The best rackmounted Multi FX

[JMX]

Eventide Orville

 

[i like tictacs]

Eventide Harmonizer 7000 (i think)

 

[The Reff]

Even though the Orville and the H-7000 is indeed very good FX's they are also very expensive.

The Eclipse is at least somewhat payable. I've found a couple of Eclipses at around 2000 $

......I think I want one !!!!!!!

Has anyone tried the Eclipse ????????

 

[Benjamin Strange]

The Eventide stuff is great, but not great for live playing. There's a significant delay when switching patches. The G Force delay is almost unnoticeable.

 

[The Reff]

Is there also a delay when you are switching programs on the Eclipse ?????

I know that the loading time on the old machines is a couple of seconds, but the Eclipse is pretty new - I think from the year 2002.

 

[grovest]

I'm currently in the market for a new Multi FX.

I have two demands :

1. Rackmountable

2. Better sounding than the G-major ( for now my main Multi FX )

I can think of only one : Line 6 bass pod XT

Any suggestions ?

Checked out the Lexicon line? The 550 is their middle-low model, similar to the G-Force.

-----
EDIT: better add this part....

I just bought a G-Major off of TB. So far I am pleased with it, but the FIRST thing I did once I had it setup was to create an octave-up preset with 100% 'wet' signal. Oh gosh, I was really hoping for a sweet piano, guitar-esque sound. Well, it sounded so aweful I honestly wondered if I had a defective unit after that. After some more testing, and after several GREAT new user presets, I have concluded that the G-Major has some very nice features, none of which are the octaver. How I get a useful octave sound from the G-Major:

Run routing in full parallel, set mix of octave down to about 10%, layer on some chorus and delay. A nice sound, with the octave giving some 'synth lead' quality. Octaver down is similar with a mix of about 75%. I notice the octave down tracking being slower than the octave up, which to my ear is almost instant.

Granted, my use of a P is not doing the octaver any favors.

 

[The Reff]

I actually think the octaver in the G-Major sound pretty good and it tracks all the way down to the low F ( on a 4-string ). The only problem is that it's to slow. I can hear the delay in the signal and if you try to play fast with it sounds awful.

I've tried some octavers in the last month : EBS, Boss OC-3, Boss GT-6B and the Boss ME-50B - and some other pedals.The best sounding yet ???? The GT-6B. For some reason the analog pedals tracks awful when i'm playing.

Has anybody any experience with the Lexicon MPX-1/MPX-550 - The G-force or the Eventide Eclipse they would lke to share ????

 

[Jazz Ad]

Sorry to sound like a broken record but you should really try this baby :
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[suicas]

Looks interesting..can't believe how cheap these seem to be though..

It is 5 years or so old though, can't help feeling that there's got to be something better out there now.

Folks don't seem to rate it too well in live situations either...

 

[Jazz Ad]

The G-Force is 8 year old...
As for the VF-1 in live situation, Michael Manring and Amy from Clatter don't seem to complain about it.

 

[suicas]

I'll definitely look into it, any resources on it you could point me at would be much appreciated.

Do you know if the patches can be saved/edited on a PC?

Looks like I'd be able to pick one up for quite a bit under £200, about what I'd set aside for a delay pedal

If looks like it'd be suitable for live use, I'd be very tempted indeed for that price.

 

[adouglas]

I'm currently in the market for a new Multi FX.

I have two demands :

1. Rackmountable

2. Better sounding than the G-major ( for now my main Multi FX )

I can think of only one : Line 6 bass pod XT

Any suggestions ?

I don't know what the "best" rack-mountable FX unit is...I've only tried a few FX units and so far all have been lacking in one way or another. Also, all have been on the cheap side (e.g. Zoom 505). Right now I use a Korg Pandora that gives me the sounds I need, but it's a royal pain to use live (no footswitch, no ability to switch presets without fiddling with the unit itself, no ability to bypass the amp modeling). I'm giving it another go now, with a new-to-me rig: Bass Pod XT and Shortboard.

The Bass Pod XT isn't rack mountable...it's the "kidney bean". The Bass Pod XT Pro is.

There's about a $200 difference between the two used, or about $300 new.

I bought a Bass Pod XT with a Shortboard because I got fed up with the logistics involved in using my pedalboard. I want something simple, clean and neat that gives me the few tones I'm looking for when playing live. And something with a user interface that doesn't make my hair hurt. So far, it looks like it might work okay for me...but my needs are relatively simple.

If you're thinking of using any given FX unit live, or switching tones while playing, you MUST also buy a footswitch...plan on this. Look at the Shortboard at a minimum if you go with the PodXT.

What appealed to me about the PodXT/Shortboard combo is that it gives me more control. I not only get to turn individual effects on and off (just like a pedalboard) when in any given amp/cab/pedalboard preset, I can also change whole presets on the fly...all with my feet. I can also bypass any given piece of the signal chain...eliminate the amp and cabinet models if all I want is a stomp box, etc. I could not do this with the Pandora.

Other nice stuff: If you're into simplifying your rig, it has the ability to replace your preamp. PodXT Pro --> power amp --> cabinet, done.

One other small, but appreciated feature is that most of the preset names, while on the "cute" side, actually mean something. For example, "Tom Sawyer" implies, and delivers (more or less) a Rush kind of sound.

One last thing...whichever unit you get, READ THE FRIGGIN' BOOK! If you look at a lot of the reviews out there, it's really obvious that many of those who don't like any given unit have not bothered to read the manual (for example, one guy posted that, golly, it sounds much better if you turn off the mic modeling on the PodXT when playing live, as if this was a revelation...it's practically the FIRST THING they tell you to do!!). Fortunately, the Line6 manual is pretty good, and even has a little humor in it.

You might consider downloading the manuals for the units you're looking at and reading them, to see if the thing will be more of a pain in the neck to live with than it's worth.

Hope this helps.

 

[suicas]

Just came across this and thought it might be useful to some of you:
http://monster.harmony-central.com

Basically lets you run your own sound files through a real rack effects box.

You upload a .wav file, select which rack you want to run it through, select the patch on on the rack, then download an mp3 of the processed results.

Racks it has are:
Kurzweil KSP8
Lexicon PCM81
Lexicon PCM91
Line 6 POD Pro
TC Electronic FireworX
TC Electronic M3000

Dave

 

[The Reff]

That's a very, very cool rack indeed !!!

Has anyone tried any of those machines ???

What about the Eventide Eclipse ???? I'm seriously thinking about buying one.................