once upon a time… (i.e., back in 1985) TC Electronic released the
2290 Dynamic Digital Delay. It set the bar for professional delays
for years to come and is still held in high regard among delay en-
thusiasts.
Use the “2290” setting for the most crisp and clean delay you can
imagine. This is the standard.
2290 W/MOD
Take the 2290’s pristine sound, send it through three (!) chorus
pedals… et voilà. If you’re into the sound of The Edge, you don’t
want to miss this setting.
Oh, and while you’re at it, try playing around with the SUBDIVISION
SELECTOR Switch.
SLAP
A delay type for all things country – but you can also use this for
many other genres.
Use this setting to get your rockabilly on and pay homage to the
rich staccato heritage of Brian Setzer, Chet Atkins and Scotty
Moore, or as an alternative to reverb.
LOFI
Fed up with hi-fi? Try the “Lofi” setting to get that dirty feel.
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 sig-
nal). The effect is really wide.
Ping Pong is a lot of fun to play around with in stereo – but it
sounds great in mono, too.
*All product names are trademarks of their respective owners,
which are in no way associated or affiliated with TC Electronic.
These product names and descriptions are provided for the
sole purpose of identifying the products that were studied dur-
ing product development.

9
Audio inputs and outputs
1 – Audio inputs and outputs
1
The Flashback X4 Delay & Looper is equipped with ¼" input and
output jacks.
Audio inputs
– If your signal source is mono, connect it to the INPUT MONO
jack.
– If your signal source is stereo, connect the cable carrying the
left signal component to the INPUT MONO jack and the cable
carrying the right signal component to the INPUT –STEREO jack.
Audio outputs
– If the next device in the signal chain has a mono input, connect
the Flashback X4 Delay & Looper’s OUTPUT MONO jack to the
other device’s input.
– If the next device in the signal chain has stereo inputs, connect
the Flashback X4 Delay & Looper’s OUTPUT MONO jack to the
left input and the OUTPUT –STEREO jack to the right input of
the device.
“So how do I configure the Flashback X4 for mono or
stereo operation? What if I want mono input and stereo
out or…”
“Stop worrying – start rocking!”
You don’t need to worry about mono/stereo configuration issues.
The Flashback X4 Delay & Looper uses auto-sensing technology
to detect if you are using it in mono or stereo – both on inputs
and outputs.

10
Expression pedal input
2 – Expression pedal input
2
The Flashback X4 Delay & Looper allows you to connect an ex-
pression pedal (optional/not included).
Once you have connected and configured an expression pedal, you
can use it to control one or more of the following parameters:
– Delay Time
– Feedback Level
– Delay Level.
These parameters will be explained later in this manual.
You can define…
– which parameter(s) you want to control with an expression
pedal and
– the parameter range to control.
Choosing an expression pedal
For use with the Flashback X4 Delay & Looper, you’ll want to use
a 25 kOhm linear pot expression pedal.
Please note that a standard guitar volume pedal has a 250 kOhm
logarithmic pot and cannot be used as an expression pedal for the
Flashback X4 Delay & Looper.
If you already own an expression pedal and you are not sure if you
can use it with the Flashback X4 Delay & Looper, please ask your
local vendor or get in touch with TC Support.
Assigning delay parameters and parameter ranges
to an expression pedal
You can control any combination of the Delay Time, Feedback Lev-
el 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 on the
Flashback X4 Delay & Looper.
– Switch on the Flashback X4 Delay & Looper.
– Choose a preset (A, B or C) on the Flashback X4 Delay &
Looper.
The LED of the selected preset will light up.
– Set the expression pedal to the maximum position.

11
Expression pedal input continued
Resetting parameters and parameter ranges
To reset the parameters and parameter ranges assigned to a Flash-
back X4 Delay & Looper preset, proceed as follows:
– Connect an expression pedal to the EXP PEDAL jack on the
Flashback X4 Delay & Looper.
– Switch on the Flashback X4 Delay & Looper.
– Choose the respective preset (A, B or C) on the Flashback X4
Delay & Looper.
– Set the expression pedal to the maximum position.
– Press and hold the footswitch for the preset.
– Set the knobs for the parameters you want to control to the
desired maximum values.
– Set the expression pedal to the minimum position.
– Set the knobs for the parameters you want to control to the
desired minimum values.
– Press and hold the footswitch for the preset to store these
settings.

12
Power input / USB jack / MIDI jacks
3 – Power input
3 5
4
Type: standard 5.5/2.1 mm DC plug, centre negative (supplied).
To power up the pedal, connect the power supply that came with
the Flashback X4 Delay & Looper to the power input jack.
You may also use another 9V or 12V power supply, as long as it
provides 300 mA or more. Use power supplies with isolated out-
puts to minimize hum.
4 – USB jack
You can download new TonePrints from the TC website to your
computer and transfer them to your pedal.
Use the Mini-B to Type A USB cable that came with the pedal to
connect the Flashback X4 Delay & Looper to a computer.
For more on downloading and using TonePrints, see
http://www.tcelectronic.com/toneprint
5 – MIDI IN / MIDI THRU jacks
These are standard MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
connectors.
MIDI IN jack
Connect a computer/DAW (or another device generating a MIDI
Clock signal) to the MIDI IN jack to control the pedal’s delay
tempo.
An incoming MIDI Clock signal will override the settings of the
pedal’s own Delay Time knob. However, the Subdivision Selec-
tor switch still defines the actual note values used to generate the
delays.
You can also send MIDI Program Change messages from your
computer (or another MIDI-capable device) to the pedal to switch
between the pedal’s three presets.
– Program Change message #001: Recall Preset A
– Program Change message #002: Recall Preset B
– Program Change message #003: Recall Preset C
The Flashback X4 Delay & Looper is receiving MIDI messages on
all MIDI channels (MIDI Omni Mode).
MIDI THRU jack
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.

