I have a V1 that is in my gig bag as backup to my to Line6 stomp. I like the FlyRig. I can use it on a gig without worry. I only use the sansamp, compressor and tuner. I've also use the DI when going ampless.
Good Luck!
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Tech 21 Fly Rig 2 What are your thoughts?
- Thread starter Thom Fioriglio
- Start date
I have a V1 that is in my gig bag as backup to my to Line6 stomp. I like the FlyRig. I can use it on a gig without worry. I only use the sansamp, compressor and tuner. I've also use the DI when going ampless.
Good Luck!
Add me to the column of trying one and found it lacking for most of the effects - I thought that it might work for me to replace a pedalboard but there were too many tradeoffs.
That's what I was thinking of using it for mostly - comp, tuner and sans amp . The Chorus and Octafuzz would be interesting to use and try every now and then.
This is what I found too. Bought it twice and sent it back it sold it both times. If you just want the preamp and tuner it works well but everything else I was disappointed in.
DI - Excellent. Two channels are awesome. Great for boost. A little goes a long way with the EQ. Level can get nicely hot. Maybe a bit finicky to dial in, but once it's set up it sounds great.
Compressor - good.
Tuner - good.
Chorus - Excellent.
Synth - Too finicky, hard to dial in
Octaver - Adequate.
Distortion - Excellent.
Overall sound quality is great and it's a solid unit. However, if you want to use the synth on one song, and distortion on another you have to bend down and hit the button. If you're using it live, you get boost, compressor, chorus, but, unless you're okay with bending down and hitting the buttons, you have to choose between the other effects. IMO, it could use one more switch for the distortion rather than the tiny button.
IMO, excellent for DI, maybe chorus and one other effect, but lacking as a usable live multi effects unit.
Compressor - good.
Tuner - good.
Chorus - Excellent.
Synth - Too finicky, hard to dial in
Octaver - Adequate.
Distortion - Excellent.
Overall sound quality is great and it's a solid unit. However, if you want to use the synth on one song, and distortion on another you have to bend down and hit the button. If you're using it live, you get boost, compressor, chorus, but, unless you're okay with bending down and hitting the buttons, you have to choose between the other effects. IMO, it could use one more switch for the distortion rather than the tiny button.
IMO, excellent for DI, maybe chorus and one other effect, but lacking as a usable live multi effects unit.
I have both the V1 and V2, I have used the V1 for years, at first by itself and later putting on a pedal board with a few other pedals. At one point I started having noise issues with it (later I discovered that I had inadvertently hit the headphones button, so the issue was me), and I bought the Dapper Valeton to use until I could get the (non) problem resolved with the BFR V1.
The Dapper unit surprised me, it had no right to sound as good as it did. Lol. Even when I figured out the issue with the V1, I kept the dapper on my pedal boardand kept the V1 for rehearsal/backup (I even ordered a case for a flute off of amazon and modded the interior to fit the V1). I think I preferred the compressor on the Dapper over th V1 (I use another compressor most of the time) and I know there were some other things that I liked over the V1, but honestly it pretty much splitting hairs, both units did the job they were intended for.
I liked the 2 channels arrangement offered on the V2 so I eventually bought one. It now lives on my pedal board, I sold the Dapper and the V1 is by itself as alternative if needed.
For my purposes both pedals (and the Dapper) do exactly what I need them to do, I think most players would be pleasantly surprised by the Dapper Valeton. YMMV.
The Dapper unit surprised me, it had no right to sound as good as it did. Lol. Even when I figured out the issue with the V1, I kept the dapper on my pedal boardand kept the V1 for rehearsal/backup (I even ordered a case for a flute off of amazon and modded the interior to fit the V1). I think I preferred the compressor on the Dapper over th V1 (I use another compressor most of the time) and I know there were some other things that I liked over the V1, but honestly it pretty much splitting hairs, both units did the job they were intended for.
I liked the 2 channels arrangement offered on the V2 so I eventually bought one. It now lives on my pedal board, I sold the Dapper and the V1 is by itself as alternative if needed.
For my purposes both pedals (and the Dapper) do exactly what I need them to do, I think most players would be pleasantly surprised by the Dapper Valeton. YMMV.
The v2 of the Fly Rig does not have a headphone out line, FWIW.
I agree with other folks here. It does some things well, others not so well. I would not say it's a all in one multi effect pedal, but if your needs are simple like mine, the preamp, tuner, chorus, and compressor all work fine. The preamp in particular is nice - having two channels with different drive settings is a nice feature.
Oh w
Oh wow, I just looked up the Velaton Dapper. That looks like a nice unit for quite a bit cheaper. I’ll have to explore that further
Man, It totally surprised me. Also, if you don't like it, they're easy to flip...
This may help then:
I have both the Tech 21 Bass Fly Rig V1 and the Valeton Dapper Bass. The only thing I wish the Tech 21 had is the clean Octave effect present on the Valeton (kinda a Boss OC-2 copy and notably glitchy).
