Suggestions for studio rack type quality fx

[Dragoneti]

Hello everybody!!

I would like your opinion/suggestions on my next fx “quest”…  I would like to move towards a more “studio digital rack” quality effects for my JVM. I have already moved to completely digital fx as nowadays I play with a TC Modulator (replacing some mxr flangers phasers etc) + a DD20 delay (and occasionally a RV5 reverb). The boss pedals are pretty good, but have a more “pedal” sound than a rack pristine sound which is my target.

So I have narrowed my options down and I’m looking for your feedback about them.

1) Replace the dd20 with the nova delay and maybe, later on, the RV5 with the nova reverb (after all most of the times the reverb from JVM is sufficient so…not an immediate need). This option is the less costly one as I already have the modulator… so it will cost about 250 to 500 (if I buy the reverb) euros and will be the most easy to adjust and control.

2) Replace all pedals with a rack unit, such as the G Major 2. I think for starters I can use (at least that’s what I have read on the net) a podxt live that I have as a midi controller. With this solution I gain the "complete solution" control (less AD/DA) as well as some options such as killdry to use the unit on parallel loops that some of my marshall heads have. Initial cost will be about 500 euros but sooner or later I will have to have a midi controller and a rack case so cost will rise eventually. The problem is whever it has a better sound than the nova pedals.

3) Remain on pedals, but instead on going to TC move towards Eventide pedals (first the timefactor and later on the modfactor). Of course cost wise is goes pretty high and I don’t really have a need for the weird/space sounds these pedals can produce, but on the other hand I gain the killdry and level management options from rack units. Not all that important but if the quality in sound is also distinctively higher then it may worth the cost but at the moment is the least probable option mostly due to the high cost (about 900 euros).

What option would you choose? What will produce the better sound? I’m into 80s hair metal/ hard rock and as such I only need fx as chorus/flanger/phaser/delay and reverb, nothing more. The main question is should i just buy two more nova pedals and be done or will i benefit from a single unit in the form of g major 2, which will have a single AD/AD signal convertion and the killdry (which according to some is THE way to use a rack unit along with a line mixer or paraller loop) and more extensive level options? i don't care about menus and the difficulty of making sounds, after all i just need one sound per fx, not a 1000 preset and all that!

Thank you in advance!
Stelios.

[dheim]

if you don't use more than one effect at the time (plus reverb, of course) the simple and cheap TC g-sharp is an excellent choice... sound quality is absolutely excellent, with the g-sharp set just as a reverb unit i can't tell the difference between fx loop switched on and off, tone wise. it's just a bit hard to tweak, with its "analogue" interface. actually i prefer complicated things to simpler ones... if you've got few controls you can't really decide. luckily the g-sharp is designed so well that i don't need too much intervention to have a good sound!
if i had the need to use a lot of effects together i'd buy a g-major, aniway.

[Dragoneti]

Thank you for your answer!

Yes i've seen the g sharp but i want to have the ability to use one mod fx (either of flanger/phaser/chorus) with delay for solo and sometimes reverb, so its about 3 fx at a time.

One other thing that i do not like with the sharp, if i understood well from its manual, is that for delay you have to use tap to enter the delay, no ability to enter it with a knob/menu or something similar.

So for 3 simultaneous fx together, you recommend the approach of g major2 instead of 3 nova pedals?

[Transcend]

theres a g major in seconds out for £140 i believe.

And yeah i am going the route of vox tonelab rjm mini amp gizmo for all my effects and switching needs which would be similar to one of your options but with less rack :P

[dheim]

Thank you for your answer!

Yes i've seen the g sharp but i want to have the ability to use one mod fx (either of flanger/phaser/chorus) with delay for solo and sometimes reverb, so its about 3 fx at a time.

One other thing that i do not like with the sharp, if i understood well from its manual, is that for delay you have to use tap to enter the delay, no ability to enter it with a knob/menu or something similar.

So for 3 simultaneous fx together, you recommend the approach of g major2 instead of 3 nova pedals?

i used to play that way (and bought the sharp to use it after an analogue chorus pedal), but now i'm very glad with two fx'd presets... one with sensible chorus and heavily pre-delayed reverb on cleans, lead parts and some solos (a setting i use very very much) and another one with a more subtle reverb and a delay on "real" solos... i discovered that honestly i don't need a real delay most of the time (but boosting pre-delay on reverb makes up for it) and prefer playing most solos without chorus...

and yes, you can't manually enter delay time in bpm fractions or m/secs. not a good thing if you use heavy delay effects on riffs.

[Brow]

I'm looking at doing a similar thing myself when I get my Splawn QR in a couple of months, and I think I'm going to try it with a G-Major.

I have 1 in a rack from when I used separate pre and power amps, but may give it a go with a normal amp head to see how it works.

I really liked it's fx with my rack, so don't see why I wouldn't with a amp head