Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

[Nightburst]

Hi guys,

I've been a 'bedroom hero' lately but I've got some rehearsals and gigs coming up again and I want to improve my set-up and add some effects to it.
What I'm looking for is a practical, simple and portable set-up, not asking for much really. But I'm not willing to spend a fortune on something like a G-system which is great but I'm not gigging that much to justify it.

Basically I'm looking for a way to:

Be able to switch amp channels and effects simultaneously.
Use time based effects through the amps fx loop and od's in front.
Have no lag at all when going from High gain to clean and back.

Basicly, something like this would be nice:


But this seem to be more geared towards using a one channel clean amp. I'm also not sure if it would be able to replace my amp's switch pedal entirely or loop my favorite od pedal through it. I do like how it's compact, simple and portable. Those fx sound pretty good to me too.

I'd love to see something more suitable for a 3 channel amp that has a 7 pin midi out. There has GOT to be something out there? I just can't seem to find it!
Any ideas would be very welcome.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

Grab a Randall RM100, they have MIDI switching (so you can skip a seperate channel switcher) and the a wide variety of great sounding pre-amps (these amps are all tube, no modelling involved).

Then get a Voodoo Lab GCX Switcher (MIDI controlled loop switching) and Ground Control (MIDI controller).

In all that probably pushes about $1600 - $1800 or so, but you can use any effects you want in just about any location that you want.

If you want to switch front end, FX loops, and channels with the tap of one button and no delay....MIDI switching is the best answer, but don't go cheap...you will only regret wasting the money.

 

[J Moose]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

What amp do you have and what kind of switch/jack does it take?

There have been plenty of multi FX boxes made over the years with a simple 1/4" jack and a relay for switching channels on amp... if you have something odd, like my Rivera with its 6 or 7 pin, non-midi footswitch it gets harder but not impossible. I'd have to build a box, or re-pin the footswitch...

Truthfully there's likely always going to be a split second of lag & some tap dancing with any setup... to avoid those things it really requires a good deal of hardware and money thrown into the solution. Like running a ground control or some other "brain" with patches, a line mixer... custom cables and programming...

FWIW I don't think the distortions in any of these multi-FX boxes are all that great... go with pedals in front of the amp. FX box in the loop. That's the path of least resistance.

 

[Rich_S]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

I recently consulted with a buddy of mine on his Roland GT10 setup. They have a control output that you can use to control your channel-switching as part of an effects preset. Also, if your amp has an effects loop, you can set up effect on the GT10 before the amp, and others in your amp's loop.

I don't know how the GT10 compares to your price point, but it will do what you're asking. I don't know if the older models do it or not.

 

[Hellion]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

If you're running through a processor or effects before it hits the amp, you probably don't really need to change amp channels, just run it clean and use the pedals to change your tone. That's what I did, anyway. When I started using an effects processor, I didn't change the channels on the amp, just left it in the clean channel.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

I recently consulted with a buddy of mine on his Roland GT10 setup. They have a control output that you can use to control your channel-switching as part of an effects preset. Also, if your amp has an effects loop, you can set up effect on the GT10 before the amp, and others in your amp's loop.

I don't know how the GT10 compares to your price point, but it will do what you're asking. I don't know if the older models do it or not.

Looks good, I didn't know that this unit was capable of that. I'll look into it, thanks for the suggestion!
It's about what I'm willing to pay for not having to tap dance and to have a few fx on top of that.
To pay 1500 for something like that is just nuts, I'm not a professional who gigs every night.
I'm also a little afraid that a unit like that is complicated to use, I'm not a tech, I'm a guitar player so if it's not intuitive I tend to kick it ya know how it goes .

Just to clarify guys the amp in question is a Bogner Ecstasy and it has a 7pin out for the footswitch and a Fx loop.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

Just to clarify guys the amp in question is a Bogner Ecstasy and it has a 7pin out for the footswitch and a Fx loop.

Since you have a proper amp, you could go the route of combination loop/amp switcher like:

http://www.rjmmusic.com/rg16.php

That, and a basic MIDI controller like a Rocktron Midi Mate will have you switching things as needed.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

Since you have a proper amp, you could go the route of combination loop/amp switcher like:

http://www.rjmmusic.com/rg16.php

That, and a basic MIDI controller like a Rocktron Midi Mate will have you switching things as needed.

