Been a while, what's your thoughts?

[SpaceShipOne]

Anybody here remember me even? ha, been a few years since I've been on but I have a question I know you all can answer....

Ok, so after giving up playing and focusing on recording, I ended up in another band, this time a big one....Eowyn in Nashville. Tour bus and all. One problem, my rig is far from ready for it. This is where I need opinions!
I need a phaser/flanger, delay, and possibly tremelo. I have to get these for the song's parts so I"m stuck. I haven't used effects in 4 years so I'm lost. Which option or even a suggestion?

1. Get a pedal board and buy individual pedals or borrow a few, make a snake with effects send return and wireless to amp. Must buy pedal board and pedals, have cables and wireless

2. Get a small rack, TC Electronics G major and a midi controller. Only need midi cabling which is dirt cheap. Must buy rack, G major, midi pedal, power conditioner.

3. ????


I may be way over my head as there's other stuff I desperately need but I have friends pushing me and helping me. Just for kicks, here's the tour bus Thanks to you all!

 

[DankStar]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

nice bus. play stonehenge again!

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

I'd never go rack again...go with pedals, start simple and add on as you need to.

A Line 6 MM-4 and DL-4 will give you all teh modulation and delay you need to get rolling then add on or replace things as you need/want/have to.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

Line 6 m13. Rack power and versatility in a simple to use pedalboard format.

One of the best pieces of gear I have. Verbs and delays are stunning, and as of the latest firmware the phasers and flangers are excellent as well. I'm starting to get into some of the wacky synth effects these days. Even some of the overdrives are good enough to fool me on a bad day, but I use actual analog pedals for that.

I've gigged with mine for a year with nothing but positive things to say. It's a great-sounding and rock solid unit.

 

[drpietrzak]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

Cool bus and it sounds like a great group. How much space are you working with for what hauls your stuff?

 

[Surgeon]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

How you doin' brother? Just wanted to say that I do remember you...

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

Welcome back...I remember the name.

Whatever you put together, make it as bullet proof as possible....nothing irritates a FOH engineer more than some guitar player trying to figure out his pedals' connections and settings for an hour only to find a spotty cord, bad power cable, or dead battery (or even worse, in the middle of a show).

Rack guys walk in, plug into one outlet, plug into cab, power up, and ask me when I am ready for them so they can get food, beer, etc.

Myself, I like pedal drawers and a rack that can switch loops for front end pedals that just can't be be replaced by rack units in the loop (like the Voodoo GCX and RJM RG-16).

Or just keep it real simple - guitar -> amp (always sounds good in the right hands)

 

[\m/(00)\m/]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

Maybe some analog effects and some kind of switcher on your board? I like the rack drawer(with od's and such) and rack fx idea too.
And also depends on what amp are you running?

 

[everdrone]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

cool van! heh u shouldnt leave us like that!!!! What band did you join - whats teh myspacez?

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

If you want to save money AND get a world of modulation FX storable to 4 buttons, buy my Line 6 blue modulation modeler for $120 shipped, including a $20 L6 power supply. It works perfectly and costs more than twice as much at the store.

If anyone's interested, PM me.

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

For your needs, i wouldn't bother with the Line 6 M13, but the Line 6 M9 may be right up your alley! Great modulation effects on that unit!

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

Yeah...M9 or M13 into the easiest amplification possible.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

For your needs, i wouldn't bother with the Line 6 M13, but the Line 6 M9 may be right up your alley! Great modulation effects on that unit!

That might be the answer if you don't need lots of effects available at once. The m9 has all the same effects as the m13 in a smaller, simpler package.

 

[CapoFirstFret]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

That might be the answer if you don't need lots of effects available at once. The m9 has all the same effects as the m13 in a smaller, simpler package.

The M9 allows 3 simultaneous effects. The M13 allows 4. The M9 has 24 scenes for saving effects, and the M13 has 48. I really think the M9 is able to do any job the M13 can do in a smaller package. The M13 is just too big and bulky. The M9 only has one display where the M13 has 3, blah blah. They use the same software to do the work but in a smaller package.

