Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

[2ndhandband]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

Yeah, I believe it. Still not enough to change what I do, but I believe it and really understood that as I 'decided' I wanted to play music for a living. For people like me, who see playing in a cover band no different than any other non-music-related job, it is certainly difficult. I realize trying to do your own thing doesn't have immediate external rewards/validation.
But I don't think I'd want it any other way.

I ended up making the opposite choice in 2002. I was in an original metal band that over the course of five hard years had worked our way up to playing cover band clubs for cover band money. Then we very nearly got a major label record deal, and when that fell through it basically destroyed the band. I was 28 years old by that point and with my window of opportunity for becoming a rock star diminishing by the day I had a choice to make: accept an opportunity to join a cover band that was playing a five state area, or get a job. I chose to play my guitar.

[DavidRavenMoon]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

What you're missing is those older delays had a SOUND. The TC2290 for instance... why do you think people hung onto those for so long? What made that thing great wasn't the digital circuitry, it was the ANALOG circuitry.

Which means it introduced noise and distortion into the signal.

What you're missing is you can model that EXACT sound into these units.

If you follow Digital Audio Workstations and plugins, you will see you can get plugins that exactly emulate old analog units. Even tape echos, and stomp boxes.

So you can get that tone and a lot more.


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[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

Yah, the four wire arrangement was what originally sold me on the G2. It was a step up from using the Intellifex for my reverbs & programmable delays, and it let me eliminate two half-rack Boss units too. Just couldn't give up that luscious chorus, though.

[2ndhandband]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

OP, I don't know if you're anywhere near Portland, but a PedalPro just went up on Craigslist for a very reasonable price.

https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/msg/6143803562.html

Wish I was nearby there. Have been thinking about getting rid of my Lexicon G2 also and the PedalPro looks to be nearly ideal for analog pre FX. I'd be pairing it with my beloved Triaxis and a good post processor, maybe an Orville.

BTW, I agree with you about some of the older rack units- I still have an MXR System II that I bought in 1980, and I keep a blackface Intellifex in my gig rack just for the 8-voice chorus. Nothing I've heard can touch it.

Cool stuff, all of it.

As for the pedalpro, there's a four wire mod you can get for it from the manufacturer that will allow you to use it both pre and post. I'm nowhere near Oregon...

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

OP, I don't know if you're anywhere near Portland, but a PedalPro just went up on Craigslist for a very reasonable price.

https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/msg/6143803562.html

Wish I was nearby there. Have been thinking about getting rid of my Lexicon G2 also and the PedalPro looks to be nearly ideal for analog pre FX. I'd be pairing it with my beloved Triaxis and a good post processor, maybe an Orville.

BTW, I agree with you about some of the older rack units- I still have an MXR System II that I bought in 1980, and I keep a blackface Intellifex in my gig rack just for the 8-voice chorus. Nothing I've heard can touch it.

[Mincer]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

Yeah, I believe it. Still not enough to change what I do, but I believe it and really understood that as I 'decided' I wanted to play music for a living. For people like me, who see playing in a cover band no different than any other non-music-related job, it is certainly difficult. I realize trying to do your own thing doesn't have immediate external rewards/validation.
But I don't think I'd want it any other way.

[2ndhandband]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

Yeah, I don't really use my Fractal to mimic classic or current sounds. I've been twisting all sorts of stuff out of it (mostly things that don't remotely sound like a guitar), since I've had it.

It's symptomatic of where popular music is at in general, really. Nobody is looking for anything new. I mixed two shows last weekend. One is a regional cover band in the upper midwest... if you live in Minnesota, the Dakotas, Iowa, or Wisconsin you have probably heard of them. They can play the most deserted nowheresville in ND and pack the house, they all make very good money playing full-time, and as an organization routinely gross over a million a year. I used to play guitar with them and still mix them sometimes. The other band was a touring act I had never heard of playing some fairly interesting original music. We were in a medium sized club in a medium sized city (for the region) and it was half empty. I mentioned that I had mixed (other band) the previous night and the guitar player was like man... those guys live like kings playing other people's music and here we are doing something new and hope every night to sell enough t-shirts to buy food the following day.

[Mincer]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

Yeah, I don't really use my Fractal to mimic classic or current sounds. I've been twisting all sorts of stuff out of it (mostly things that don't remotely sound like a guitar), since I've had it.