13
Delay type selector
6 – Delay type selector
6
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.
The delay types are described on page 7.
When you choose a delay type, the chosen delay type will “pick
up” the current positions of the delay control knobs (for example
DEL AY TIM E). However, if you choose a preset and turn one of the
delay control knobs, nothing will change except for that one, spe-
cific parameter.
The slots “1”, “2”, “3” and “4” of the Delay Type Selector are
“placeholders” for TonePrints. The Flashback X4 Delay & Looper
comes equipped with the following default TonePrints:
– Delay TonePrint by Steve Morse
– Basic Delay TonePrint by Bumblefoot
– Basic Delay TonePrint by Doug Aldrich
– Synth Delay by James “Munky” Shaffer
The TonePrint concept is explained in detail on page 14.

14
TonePrints
The TonePrint concept
“So what exactly is this TonePrint thing?”
“Amazing, that’s what it is! Allow us to explain…”
When you look at your pedal, you’ll only see a few knobs and
switches. However, they actually control a large number of internal
parameters.
TC has defined the relationship between each knob and all the
parameters “under the hood”. But wouldn’t it be cool to have
guys like Steve Stevens, Scott Ian or Paul Gilbert (i.e., some of
the world’s leading guitar players) virtually rewire these controls,
defining what should happen behind the scenes?
This is exactly what TonePrint does.
We work with top guitar players who explore a pedal’s hidden
tonal potential, redefining the controls and creating their personal
TonePrints.
TC is making these custom TonePrints available to you. Uploading
them to your pedal is really easy, you can even change them as
often as you like, and the best part: They’re totally free.

15
Transferring TonePrints
Transferring TonePrints to the pedal by beaming
For all you iPhone and Android users out there, we
created the TonePrint App. iPhone users can down-
load it from Apple’s App Store, Android users will find
it on Google Play.
– Launch the app on your smartphone and find the TonePrint
you want to use.
– Plug your guitar or bass into your TC pedal.
– Turn the Delay Type Selector knob to the TonePrint Slot (“1”,
“2”, “3” or “4”) that you want to use for the new TonePrint
and turn on the delay.
– Turn your TC pedal on.
– Turn up the volume on your instrument and set the pickup
selector to one pickup.
– Hold the speaker of your smartphone next to the chosen
pickup and touch “Beam to pedal”.
(Or just follow the on-screen instructions on your phone.)
Transferring TonePrints to the pedal
“So how do I load new TonePrints into my pedal?”
“Use USB, Luke – or beam it.”
Transferring TonePrints to the pedal via USB
– Go to www.tcelectronic.com/toneprint.
– Select your TC product in the “TonePrint by product” sidebar.
– Download a TonePrint you’d like to try.
– Connect your TC pedal and your computer using the USB
cable that came with the pedal.
– Turn the Delay Type Selector knob to the TonePrint Slot (“1”,
“2”, “3” or “4”) that you want to use for the new TonePrint
and turn on the delay.
– Turn your TC pedal on.
– Launch the TonePrint application you downloaded and follow
the on-screen instructions. It’s quick and easy.

16
Delay time knob / Subdivision selector switch
7 – DEL AY TIME knob
78
Turn the DE LAY TIME knob all the way down for really short re-
peats. Turn the DEL AY TIME knob up until you find your preferred
amount of delay time. Turning the DE LAY TIME knob all the way
up will give you a whopping seven seconds of delay time for most
delay types.
The knob is scaled so that you’ll be within the most usable range
from the minimum position to approximately the 3 o’clock posi-
tion. Turning it beyond this point will give you very high values.
8 – Subdivision selector switch
Use this switch to choose the note intervals that the delay repeti-
tions are based on.
– Top position: quarter notes
– Middle position: dotted eighths
– Bottom position: quarter notes and dotted eighths.

17
Feedback knob / Delay level knob
9 – FEEDBACK knob
910
Use the FEEDBACK knob to set the desired numbers of delay re-
peats. Turning the FEEDBACK knob to the right will give you more
delay repeats.
10 – DELAY LEVEL knob
Use the DELAY LEVEL knob to set the desired level of the delay
signal. Turning the DELAY LEVEL knob to the right will increase the
volume of the delay signal.
Unlike the delay level knobs of some other pedals, the DEL AY
LEVEL knob of the Flashback X4 Delay & Looper will not influence
the volume of the dry (unprocessed) signal, since we don’t want to
mess with the original signal from your instrument.
Analog-dry-through allows the analog signal from your guitar to
pass through the pedal without being digitized, even when the
pedal is turned on. This means absolutely zero latency and no tone
coloration.