Off Topic Effects pedal reccomendations please

[KevinUK]

Hi Guys,

Don't know if this should be on here but I need some advice re effects.

I play mostly rock based material in a good covers band. For two years I used a TC Electronics Nova effects unit. Yes its ok good effects but to operate when quick changes are required I found that it was far to complex so after two failures and repairs I binned it.

I went back to a chain of Boss pedals which are so simple to use and adjust but not quite really doing the business but so user friendly.

I use these effects

chorus, delay, flanger almost exclusively

So what do I rush out and buy guys to retain the simplicity of Boss individual pedals but with the quality of TC effects sound.??

 

[QuietSpike]

Strymon mobius and strymon timeline.

That covers everything you need, made in the USA, midi controllable, can be used in front of amp or in loop, top notch sounds. only downside, they are quite expensive.

Or: You can go with eventide time factor and modfactor-- I own/have owned both. Top quality sound, made in China, in front of amp or in the loop. Again, expensive, but not as much as the Strymon stuff.


OR: you can get a Voodoo Lab GCX and Ground Control Pro, keep the boss pedals, and now have midi control over all your effects and amp with the Ground Control Pro via patches.

 

[Jamie M]

Hi Guys,

Don't know if this should be on here but I need some advice re effects.

I play mostly rock based material in a good covers band. For two years I used a TC Electronics Nova effects unit. Yes its ok good effects but to operate when quick changes are required I found that it was far to complex so after two failures and repairs I binned it.

I went back to a chain of Boss pedals which are so simple to use and adjust but not quite really doing the business but so user friendly.

I use these effects

chorus, delay, flanger almost exclusively

So what do I rush out and buy guys to retain the simplicity of Boss individual pedals but with the quality of TC effects sound.??

You have answered your own question, TC Elec all the way

 

[KevinUK]

Not so, the TC system has too many variables and is not simple enough to operate in a live situation.

The main requirement I have is for ultimate simplicity of operational adjustment

You have answered your own question, TC Elec all the way

 

[fsmith]

Have you looked at the TC Electronic line of pedals? Corona Chorus or Dreamscape, Flashback Delay and Vortex Flanger? They all can be reprogrammed via the Toneprint app.

fred

 

[Spudmurphy]

I love the Flashback delay but it does take a lot of tweaking for different numbers.

I know there are people that berate Line6 gear, but gigging in the past I have used a Pod XT operated via a FB shortboard.

You can pre programme the effects (programming them via the Line 6 Monkey/and their excellent Graphic User Interface)
then save them - then call them up using the floorboard during your gig.

I find that the Pod works great at the front of some amps and better using the effects loop on others.

It's not as good as a Fractal system but hey for a fraction of a price it gets you (near?) to where you want.

 

[DrKev]

I love the TC pedals too. The Hall of Fame reverb is fantastic and I'm seeing it on tons of pro's pedal boards. I have the Alter Ego delay (just another limited edition version of the Flashback) and while the stock sounds are excellent I particularly love the TonePrint thingy where I can connect pedal to computer with a USB cable and make my own ridiculously tweak-able custom setting or download one of Steve Morse's, or Petrucci's, etc. And the Spark Boost is an underrated secret weapon.

 

[Spudmurphy]

I love the TC pedals too. The Hall of Fame reverb is fantastic and I'm seeing it on tons of pro's pedal boards. I have the Alter Ego delay (just another limited edition version of the Flashback) and while the stock sounds are excellent I particularly love the TonePrint thingy where I can connect pedal to computer with a USB cable and make my own ridiculously tweak-able custom setting or download one of Steve Morse's, or Petrucci's, etc. And the Spark Boost is an underrated secret weapon.

ha ha DrK- I can see him now during the gig, connecting The Flashback (they are wonderfull!!) via USB to his interface, the crowd are baying, demanding more and poor old Kevuk says that windows has had a fatal error

 

[QuietSpike]

I have the Dreamscape, and I love it. My only issue with it, from a gigging aspect, is the lack of controllability. I use the clean flange on one of my clean sounds… anything else, I gotta go in the rack and change the knob.

But the chorus 1, chorus 2, and flange 1 on it are swimmingly delicious.

 

[dedeman]

I'd use an Eventide Time/Mod, but after all, you already have the best 3 pedal setup. Why would you change it?

 

[ksandvik]

The old Japanese built analog Boss CE-2 and BF-2 chorus and flanger pedals are excellent. I have a hard time ripping those out from my pedalboard, especially as I know them inside out and it's easy to change settings one those. Nothing wrong with Boss, thousands of hit records have been recorded with those, like the whole brit eighties guitar sound from The Cure forwards.

 

[sixstrings]

I love the Flashback delay but it does take a lot of tweaking for different numbers.

I know there are people that berate Line6 gear, but gigging in the past I have used a Pod XT operated via a FB shortboard.

You can pre programme the effects (programming them via the Line 6 Monkey/and their excellent Graphic User Interface)
then save them - then call them up using the floorboard during your gig.

I find that the Pod works great at the front of some amps and better using the effects loop on others.