[2ndhandband]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

There is nothing that any of those old-times do that Axe-FX cannot achieve. Steve Vai actually donated his Roland SDE delay rack to the original developer, out of noble reason or whatever but I guess he just wanted to get rid of stuff he doesn't use anymore. It's no secret that he used refrigerator racks back in DLR and Whitesnake and now he only got AxeFX in his rack.

I am cautious about investing in expensive digital effects after the PSU board of my TC M350 went out more than a year ago. The replacement cost was like 30% of a new one. I decided to sell it as it was for about an equivalent of 90 dollars. A week later with that money I got myself a Zoom MS70CDR, more effects, more features, 2ins 2 outs, and if it breaks I'll just throw it out the window.

What you're missing is those older delays had a SOUND. The TC2290 for instance... why do you think people hung onto those for so long? What made that thing great wasn't the digital circuitry, it was the ANALOG circuitry.

And your statement isn't quite true: there's some interesting, esoteric functionality in them that hasn't been duplicated in any modern unit.

I think it was better when digital was being used to take sounds in interesting new directions, as opposed to the modeling paradigm in which digital is being used to copy something else.

[Obsessive Compulsive]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

There is nothing that any of those old-times do that Axe-FX cannot achieve. Steve Vai actually donated his Roland SDE delay rack to the original developer, out of noble reason or whatever but I guess he just wanted to get rid of stuff he doesn't use anymore. It's no secret that he used refrigerator racks back in DLR and Whitesnake and now he only got AxeFX in his rack.

I am cautious about investing in expensive digital effects after the PSU board of my TC M350 went out more than a year ago. The replacement cost was like 30% of a new one. I decided to sell it as it was for about an equivalent of 90 dollars. A week later with that money I got myself a Zoom MS70CDR, more effects, more features, 2ins 2 outs, and if it breaks I'll just throw it out the window.

[2ndhandband]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

Doesn't EVH still use his old Roland SDE 3000 delays? Of course, maintenance costs aren't an issue for him.

Yeah... you have to be careful with old rackmount stuff. For instance I think the all-time greatest digital delay is the TC2290 but there are some parts that are no longer available at any price. They're expensive to buy and if one of those obsolete ICs fails you have a $1500 paperweight.

My Lexicons you can still get parts for but prices are going up and they're not the most reliable thing ever made, either. Both of mine have been fixed several times. These Korg units OTOH have a really solid reputation and by getting a lightly used one I just won the lottery; I consider these to be second only to the TC2290. Programming is not the simplest thing on the planet but you have very fine control over parameters. I've got mine at home now and am working on settings. It's not going into a rack until I'm ready for 100% integration.

Obviously the Korg is not going to replace the Lexicons... it's not a multi-fx. It'll just take over my digital delay needs. I'm about 80% sure I'm going to pull the trigger on a VR PedalPro before the summer is out unless a better option presents itself.

[devastone]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

Doesn't EVH still use his old Roland SDE 3000 delays? Of course, maintenance costs aren't an issue for him.

[2ndhandband]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

Ooohhh... just got a bit of a break. A buddy is going to trade me a Korg DL8000R for an old Mesa combo I have collecting dust . It's older than my Lexicon but this thing has been sitting in his studio since it was new and has barely been used! These things are my second-fav all time delay, but I wasn't going to get one due to age. However I know for a fact that this thing is in perfect condition and has not been gigged so if I replace the battery and recap it should have lots of life left. Korg stuff is generally more reliable than Lexicon anyway. That doesn't solve the whole problem... but delays are no longer an issue.

[Mincer]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

Because it's programmable! I can have presets. I can have a heavy flange and a medium flange and a barely there flange all at the tap of a button. I can't do that with pedals. My old MP2 preamp had programmable analog FX and I miss it.

And yeah... I'm pretty set in my ways. It was a major switch for me last year going from a midi-controlled preamp to a head and I still haven't recovered...

I get it...actually, I am just as particular as the way I want things, too.

[2ndhandband]

Re: Replacing the Lexicon... any ideas?

Curious to see what you end up with.

I'll let you know. I'm still doing research... I don't wanna replace anything going into summer so I have a few months to decide. But once I settle on a rig I'll post pics and maybe some clips if I'm feeling ambitious.