I'd been using only my Line 6 M13 and sometimes a Jet City OD pedal with my Tweaker for the last couple of months.
Growingly unsatisfied with some of the sounds from it, I put my old Boss CE-2 and a EHX Memory Toy back in the rig, alongside my Jet City Afterburner pedal which is a TS-esque OD with an extra boost stage to save your ass for leads.
I'm using them in front of my Egnater Tweaker set to clean. The M13 going both through the front and the loop (4 cable method).
The stompboxes just have a certain character, grit and warmth that I can't get from the M13. I'll use a tap tempo delay setting on the M13 if I need a quick, tight repeat on something,
but the Memory Toy kills at generating a long sea of modulated repeats.
Can't the M13 do an analog delay with modulation and more? Yeah, absolutely. But the repeats with the analog models in the M13 don't swirl and diffuse in the same way the EHX does.
The EHX has a more unstable, unpredictable response. It's dirtier and more "incorrect" and that's what's amazing about it.
And it boosts the signal a bit, which it shouldn't do. It's not perfect, and that gives it a personality.
And I like using the CE-2 on it's own, to keep the M13 busy with other things instead of 80's cheese.
The CE-1 model in the M13 is the ****ing balls, though. It really sounds excellent.
The dirt, EQ and compressor models in the M13 aren't that good IMO, which is why I've kept using the Jet City. The decay in all the OD models is just ****ed up, regardless of my amp settings. Only way to avoid that is to go for really low gain models.
I also miss my old Dynacomp quite a bit now, even if the damn thing had a mind of it's own.
Anyway, I really don't have much of a point here. I just wanted to share my experience bringing some standalone, analog units back in my rig.
I do not think that analog units are "just better", since I'm truly no snob. I don't care if an amp is SS, digital or tube, or if my pedals are analog or digital as long as it sounds and feels right.
But there's certain quirks that your analog pedals surely have, that a digital version will not always replicate as such, even if it's doing an excellent job at it.
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EDIT: I read that a bit and it sounds like I hate my M13. I love it! The reverbs, delays and all the modulations sound AMAZING. The Univibe, Leslie and some of the synth engine sounds I don't wanna live without! And it's pretty easy to set it up and have it ready for a gig.
Growingly unsatisfied with some of the sounds from it, I put my old Boss CE-2 and a EHX Memory Toy back in the rig, alongside my Jet City Afterburner pedal which is a TS-esque OD with an extra boost stage to save your ass for leads.
I'm using them in front of my Egnater Tweaker set to clean. The M13 going both through the front and the loop (4 cable method).
The stompboxes just have a certain character, grit and warmth that I can't get from the M13. I'll use a tap tempo delay setting on the M13 if I need a quick, tight repeat on something,
but the Memory Toy kills at generating a long sea of modulated repeats.
Can't the M13 do an analog delay with modulation and more? Yeah, absolutely. But the repeats with the analog models in the M13 don't swirl and diffuse in the same way the EHX does.
The EHX has a more unstable, unpredictable response. It's dirtier and more "incorrect" and that's what's amazing about it.
And it boosts the signal a bit, which it shouldn't do. It's not perfect, and that gives it a personality.
And I like using the CE-2 on it's own, to keep the M13 busy with other things instead of 80's cheese.
The CE-1 model in the M13 is the ****ing balls, though. It really sounds excellent.
The dirt, EQ and compressor models in the M13 aren't that good IMO, which is why I've kept using the Jet City. The decay in all the OD models is just ****ed up, regardless of my amp settings. Only way to avoid that is to go for really low gain models.
I also miss my old Dynacomp quite a bit now, even if the damn thing had a mind of it's own.
Anyway, I really don't have much of a point here. I just wanted to share my experience bringing some standalone, analog units back in my rig.
I do not think that analog units are "just better", since I'm truly no snob. I don't care if an amp is SS, digital or tube, or if my pedals are analog or digital as long as it sounds and feels right.
But there's certain quirks that your analog pedals surely have, that a digital version will not always replicate as such, even if it's doing an excellent job at it.
--------
EDIT: I read that a bit and it sounds like I hate my M13. I love it! The reverbs, delays and all the modulations sound AMAZING. The Univibe, Leslie and some of the synth engine sounds I don't wanna live without! And it's pretty easy to set it up and have it ready for a gig.
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