I get it, I need a midi foot switcher and a loop station. Do they make those looper's in pedal form? Easier to carry it all in one pedal case!

But I was hoping that some company has made that available within a multifx unit as well? All in one, no more tap dancing. Does that even exist?

Thanks for the suggestion though!

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

I've gone full circle with pedals, rack gear, midi, modeling, and back to pedals.

With an amp like the XTC, you can put something like a TC G Major in the mixable FX loop. Then put a wah and OD out front on a board with a cheap midi switcher like a Behringer or Rolls Midi Buddy. Since the XTC has an FX loop button on it's switch, you can shut off all your FX with one click.

Personally, I'm done with rack stuff. I just want guitars, amp, cab, board, and 2 cables. Done.

You'd probably be best off getting a handful of analog FX that suit your needs, and carry around nothing but your amp and pedalboard. Or, something like a Line 6 M9 and a couple other pedals.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

Well the whole point of this thread was just that: to keep it simple and portable.
I can understand why some guys take the rack route instead of an amp head. I'll just stick to what I have now.

In short, I'm looking for one big pedal that will do it all: multi fx, loop od so I can switch it the same time with amp channels, replace the xtc foot switch. That's it. There seems to be limited choice when it comes to this. Also most units only have a 5pin midi in/thru/out. I need something that takes a 7 pin.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

I was talking to Jolly about this the other day, because he hates technical stuff, and I'm trying to talk him into utilizing his rig to it's fullest. The difference is that his head has midi capability, so he can midi map his FX and Midi switcher to correspond with his 4 Marshall JVM channels.

It would be cool if the XTC had midi, but it doesn't...only it's proprietary footswitch and a very good FX loop.

If you want to keep it simple, then you really should keep it simple.
My path has been to run a Holy Grail reverb on Spring setting in the XTC FX loop.....set very subtle. Then, use nothing but nice sounding analog pedals in front of the amp.

With the XTC, I barely even need OD pedals. I could do fine with a wah pedal and some other modulation stuff in front of the amp. At least everything sounds great. Once you try to get complicated with midi and rack gear, you end up lugging a bunch of stuff around for nothing.

"Rackitis" was a joke term in the early 90's, when guys were addicted to buying rack/midi stuff. We'd lug around a ton of crap just to have reverb or delay on our amp. It didn't take long for that trend to die.

 

[Binnerscot]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

Well the whole point of this thread was just that: to keep it simple and portable.
I can understand why some guys take the rack route instead of an amp head. I'll just stick to what I have now.

In short, I'm looking for one big pedal that will do it all: multi fx, loop od so I can switch it the same time with amp channels, replace the xtc foot switch. That's it. There seems to be limited choice when it comes to this. Also most units only have a 5pin midi in/thru/out. I need something that takes a 7 pin.

Well, 'Joneser said, if you want to keep it simple....keep it simple. If you want a few things to happen when you hit one button, you go big, or you don't bother.

Anything in between will most likely not do the trick.

I have one rack (which is pretty simple), two good pre-amps, one good power amp, a G-Major, and MIDI switching. Things have gotten much better since the '80s and '90s, switching is expensive but not limited to the rich and famous.

Everything else I have is a just an amp, and an effect or two in the loop....it's hard to go wrong with type of setup, but very easy to spend too much on rack/switching gear and still get it wrong.

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

I was talking to Jolly about this the other day, because he hates technical stuff, and I'm trying to talk him into utilizing his rig to it's fullest. The difference is that his head has midi capability, so he can midi map his FX and Midi switcher to correspond with his 4 Marshall JVM channels.

It would be cool if the XTC had midi, but it doesn't...only it's proprietary footswitch and a very good FX loop.

If you want to keep it simple, then you really should keep it simple.
My path has been to run a Holy Grail reverb on Spring setting in the XTC FX loop.....set very subtle. Then, use nothing but nice sounding analog pedals in front of the amp.

With the XTC, I barely even need OD pedals. I could do fine with a wah pedal and some other modulation stuff in front of the amp. At least everything sounds great. Once you try to get complicated with midi and rack gear, you end up lugging a bunch of stuff around for nothing.

