Help! Rack FX/G System or Pedalboard?????!!

[MJL]

Hey guys,

I'm going to be sorting out my FX soon as I've decided against getting my new acoustic for various reasons (mostly the small mortgage it was going to cost!), so I'm left with a dilemma.....

Do I get a rack FX unit, e.g. TC G Force and a midi controller and a few stompboxes, or do I build a pedalboard as I always said I would????

I play a MM Petrucci into a Cornford Hellcat with an RMC Wah. I need versatility with the rig to do whatever is needed for any set gig or job, which is the reason for thinking on a g system as its neat and tidy and all there, bar the O/D's.

Any suggestions?? Anyone got a G system or had both a rack and a board and switched from one to the other!??

Any help would be awesome!!!

The cost isnt too much of a worry at the moment so all ideas welcome...

 

[conan02919]

check out the Fractal AXE-FX

 

[Jimmyb]

Cost no problem?

Pete Cornish.

 

[beej]

I dunno man ... this is more of a philosophy question. Some guys really dig rack mounted gear, some love pedals. With the tools available today, one solution isn't better than the other, you can accomplish what you need either way.

Myself I tend to prefer pedals. (Some vintage, some new.) Easy to swap pedals in/out, you can always put together a small board when you need to, so handy and portable.

But that's me. You can certainly make a case either way.

 

[roburado]

There is nothing that says you can't do both--except maybe resources.

 

[Shadowbox]

Pros seem to lean toward pedalboards these days. Rack gear can be great (plus it looks AWESOME) but if there's a problem (such as a bad cable) somewhere in the chain, it can be a pain in the *%@ to isolate. With a pedal board, you can usually reach down and with a few quick shakes, isolate the offending stompbox or shorty cable and yank it out of the chain. Plus, a pedalboard makes it easier to be able to jump from amp to amp depending on the gig.

That being said, there's nothing wrong with rack gear if you are always going to use the same amp and speaker cabinet.

 

[roburado]

That being said, there's nothing wrong with rack gear if you are always going to use the same amp and speaker cabinet.

There's always the option of putting some kind of amp switcher in the rack.

 

[aleclee]

Before I got my AxeFX (which is a different discussion altogether), I went back and forth. To me it was a balancing act between getting the right (for me) combination of FX and avoiding the tap dance inherent to pedalboards. Some other considerations are the cost/size of the desired pedalboard: depending on what you're doing for, a rack/MIDI system could be smaller and maybe cheaper.

 

[TNT]

To me it's all about the unadulterated dry signal (guitar/amp only)!!! Regardless of rack or pedals.

There's one "serious" question you have to answer first:

How "untouched" do you want your guitar signal before it hits the front end of the amp? Pedals debated here; pedals mess with your tone? if your happy with the sound, why go to rack?

If you do go through the fx loop (hopefully it's a parallel), typically a "higher" quality piece producing a higher quality effect can be ran there.

I use both, the reason being is the songs I play were originally recorded with pedals thru the front. Then I have a single delay unit only in the loop. Eventide Harmonizer, Damage Control TimeLine delay, or a Eventide TimeFactor delay (three of the very best delay units).

Above all - gotta have the "quality" delay that doesn't mess with your dry signal!!

 

[e.mate]

check out the Fractal AXE-FX

+1 ...if you're all about versatility, I guess that's the way to go, plus it seems to be a reliable tool.

However, as I cannot afford the Axe-FX, I'm sticking to my racked, 90s tribute JMP-1 plus Intellifex combo, which I'm perfectly happy with. Some pedalboard fans here are continously talking about the "issues" of a rack....I use mine for more than 20 years now. Didn't have issues

 

[andynpeters]

So many possibilities....I've tried so many systems....used to use a Marshall JMP 1 & Art effects into a Marshall 20/20 valve Power Amp & speakers ........then a Boss GT-5 straight into the PA......4 pedals into a Peavey Classic.....now a Line 6 AmpFarm into a PA.....

Either way works.....easier to upgrade something with a pedalboard also if you just need to change a little something on a gig. On the other hand you won't be needing to try to balance everything with just one unit

 

[joe web]

if you go with a few pedals in front of you, i would recommend to use something like the carl martin combinator to program some "presets" (combinations of pedals).

 

[colinboy]

Yeah ive been doing a fair bit of research myself and the Gsystem looks to be the bees knees if youve got a an already good amp.you can add upto 5 pedals and control and power them via this unit.
You can also separate apart of the unit and put it in a rack instead.

Best of both worlds if you ask me!

 

[Norrin Radd]

I think any method is just as valid as any other. Reliability has more to do with how the user sets up and then treats the gear.

You can't go "wrong" with any method. It really is a matter of personal preference. If you like the basic tone of your amp and you like to hear it all night long, but maybe sprinkled here and there with some variety - I think a few pedals on a pedal board will do.

However, if you like to really vary your tone quite a bit, things like the AxeFX and the Gsystem cannot be beat. The nice thing about the G System is it can function as a rack piece as well. For me - I think I would like having all of that rack programmability on the floor at my feet. It means one less piece of gear to carry around too - you're going to need some kind of foot control no matter which rout you go. The G System and traditional pedal boards allow you to have it all in piece of equipment - the traditional rack system adds another piece. But again - that's a personal preference thing.

I'm lucky - I've got great sounding amps and I LOVE their basic tones - so for me a traditional pedal board works. What's funny is, the more as time goes by, the fewer types of effects I use and my board is now mostly boosts/ODs/Distortions and fuzzes! A splash of delay and any one pedal and the tone is still fantastic!

It really comes down to what YOU want to do with it and HOW you are going to use it.

BTW, anyone know if there's a "Show your pedalboard/rack rig thread" on this forum? That would be cool to see what others are using.

Good luck!

 

[roburado]

What I have done recently (but I'm going to change this a bit) is that I have used a combination of stuff. Pedals in front--just a few. Cheapo used Lexicon Alex for time-based effects through the parallel effects loop. On that "loop" I used a volume pedal to fade effects in and out a la Steve Morse.

 

[joe web]

there is one more option i forgot about....watch out for an Lexicon MPX G2 with its R1 footcontroller.
this thing sounds killer! you can wire it with the 4-cable-method (in front of the amp and the fx-loop at the same time) and set up the wanted fx any where you want it per preset.
the G2 has very good "remakes" of the some of the best classic pedals on board. e.g. mxr phaser, mxr flanger, mxr dynacomp, boss comp, boss overdrive, tubescreamer....and a few more...
you can only find it used, but take a closer look at it and the manual.
i would perfer it over the g-system.

 

[ScoobySteve]

I used the original Tube Amp/Pedal board combo for YEARS until recently. I'm moving to Korea next week and will be travelling with my gear a lot.

WIth that in mind I sold all my gear and replaced it with a ElevenRack and a Behringer FCB1010 midi foot controller. It's so easy and portable to carry around, and with patient tweaking, I get all the tones I really need with my 25th.

When I settle down, and situate myself again, I'll go back to the tube amp and traditional pedal board design because there's no substitute for real tube saturation, but man, the convenience and versatility of the rack gear ala Axe FX or Eleven Rack is INSANE and is worth the small loss in particular tone.

 

[poj]

Axe-FX's service is terrible. They don't even care to answer my questions.

 

[Astrofreq]

I used to have a 14 space rack, but I've downsized to a 6 pedal pedalboard. In fact, since buying the Engl combo amp, the pedalboard has stayed in the closet. It's ALL about the amp and EVH dimarzios in my opinion.