It's not as good as a Fractal system but hey for a fraction of a price it gets you (near?) to where you want.

Happy with POD too. I use HD500x, 4 cable method. It controls my amp via midi and provides excellent quality effects.
At home it's a great practice and recording machine. Great build quality and still winner when it comes to value for money.

 

[Manxmusicman]

Have you thought about a G Major 2 and a midi foot controller? I use one with my diezel D Moll which is also midi compatible. Programming is incredibly easy and the sounds are everything you would expect from TC.

 

[decreebass]

I use a Boss GT-100 unit with the 4CM and a 5th cable using the "Amp Control" output so I can change channels on my Boogie Mark V with the patches in the GT. It's great - I get all the simplicity OR tweakability I need, great sounds, and my Boogie's preamp AND power amp section. It's win/win/win.

I also own the Dreamscape pedal and love it, but haven't quite found a way to implement it in my Boss GT rig yet. The goal is to carry as little as possible with the most versatility and ease of use... I suppose I could always throw the Dreamscape in the chain after the GT's output and before the Boogie's power amp section... But then I'd have to have an extra jumper cable and power supply. We'll see

Good luck!

 

[KevinUK]

It is the programming element that I definitely do not want guys

Have you looked at the TC Electronic line of pedals? Corona Chorus or Dreamscape, Flashback Delay and Vortex Flanger? They all can be reprogrammed via the Toneprint app.

fred

 

[KevinUK]

Precisely my point !!!

keep it simple and effective, really in a live pub band scenario the fine tuning of effects does not come into it !!!

Kicking arse does

ha ha DrK- I can see him now during the gig, connecting The Flashback (they are wonderfull!!) via USB to his interface, the crowd are baying, demanding more and poor old Kevuk says that windows has had a fatal error

 

[KevinUK]

I have those Boss units right now and find them excellent

The old Japanese built analog Boss CE-2 and BF-2 chorus and flanger pedals are excellent. I have a hard time ripping those out from my pedalboard, especially as I know them inside out and it's easy to change settings one those. Nothing wrong with Boss, thousands of hit records have been recorded with those, like the whole brit eighties guitar sound from The Cure forwards.

 

[Jamie M]

Not so, the TC system has too many variables and is not simple enough to operate in a live situation.

The main requirement I have is for ultimate simplicity of operational adjustment

Sorry I wasn't clear I was recommending the TC stompboxes as opposed to the Nova system

 

[DrKev]

ha ha DrK- I can see him now during the gig, connecting The Flashback (they are wonderfull!!) via USB to his interface, the crowd are baying, demanding more and poor old Kevuk says that windows has had a fatal error

Oh lordy, that's the stuff of nightmares for me!

Precise presets as such are difficult with single pedals, BUT the great thing about the TC's TonePrint editor is the ability to completely customise the response and taper of the top two control knobs. With a bit of imagination, we can still have some pseudo-presets ready for gigging, or at least greatly simplify the process of dialling something in.

Example 1 - Hall of Fame Reverb - I love the 'Plate' setting for a subtle 'not dry' reverb. So I set the knobs where I like them. Then in the TonePrint slot, I create a spring Reverb sound that gives me what I want with the knobs are in the same position as they were for the Plate setting. On stage I can switch between my two perfected settings with just one knob, and no other tweaking required.

Example 2 - Alter Ego Delay - I love the stock "Tape" echo sound but the modulation is a little too much and I'd prefer none at all in some contexts. I also have two specific delay times I want available to me. So, again, custom TonePrint, load up the "Tape" setting, edit the vibrato on the echos to turn it down a touch. Now a little magic - we'll edit the sweep of the DELAY and REGEN knob.

Edit the the delay knob sweep so that the minimum delay time is not 0ms but 130ms. Why? Because that's what Brian Setzer's slap back delay setting is and I'll never need shorter delay than that. I also like a standard delay time of 430ms, so I set the knob taper for that time right in the middle, 12 o'clock position. Two delay time 'presets' immediately ready and easy to dial in.

Now we'll edit the REGEN knob taper. Instead of zero to the left and max feedback to the to the right, we'll set zero in the middle and increase he number of repeats as we turn either left or right. I can also assign the vibrato on/off control to the same knob so I can have vibrato on the echos if I turn to the right, but none if I turn to the left.

It's a shame that there is no way to share user TonePrints or upload them to our smart phones to beam into the pedal during a gig but it's still a very tweakable system for a single button pedal.

 

[KevinUK]

And all of that in Paris Dr Kev??? Must be more on the edge there than in my home town of Bordeaux !!!

I have taken some pointers from here and looked at TC stomp boxes and am going to investigate further.

One REAL problem I had with the Nova was if I made a change to an effect mid gig I sometimes inadvertently seemed to change input and or output levels from the unit, so there I am jumping on delay during a big U2 number and everything has died !!! to a whisper.

I believe that guitar effects for live gigs have become far to complicated, the overall sound out front really can not do justice to complex effects, and we have a top grade pa and sound engineer.