Need help selecting a rack mount FX unit for delay and reverb.

[willhaven]

I'm thinking of biting the bullet and getting a rack for switching my stomp boxes and my amp (Rocktron All Access + 2 Voodoo Lab GCX units). I generally use a lot of delay on my clean tones and I'd like to replace my old Boss Digital Delay stomp box with something programmable so I don't have to fiddle with any knobs between songs.

 

The unit doesn't have to be a reverb/delay-only unit, but I want to find out what the top-tier rack FX units are so I can check them out. Until now, the only rack gear I gave any notice were tuners and Hush units. So, assume I'm not familiar with any oddball companies that make rack FX. The only ones I know off the top of my head are Line 6 and Rocktron.

 

The only rack unit I know of is the Line 6 Echo Pro. That ghastly green unit that's discontinued and still goes for $500 on eBay. Any good?

 

Help would be appreciated.

[shepherdspy]

TC electronics D Two, GForce

Eventide Eclipse

Fractal Axe Fx

 

on a budget - Rocktron Intellifex, Boss Se-70

[Kassanova]

 

TC electronics D Two, GForce Eventide Eclipse Fractal Axe Fx

 

 

Yep...in reverse order.

 

Axe-FX Ultra

Eventide Eclipse

T.C. Electronics G-Force/G-System, G-etc.

 

There's also

Yamaha SPX2000

Lexicon MPX1

 

On a budget?

Lexicon MX300 (around $300)

[Zachman]

Also consider:

 

Rocktron Intelliverb

Rocktron Replifex

Yamaha SPX90

Yamaha SPX90II

Yamaha SPX900

Rocktron Prophesy

Digitech DHP33

 

Other suggestions that I concur with are the TC Electronic G-Major, TC Electronic M1, Lexicon MPX100,

 

BIG Budget: Eventide (Pick one), they're awesome (Not very highly suggested if you're not familiar w/ programming, but they sound KILLER)

TC Electronic G-Force, G-System, TC Electronic 2290 (They won't do long delay and chorus at the same time though), Lexicon PCM70 and up, Lexicon MPX-100, The Fractal Audio Axe-FX or Axe-FX Ultra (KILLER unit, easier to program than the Eventides)

[blakeq]

Symetrix 606 for delay would work.

[willhaven]

Thanks for the tips. I'll look into these soon. Cheers.

[pbone]

Maybe look into the Reverbamate by VanAmps?

[Phil O'Keefe]

It really depends on your budget. If you can find an old Ensoniq DP/2, DP/4, DP/4+ or DP Pro, grab it - they're very cool, can do multiple efx at once, and sound very good, and don't cost too much. The new Lexicon MX series units are cool on a budget, and can do at least two effects simultaneously. The Yamaha SPX900 is long discontinued, but still fetch pretty good prices on ebay. I have one with the remote, and it's a great unit, but not really a good "multi-effect"; the newer SPX2000 is though, IIRC.

 

As has already been mentioned, the Eventide Eclipse is a incredibly cool sounding unit - especially for modulation and delays - but it's gonna cost about $2K though. If that's within your budget, also check out some of the TC stuff, as well as the upper end Lexicon processors.

[willhaven]

Mega bump, but it's my own thread so suck it.

 

So, I've ordered most of my audio switching and MIDI control gear (2x GCX units and a Rocktron All Access LTD). Still not entirely sure what direction to go with the delay stuff.

 

How many of those rack mount delay/FX units allow the delay to be disabled yet still mix the delayed signal into the final product? Often times I want a sustained chord at the end of a chorus to slowly fade away as I start playing the next verse without the abrupt dirty-to-clean transition you often get in a live situation.

 

Thoughts?

 

I've been drawing out some ridiculous plan to use two GCX loops and a stupid bastard double Y cable to disable the delay input yet still sum the output of the delay into the next loop on demand. It would be nice if I didn't have to waste a full $50 worth of looping/switching capability to do something like that.

[Zachman]

Mega bump, but it's my own thread so suck it. So, I've ordered most of my audio switching and MIDI control gear (2x GCX units and a Rocktron All Access LTD). Still not entirely sure what direction to go with the delay stuff. How many of those rack mount delay/FX units allow the delay to be disabled yet still mix the delayed signal into the final product? Often times I want a sustained chord at the end of a chorus to slowly fade away as I start playing the next verse without the abrupt dirty-to-clean transition you often get in a live situation. Thoughts? I've been drawing out some ridiculous plan to use two GCX loops and a stupid bastard double Y cable to disable the delay input yet still sum the output of the delay into the next loop on demand. It would be nice if I didn't have to waste a full $50 worth of looping/switching capability to do something like that.

 

Any delay that allows for CC messages to control the mix level will allow you to control that with a volume pedal.

[willhaven]

You can send instant CC changes to go from 127 to 0 when switching to the next preset, eh? That would probably be simpler.

 

The next crazy question would be: could one rack delay unit play back the distorted note trailing off and start playing a new delay for the verse at the same time? That would be pretty friggin useful.

[Zachman]

 

You can send instant CC changes to go from 127 to 0 when switching to the next preset, eh? That would probably be simpler. The next crazy question would be: could one rack delay unit play back the distorted note trailing off and start playing a new delay for the verse at the same time? That would be pretty friggin useful.

 

 

Some effects units allow for delay spillover.

 

ya, but not the inexpensive ones, that I am aware of.

[sapphireskiss]

best bang for the buck I found was the Replifex; delay,verb, modulation, eq, and you can mix your dry and wet signals (as long as you don't use the built in hush) and it has tap tempo and CC and for a couple hundred bucks that's a bargain. I have one and go to it more than my Eventide because it's easier to program. And has spillover.

[IvIark]

The TC M1 sounds ideal for you. Two separate channels that can be linked in series, parallel, series-parallel, stereo linked or dual mono. The series-parallel make it great for use in a parallel loop as it allows you to feed channel 1 back into channel 2 as well as sending it straight to the output which allows you to for instance add reverb to delay repeats.

 

You can also setup the bypass functionality so that it cuts the signal at the input which allows the effect to complete after bypass.

 

The reverbs are very good indeed and you can have 4 delays at up to 5 seconds each and the modulation is very lush.

 

Pitch shifter is probably the worst I've used however but you can't have everything!

[willhaven]

Well, I think I've decided. I'm going to get the Eventide TimeFactor delay pedal. It does spillover delays, some parameters are expression pedal controllable, and I can basically have unlimited presets via MIDI control.

 

It's cheap in comparison to high end rack units and I think I'd honestly rather expand to a 3rd pedal tray in my rack rather than using 1 space just for delays when that 1 space could be taken by an 8 loop audio switcher instead.

 

It looks pretty straightforward, and it does some pretty cool unique things. You can fake some of the effects you get when you play with an Echoplex.

 

http://www.eventide.com/AudioDivision/Products/StompBoxes/TimeFactor.aspx

 

Thanks for all the input... it helped me find the Eventide.