I previously had the Tech 21 Bass Fly Rig V2 as well, but I traded it for other gear when the opportunity arose as I preferred the V1 for the Tone knob (2khz-3khz) on the compressor section, and I preferred lowering the Character knob in the Sansamp section to dial in warmth when needed in addition to the Mid knob fixed at 1khz. I never used the post-sansamp effects loop on the V2 personally, and I didn't care for the higher-driven sounds I got swapping between Channel 1/2 on the V2 since I only had one set of EQ controls for both channels. I much prefer having my YYZ Sansamp pedal with its own EQ for Dist/OD tones, despite it needing to be placed in front of my V1 Fly Rig.
I don't consider the V1 superior nor inferior to the V2 in any way whatsoever, it's merely personal-use preferences. IMO, everything other than the clean OC-2 tone on the Valeton generally sounds/works better on the Tech 21 units, including the tuner.
The Chorus on the Valeton produces a modulation effect that is just too much above 1-2 o'clock, while the chorus on Tech 21 is a Detune chorus effect usable at any setting, both are good. It's hard to describe, but there's a kind of ringing-swirl-like effect present in the Chorus section on the Valeton, not really a flanger-like effect, but in a pinch it sounds better for, "Tool - Forty Six & 2", than the Detune chorus on the Tech 21 if that helps.
The envelope filter effect on the Tech 21 sounds good but keep in mind it isn't very flexible like a dedicated pedal would be with sensitivity controls, while the Dirty Q filter section on the Valeton is like an EHX Bassballs pedal with hypersensitivity at all times. So unless you're playing, "RHCP - Sir Psycho Sexy", every gig, you're likely going to find the envelope filter on the Tech 21 unit to be more useful in general.
You likely won't enjoy the Tech 21 Octave or Fuzz effects on their own, but combined together you can clean up the fizz and passably balance the tone with the Mix knob, plus you can crank the Q knob to turn it into a synth-like effect. Not really practical to me overall, although it works fine if you love dialing in various synth tones I suppose. I only every really use these effects together if I'm playing, "Mogwai - Wizard Motor", or, "Jamiroquai - Deeper Underground", once in a blue moon. 99% of the time my Octafilter section gets used as an Ok-sounding envelope filter, just remember that it isn't very tweakable overall compared to dedicated filter pedals out there.
The compressor is mostly the same on both the Valeton and Tech 21 units, the attack is too aggressive on both but they're overall fine to me. Just note that the Compressor on the Valeton produces additional volume, even with the gain knob on the compressor section all the way down, so you can't maintain unity gain while swapping between Compressor on/off. I've found that it needs to stay on at all times.
Note that the stomp switches are silent on the Tech 21 units while playing, but you'll hear a small pop through your speakers using the Valeton unit if you stomp on a switch while you're playing. This aspect drives me nuts sometimes but you be the judge. My Valeton lives on as a satisfactory backup that I'm happy to have with me at all times.
You can hear the 'pop' here in this member's demo when he stomps the effect while playing:
Fly Rigs are great, but for me, they just have some stuff I won't ever use. I do like that the II has both bass modeling preamps in it. I use a Tech21 VT500 head, which I love, and the pedals definitely cop that sound. I just found the fuzz/octave/filter to be borderline unusable, and the chorus was too quiet and demure for my needs at the time. BUT, if you only have about $200 to spend and need a preamp + tuner +DI (which I believe has the 810 cab emulation), I don't think there's a better option.
I use one periodically. It's useful when I don't know what I'm getting for a backline since I can make just about anything sound vaguely "Ampeg-ish". For me it's a good idea with mediocre implementation. The octafilter is good at a very specific "moog" sorta sound and is terrible for everything else (octave kinda sucks on it's own, fuzz definitely sucks on its own but will work in a pinch).
I use a V1 and I'm not really interested in the V2 as it fixes a bunch of problems I didn't have and didn't fix any of the problems I do have.
If I hadn't already spent the money on it I'd rather just use a BDDI.
I use a V1 and I'm not really interested in the V2 as it fixes a bunch of problems I didn't have and didn't fix any of the problems I do have.
If I hadn't already spent the money on it I'd rather just use a BDDI.
I really tried to like / love my FR v1 , but it tried to hard to do too many thing well and only excelled in a couple... In the end I ended up building a small pedalboard around a DI 2112 and a Stratus for quick and simple.YMMV
I love the concept of fly rigs but don’t have a need for anything in the Tech21 octafilter section. I found a SH-1 here in the classifieds and have been using it for several months. Great DI, all kinds of useful sounds in the preamp (two mids controls), a second gain channel, nice cab sim, and tuner. I don’t use compression outside of the natural occurrence as you raise the gain. The bite switch, for example adds compression, to my ears. Of course the clanky Steve sound is there if you dial it in, but I don’t use it. The OD sound is surprisingly natural and I use it in songs where I wouldn’t have tried with a different pedal.
I've come to no longer need much in the way of effects, I'd love if tech 21 would release a sansamp (vt or bddi) with a decent comp and tuner, in the Steve Harris pedal enclosure, or smaller.
