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Can someone suggest a rack mounted midi controlled effects unit

Richard_P_Harve

Richard_P_Harve

May 19, 2011
351
18
#1
I'm not currently using ANY effect what so ever except maybe a little gain crank to drive the tube in my Genz ShuttleMax head to get a little bark or dirt in my sound. But I'm in a band situation now that could benefit from some level of sound manipulation such as chorus, distortion, reverb etc. BUT not a big fan of monster pedal boards or even pedals in general so I would be looking to add some additional tonal flexibility via a rack mounted unit that I can control with a midi foot controller. Sound quality and lack of noise are #1 issues with me. Years ago I had a TC Electronic G-Major but that no longer seems to be a common choice among players. Can someone suggest a unit to me..?
 
#2
You might look at a used Midiverb of some sort or another, they are plentiful. Also the Yamaha SPX series are mixi controllable (patches) and also plentiful.

When using an effects unit like this in a serial loop, you will use the mix control on the effects unit to balance out the wet to dry ratio.
 
#4
Little late to the thread party, but I have the kurzweil mangler and it's pretty awesome. It is a pretty extensive multieffects. You'll want to make your own patches since most of the presets are geared more for guitar, but it has some awesome programability(is that a word?)

I wanna say they stopped making them but you can find them on ebay/forums here and there.
 
#5
Just won bidding on a Boss VF-1 half-rack multi-effects unit on ebay. With shipping it'll cost about $270 to get it DownUnder from Europe, & I don't expect I'll see it for a week or two. And I'll also have to fork out about $50 for the rather odd spec power supply (14VAC @ 800mA) as the one from this unit is AWOL.

Still, the size is just right for my rig. Never had multi-effects before & I expect I'll only use some sparingly. It's more likely I'll use it mostly dry and simply to mix my two signals via stereo L+R input: raw bass in one side & the Roland XV-2020 half-rack synth (which is fed by GK-3B hex pickup -> Axon AX-100 -> midi-out) in the other side. Having the multi-effects will be a bonus for me to experiment with over time. And, of course, midi-control from my Behringer FCB-1010 midi foot controller should make for a lot of fun.

Peter Sharp
Ballarat Australia
 
#7
TC Electronics M-One XL. A problem I've had with other rack multi-effects units I've tried has been a lack of headroom in the input stage - big problem with an active bass. Not so with the M-One XL - lots of headroom, very clean sounds and not that expensive. However, be aware that it has XLR ins and outs, no 1/4 inch jacks. That's not a problem for me with my current rig, but I can see how it might be an issue for some...
 
#9
You may be overlooking one issue: you will still need a foot controller to control the rack effects. Thus you're likely no better off than having the "monster pedal boards or even pedals in general". For example, a BOSS GT-10B is smaller than a Behringer FCB1010 and would provide you with better sounds than a BOSS VF-1 half rack unit. Plus you get modern I/O, USB recording, more signal routing options, and on and on and on.

Note that I currently own two BOSS VF-1 I keep around for general PA and e-drum multieffects. They are great units, though I wouldn't personally use much of the drive effects in them. But overall great modulation, delays, plus some fun experimental effects like bitcrusher and a good sounding synth though with limited range for use on bass. I have some VF-1 sound clips on my page (see sig).
 
#10
+1 on axe fx. I don't own one, but from what I've heard from other owners and sound clips, it sounds like a solid purchase. I'm sure used is fine. Rack stuff is always pretty durable. The pickup or other interface/stuff you need I would purchase new, if I had the cash and went that way (some day...).
 
#11
My Boss VF-1 arived this week, took 5-6 wks from Germany but it finally got here :-) It powers up just fine, but I don't expect to really test drive until at least next weekend.

>gastric: Obviously a foot controller is needed, but not overlooked. I have an FCB-1010, and my GK-3B equipped bass plugs into an Axon AX-100 which ultimately drives a Roland XV-2020 half-rack synth.

I have further setting up to do yet, but the plan is for the raw bass & XV-2020 signals to be fed into each side of the VF-1's stereo input to 'mix' the two signal paths, with the combined mono output going into an Eden Nemesis ENX-260. This all should fit snugly in a 3U space.
 

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