"Rackitis" was a joke term in the early 90's, when guys were addicted to buying rack/midi stuff. We'd lug around a ton of crap just to have reverb or delay on our amp. It didn't take long for that trend to die.

Lol I totally forgot about this thread! :banghead:
Still looking out for the magic cure though...
Any more suggestions guys?

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

Any more suggestions guys?

Yep.... save up.

Not to be a d1ck or anything, but you own a Bogner Ecstasy. Just save up for a good interface for it and consider it a lifetime investment. To look to go cheap at this point with what you have is just plain silly.

 

[Warheart]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

The G-Major is going on ebay for like $300-400, that's really not much at all for a good effects unit. If you could afford a Bogner, by all means, sell pretty much anything and you should have enough for it. After that, you just need a midi controller.

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

Lol I totally forgot about this thread! :banghead:
Still looking out for the magic cure though...
Any more suggestions guys?

Dood... for the things you want (the same things that I wanted), you have a limited amount of options.

In my G-System thread I just posted what my plan is with my XTC and G-System. That's one option.

Another option is the Nova System. It doesn't have the front-end (4-cable method) and looping options that the G-System has, but you can put it in the XTC's loop and you can use MIDI to control the XTC's channel switching (using the Amp Gizmo). The functionality between the G-System and the Nova is miles apart. But that Nova sounded VERY good through the loop in my XTC and I'd still have that setup if the G-Sys hadn't rolled along on the "cheap".

As far as your justification for owning nice gear goes... For the first time in 24 years I don't "officially" have a gig. I quit my band last July. I did fill-in at a big benefit gig in Nov. And they do have me scheduled to fill-in again in March. But I don't officially belong to a gigging band right now. Nevertheless, I feel like it's time to get the things that I've always wanted and finally be "done" with it. I'll surely have little bouts of GAS here and there. But the fact is, now that I've got an XTC and the G System -- I just don't get much of a thrill out of checking-out other gear on-line. Whereas it used to be a daily thing for me. I realize that the newness of the whole thing means that I'm still honeymooning. But for me (and my tastes), the XTC and the G-System are the PINNACLE of gear (and have been for years). So it's almost a relief to finally get what I've always wanted. It'll be VERY nice once I get it all setup the way I want it and then just settle into playing and enjoying it every single day.

C'mon in man... the water's warm. You KNOW you want to!

 

[LtKojak]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

I have for years worked with a sequencer connected to the MIDI IN that changed the patches following the music. Does it count...?

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

You guys... :stooges:

Are absolutely right... Thanks!

And I've got a plan, I'll try the Nova system first and see if I like it while I save up for a G-system. Once I have enough I can fund it by selling the Nova system. The Pete Thorn video keeps amazing me how good the unit sounds in the right hands. That and the rave reviews it's been getting are enough for me... I don't want it, I need it!

Yes the options are limited but that just makes things easier. I'm confused about one thing though, would one still need the gizmo with the g-system?

 

[Nightburst]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

I have for years worked with a sequencer connected to the MIDI IN that changed the patches following the music. Does it count...?

Ehmm...what kind of sequencer?

 

[Red_Label]

Re: Channel switcher amp and mutli fx board, any practical solution?

You guys... :stooges:

Are absolutely right... Thanks!

And I've got a plan, I'll try the Nova system first and see if I like it while I save up for a G-system. Once I have enough I can fund it by selling the Nova system. The Pete Thorn video keeps amazing me how good the unit sounds in the right hands. That and the rave reviews it's been getting are enough for me... I don't want it, I need it!

Yes the options are limited but that just makes things easier. I'm confused about one thing though, would one still need the gizmo with the g-system?

My Nova just sold on Ebay. Had it at $299.99 Buy It Now with free shipping. But it was a USA-only auction.

Anyways... I don't think that one does need a Gizmo with the G-System. I mean -- you do if you want to switch all 7 of the XTC's footswitchable functions with it. But I only need the three channels, plus a boost. So I've got the materials on the way to make a special Medusa cable that will go from the 7-pin XLR, to a pair of stereo TRS cables, which I'll wire to just do those functions and plug into the G-System. Will let you know if it works once I get it put together. Will hopefully have it all in-place by the upcoming weekend.