Hey @Thom Fioriglio, how are you? Coincidentally, I have a V1 and thought the V2 was going to be better, but decided to return it. Here's my experience, first talking about what the V1 and V2 have in common:
I just played two gigs with it this weekend with my Fly Rig without a bass amp, one with my own PA, and another in a bar. Sound guy happily plugged an XLR into my Fly Rig and it sounded glorious.
- Compressor - heavy handed, but I can use it in the lowest setting.
- Sansamp - the real reason to have a Fly Rig. You can assemble a pedalboard with the real Sansamps but this works for me.
- Octave/Fuzz/etc - Gimmick, I used it in a rehearsal for an intro of a song and that was it
- Chorus - Pretty, works for "Don't Stop Believin'"
- Tuner - Very useful.
- Bite - too harsh for me. The V2 sounded even harsher to my ears.
- V2 doesn't have the tone knob in the Compressor.
- V1 has the boost switch, really handy. Not present in V2.
- V1 has only one flavor of the Sansamp, which they say is similar to the VTDI. V2 has a Character button that switches from VTDI mode to BDDI mode.
- V1 has a "Character" knob, which is very cool for tone shaping. Not present in V2.
- V1 has headphone out (it's pretty hot for my headphones so I end up using a separate headphone amp anyway). V2 doesn't have it.
- V2 has an effects loop. I don't need it.
I just played two gigs with it this weekend with my Fly Rig without a bass amp, one with my own PA, and another in a bar. Sound guy happily plugged an XLR into my Fly Rig and it sounded glorious.
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Thanks so much. I appreciate it. Haha, after obsessing all weekend over one and looking at reviews and YouTube videos, and these posts here, I've lost interest. Just doesn't seem like it would be right for me. Though I love the idea of the simplicity of these multi effects units. Haha, but now you have me thinking of checking out some used Fly Rig V1. Thanks for sharing your experiences. And yeah, those F clefs are ugly.Hey @Thom Fioriglio, how are you? Coincidentally, I have a V1 and thought the V2 was going to be better, but decided to return it. Here's my experience, first talking about what the V1 and V2 have in common:
Now let's talk about the differences:
- Compressor - heavy handed, but I can use it in the lowest setting.
- Sansamp - the real reason to have a Fly Rig. You can assemble a pedalboard with the real Sansamps but this works for me.
- Octave/Fuzz/etc - Gimmick, I used it in a rehearsal for an intro of a song and that was it
- Chorus - Pretty, works for "Don't Stop Believin'"
- Tuner - Very useful.
- Bite - too harsh for me. The V2 sounded even harsher to my ears.
Why am I keeping the V1 and returning the V2? Basically tone shaping. Although I would have two flavors of Sansamp in the V2, with the EQ plus the Character knob and the Compressor tone knob in the V1, I can dial a lot of useful tones. Maybe if the V2 character button was a switch (like the boost switch in V1) I'd keep it. It doesn't help that the V2 looks awful with those F clefs all over.
- V2 doesn't have the tone knob in the Compressor.
- V1 has the boost switch, really handy. Not present in V2.
- V1 has only one flavor of the Sansamp, which they say is similar to the VTDI. V2 has a Character button that switches from VTDI mode to BDDI mode.
- V1 has a "Character" knob, which is very cool for tone shaping. Not present in V2.
- V1 has headphone out (it's pretty hot for my headphones so I end up using a separate headphone amp anyway). V2 doesn't have it.
- V2 has an effects loop. I don't need it.
I just played two gigs with it this weekend with my Fly Rig without a bass amp, one with my own PA, and another in a bar. Sound guy happily plugged an XLR into my Fly Rig and it sounded glorious.
The tuner works fine
The compressor works but mine would make a clicking sound when I hit the first note after a silent part. I found that using the pad helps remedy that (I am using passive basses).
The preamp sounds pretty good (in VT mode). You can set the two channels up for either a boost or one for overdrive. The downside is that they share the EQ.
I don't use the octaver or fuzz.
The chorus sounds OK, but not great.
The Bite switch is tricky. It's way too bright, but it does add clarity. I use it by bringing down the tone on my bass. It gives you another variation of tone.
I have replaced it with a Zoom B6 that is far superior to the BFRv2. I guess one of the advantages of the BFR is that it fits in a bass case. I wish it could run on phantom power.
The compressor works but mine would make a clicking sound when I hit the first note after a silent part. I found that using the pad helps remedy that (I am using passive basses).
The preamp sounds pretty good (in VT mode). You can set the two channels up for either a boost or one for overdrive. The downside is that they share the EQ.
I don't use the octaver or fuzz.
The chorus sounds OK, but not great.
The Bite switch is tricky. It's way too bright, but it does add clarity. I use it by bringing down the tone on my bass. It gives you another variation of tone.
I have replaced it with a Zoom B6 that is far superior to the BFRv2. I guess one of the advantages of the BFR is that it fits in a bass case. I wish it could run on phantom power.
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