I wouldn't use one of these things for dirt though. I'd have a dedicated dirt box. I've never liked the sound of overdrives/distortions out of multi-effect units

 

[SpaceShipOne]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

Well, tried pedals, tried the Line 6 stuff, and the G Major. Chose the G Major because I got this monster to hold all my stuff.....

Now I just need to find a dang midi board. G major also switches channels on my amp and mutes rack tuner stuff. Shwing!

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

The M9 allows 3 simultaneous effects. The M13 allows 4. The M9 has 24 scenes for saving effects, and the M13 has 48. I really think the M9 is able to do any job the M13 can do in a smaller package. The M13 is just too big and bulky. The M9 only has one display where the M13 has 3, blah blah. They use the same software to do the work but in a smaller package.

I wouldn't use one of these things for dirt though. I'd have a dedicated dirt box. I've never liked the sound of overdrives/distortions out of multi-effect units

I have the m13 and have played with the m9. There are a few other big differences between the two that you're leaving out, some are deal-breakers for the m9 IMO:

- m13 has an effects loop. This enables you to run some effects in front of your amp, and some in the amp's loop. This is what I do. I run my delays, verbs, etc. in the loop, and the synths, phaser, flanger, etc. out front.

- Having only one display makes it a lot more difficult to edit, especially if you have more than one effect running at the same time.

- Each scene on the m13 has way more effects available.

- Scene changes are a lot easier on the m13.

If you don't use more than a couple effects at a time, you don't need the effects loop functionality, and you need to save space, the m9 is great. Otherwise, the m13 is the way to go.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

Well, tried pedals, tried the Line 6 stuff, and the G Major. Chose the G Major because I got this monster to hold all my stuff.....

Now I just need to find a dang midi board. G major also switches channels on my amp and mutes rack tuner stuff. Shwing!

That is bad-ass. I wish I had enough gear to fill up something like that.

 

[briggleman]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

Just wondering, and this is really based on my inexperience at being on stage or touring...... I would think the G Major type of system you are talking about would be more of a hassle.... lots of trips on stage back and forth to the rack to get the sound just right. I understand the midi controller footboard switching and its ability to control the G Major and your amps but the adjustments for the delay, flanger..... different venues... different acoustics, different sounds. I would think the M13 or M9 idea would be much better just starting out again... smaller investment and more control.

OR I am totally wrong having no experience in this arena.

PLUS.... talk to Line6.... they may even send you one to use for free with a techie to get it going for you. Endorsements man... Endorsements. Yeah, even TC would do it for you with the G Major maybe.

Brad

 

[taxi]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

The G-major is a nice piece, but they're made in Thailand and are not as durable as the Scandanavian-made TC stuff, so be careful. (That rack looks like it would protect anything though). One really nice thing about it is that it does reasonably good spillover of delays and reverbs so you don't get any oddness switching patches.

At this point I wouldn't use anything other than a Fractal Axe-Fx live, it does absolutely everything in one box. A little pricey but worth it once you realize you've replaced an entire rig. If you don't mind playing thru monitors, you don't even need a stage cab, the FOH feed is ungodly good. Check it out sometime, there are quite a few of them around Nashville.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Been a while, what's your thoughts?

Just wondering, and this is really based on my inexperience at being on stage or touring...... I would think the G Major type of system you are talking about would be more of a hassle.... lots of trips on stage back and forth to the rack to get the sound just right. I understand the midi controller footboard switching and its ability to control the G Major and your amps but the adjustments for the delay, flanger..... different venues... different acoustics, different sounds. I would think the M13 or M9 idea would be much better just starting out again... smaller investment and more control.

OR I am totally wrong having no experience in this arena.

Brad

Once you turn up your volume to a decent level for the amp/power amp and configure your FX patches, it is set and forget (you do this before it goes on the road).

The most you usually have do is adjust high end and low end for the room/stage (which is usually done with the low and presence controls of the power or amp head)....when done right, it is plug and play.